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Thebes is a game of competitive archeology. Players are archaeologists who must travel around Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East to acquire knowledge about five ancient civilizations -- the Greeks, the Cretans, the Egyptians, the Palestinians, and the Mesopotamians -- and then must use this knowledge to excavate historical sites in the areas of these civilizations. Through the course of the game, expositions are revealed, and an archaeologist who has treasures from the requisite civilizations may claim the prize (this is a change from the first edition's handling of exhibitions). The archaeologist who learns the most about the civilizations, claims the greatest-valued artifacts, and collects the most exhibitions will win out over his or her colleagues.
The key element to the game is that it is played out over a period of two (or three) years, and each action a player performs takes a certain amount of time -- traveling is a week between cities, gathering knowledge takes time for the level of the knowledge, and actually digging at a cultural site takes time to yield a certain number of artifact tiles. The game uses a novel mechanism to keep track of this. There is a track of 52 spaces around the outside of the board. Each time a player moves and takes an action, he or she moves their player token forward in time. Players take turns based on being the one who is furthest back in "time". So, a player can go to an excavation site and spend 10 weeks digging for artifacts, but that will also mean that the other players will likely be taking several actions in the interim while that player waits for the "time" to catch up.
In addition, the artifact tiles for each civilization are drawn from a bag that also contains dirt. When a player excavates a site, that player pulls tiles from the bag, but some may only be worthless dirt instead of valuable treasure. That dirt is then returned to the bag, making the first draw more likely to provide useful tiles.
This is the new entry for the Queen printing of Jenseits von Theben. As the new game changes several mechanisms of the original, and is available in a much wider release, the two games should be regarded as separate entities.
Re-implements:
Jenseits von Theben
- area majority hand management with clear scoring via locations
- city cards add variety and replayability
- variants (officer, New Orleans siren tokens) extend play
- thematic integration with infiltrate/redeploy/patrol actions
- rules are complex and can be easy to lose track of turn order
- opening setup and multiple steps per round may slow play
- infiltration, area control, and mole mechanics
- Chicago-based city with crime, police, and mob infiltration
- instructional/tutorial
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area majority — Strength at each location determines which player scores the location’s tokens at the end of scoring.
- city card-driven actions — City cards (e.g., Chicago) define how actions and token placement work and can alter rules each game.
- hand management — Players start with seven agent cards in their color and choose one to play each round, then reveal and deploy via the office/hidden area mechanic.
- Hidden deployment — Cards are placed face down in the office and later moved to the Hideout before activation, acting as moles.
- hidden deployment and reveal — Cards are placed face down in the office and later moved to the Hideout before activation, acting as moles.
- Multi-use cards — City cards (e.g., Chicago) define how actions and token placement work and can alter rules each game.
- scoring and arresting — After seven rounds, arrests and scoring determine each player's points; tokens and jail colors contribute to final scores.
- special agent activation — Some agents have special actions (infiltrate, redeploy, patrol) that can be activated when moved to the field.
- turn structure and round length — Seven rounds total; each round has four steps with simultaneous selection, then deployment and activation phases.
- variants and asymmetrical play — Variants include an imaginary officer player and New Orleans siren token rules that modify play and scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's an area majority hand management game
- the location card will explain how to place the utility tokens
- the game lasts seven rounds and each round has four steps
- the player with the most strength at that location wins the token and scores its value
- an imaginary third player named the officer who takes turns with you
References (from this video)
- High replayability across player counts (2-4 players).
- Clever pairing of simultaneous action selection with programming and turn-order deployment.
- Engaging hidden-information/mole mechanic.
- Compact small-box design with efficient components.
- Color-blind friendly symbols on player cards.
- Double-sided board and scoring provide economical setup.
- covert law-enforcement operations, arresting criminals, hidden mole intrigue
- Urban crime operation across multiple U.S. cities with FBI involvement; locations include clubs, restaurants, docks, and warehouses
- procedural, compact/engineered gameplay with simultaneous planning
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area majority — Locations are resolved by the total strength of players' agents; strongest takes tokens and criminals at that location.
- Area majority / power dynamics — Locations are resolved by the total strength of players' agents; strongest takes tokens and criminals at that location.
- City variability for replayability — Different cities (e.g., Detroit, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Washington DC) provide varied scenarios.
- Compact storage design — Small box with a bag for pieces and color differentiation; components are designed for easy, economical setup.
- Double-sided components — Board and player cards are double-sided, offering different scoring on the backside and enhancing replayability.
- End-game scoring via utility tokens — Utility tokens placed at locations drive priority and contribute to final scoring when resolving arrests.
- Endgame resolution by location and token flips — After all cards are played, remaining moles/things are resolved by flipping cards and tallying location-based scoring.
- Hidden information / mole mechanic — A mole mechanic introduces hidden identity and strategic tension, affecting later scoring and play order.
- Programmed deployment and placement — Agents are placed into board corners to set up future resolution and to influence outcomes.
- set collection — Players collect sets of colored figures, with tokens determining priority and end-of-round effects.
- Set collection / color-coded figures — Players collect sets of colored figures, with tokens determining priority and end-of-round effects.
- Simultaneous action selection — All players secretly choose an agent to deploy; actions are revealed together and then resolved in a specific order.
- Simultaneous Actions — All players secretly choose an agent to deploy; actions are revealed together and then resolved in a specific order.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a master of the small box absolutely solidifies my impression it's a strong game it's a clever game and I like those mechanics that are paired together it works incredibly well
- I love that there's the bag you keep all the figures in
- it's really clear and uh easy to use
- the dynamic with two, three and four players is super different and I think it works really well
- it's a really clever 30 to 45 minute uh small box Dr Steve fin game
- check out the feds if you haven't