Do you know when the bee appeared? Do you know the release date of Star Wars or that of the creation of Facebook? If you don't know how to answer these questions, you don't have to give up, because you can learn them by playing Timeline and how you can find out by reading the review.
How many times during the school years we had to memorize the dates of discoveries, inventions and historical events and everything was complicated and boring. Now, thanks to Timeline, we can learn all these things while having fun.
Timeline is a card game, where it is purpose is to run out of cards in hand after placing them in the right chronological position.
What's in the box and how to play? | Review Timeline
Depending on the edition we buy, we can find a different number of cards. In the edition with the round box there are inside 55 cards, while in the one with the square box we find it 110.
To start playing, we must first switch from game setup:
- a every player 4 cards are dealt which must be kept with the hidden date down
- al center of the table gets on a card with the date facing up, visible to all
- the remaining cards in a pile to form the fishing deck, also these with the date facing down
Let's move on now to the game rules:
- during his turn the player chooses one of the 4 cards he has in front of him, he must place it next to the central card. More precisely, he will have to place it on his own left if you think the date is earlier to that of the initial card or to yours right if you think it is back.
- once his card has been placed, the player turns it face up showing the date. If he placed the card correctly, then he leaves it where he placed it with the date visible. If, on the other hand, he has placed the wrong card, the card is put aside and the player must draw a new one to put among his cards (obviously he must also keep this new card face down).
- the game continues like this, clockwise. The placements will gradually get more difficult, because the cards in the center will increase.
NB It can happen that two cards have the same date, in which case they are simply placed next to each other and you don't have to worry about their order.
Who win?
The match can to end in two ways:
- in the current round only one of the players places his last card correctly, he declares himself winner of the match
- during the same round more players their cards run out, in this case we proceed as follows: whoever is left with cards is eliminated from the game, while those who have run out of cards receive one each. The game continues with the standard rules, until a player places his last card and is declared the winner.
Game Considerations | Review Timeline
Timeline is a game fast, enjoyable and fun. It is suitable for playing when you want to play something, but you don't have much time.
I titled the article "learning while having fun", because I find that this game can be useful for learning new notions and training on memorizing dates for those who still go to school. The Timeline series, because it can be defined as such, is made up of various editions that deal with different topics, some of which are: cinema and music, inventions, events, historical events. Then there is the classic version (of which I put the photo at the opening of the article) which contains a little bit of all the themes.
A small clarification regarding the table of pros and cons that you find at the bottom of the article, you will see written in both parts longevity, this because? I'll explain it immediately:
- PRO: it is possible to mix several versions, this allows you to give that touch of novelty to the game at each game. Putting the cards back in the right box is simple, because the cards are the color of the box they are contained in.
- AGAINST: if you always use the usual version of the game you risk, over time, learning most of the dates by heart or at least remembering the reasoning that led us to place it in the right order and this will make the games boring in the long run. Maybe it's not the best game for those with a good memory.
Technical details
- Name: Timeline
- Creator: Frederick Henry
- Spanish distribution: Asmodee Spain
- Players: 2-6
- Age: 8+
- Duration: 15 minutes
- Price: Round box version with 55 cards: € 9,90 Square box version with 110 cards: € 16,90
Points in favor
- Longevity
- Resistant papers
- Not bulky, great to carry around during some outings
Points against
- Longevity
