- Publisher(s): Grail Games, Matagot
- Designer(s) : Martin Wallace
- Artist(s) : Emiliano Mammucari, Andreas Rocha
- Players : 2–4
- Playing time : 60–120 Min
- Weight BGG : 3.10
What's this?
Each player embodies a gens , an ambitious Roman family, whose goal is to leave its mark on history across three eras: Royalty, Republic, and Empire. Between conquering provinces, building monuments, and controlling the legendary hills of Rome, you’ll have to balance prestige, resources, and social stability… or risk seeing the people revolt against you!
How do you play?
A game of Æterna takes place in 3 Eras , each structured into 9 phases , with drafting, majority, and resource management mechanics. Here is a summary of the main mechanics:
📜 Phase A – Draft
Each player draws 5 cards (3 Monuments, 2 Provinces) and drafts to create their hand. One card is discarded at the end of the draft.
⚙️ Phase B – Actions
Players take turns performing one main action per turn, until all have passed. Possible actions are:
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Play a Monument card (cost in stones and aurei) or Province (cost in citizens).
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Obtain a favor (a Character card) by fulfilling its conditions and paying its cost.
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Construct a building (improving a Hill and providing bonuses).
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Influence a Hill by placing a citizen there, in an attempt to become its Prefect.
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Pass your turn (earning prestige points according to the order of passing).
👉 Free actions : you can also, between two main actions, activate monuments, or discard a card to gain resources or reduce the revolt.
🏛️ Phase C to I – End of Era
These phases are triggered once all players have passed:
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Hills score based on citizens’ position.
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Devastation of the Overpopulated Hills (penalty tokens).
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Effects of buildings according to their type (PP, wheat or revolt reduction).
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Citizen reset .
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Resolve revolts based on Damage tokens taken.
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Food : Each citizen must be fed with 1 wheat.
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Transition to the new Era : Updated maps, buildings and turn order.
🎯 End of game
At the end of the 3rd Era, the players score:
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Bonus points for remaining resources.
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The PP indicated on the cards played.
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A bonus for groups of cards of different colors .
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A penalty depending on their position on the Ruin track (linked to the Revolt).
The most prestigious gens wins. In case of a tie? Rome blesses you all.
Is it good?
Æterna is the latest game from renowned author Martin Wallace , known for creating games with marked strategic depth , without being drowned under layers of superfluous rules. Here, the game is no exception. Æterna features classic mechanics: card drafting , worker placement , resource management , territory control and majority . This mix, while familiar, is accessible, fluid and above all accompanied by a real strategic requirement .
Throughout the game, you will have to constantly adapt to your opponents’ actions , choose the right moment to take control of the Hills, construct buildings , all under the constant pressure of revolt and resource management , especially to feed your workers. This tension makes the games intense and tense , even sometimes frustrating in the event of an error , because here, error is unforgiving . The Revolt track adds an additional level of complexity: certain actions make it climb, triggering penalties and forcing difficult choices to avoid the consequences.
Player interaction is strong, indirect, but constant , whether for territory control or gaining favors . Timing is often crucial, and you will need to carefully observe the intentions of others to act effectively. The game is therefore tense, interactive , and every decision really counts.
On the downside, we could criticize it for a somewhat over-the-top theme , or the fact that it doesn’t offer anything radically new . Finally, this constant pressure (particularly linked to the Revolt) might not suit players who prefer to build their engine quietly, without urgency.
But despite this, Æterna remains an enjoyable, fluid, interactive but demanding game , with a nice strategic depth . Even if it does not revolutionize the genre, it perfectly masters the art of combining proven mechanics effectively , as Martin Wallace knows so well how to do .
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Æterna Review
Positives
- Classic but perfectly mastered mechanics
- Very good strategic tension
- Indirect but constant interaction
- Fluid and dynamic rhythm
Negatives
- Pretty much plastered theme
- No real mechanical innovation
- Constant pressure (Revolt) which can frustrate more "calm" players
- Low tolerance for error (punitive)
Breakdown
- Edition 9.5
- Mechanics 8.0
- Thematic 7.0
- Replayability 8.0
- Getting started 9.0
- Interaction 8.5
- Originality 6.0
