Ancient Terrible Things Review: be part of a doomed expedition!

The Game

Your group of adventurers has heard about an ancient journal that seems to have been written by a madman. He claimed to be the sole survivor of an adventure full of secrets and terrible things — truly fantastical stuff. Now, excited by this discovery, you and your group of adventurers set out on an expedition. By boat, deep into a remote jungle, you seek answers, fortune, and glory. Like any good expedition into the unknown, you may discover something terrible — and completely lose your minds!

In the game, each turn you must travel to a Fateful Location, face an Ominous Encounter and try to unravel its Ancient Secrets (which grant points). If you succeed (using a combination of dice, tokens and cards), you add the secrets to your score. If you fail, you trigger a Terrible Thing, which reduces your score at the end of the game.

The goal is to be the player who discovers the most Ancient Secrets when the game ends in the Unspeakable Event.

The game uses dice rolls to get combinations (pairs, threes, or a single die showing a specific number or higher). Cards, tokens, and dice can be combined to overcome the Sinister Encounter cards (which, as mentioned, are worth points at the end). The remaining dice — that is, those not used to overcome the Encounter — can yield more tokens.

There are 4 different tokens:

During the setup, players are placed on the boat, ready to travel down the river in search of Ominous Encounters. Each of the 6 Fateful Locations has an Ominous Encounter and specific tokens as a bonus. The Ominous Encounter cards have their own deck, as well as a deck of Feat cards and another of Swag, which is located at the Trading Post.

An interesting detail: the 1st player receives a Map token (starting player), which is worth 1 point at the end of the game. The cool thing is that, when you receive this token, you actually don't start playing. You choose who will be the starting player. At the end of the turn, that player chooses another to receive the Map token — in other words, that “1 point” will always be up for grabs.

Each turn is very straightforward. We'll list the Phases, and then explain in more detail:

Phase 1 is normally skipped, you just refill Encounter cards on the Fateful Locations - but only if all Locations are empty.

Phase 2 is where the action begins. Choose a Fateful Location and prepare for an Ominous Encounter.

At the Fateful Location, you'll face the unspeakable: an Ominous Encounter. Then, Phase 3 begins - you can use a number of Courage tokens indicated in the Encounter card to overcome it without having to roll dice.

On Phase 4, even if you already overcame the Encounter using Courage, roll dice to try and get extra tokens, according to the card. Each dice combination will get you a different token.

There are 4 kinds of dice:

In Phase 4, if you didn't have enough Courage to overcome the Ominous Encounter, try to win it with dice — you'll need a specific combination. At this time, manage your luck with Feat cards, Swag, and rerolls (with or without Focus tokens).

If you still have unused dice after overcoming the Encounter, use them to earn more tokens, depending on the Scenario.

Each Ominous Encounter has a different type:

If you get 3 of the same cars, you're granted a Bonus card — which is worth points. But be careful: this card is temporary! If another player gets 4 of that same card, they steal the Bonus card from you.

If you can’t overcome the Ominous Encounter, it's time for Phase 5, The Terrible Thing. You receive a Terrible Thing token — which deducts points from your final score. Your sanity is slipping away! Be careful!

Time to take the boat back and make a stop at the Trading Post — this is Phase 6. If you have the resources, buy Swag cards that can help you in the upcoming Encounters. You can only buy 1 card per turn, so choose wisely.

If you used Feat cards, in Phase 7, Refresh, redraw until you have 3 Feat cards. Turn any used Swag cards face down so they can be reused later.

This is a turn of Ancient Terrible Things! Now, the next adventurer to your left prepares to face their fears on their turn.

Ending the Game

The game ends immediately when one of the following conditions are met:

Each player counts their points:

The winner of the game is the player with the highest score! If any number of players tie for the highest score, break the tie by comparing Terrible Thing tokens (the fewer tokens the better) and Courage tokens (the more tokens the better), in that order. If the tie remains, the game ends with no winner.

In Ancient Terrible Things, despite using dice rolls, the game is not about luck. Knowing when to take risks is essential, and it separates those who return home safe from those who plunge into madness! To put it less dramatically, choosing the right time for where to go can be the difference between victory and defeat.

It all starts in Phase 2, Exploration, when you choose which Fateful Location to go to, that is, which Ominous Encounter you will face. Strategy comes into play here, considering several variables, such as:

Another strategic decision happens in Phase 3, Desperation, when you decide whether it is worth it to spend Courage tokens . Courage tokens are very valuable: in addition to helping you overcome Ominous Encounters, they are also used to pay for Feat cards, and to reroll the Blue Feat dice. They are also a tiebreaker at the end of the game. Remember this and manage them carefully.

It's strategy time again in Phase 4, Encounter, when you will have to decide between:

You can do all of these things, but of course that means spending your resources. It is important to note that, in Ancient Terrible Things, when you choose to reroll, all dice are rerolled. The only way to reroll specific dice is with Focus tokens. Think carefully so you don't regret it later.

With the remaining dice — that is, those that were not used to win the Ominous Encounter — you can (and should!) use them to earn more tokens, according to the game's Scenario. Sometimes, even if you lose an Ominous Encounter and gain a Terrible Thing token, the other tokens you get can still be valuable. This reduces the impact of the defeat.

Speaking of Terrible Thing, in Phase 5, if you didn't overcome it, you must take the Terrible Thing token with the lowest value (from 0 to 3 points), and this value will be deducted from your points at the end of the game.

Finally, Phase 6, the Trading Post. It's time to buy — or, as the game says, to swag. You can buy a Swag card from 4 available (3 from the Trading Post and 1 from the top of the discard pile). Obviously, you can only buy if you have enough money. If none of the 3 Trading Post cards interest you, you can spend 2 treasure to replace them. I recommend always having some money to spare, as Swag cards are very helpful, and can even grant points at the end.

Be wise, manage your resources, face your fears, don't lose your sanity, and win in Ancient Terrible Things!

Unboxing:

Rules:

Gameplay:

If you are looking for a highly thematic, fun, fast-paced game with simple rules that also offers lots of stimulation for your child, Ancient Terrible Things is that game!

Think of it as a strategy game — this will provide challenge to the children. Furthermore, since it involves a lot of dice rolling, logical-mathematical reasoning will be constantly exercised in calculations, in forming sets, in what to change ​​with tokens, and so on. They will never stop being stimulated - that's great!

Naturally, the game also allows you to work through frustrations. After all, even after rerolling dice, it can still go wrong. It's an excellent opportunity to talk to your child about it — and it can even lead to fun moments when a plan goes wrong. Lots of laughs!

Decision-making is always present: choosing which Fateful Locations to go, which Ominous Encounter to face, whether or not to reroll dice, whether or not to spend tokens... All this resource management is an opportunity to let them decide and, at the same time, show them the consequences of their choices. A true exercise in planning.

From an educational perspective, Ancient Terrible Things stimulates management, strategy, decision-making, logical-mathematical reasoning - and it's also fun!

I recommend Ancient Terrible Things for your collection!