Players: 2-4 (can be played solo with downloadable Chronobot or expansions)
Ages: 15+
Official Playtime: 30 minutes per player (I would say it is a bit longer)
Released: 2017
Publisher: Mindclash Games
Official Link: here. 
BGG Link: here.

Reviewed by Edward.

👉Read other Game Reviews here.

Disclosure and foreword

1. The creators of "Anachrony" were kind to send a copy of the "Anachrony: Essentials Edition," but the creators do not have any influence over the contents of this review. The review includes my opinions based on my personal experience. Find the Review Policy here.

2. I try to be as objective as possible, but at the end, the review contains my opinions that you might disagree with. If you do, let us know in the comments below.

3. My Experience Anachrony: I have played the game in multiple sittings— as two, three, and four players.

4. The game can be played in solo mode with expansions or downloadable Chronobot. However, the review does not account for this mode. 

5. The review does not teach how to play the game. This review does not fully detail all mechanics or teach how to play the game. It looks at the most important aspects, elements, and mechanics, providing an overall idea of the game's value so you can evaluate whether the game might be a good fit for you.

6. Article includes our original images. If you like to use them in your blog or socials, use attribution by providing a link to this article and "Joyful Games" as the image's creator.

Let's Find Out How Good And Fun "Anachrony" is!

Anachrony from Mindclash Games was released in 2017, so it is not the most recent game out there. So, you might be wondering if it competes with the newer, more "shinier" games released in recent years. Is it worth your time?

Well, let's find out! Let's explore Anachrony, its gameplay, and whether it is a good choice for you.

Anachrony, Explained to a 10-Year-Old

Unless you have a really patient and detail-oriented child, Anachrony might be a bit too complex for most 10-year old's, but that being said:

The goal of Anachrony is to get the most points until the end of the game. That part is simple! Otherwise, it is a pretty complicated game. However, its complexity comes with a fun, engaging, and rewarding gameplay. 

In this futuristic worker-placement board game, you'll be taking loans from your future self, and then repaying it in the past. All the while expanding your work force that will do quite the handful of different tasks. Oh, and let's not forget managing your resources, and Mech-suits which are needed for sending your workers out in the world to do the really important tasks.

Oh, and let's not forget the millions of symbols you'll need to learn because everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is coded in symbols. 

Skill Level - How Difficult Is it to Learn Anachrony?

Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5

• The game has many specific rules and situational sub-rules.
• It relies heavily on symbols, so you will need to familiarize with a lot of them. And on top of that, some symbol combinations are not self explanatory, and might need the help of internet for understanding them.
• I read the rulebook and watched two how-to-play and one playthrough video, but it still resulted in some overlooked rules when playing it for the first time.
• Despite nuanced rules, most of its elements are used frequently, and you are familiar with most symbols and mechanics halfway through your first game.
• Given the high use of symbols, it is a fairly difficult game to learn and teach, but becomes easy to play when getting the hang of it.
• Overall, the game has many nuances, making it difficult to learn & teach but not difficult to play (after a while, that is). So, I give it a complexity rating of 4.5/5 (higher means it is more complex).

Related: Methods for Learning Complicated Board Games.

Social Interactivity of Anachrony

Social Rating: 3/5

In Anachrony, no rules require direct interaction with each other. Each player has their player board, but the most significant action happens on the joint playing board and with joint card decks. When performing an action on the main board, you are taking up that particular space that another player cannot use (with some exceptions). This means that the next player will need to pay a penalty to perform the same action, or the particular action will be inaccessible.

You can also freely see other players' available mechs and resources, which can provide valuable information about your next move.

So, at the very least, you'll need to watch what other players are doing on the board to strategize your next moves.

Overall, the gameplay requires average social interactions, which can be good or bad, depending on how you view it.

Best Number of Players

Anachrony is best played with 3 Players.

As with most Eurogame-type board games, more players usually result in more competition, an increased need for strategy, and more fun overall. However, although the game introduces some mitigating rules for playthroughs for all possible player configurations (2, 3, or 4), its length still heavily revolves around player count.

So, while 4-player games are as fun as with 3 players, they also tend to be pretty long, especially if a player or two tend to get analysis paralysis. 

And two player games tend to provide players with more options, resulting in less suspense games (compared to 2- and 4 player games).

That being said, while I enjoyed 3-player games the most, it still plays great with two- and four-players. So, don't let this scare you from trying the game if you have one or three gaming partners!  

P.S. Yes, with the downloadable Chronobot companion or expansions, the game is also playable solo. However, the base game does not include this option, and I have not played it in solo mode, so this section only accounts for 2, 3, or 4-player games.

What Did I Enjoy the Most About Anachrony?

Clever Mechanics, Like:

• Borrowing from future self with time travel mechanism.
• Clever worker placement mechanics (i.e., use of Mechs, sleep/awake, bonuses for each worker type, etc.)
• Variety of possible actions aligning with the theme.
• Late-game mechanics (after the meteor crash) providing a sense of urgency.

Language Friendly

Of course, at least one member of your group will need to know the appropriate language to learn the rules, but after that, everything, except minor elements and specific cards, is described as symbols.

