Beyond Thebes

In Thebes the players take on the role of archaeologists in Europe in the early 20th century. Players travel around the cities of northern Europe collecting the things they will need for their explorations – knowledge, assistants and equipment – which they then use to excavate the sites of Egypt, Crete, Rome, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. The excavations involve drawing cardboard tokens out of the appropriate bag; some have artefacts of varying value (points), which can be put on exhibition at museums (for extra points), and some are dirt, which goes back in the bag after the excavation is over.

This is a brilliant family game for all ages (from around 10+):
- the theme is very convincing
- the rules sound a little complicated on reading, but the game-play itself is quite simple
- there is room for strategy, but there is so much randomness in the excavations that even the player making “bad” choices can still win the game (making it an ideal game to play with children) – there will be plenty of moans and groans as you pull out all the dirt, while your opponents keep finding the treasure

All in all this game is a lot fun to play (as long as you don’t take it too seriously). The thrills and spills of archaeological adventures without getting your hands dirty.