THIS VERSION OF THE FAQ IS FOR THE v1.9 (and earlier) version of the Ancient Games. The 2.0 (and later) version will be added soon.
The login system is different. What is going on?
I decided to move away from Google Play Games because the service is unreliable and lacks the flexibility needed to take my Ancient Games to the next level. The new system uses GameSparks, is pretty fast and doesn't rely on social networks anymore. It also provides the advantage of allowing cross-platform gameplay
Google Play Games is a good, free service that is great to start, but it is very limited, buggy and slow. Before the update, if you had an issue, I couldn't access your game account to try and fix it. Now, I have access* to that data and I can be way more helpful.
*See Privacy Policy
What about my saved game?
It is not lost. After you create an account with the new system, you'll be able to login one last time to Google Play Games. That will allow the game to import your progress, your collection, your purchases, etc. You'll then be able to use this account on all versions of the games. A year after the release of the Update 1.5, the old accounts will be deleted and you won't be able to import your saved games any more.
How do I create an account?
Simply type an email adress (doesn't have to be a real one, but you won't be able to reset your password) and a password. The account will be created automatically !
Can’t find my friends. Where are they?
Since I don’t use Google anymore, I can’t load your friend list but you can find them again pretty easily. After both you and your friend have created an account using the new system, click on the Friends button (bottom left corner of the main menu). Type the display name chosen by your friend, click on the Add button and that’s it.
If he is logged in and not in anonymous mode, your friend will receive a friend request. If he doesn’t (not online when you sent it), he simply needs to check his pending invitations and accept yours. After that, simply click on the “Invite” button next to your friend’s name to challenge him.
I bought a few bonuses (improved luck in reward chests for example), is it lost?
The bonus system is being retired, but if you had a few charges left, they will be converted into free Crates (previously known as Victory Chests).
Can I use the same account in all Ancient Games?
Yes! And I strongly recommend it. Currencies (Gold, Gems, Stars) and a few systems are shared accross all games.
Why do you need my email to register me?
I need it to send you a new password if you loose yours. You will not receive unwanted emails from me.
What languages are supported?
The game is available in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish and German thanks to generous players. If you want to help spread the game to even more people, you can contact me and I'll send you a file to translate.
If the translation is good, I'll gift you every board from the store (present and future), the ad-free version of the game and a nice pile of gold coins. You'll also get a 15 Crates.
In addition, every time a language is added that way, every player will get a boost (3% more gold and exp). It is cumulative so thanks to Giuseppe d'Addio, Stéphano Osório, Ali Hussein Al-Jumah, Sebastian Batti and Manfred Michalitza, , everyone gets 15% more gold coins and experience!
What is an Anonymous session?
Players often complained that they could not play offline or without being registered. So I added a game mode that allows them to play without an account or internet connexion. It is limited to solo games, challenge games and local games. Multiplayer, Campaign, Daily Quests, progression, etc, are not available in Anonymous mode, because they require internet to work.
Can I access my collections in anonymous mode?
Yes and no. Since the game doesn't know who you are, it cannot import your collections. But if you have unlocked the Steampunk Board (for example) and want to use it in anonymous mode, you simply need to login once, set said board as active and it will stay available even when not logged-in.
Could you add a way to win the store boards by playing instead of cash only?
No. I am not being greedy, but all the game is free. No gameplay is hidden behind a paywall or a time-gate. You can unlock a lot of boards by simply playing. The store (and at lesser extent, the ads) are necessary to keep making games that are free-to-play. Hundreds of hours go into making a game and those hours are not free. Trust me when I say the current business model barely covers half of what I'd need to work in good conditions. Thankfully, I love making these games ;)
The game size got smaller but there are lot more boards than before. How?
Instead of storing the boards on your device (1 or 2 Mb each), they are now stored online. Since you can only have one active board at a time, it made no sense having them all clutter your memory. They'll be downloaded when you need them. The dark and light basic boards and the active board will still be saved locally.
What are the Board Variants?
Most boards have a custom 3D model and a set of materials bring them to life. Variants reuse the 3D model but mix it with other materials. For example, the Greek Board is inspired by a type of Greek vase painting : the red-figure pottery. It looks great, but what if I chose the black-figure pottery? Or the white-ground pottery? Or simply a basic paintless pottery? This is the concept. So each board now has 3 variants in addition to the original.
How do I unlock those variants?
Once you have obtained the original board, its variants are automatically added to the Crates (previously known as Victory Chests). When you open a Crate, you have a chance to loot one of the available variants. After the release of XII Scripta, you will be able to purchase those variant with gold coins.
How do I get the Crates?
You win one after each victory. You can also buy them for gold coins in the store. To open a Crate, just click on the icon next to the amount of available Crates in the top-right corner of the main menu.
So lootboxes?