So, after learning the core rules and symbols, you can play it without knowing the game's printed language.

Playing Modes

Anachrony is an asymmetrical game (each player having slightly different bonuses). While playing with A side of player boards reduces the asymmetry, playing with B board, further increases it.

The game has also included Optional rules, increasing asymmetry and randomness and making individual playthroughs more unique. Learn more about this in the "Asymmetry & Optional Rules" section.

Functional Design

Art is obviously subjective, but objectively, Anachrony aligns the art style with its time-traveling theme of a futuristic, sci-fi civilization slowly and knowingly moving towards a collapse.

However, the game is not the most beautiful game with the most impressive components compared to other similarly priced board games; it is functionally well-designed. Read more about the "Components and Art of Anachrony" section.

Complete Package

The Essentials edition box comes with quality materials, tokens, and cards and plenty of plastic bags to organize them. Yes, Anachrony can be expanded with several expansions, but the base game feels complete. So you don't feel the need to expand it. But you have the option to expand it if you want it.

Includes Many Plastic Bags

Last, and least, the box includes many plastic bags for organization. I put this last because it is a minor thing, but it still is a welcome addition. Many big box games "forget" to do this, making it hell to organize everything. Of course, you could buy these bags yourself, but it's better if you don't have to. 

To recap, key highlights of Anachrony

• Thematic gameplay;
• Clever use of worker-placement mechanics;
• Clever use of resources and their management;
• Language friendly;
• Highly strategic;
• Packed game with quality materials.

What Could Be Better?

Overall, it is an excellent game, but nothing is perfect, including Anachrony. So, let's find out some areas for improvement:

Rulebook

Overall, the rulebook is good and explains the rules well, but I would have liked some rules to be laid out in separate sections. We found ourselves spending a while finding where the specific rule is mentioned. Having a rules reference book laying out specific terms and definitions in alphabetic order would have been amazing. 

Some Mechanics Could Have More Weight

Anachrony introduces many amazing mechanics, but some of them feel a bit undervalued or underused.

For example, I would like to have seen a bigger emphasis in achievements. Each achievement is worth only 3 points, having a marginal emphasis on total points. So, in our playthroughs, they were an afterthought at best. Yes, in one game, achievements were the deciding factor in who was the winner, but still, even then, it was not on purpose; it just happened.

And the time jumping mechanism is great, but the only way to use it to gain points, comes with strings attached. Getting it right is annoyingly difficult, and is worth your time only in very specific situations, because there are so many better ways of getting points. Which is a shame, because the basis of the mechanism is clever and fun, and it is one of central mechanisms of the game's lore. 

Overuse of Symbols

While symbols are a great way of reducing the language barrier and can make the game faster (a symbol can indeed be used to replace a lengthy sentence), this also makes it more difficult to remember all symbols.

So, I think it would be better to add a small description text next to the symbols, like it's in other games, like Terraforming Mars. That would make the experience more convenient and accessible to newer players.

Initial Setup is a Nightmare

Setting up the first playthrough was a challenge for me. The game relies heavily on cut-out tiles, and there are sooo many types of them, and they are printed not in a particularly logical order (not for the players, at least). Although the instruction book gives good directions on what goes where the many types of resources and tokens had us setting up the first game for more than an hour. That being said, setting up the next game was a breeze.

Many, Many Cut-Out Tiles

Most of the game's elements are in cut-out tile form (many resources, buildings, mega projects, workers, and more), with only a small portion in card format.

I understand that for some, this approach might actually be a bonus, but I would have rather seen more elements printed out as cards (most notably, buildings and super projects), as it would have been easier to store and organize them.

 

Replayability of Anachrony

Rating: 4/5

Anachrony offers plenty of choices—a multitude of possible actions, four different building types, four civilizations with unique bonuses, and optional rules to mix up the gameplay if you want to.

These choices and options allow you to try out many different strategies. I would say you can utilize different play styles to keep it fresh for at least the first ten games.

Also, the game introduces some randomness with the super projects, building-, resource-, and worker generation each round, so players will need to adapt their actions depending on the available buildings and resources.

In addition, Anachrony has three major expansions that introduce new mechanics and gameplay elements, so if you are willing to pay extra, you can increase its replayability even more. However, I have yet to play any of the expansions, so at this time, I cannot comment on how good any of them are.

Overall, Anachrony: Essentials Edition receives a replayability rating of 4/5.

Asymmetry & Optional Rules

Anachrony by design is an asymmetric game meaning that every player will get some sort of bonuses and disadvantages compared to other players.

To keep it simple - each player picks their civilization, from the 4 possible options. Each civilization comes with a dual sided path board, and with two possible leaders. Each side of the Path Board has its own starting resources, and its unique evacuation conditions. Also, each leader has its ongoing bonus. 

Then, on top of that - each civilization's player boards have two sides. The A side is identical for all civilizations, but B side has its own unique properties, deepening the asymmetrical aspects even further. And there are some other optional rules, slightly mixing up the gameplay.

