Forces of History is a game that simulates world history, using an original combination of game mechanics inspired by games as diverse as Terraforming Mars, Twilight Struggle, Innovation, and Reiner Knizia's The Confrontation. Instead of controlling a particular historical leader or empire, players take on the roles of celestial beings who are pulling the strings of history from behind the curtains. The celestials must help each other to make the divine plan for the world unfold, but beneath the thin veneer of cooperation there is fierce rivalry... for the Lord of Time, as ancient as creation itself, will give a rich reward to the celestial who shows the most skill at influencing world events. This is why all actions in the game - recruiting agents, collecting coins, claiming forces, playing cards and more - are ultimately aimed at just one thing: to gain as many Influence Points (IP) as possible. At the end of the game, the player with the most IP wins. Forces of History is a complex strategy game that combines the best of several different worlds. It simulates world history, yet every playthrough is different from the one before; it offers rich historical lore to the hobby-historian, but you don't need to know or care about history to play it. The game offers several different game variants: Classical-Medieval Age game (standard), Classical Age game, Medieval Age game, and team play (2v2) in any of the above settings. The playing time can vary from 2 hours up to 6-7 hours, depending on the variant chosen (and on player familiarity). NOTE: The Modern Age is not yet available, but if the game is released and becomes as successful as we hope, it will be released in the upcoming expansion. This is a game that doesn't easily fit into any established category. —description from the designer