Time Collectors
- Designer: Mareva Beauchamps & Florian Sirieix
- Publisher: Lubee Edition
- Players: 2-4
- Age: 10+
- Time: 30 minutes
- Played with review copy provided by publisher
The year is 8053. Time travel is possible now.
Time Collectors invites you to travel through time to combine dice, collect cards, and earn more points than your opponents.
- Roll your 4D10 dice and organize them to select the year to which you want to travel.
- Use time crystals to alter your results.
- Collect the riches of the past on your personal board.
- Collect achievements cards, and win with the most beautiful collection…of all time!
The deck of 50 “riches of the past” is shuffled; there are 5 different types of riches available. The time board is placed on the table, and one card is placed on each of the four card slots. Each player gets the dice in their color, a player screen, a collection board and one time crystal. Five achievement cards are chosen at random and placed on the board.
To start a round, all players roll their 4d10 and then arrange them behind their screen to generate a four digit number; this represents the year where they will travel. The dates are then revealed, and turn order cards are handed out, with number 1 going to the highest year showing, then number 2 to the next highest year… However, if two players have the exact same number showing; each must pay a crystal if possible, and then all players must re-roll.
Now in turn order, players take turns. First, a player can choose to change the values on up to two of their dice. Each change requires a time crystal to be spent. You cannot change the order of your dice, just the value on them. Once the new number is set, the player places their pawn on the corresponding area of the board. If it is one of the exact key dates (1984, 3961, 6257 or 8053) it is placed on that specific year; otherwise it is placed on the range in which their year falls in.
If a player moves to the same date or range as another player, they have to give them a time crystal. If multiple players are there, only one gets a time crystal. If the active players have none, they get to move for free!
Now, if the player is in a date range, they can choose to spend a time crystal to discard the riches card in that range and replace it with the card from the top of the deck. This can be done as many times as a player has crystals. The player ends this phase by collecting the card above them. If the player is on the future space (greater than 8053), they earn 2 time crystals and then can discard any card on the board and replace it with the top card.
If the player is on a specific date, they are not allowed to spend time crystals to change cards; they do, however, get to collect both cards adjacent to this important date. If you are on 8053, you get the card to your left and you also get to take the future action of gaining 2 crystals and discarding one face up card.
The cards, when collected, are placed on the player board. Once put down, they cannot be moved. Note that there are two spaces on each board which require a specific type of card to be placed there. Additionally, some spaces have time crystal icons on them; when you place a card here, you gain a time crystal from the supply.
Before the turn ends, check to see if you have met the requirements for any of the achievement cards. You are allowed to collect one achievement card per turn. They will score points at the end of the game.
Continue playing until the end of a round when a player has 10 or more cards on their board; at this point the game ends and the game is scored.
- Wonders – score 3/7/12 points for 1/2/3 wonders on your board. Can score multiple groups.
- Plants – score 4 points per plant card so long as there is not another plant card orthogonally adjacent
- Animals – score -3/6/12/20 points for a group on 1/2/3/4 animal cards. Can score multiple groups.
- Minerals – score 0/8/16 for 1/2/3 different types of mineral cards in a group. Can score multiple groups.
- Knowledge – each card scores 2 points per criteria on the card.
- Achievements – score 2-5 points per achievement card gained (score on the card)
The player with the most points wins; ties broken in favor of the most time crystals left over.
My thoughts on the game
This little set collection game surprised me, and I’ve really had fun with my first few plays of it. I hadn’t heard of Lubee Edition prior to Spiel 2023, and I’ve liked both of the games from them (the other being Belladonna Bluff).
The manipulation of the d10 here is a neat mechanism, and there is a bit of strategy in play here. There are times that going first in turn order is most important – so that you can get the card you are really targeting. But, if the card you want isn’t at the top of the chart, you’ll need to have some crystals around to modify the dice to put you in the right time era. You can get some crystals from playing to the right spaces on your board, and sometimes it’s worth it to go to the way future just to pick up the card and the two crystals there.
The game does all of the usual things that I like in set collection games. There are rewards, obviously, for collecting sets. There are achievements (which change each game) that give bonuses for collecting things before anyone else.. The board in the game also adds a bit of spatial challenge as well as two of the types of cards have specific board requirements. The fact that a few of the spaces on the board also require certain types of cards forces you to plan ahead to make sure you get your locations right.
The artwork is nice and futuristic, and the icons on the cards and achievements are easy to understand. Really my only complaint with the components is that the d10 have a tendency to be easily bumped, so you have to be pretty careful with them as you arrange them (or be able to remember what you rolled/changed to so that you can reset the dice when they move around).
This has been great as a super filler, and at 20ish minutes, it will likely find its way to the game table a few more times this winter.
Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers
Mark Jackson (1 play): The initial appearance of the game looks meatier than it is… what with the time board and player boards. But the super filler game in the box was actually a lot of fun. I’d happily play again.
Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers
- I love it!
- I like it. Dale, Mark Jackson
- Neutral.
- Not for me…
