Pyramid Review
Khronos
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Ludovic Vialla
Full-color boxed game with game board, turn counter board, 10 adventurer pawns in 5 colors, 125 control cubes, round counter pawn, 60 treasure coins, 33 action cards, 155 building tiles, rule page
Certain development games such as Tigris and Euphrates have a mechanic around influencing the creation and development of buildings. Khronos takes this to the next level as players send their pawns through time to start buildings in the past and improve them in the future. Buildings built or upgraded in earlier time-zones "ripple" forward, replacing pre-existing buildings in the same locations. The problem is that it costs money to travel in time, and players have only two pawns for the three time periods, each of which may only spend up to two cards in their turn, and only in the time period they happen to be in.
Khronos' components are clearly labeled and colorful, and all have color-coded resting places within the game box. The cubes and pawns also are shipped in strong ziplock bags. The Control cubes are of standard eurogame quality. The Construction cards are effective and distinctive in their three colors: orange, which is connected to Time #1, the Age of Might (Military); purple, which is Time #2, the Age of Faith (Religious); and blue, which is Time #3, the Age of Reason (Civil).
Two to five players can play. Each player starts with the two pawns and 25 Control Cubes of their color, as well as four Ecus . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: March 21, 2008
Copyright © 2008 by Steve Jackson Games. All rights reserved. Pyramid subscribers are permitted to read this article online, or download it and print out a single hardcopy for personal use. Copying this text to any other online system or BBS, or making more than one hardcopy, is strictly prohibited. So please don't. And if you encounter copies of this article elsewhere on the web, please report it to webmaster@sjgames.com.