Author’s note: Sushiball Games is bringing you a new review style that is more condensed, focusing more on review criteria rather than how the game is played. We want to focus more on what we love about the game — after all, people can read the rulebook themselves! Our criteria covers what we think about both when buying a game and what criteria goes into continuing to take it off the shelf.
Today we are going to be looking at Trekking Through History published by Underdog Games, a game for 2-4 players who are touring history in the span of three days (rounds) with their time machine. This game was kindly sent for us to review.
In two sentences, what do you do in the game: Players collect history cards to form sets worth points, which propel them forward on the Clock (time track). The more cards you have, the more points, however a good time traveler needs to balance this with the cost of time/hours for each card collected that pushes them further and further forward toward round’s end.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: Trekking Through History is our second history themed game we’ve played by Underdog Games, see our review of HerStory, another wonderful title that we’re proud to have in our collection. Both of these games may have a history theme but they are unique enough that it is worth owning both.
What was surprising about this title: For having so much information in the rulebook, it is a surprisingly light game.
How likely is this to return to the game table?: Very likely. The game has already returned to the game table for us with different player counts and has still been a success whether it be played with two or four players. However, this game typically makes it to the table once in an evening as not to wear it out.
Game length: The box says that gameplay is 30-60 minutes, however we found the game runs a little on the longer side of that span. The gameplay does not feel slow, however, more so it plays as a full, enriched experience.
Language Barrier Playability: Technically, you need language to read the historic facts on the cards, but you do not need much language for gameplay. Especially as the game relies on numeric order of dates to collect sets of cards, once the rules are explained once, language barrier did not get in the way of gameplay for us.
Artwork: The game has bold colors against the beige Clock and Board. In particular, it is the extra pieces that really pop with the artwork. The plastic watches indicating player turn are especially aesthetically pleasing, as well as the shiny pink time crystals and colorful experience tokens (which slightly resemble wax seals). The artwork on the cards is very consistent, detailed, and adds a visual story piece that brings the history facts on each card to life.
Quality: All of the pieces are sturdy, from cards to tokens, and this game appears like it will look just as good when we bring it out in five years as it does now. Particularly, the neoprene mat is made to hold up for a long period of time.
Strategy: Medium. There are a few ways to strategize. When collecting sets, players can focus on making one or two longer sets worth many more points, or a bunch of small sets. For general card collection, players can focus more on collecting time cards in close descending order, or trying to economize the hour cost of a card vs. benefit. Players can also utilize their crystals at strategic points to not pay as high of an hour cost, staying in the round for longer and providing themselves more chances to collect cards.
Instruction Manual: The instruction manual is not very long but it is thorough. Upon first readthrough, we thought the game was going to be heavier, but really, the rulebook just makes it so that all the questions are answered that you might have in the game ahead of time. This to us is the sign of a good rulebook. The game also comes with Reference cards, which are a good compliment to any rulebook.
Organization: To start, this game uses Game Trayz, which are the best for game component organization. With Game Trayz, everything has a very specific place in the box, tokens are sealed in a nice plastic container, and the game board rolls perfectly onto the side of the tray. This game makes a great first impression.
Final thoughts: While Trekking Through History has a fun time travel theme, the most immersive part is the strategy for collecting cards while racing against the clock (based on hours that you pay for the cards). The competitive aspect of the game makes this game addicting. The history aspect just adds more depth to the game for anyone who would like to go a step further and read all of the interesting facts presented on the cards. There are many fun takeaways one can have in this game depending on what they’re interested in the most.
Sushiball Games 