Review: Stone Age:: Review as a Gateway Game

Review: Stone Age:: Review as a Gateway Game: "

by Jefforama

Stone Age: Review as a Gateway Game



Stone Age is often discussed as a 'next step' game, something to try out once you get bored of Catan or Ticket to Ride. I don't particularly love Catan, but I really like Stone Age. This review considers whether Stone Age can play the role of a gateway game. To be clear, I love this game, but here I discuss only its ability to serve as a gateway game. Ultimately, I believe that Stone Age does not make a great gateway game.



Gateway Musts:



Fun: Check. I think Stone Age is tons of fun. But I'm not sure that it would be that fun for the first-time gamer. There are a few things that might keep it from being fun for new gamers. First, the mechanics are likely going to be unfamiliar to new players. I think that gateway games should have mechanics are on the simple side. In Stone Age, they are fairly simple, just not gateway simple. Second, and in a similar vein, it's a bit complex for a gateway game. Again, as gamers' games go, Stone Age is not extremely complex, but for the uninitiated, figuring out how to win using a large number of multi-step scoring methods might be too much to ask. Third, it takes too long. I like the length of the game, but a game that is on the longer side may detract from the fun factor for newbies. Gateway games should leave the new player wanting more after just whetting their appetite.



All that said, Stone Age is a really fun game. If a new player can get over those three hurdles, it will be a ton of fun for them.



Easy to learn: Check-minus. As mentioned above, I just don't think Stone Age is easy enough to learn for a player who has not played another Eurogame. Even a small amount of gaming experience will eliminate this problem, but gateway games should be easily playable by almost anyone.



Strategy: Check-plus. Stone Age has great strategy. Like many of my favorite games, and some good gateway games, it allows you to build your own strategy from many possible paths to victory. Here, the strategy may come close to presenting too many possibilities for the new player, but I don't think so. Once a player understands the end-game scoring, they should have a good sense for the available strategies.



Theme: Check-plus. You'll never get confused into thinking that you're actually in the stone age, but I find the Stone Age theme to be very well implemented. Little touches add to the theme, like the mating hut where two meeples enter and three exit. Both hilarious and thematic!



As the game goes on, it actually feels like you're building something--not anything too complex, but hey, it's the stone age, not the renaissance!



Good components and nice looking: Check-plus-plus. The board art is great. The meeples are great. The cards and tiles are very nice. All of this is sure to draw players in.



Other things to consider:



Scaling: It works great with 2, 3, or 4 players. It takes a bit longer with four, but that's ok. This is a rare gem that works well with the full range of numbers of players.



Overall as a gateway game: Stone Age is a workable gateway game if the new player is predisposed to liking complex boardgames and is probably going to get into them whatever game they play first. If you're really trying to sell somebody on the idea of gaming, I'd start with something faster and easier to learn, and then work up to Stone Age."