Echoes of Time review

Cranio Creations | 2 to 4 players | 12+ | 30-60 minutes

In this strategic game, published by Cranio Creations, players try to form their fellowship of characters and equipment to conquer different power sources in a land full of deep waters, gentle hills, night skies, and unexplored underground tunnels. During setup, each player takes a time board, a set of time tiles, five of which are placed on their board, and two action cubes. The central supply of victory point tokens and activation tokens is placed in the center of the table, while source cards are randomly chosen and placed face up based on the number of players. Before the game begins, all fellowship cards are shuffled and the first player token is dealt.

Each round consists of three phases. During the time phase, players move the time tiles on their board to the right using the leftover tile. All cards that were on a tile that leaves the board are summoned into their fellowship, activating any immediate effects or permanent effects on previously summoned cards, before drawing one card from the deck. During the action phase, players take turns performing one of their available actions. These include drawing two new cards from the deck, placing a card from their hand on their time board, advancing two cards one position or one card two positions, or conquering or fortifying a source card by exceeding its strength.

There are two free actions: activating a flame effect of a card in their fellowship or increasing control over a source. The end of the game is triggered when the central supply of victory point tokens is depleted, a player has twelve cards in their fellowship, or all sources have been fortified. All victory points are then added up, and the player with the most points wins.

Impressions

The game is very thematic and features some amazing artwork. The theme matches the gameplay perfectly and helps immerse you in its fantastical world. The most unique mechanism is the shifting time board. Each round, players move their time tiles, summoning the cards placed on them during previous rounds once they leave the board. This interesting mechanic forces you to make important decisions, as not all cards may be summoned before the game ends.

Luckily, there are actions that allow you to move these cards more quickly, but with only two action cubes each round, your options are limited. Throughout the game, I was surprised by the amount of player interaction, especially when it comes to negatively impacting your opponents. This can make the game feel very "take that," which is something you either love or hate. The game does include a low-interaction variant that removes certain cards to reduce this aspect.

The main goal of the game was to conquer and fortify the source cards. Since there is only one source card per player, you are essentially trying to conquer the most interesting one. While it is possible to fight over these cards, that didn't really happen during our games. Players simply went with what was available, as fortifying an already conquered source felt a little too easy to do before another player could steal it. Aside from that, I think this is a really good strategic game that encourages you to create interesting combinations with the cards you add to your fellowship. The game can end before you know it, so you definitely have to plan ahead and make smart decisions from start to finish. The game also comes with time boards that are already assembled, as well as a good insert, which are both nice production touches. Overall, I think it's a great game with strong production that will appeal especially to players who enjoy a lot of player interaction.