Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East
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Banner designs by Rachel Billingsley
SneakPeeks
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all samples below are from playtest graphics, not final game art. GMT Games claims no copyright on these images.
BGG "IN FOCUS" OVERVIEW VIDEO
ONLINE RESOURCES
- Cultural Development Tracks for Optional Use
- VASSAL Module forAncient Civilizations of the Middle East
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East on BoardGameGeek
- Preview of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East from Dude! Take Your Turn
- Throne of Darius Book Promo and Discussion of the Ancient Civilizations Series with Mark McLaughlin
- 20 Minute AAR and Gameplay Discussion of the Two-Player "Scorpions in a Bottle" Scenario from KilroyWasHere
- Action Point Article Series from The Players' Aid
- Articles on Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East in InsideGMT:
- The New Hampshire Guys Visit Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (Well, at Least via the Game), by Fred Schachter
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 1: General Background, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- The 16+ Civs in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sumerians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 2: Playing Your Role, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Egyptians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Elamites, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 3: Differences Between ACME and ACIS, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Indus Valley Civilizations (or “Dravidians, Harappans, and Mauryans, oh my!”), by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 4 of 4: The “Real History” Behind the Game, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Assyrians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Akkadians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) Example of Play Part 1 of 3: Game Set-Up through Growth Phase, by Fred Schachter
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Babylonians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) Example of Play Part 2 of 3: Card Phase through Competition Phase, by Fred Schachter
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Hittites, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) Example of Play Part 3 of 3: Reckoning Phase with Additional Examples of Competition, by Fred Schachter
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Mittani, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sea Peoples, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sea Israelites, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Cimmerians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Medes & Persians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Chaldeans, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Scythians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Greeks, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Happy Ides of March: Meet the Romans, Pontics and Parthians, by Mark McLaughlin
- Optional Cultural Development Tracks for Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS) and Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME), by Mark McLaughlin and Christopher Vorder Brugge
- Legend of Rostam: Bonus Scenario for Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East, by Mark McLaughlin
- Hear Rameses’ Tell How He Saved Egypt from the Sea Peoples, by Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Urartians, by Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part One – Great Person Investment Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part Two – Great Person Competition Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part Three – Great Person “Spy” Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part Four – Great Person “Power, Money (Mina) & VP” Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part Five – Great Person “Negate” Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter Two, Part One – Competition Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- Full-Court Press Double Teaming – Ancient Civ (of the Middle East) Style or… Kadesh Tomorrow, Ninevah Tonight!, by Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter Two, Part Two – Trade Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter Two, Part Three – Resource Cards, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- “It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter Three, Part One – Disasters Both Natural & Manmade, by Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) Is Electric… on Vassal That Is!, by Fred Schachter
- An Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Discourse of Game Questions, Historical Background, and Items of Overall Interest, by Francesco Guerrieri
REVIEWS
- 46 Minute Video Review from Hair Brained Games
- 9 Minute Video Review from Rob's Tabletop World
- 11 Minute Video Review from The Discriminating Gamer
- 12 Minute Video Review and 1 Hour and 38 Minute Example of Turn from Rulebook from idjester
- Review from Punchboard
- 44 Minute Video Review from The Players' Aid
UNBOXING VIDEOS
- NEW! 18 Minute Unboxing Video from The Players Aid
- 34 Minute Unboxing and Overview Video from KilroyWasHere
- Unboxing and First Look Video from The Gaming Gang (starts at 50:30)
- 22 Minute Video Unboxing from Board Again Games
- 8 Minute Video Unboxing from Hair Brained Games
- 32 Minute Video Unboxing from idjester
AWARDS
NEWS
- Interview from GMT Talk with Mark McLaughlin (YouTube)
- Interview from The Players' Aid with Christopher Vorder Bruegge, Mark McLaughlin, and Fred Schachter
- Interview from El Wargamero Novato with Mark McLaughlin
Description
ACME is a game of the chaos-inducing wrath of gods & men—a chaos each player does their utmost to manage, survive, and guide their civilization through to triumphant victory. Spanning the ancient world from the Hellespont to the Indus, from the Caspian to the Red Sea, and from the early Bronze Age to the Hellenic Age, Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East allows you to command not just 10 but 16, SIXTEEN CIVILIZATIONS!
Akkadian |
Cimmerians |
Greeks |
Mittani |
Assyrian |
Dravidians |
Hittite |
Scythians |
Babylonian |
Egyptians |
Israelite |
Sea Peoples (yes, they're back!) |
Chaldean |
Elamite |
Medes & Persians |
Sumerian |
ACME is not just one game but many games. 1-6 players will take the role of one, two, or even three civilizations as they compete across up to four Epochs on land and sea, seeking to survive a host of potential natural disasters while making their indelible mark on history. Each civilization will fight to become the dominant power of its age through conquest and the building of cities, along with establishing the supremacy of its powerful Deity.
Extensive Solitaire Rules allow any scenario, including the basic game, to be played by a single player against one or more Non-Player Civilizations (NPCs). The NPC may be peaceful or hostile and may change its attitude depending on the actions of the player. Historical War Game Scenarios offer particularly aggressive Solitaire system-controlled opponents for those who want to fight to expand or defend their civilization.
- a 34” x 22” mounted game board
- 416 round wooden playing disks (Disks) with 52 each of 8 colors. Two extra disks of each color are provided as replacement for any lost. During play, each color is game limited to 50 disks in supply
- 8 small, square (¾ inch square) wooden blocks with 8 stickers for "Deities."
- 6 larger (1 inch square) wooden blocks (matching the six disk colors for the active civilization's Home Areas)
- 5 large white cylinders or pawns with a star imprinted on one of its sides to designate the Epoch, Turn, and location of an upcoming Competition and/or Areas which require special Competition-related consideration
- 15 cubes: 12 grey to represent Mountain Strongholds and for special cards, 1 yellow to indicate a mountain area with a Gold Mine, 1 green for a desert area’s Oasis, and 1 blue to represent a sea area’s Fishing Grounds
- 6 Player Aid Sheets (with the End of Epoch Event Table on the reverse)
- 1 Solitaire Player Aid Sheet (two-sided)
- 1 Civilizations' Special Abilities Summary card with Deity Attribute Summary (two-sided)
- 1 Optional Rule Cultural Development Tracks card with Bonus Summary (two-sided) for ACME & ACIS
- 16 Civilization Display Cards
- 110 Playing Cards*
- Rulebook*
- Playbook: Solitaire Rules, Suggested Set-Ups for games for 1 to 6 players, Historical Scenarios, Design Background, Examples of Play, and Optional Rules
Development: Fred Schachter