Overall, the game has great asymmetrical mechanisms allowing the players to change strategies depending on their bonuses. When using all of the asymmetrical elements (Player B side, random starting elements, Leader bonuses), each Civilization really felt different, which is a good thing.

Yes, some civilizations felt a bit stronger me (Path of Progress and Path of Salvation), but that just might be because they better fit my playstyle. In any way, personally I enjoyed the asymmetry, and it made me want to try different civilization combinations with different strategies.

Personal Take: Time Traveling Mechanism

One of the spotlight mechanisms in Anachrony is time travel, allowing you to borrow resources from your future self. Of course, this debt need to be repaid, or it will cause a time anomaly causing a disruption in your player board.

On top of that, the timeline tokens can be used in A or B sides. The other side comes with additional bonuses and disadvantages when properly used unlocking even deeper layers of strategy.

However I would have liked to see a bit more use of this mechanic and more variety of bonuses and disadvantages on the B side, I still think the time travel is a neat addition to the gameplay that perfectly aligns with the game's theme.

The only thing I would have wanted is to have some additional actions or mechanisms requiring you to time travel because I found that our group used this mechanic relatively rarely.

Components and Art of Anachrony

Components

The Essentials Edition of Anachrony includes a two-sided playing board, four player boards with four path boards, eight hero cards (two for each player), three custom rolling dice, a deck of playing cards, more than 100 plastic resource tokens, a plethora of cut-out tokens, and more. So, you can easily say it is a packed game.

You'll also receive plenty of plastic zip-lock bags, allowing you to conveniently organize and store all the elements straight out of the box.

All in all Anachrony Essential Edition is a well-packed game for its price.

P.S. Although the Essential Edition does not include fancy miniatures or metal/wood tokens, the publisher offers additional accessories, like Mech figures and upgraded resource tokens, if you are willing to spend extra.

Art and Design

The game is illustrated in a futuristic, sci-fi style with a grim theme. This makes sense, as the core of its lore is about a futuristic time-traveling society waiting for a meteor cataclysm and fighting against its civilization's collapse.

The art is not the best in the industry compared to some other thematically similar and different board games. Some elements, like the cards, building tokens, and mega projects, could be improved, and I would like to see some textual explanations of some of the game's elements.

That being said, the game looks good, its style fits the theme, and the symbols make sense after you get the hang of it, so overall, it is a well-illustrated and designed game.

Value & Final Rating of Anachrony: Essential Edition

Before wrapping up the review, I wanted to thank the Mind Clash Games team for sending me the Essentials Edition for review. It was a blast playing and reviewing it! But for this review to be honest and useful for you - the reader, I will try to wrap this up by imagining that I paid for the game in full.

The lowest price (with shipping) I found for a copy of the Essential Edition was 65 Euro (70 USD), which I will use when writing my final thoughts about the game and its value.

Anachrony: Value For Money

Rating: 4.5/5

Anachrony is not among the most popular and commonly sold board games, but it is still accessible worldwide—on its own website, Amazon, and other third-party e-stores and retail stores, so its price varies. As with most things, given the price you can get it for, its value changes accordingly, but for this review, I am using 70 USD as a reference price.

The game includes a great amount of elements, especially a ton of cut-outs; it is well illustrated, the gameplay is amazing, it has optional rules and it has a good replay value, so on paper, it has it all. But how good of a value is it for the price?

Yes, the game does not include "shiny" elements like mini-figures or wood and metal tokens, but at 70 USD, it brings a lot to the table (pun intended). 

Considering the polished mechanics, fun gameplay, and many tokens, it is a great value game.

Final Rating and To Who Would I Recommend Anachrony?

Final Rating: 4.5/5

Although it was released in 2017, I learned about Anachrony just recently. It is a relatively unknown game (in the mainstream community, that is), which is surprising and not surprising for me at the same time.

On the one hand, it is an excellent game with fantastic gameplay, but it is also one of the more heavy (i.e., complex) games, so I can understand it is not for everyone.

In short, it is an easy recommendation for seasoned- and occasional board gamers who have someone to teach them the game. But it may be too much for casual people who enjoy quick and easy board games.

Most likely, Anachrony is not for you if:

• You strictly enjoy laid-back games with straightforward rules;
• You dislike competitive games;
• You don't like learning symbols;
• You enjoy only fast-paced games;
• You just hate the sci-fi theme;
• You want a solo experience out of the box.

Otherwise, Anachrony is an excellent choice for players:

• Who are willing to dive deep into the mechanics and nuances of rules;
• Who enjoy having a plethora of possible actions;
• Who enjoy mixing worker placement and engine-building mechanics;
• Who like to plan 3-5 steps ahead;
• Who enjoy a mental challenge;
• Who like the sci-fi and time travel theme?

The heavy use of symbols, difficult setup, and lack of a rule reference book take some minor points away from receiving the perfect score. However, overall, it receives a near-perfect 4.5/5 because it is a fantastic game with robust mechanics, good replay value, a thematic art style, and good-quality components.

In the meantime, feel free to explore what Joyful Games has to offer - from other board game reviews to board game tips to fun board and card games. 

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