Timespan is a civilization game where you lead your people from the Stone Age to the Space Age in approximately 90 minutes. It's a board game with tech trees, worker placement, and asymmetrical civilizations, but without war – the focus here is on discoveries, development, and building a truly elegant economic engine.

The game is played over five rounds, with each era introducing new cards, discoveries, and opportunities. At the beginning of the round, players draft historical figures, buildings, technologies, and wonders, while positioning themselves in a way that affects turn order and future choices. This is followed by a more simultaneously played phase where each player builds their own civilization on a timeline.

That timeline is one of the game's most interesting ideas. You can only have a limited number of cards active at a time, and as new cards are played, older cards are pushed into your legacy. This means the civilization is constantly changing, but also that previous choices can continue to affect you through passive income and long-term effects. It feels thematically very satisfying: history doesn't disappear; it becomes part of the foundation you build upon.

Timespan offers a lot of variation through the combination of six asymmetrical civilizations, six different tech boards, and a total of 175 cards featuring historical figures, buildings, technologies, and wonders. Since large parts of the game happen simultaneously, the pace is maintained even with multiple players, making it more accessible than many heavier civilization games.

This is suitable for those who enjoy strategy games with development, optimization, and a historical feel, but who want to avoid direct conflict and long waiting times. Timespan is particularly interesting for game groups who want a civilization game for their game night without having to dedicate an entire day.

Quick facts

• Number of players: 1–5
• Playing time: approx. 90 minutes
• Recommended age: 12+
• Type of game: Board game, civilization game, strategy game, economic game
• Mechanisms: Tech trees/tech tracks, worker placement, simultaneous actions, drafting, variable player powers
• Replayability: High, thanks to different civilizations, tech boards, and a large card selection

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