Have you ever wanted to go back in time and experience some of history’s most memorable event? Well now you can!* In Trekking Through History you’ll spend three days traveling through time, hitting all the key points in your itinerary such as meeting famous people of the past, learning about historical innovations, and much more! What a wild ride it will be! Let’s get started!

*Please note: Game does not actually include time machine, nor does it transport you through time … sorry.*

What Is It?

A game all about history! Each turn, players will open draft a history card, representing a point in history they’re visiting. Cards are played chronologically to a player’s current trek – the longer the trek, the more points it will score at the end of the game. If a player chooses a card earlier than the last in the trek, they must flip the trek over, and start a new one.

Drafting cards will also get players various experience tokens, which they will use to fill in their itinerary card to earn points and time crystals.

The time symbol on the card also indicates how many spaces the player must move on the clock board, determining player order – the farthest player back always takes the next turn. Once all players reach the 12 on the clock, the new day starts. After 3 days, players score for their treks (points on itineraries are scored throughout the game) and the player with the most points wins!

Who Is It For?

  • Ages 10+
  • 2 to 4 Players – Scales well at all player counts
  • Fans of set collection and drafting
  • Fans of history, or those who want to learn about history

Expansions

Time Warps – This mini expansion has 24 cards, 3 used per game. Each card has either an ongoing effect, or an effect that players must activate by spending time on their turn, instead of picking a history card as usual.

I thought this was a really simple expansion to add into the game, which was nice. Personally, I preferred the ongoing effect cards because they were more easily usable. I was hesitant to use the ones I had to spend time on because I wanted to keep gaining cards for my treks. But that’s going to vary based on your own play style. Overall, a simple and fun expansion that is definitely worth adding into your games.

PROS

  • Components – Great quality across the components. I love the neoprene playmat board. The experience tokens are light, but have a nice feel to them. The cards have a nice finish. The pocket watches are chunky and fun. No complaints from me on the components
  • Art/Graphic Design – Great look of the game across the board as well. The illustrations evoke the event they are meant to, but still give the game it’s own feel as well. Symbology is clear everywhere as well
  • Box/Insert – Everything has a place in the insert and fits in the box nicely
  • Rules – Well-written, easy to learn from, no questions came from the rules
  • Turns are quick; not a lot of downtime, even if someone has a chance to go multiple times in a row
  • Time Warps add a little variety to the game to keep things fresh
  • Cards all feature little excerpts about the event on the back so players can read/learn about it if they want, but it doesn’t distract from the game design

CONS

  • While I do think it scales fine for any player count, you definitely see less cards in a 2-player game, so choices can feel more limited
  • Similarly, there can be some luck involved with how the cards come out (i.e. your only options on a turn might be earlier years, making you reset a trek, or a wild card, meaning you might get less tokens, or you might need a lot of one colored token for your itinerary, and might not see a lot of cards with that color), but most of the time, you can try to plan for that, since you see 5 cards out at a time

Final Thoughts

I thought there was something super charming about this game. It has an awesome look, and it plays so smoothly, so it was easy to enjoy!

I thought the game presented players with an interesting task of balancing between collecting tokens for their itineraries and extending their treks. I often thought I knew exactly what card to pick, perfect for getting me all the tokens I needed, but then realized it would force me to start a new trek, and it was always interesting to see what would benefit me most.

This one is a real winner. I think if you’re into history, you’ll especially be enamored by it, but even if you’re not, you’ll still find a lot to love in this box!

Additional Info:
My Final Rating – 7/10

Designer – Charlie Bink
Artist – Eric Hibbeler
Publisher – Underdog Games
MSRP – $50.00
Website
Purchase

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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