Yes and no. The basic idea is the same. You have a chance of getting something random from a box. But they are not meant to be a bottomless pit of despair or to make you spend unholy amounts of cash.
Each Crate starts with a 30% chance of looting something. If you are unlucky, you get 50 gold coins. The next Crate you open will have 35% chance of being lucky. And so on until you get something or you reach 100% (which will guarantee loot in the next Crate).
After a lucky Crate, you go back to 30% and the cycle restarts. You can also buy permanent luck boosts. They add 5% each to the base chances for ever.
There are also no duplicates. If you loot something, it is removed from the loot table. Meaning that the list becomes ever smaller (until you unlock another original board and / or I add new content)
Crates can contain boards, avatars, dice, and pawns.
What are Daily Quests?
Every day, you will have 3 quests : PvP, Challenge, Other.
The PvP Quest will have you play against random players and / or friends.
The Challenge Quest will change every day, cycling though each of the eight existing Challenges.
The Other Quest will be a quest that you can accomplish while working on the two others. Right now, there is only one (take 30 games pieces out of the board), but I will add more in future updates. Suggestions are welcome.
If you complete a quest, you'll get gold coins and experience points. They are reset at midnight UTC (a timer is present in-game to tell you how much time you have left).
What about the Campaign?
The Campaign is my take on rated PvP. The map will help you follow your progression. Each level is represented by a city. Every time you win a random PvP game, you get a Star. When you loose, you loose a Star. You need 3 Stars to complete a city and move on to the next one. You'll be paired with players that are on the same city as you when possible.
A Season lasts around four months. The reward is a board inspired by the theme of the Season : Season 1's theme is Fantasy so you'll be able to win the Mage's Board (and get the Elven, Dwarven and Orcish Boards from the store). It will "cost" 30 Stars, the amount required to reach the final city.
You can't win Stars or progress in the Campaign if you play against a friend. Unless you are randomly paired together by the matchmaking system, in which case, he or she counts as a random challenger. Random matches only use 5 pawns by players (instead of 7) in order to shorten the length of time required.
What if I can't finish a Campaign?
At the beginning of each Season, the map is reset but you keep the Stars you unlocked. You will still need 30 wins to reach the final city, but you can buy the seasonal board (or the previous ones) as soon as you have 30 Stars.
Once you reach the final city, you can't loose Stars anymore, but you won't be guaranteed one in case of victory. Those extra Stars can be used to buy older seasonal boards or get a head-start on the next.
Can I keep earning experience points after I reach Level 20?
You can. There is no hard limit on the amounts of levels you can unlock. Currently you only get rewards until Level 20 but this will change when new Ancient Games are released. Each game in the collection adds 5 levels and a board. Senet & Ur are already in-game (Level 15 & 20). The levels and boards for XII Scripta (Level 5) and Mancala (Level 10) are also unlockable in the live game so no new rewards will be added when they are released. But every other game will add 5 levels and a board that looks like a real-life artifact.
Why are there multiple rulesets (for Royal Game of Ur)?
History is dangerous, most things don't survive it. With games this old, it is rare to have a full ruleset. Archeologists and specialists have proposed multiple reconstructions of those rules and players have adopted one or the other as the "real one".
I discovered the Royal Game of Ur before I had the chance to learn about Professor Finkel's work so I learned to play the game with another ruleset (from Damian Walker). Some players have complained (some more politely than others) about the fact that I didn't use Pr. Finkel's rules. Other players were happy that I chose what they considered the real rules.
So in the end, I decided to add both. Go to Options and choose between "Walker" and "Finkel".
In multiplayer, you will be paired with players that have chosen the same ruleset as you. You can change at any time.
Is this real 3D?
Yes and no. All the models you see are real 3D models that I design and texturize myself. I pre-render them and export the result in a 2D file that you see when you play? Why? I love gorgeous looking games, but these can be heavy on low-end devices (which the vast majority of players use) and it didn't seem fair to prevent them from playing because they couldn't afford / don't want better devices. My Ancient Games are designed to run on most devices. Since it is pre-rendered, the quality does not affect the performances much.
What happened to the 3D dice?
In addition to the fact that it was not efficient enough, I discovered a few issues that allowed players to take advantage of it. I decided to disable it while I improve it. It will come back. In the meantime, you can use the 2D dice.
How many Ancient Games are planned?
For now, Senet and the Royal Game of Ur are available to play. Once I am done updating those two games to 1.5, I'll release XII Scripta, a roman game.
Mancala, Nine Men's Morris are mostly done. Their development was slowed down by major issues with their respective AIs.
Two other games are planned after that. After those 7 games are live, I'll take a break to focus on a bigger project, before coming back with a new batch of Ancient Games.
Are the games available on different platforms?
Currently, the games are only available on Google Play. But they are coming to the App Store and the Windows Store really soon!