Age of Academics

Age of Academics is an original domestic German-style board game that combines multiple mechanisms with historical and cultural themes. Here is a detailed introduction: Number of Players and Duration: It supports 1-4 players, with 3 being recommended. A single game takes about 40 minutes per player, and its complexity is estimated at 3.3/5, making it a medium to heavy strategy board game suitable for advanced players. Game Mechanisms: It incorporates mechanisms such as auction, DBG (Deck-Building Game), worker placement, and area control. There are 8 schools of thought from the Warring States period available for players to choose from (with the Miscellaneous School being controlled by AI). Each school has unique skills and initial settings. For example, the Taoist school follows the concept of "governing by non-interference" and gains passive benefits; the Mohist school adopts the "Juzi System" where collective actions are more effective. Players can use a combination of characteristic DBG deck building and worker placement, utilizing card effects like drawing and discarding cards, along with workers' actions to execute strategies. Game Flow: The game consists of 4 rounds, each composed of 4 phases. In the "Contention Phase", players assign disciples to debate and compete for topics, with winners gaining benefits. In the "Spring Phase", players can play celebrity cards to obtain resources or discard cards to perform school-specific actions. In the "Autumn Phase", players settle rewards from autumn celebrities to verify the effectiveness of their strategies. In the "Post-Autumn Phase", players collect resources, reorganize their hands, and advance the "Zhou De Indicator". Action Planning: The game features a "Spring Phase" and an "Autumn Phase", and celebrity cards are also divided into "Spring Celebrities" and "Autumn Celebrities". In the Spring Phase, players can obtain resources, deploy disciples through "Spring Celebrity Cards", and even discard celebrities to gain opportunities for school actions. In the Autumn Phase, they use "Autumn Celebrity Cards" to settle rewards and trigger long-term effects.