Description from the publisher:
History is a harsh river that flows steadily through the ages. Since the dawn of time, numerous civilizations have risen over the fallen ashes of others, and yet every one of them had once shone brightly in its own moment of glory!
The Flow of History is yet another innovative civilization game from Taiwanese designer Jesse Li. Players develop their nation using a unique bidding/price-setting mechanism to purchase new cards, but what is paid to the supply might also be harvested into the pockets of other players later, which puts a twist on your strategy of bidding cards, and also simulates economic inflation in the game. Don't forget to build a formidable military to clash with cultures led by your enemy, and create an unforgettable tale of your civilization in The Flow of History.
- deluxe version of a Kickstarter-backed game
- interesting mechanics when experienced for the first time
- not yet tried by the presenter at the time of recording
- civilizational development and power balance among factions
- civilization-building with auction and card-building elements
- complex, multi-layered euro-style design
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction-style resource and civilization development — deluxe edition of a civilization-building card game with auction mechanics
- card-building mechanics — cards interact to develop civilizations and influence game state
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's essentially kind of a Cold War type of game where you're trying to build these nuclear bombers and nuclear submarines
- this is an adventure style game where each player will first of all it's fully cooperative and each player is gonna take on the role of an asymmetric hero
- it's a sprawling game with so many ideas packed into one box
- this game is all about timing
- you are trying to influence six different guilds and the more influential you are in the guilds you are the more special actions that you will gain
- the puzzle for this one like figuring out what you can feasibly accomplish within a round
- I'm looking forward to playing this one again
References (from this video)
- interesting auction dynamic with currency and sniping
- versatile for various strategies and early game conservatism then bolder mid-game bidding
- ambiguous long-term balance of currency vs card power
- rules nuance may require careful reading
- resource development and public card drafting
- civilization-building with a public auction bidding mechanic
- tableau/engine-building with auction pacing
- Century Spice Road
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- claim marker and currency — one claim marker per turn; bid currency is pooled to claim cards; no end-game currency scoring
- public auction bidding — cards in the middle are bid on with currency; winner gets card and currency returns to the bidder upon being outbid
- Sniping — sniping allows others to outbid and take the card; risk-reward with dynamic bidding
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's designed by yuffie rosenberg
- the entire game was on the phone
- I think all of us who played it are looking forward to playing more
- I would probably be more excited to play War of the Buttons again than some other games
- thematic idea is that government corruption is being crackdown on but gift-giving is used to circumvent it
References (from this video)
- Very solid
- Hit many perfect levels
- Had moments where players felt smart
- Easy to teach
- Did not connect with people enough
- Did not do as well as expected
- Could have had much longer legs
- Host was bothered by its performance
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- And then and then um you know, could I get some bacon? And she's like, of course you can get some bacon now. But I'm I with the bacon, if you could if you could make it really rare, like really rare, like very I mean like raw if possible, if that's possible, if I get get that. And she's looking at him like, 'What do you'
- It is the greatest game. Every single group of people that I've introduced that game to that I've seen people immediately take out their phone and buy it.
- He's like, 'It's raining outside. this this this guy standing next to me with a with a Viking sweatshirt on and and he's with with with Crocs with Ver Crocs and and uh and and gym shorts screaming at me that I yelled at this kid a couple of You know what? I'm just going to throw my cigarette away and get back on my bus and drive away.
- I'll fight it and send it to you.
- And the thing is like she's got like 20,000 subscribers and it's just she just doesn't care. She's just like yeah I'm going to do this. This is this is what I'm going to do. I'm just going to talk about every episode of Columbbo and I just god bless her heart you know.
References (from this video)
- Ambitious historical framing
- strong potential for thematic immersion
- clear crowd engagement during crowdfunding
- Crowdfunding dynamics can affect perceived value
- deluxe vs standard packaging tension
- logistics of fulfillment heavier on backers
- Civilizational growth, resource management under pressure
- Historical civ development across multiple eras
- Macro historical progression with forced course corrections
- Orleans
- Yokohama
- Brass: Birmingham
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction/bidding — Players bid on actions or events that shape civilization progress
- Resource Management — Allocate limited resources to survive calamities and grow influence
- tile/area setup — Placement elements to define regions or phases of history
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Flow of History live on Kickstarter. We are at 42,360 bucks right now with 30 days to go.
- We want to make sure we make the best possible game for the people that want to buy the game.
- Vote with their wallets and you can see what people actually want.
- Deluxe editions are not automatically better—it's about what you actually get and how it supports players.
References (from this video)
- Balanced game with multiple viable paths to victory
- Strong replay value and balance
- Solid mechanics and clear iconography
- Pleasant components and accessible rules
- Encourages strategic and tactical decision-making
- Harvest action is underwhelming and may feel like a workaround for mismanaged resources
- Some players may wish for more impactful early-game options
- Artwork is decent but not highly thematic; token icons are clear
- Civilization growth, resource management, technological and societal development
- Civilization development across multiple ages with a civilization tableau
- Historical, strategic, eurogame-style with card-driven actions
- Innovations
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card cycling and age progression — Future card placement and age-based discard checks end the game with the appropriate timing
- Combat/Attack — Attack mechanisms using symbol totals to determine effects on opponents; permanent icons persist
- Complete/Claim Card — Return your Pawn and move RTS to the supply, then take the card onto your tableau and apply production bonuses
- Endgame scoring — Score from bottom bar symbols, culture icons, Wonders, and Tableau card counts; tie-breakers by Tableau size
- Invest/Place on Market — Spend RTs to place a Pawn on a market card and invest in it
- Investment — Spend RTs to place a Pawn on a market card and invest in it
- Production icons — Magnifying glass icon indicates which production track (culture, science, or industry) determines how many RTS you gain
- Snipe/Harvest/Invest actions — Snipe steals resources; Harvest moves icons from reserve; various actions modify cards and resources
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "The Flow of History is a fantastic game on so many levels"
- "First and foremost is how balanced it is"
- "The game offers many avenues and choices and they are all equally viable ways to win"
- "The mechanics are extremely solid"
- "Harvest action is underwhelming"
- "It's almost like a get out of trouble action"
- "Components are really good"
- "Cards feeling more like pliable tiles that hardly need any sleeves"
- "Artworks fine not mind-blowing but the icons are well represented"
- "Half a point game is played fairly smoothly"
- "Accessible to any level of Gamers"
- "I love the game Innovations but this one has replaced it"
- "We give the Flow of History an 8.5 out of 10"
References (from this video)
- clever action selection mechanism in context of auction/bid decisions
- very light somatic civilization feel; may be underwhelming for some
- auction/building
- Port Royale
- Civilization-building games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — auction-based resource and action control with civilization-building theme
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is experimentation month
- I want to be less stubborn
- the sticker shock issue really rears its head
- please give me feedback about this specific log
- it's a big box if it was a smaller box I think you'd be much more likely to have a state in the collection
- I think it's really important to be introspective and be honest with myself