Stone Age

2008 · Dice

Stone Age

Players lead prehistoric tribes that gather resources, develop tools, expand a village and compete for food and advancement. On each round players place up to ten worker figures on board locations such as the hunt, the trading center, the clay pit and the quarry to collect wood, stone, food and gold. After placement, players activate their staffed locations in chosen order to resolve actions, craft tools and trade resources. Each round ends with a feeding phase where players must provide enough food or suffer penalties. Progress requires balancing luck from dice and resource draws with planning of worker placement and development.

Players
2–4 best 4
Playing time
60–90 min
Age
10+
Complexity
2.5 / 5
7.4 on Ludoyafrom $43.99EconomicPrehistoricSet CollectionDice RollingWorker Placement

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On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
1,614
Plays logged
1,139
Players
1h 8m
Average play
272
In collections
50
On wishlists

7.4/10

from 194 Ludoya reviews

  • Fun8.0
  • Interaction8.0
  • Replayability10.0
  • Uniqueness8.0
  • Looks6.0
  • Accessibility10.0
  • Garfield7.0

    #56 Good thematic worker placement. But unfortunately also a little bit luck based. If the super-duper cards are revealed and you are the last one this round to place your worker... Or if you have bad luck in rolling dice. Or revealing the building tiles... [c] Theme: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]One of the better workerplacement games with theme --> Gameplay: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Ok --> Interaction: :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Almost no interaction --> Artwork: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Nothing special --> Luck: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]There's more luck involved that you think --> Strategy: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]You have to have one --> Components: :star::star::star::star::nostar: <!-- size 7]Thick tiles, wooden components --> Play duration: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Could be shorter --> Easy to teach: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]A few things to teach, but should be easy --> Setup time: :star::star::star::star::nostar: <!-- size 7]Fast --> No downtime: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Can be high with 4 or 5 players --> [/c]

  • Alfonso Novoa9.0

    Récord: Paula 287 puntos (10/02/16)

  • Mestremuten9.0

    Rating: 4/5 Production value: 4/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 1/1

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

When do I have to feed my people, and what happens if I don't have enough food?

Feeding happens in phase 3 at the end of each round: first take food from the supply according to your food-track, then return 1 food per person; if you lack enough food you must first return all food you have and may pay any resources 1:1 to cover the remainder, otherwise you immediately move your scoring marker back 10 points (and return all food). (page 6)

Can I place more workers on the same space later in the same round?

No — placing again on a space is not permitted once you've made a placement there; each space has its own capacity (e.g. toolmaker 1, hut 2, field 1, hunt unlimited but only once per round, resource spaces up to 7), and you must follow those limits. (pages 3–5)

How do tools work — can I split a tool's value or use a tool more than once per round?

Each tool must be used entirely (you cannot split its value) and each tool can be used only once per round; you may add as many of your tools as you want to a roll and mark used tools by turning them 90°. (page 4)

Can I pay for a civilization card with food?

No — civilization cards must be paid with wood, brick, stone, and/or gold as you choose; food may never be used to buy a card, and if you cannot or do not want to pay you take your worker back and leave the card. (page 5)

Some buildings say to 'calculate' points — how do those variable-cost buildings work?

There are three building types: fixed-cost buildings that give the printed points, buildings that require exactly 4 resources from exactly 2 kinds and score by the value printed per resource, and buildings where you pay 1–7 resources (any mix) and score based on each resource's printed value; pay the resources, then immediately move your scoring marker the calculated amount. (page 6)

Exactly when does the game end?

If there are not enough civilization cards to refill the display at the beginning of a round, the game ends immediately (no new round); if a building stack is emptied the current round is played to completion (including feeding) and then final scoring occurs. (page 7)

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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.