7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat
What Ancients Begat is a complete (~15 hour) game of family generations surviving the rise of western civilization. Survival is the ultimate goal. The sub-goals, you choose, build their story.Experience an abstract telling of the lives of our earliest recorded ancestors.
Developer
Publisher
Release
June 7, 2013
13 years and 59 days ago
Steam Reviews
Mixed770 reviews53.8%
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Game contextLatest: IGF Team
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|---|---|---|
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Updated: Jul 11, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released. |
Media
11 itemsAbout the Game
What Ancients Begat is a complete (~15 hour) game of family generations surviving the rise of western civilization. Survival is the ultimate goal. The sub-goals, you choose, build their story.
Experience an abstract telling of the lives of our earliest recorded ancestors. Part board game, part machine, part nod to computer games of yore, it begins with a simple mechanic. Spend tokens to traverse the wheel of life. Earn tokens by tempting the jaws of death. Then, like layers upon a pearl, game play expands, introducing fresh tactics and strategies which, turn by turn, drive a sophisticated, emergent narrative. How you play defines the lives of one family's generations through the changing ages.
An enormous tableau of ancient western culture awaits your exploration:
Experience an abstract telling of the lives of our earliest recorded ancestors. Part board game, part machine, part nod to computer games of yore, it begins with a simple mechanic. Spend tokens to traverse the wheel of life. Earn tokens by tempting the jaws of death. Then, like layers upon a pearl, game play expands, introducing fresh tactics and strategies which, turn by turn, drive a sophisticated, emergent narrative. How you play defines the lives of one family's generations through the changing ages.
An enormous tableau of ancient western culture awaits your exploration:
- Core Mechanic - Back and forth tactics, across four social boundaries, to win legend points.
- Family Strategy - Romance. Raise children. Rite of Passage.
- Family Drama - Tales in the life. Sibling rivalry. Failed branches. Graveyard of ancestry.
- Grand Legends - Earned over generations, they strengthen your family: Discoveries and Invention. Social Advancement. Heroics.
- Ruling Games - City Administration. Warring Kingdoms. Imperial Senate.
- The Challenges of an Age - Special for each social level. Survive and overcome, to enter a new age.
