Through the Ages

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 2,361 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 31.6h for positive, 12.4h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (75.6% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

Story milestones aren't labeled yet; all achievements are listed below.

All achievements (124)

• Great Work Complete a wonder. 100%
• Age of Discoveries Colonize territory. 97%
• Through the Ages Finish your first game. 92%
• Historical Inevitability Change your government peacefully. 91%
• Significant Civilization Score more points than other players when evaluating you and your rival. 90%
• Modern Urbanistic Build an Age III urban building. 86%
• Historical Turning Point Change your government by revolution. 83%
• Path of Glory Win a game. 79%
• First Bruises Fail to defend against an aggression. 79%
• Local Bullying Play a successful aggression. 78%
• First Wounds Lose a war. 74%
• Global Warmongering Declare and win a war. 74%
• Good Job Complete the tutorial. 73%
• Challenge Accepted Look at he achievement list in the main menu. 72%
• Deal! Propose a pact that another player accepts. 68%
• White Trophy Win a white or green difficulty challenge. 51%
• Meet and Greet Start an online game. 44%
• Wunderbar! Complete a wonder from the expansion. 39%
• Thank and Leave Finish an online game. 38%
• Chieftain Reach rank 2 online. 38%
• All the Options Win online or custom game with both digital and board game rules. 36%
• Traitor! Make an attack that cancels a pact between you and your rival. 35%
• One-Day Civilization Finish an online game within 24 hours. 35%
• All the Numbers Win online or custom game with two, three and four players. 35%
• Pulling the Strings Prepare 300 events. 29%
• Action Player Play 333 action cards. 29%
• Wonder Builder Complete 100 wonders. 28%
• Great Game Score at least 300 culture in a game. (Feats cannot be achieved in most challenges.) 28%
• Rule and Conquer Win an online game. 27%
• Great Inventor Develop 500 technologies. 26%
• Great Explorer Colonize 80 territories. 26%
• Negotiator Conclude 40 pacts. 26%
• Lost a Battle, Win the Game Win an online or custom game in which you lost at least one war and one aggression. 23%
• 20th Century Stigmas Initiate three wars (two of them real). Win the game. 23%
• Baron Reach rank 5 online. 22%
• Yellow Trophy Win a yellow or orange difficulty challenge. 20%
• Make Love, not War Increase population 700 times. 20%
• Big Domination Score a domination of 111 or more in a challenge. 19%
• Warmonger Lead 60 successful aggressions. 18%
• Warlord Win war with a total strength advantage of 666. 15%
• Giant of Art Win a game with a culture rating of 30 or more. 14%
• Earl Reach rank 10 online. 13%
• Devoted Leader Accomplish all other Devotion achievements. 13%
• Wonderful Victories Win games with all the base game wonders. 12%
• Not Even Close Win a game by at least 150 culture points. 11%
• Shaken, Not Stirred Play a successful aggression right after you look at the military cards of the target player. 11%
• Online Hat Trick Win 3 online games in a row. 11%
• The Best Mix Win a mixed game in which you have exactly two leaders and two wonders from both the expansion and the base game. 10%
• Swords versus Machine guns Win a war against Age III units using only Age A or I units. 10%
• Exciting Finish Win a three- or four-player custom or online game, despite being last before final event evaluation. 10%
• American Dream Democracy. Hamburgers. Superbowl. Victory! 9.7%
• Duke Reach rank 15 online. 9.5%
• Italian Classic Be a medieval naval power. Make a famous artist paint a famous ceiling. Win with style. 9.4%
• New Flavors Win a game in which, for each age, you have a wonder and a leader from the expanion. 9.0%
• Tactical Victories Win wars with every base game tactic. 8.6%
• Multitasking Have at least five or more online games going at the same time. 8.1%
• Green Collection Win all original white and green difficulty challenges. 7.7%
• Total War Win a war with a strength advantage of 50 or more. 7.5%
• Red Trophy Win a red or purple difficulty challenge. 7.4%
• Prince Reach rank 20 online. 7.4%
• Leadership Victories Win games with every base game leader. 7.3%
• Red Cross Benefactor Score 36 or more points for building and completing the Red Cross wonder. 7.1%
• Jack of All Trades Finish at least online game for each setting: Base Game, Expansion, and Random Mix. 7.1%
• The Name is Alexander Find two ways to pay tribute to Alexander the Great ... and one to Alexandre Dumas. Win that game. 6.7%
• Great Great Britain A great British artist. A great British statesman. The biggest commonwealth. Victory. A cup of tea. 6.3%
• Round Table Finish a pass & play game. 6.1%
• Web of Civilizations Finish at least 50 games online. 6.1%
• Asian Horde Choose a leader. Fortify your territory. Raid your neighbours. Win. 6.1%
• King Reach rank 25 online. 6.0%
• Completely Wonderful Win games with all the wonders from the base game and the expansion. 5.8%
• Whatever the Cost Win a Hybrid War that causes you to have an uprising. 5.4%
• Awesome Domination Score a domination of 222 or more in a challenge. 5.0%
• Girl Power Win a game in which you have four leaders, all women. 5.0%
• Hooray for Hollywood! Score 50 or more points when completing the Hollywood wonder. 4.9%
• Emperor Reach rank 30 online. 4.8%
• Russian Railroads Be Russian. Be Soviet. Be Trans-Siberian. Win that game. 4.5%
• Two-Headed Hat Trick Win 6 online games in a row. 4.4%
• Feared Leader Defeat at least 20 different players online. 4.4%
• Great Space Journey Score 40 or more points when completing Space Flight wonder. 4.2%
• Competely Leaderful Win games with every leader from the base game and the expansion. 4.1%
• Awesome Internet Scored 45 or more points when completing the Internet wonder. 3.8%
• Revolutionary Frenchmen Utilize a French visisonary, a French revolutionary, and a French genius. Win that game. 3.7%
• Impact of India A beautiful monument, a famous leader ... and an impressive population! Oh... and victory. 3.7%
• Orange Collection Win all original yellow and orange difficulty challenges. 3.6%
• Expansion Mastery Win 30 online games with Expansion or Random Mix settings. 3.6%
• Wonders of the World Build 7 wonders in a single game. 3.3%
• Practical Project Score 40 or more points for completing the Manhattan Project and for using it in wars in one game. 3.3%
• Barbarian Win a game where your culture rating was zero all the time. 3.3%
• America Through the Ages Build one native, one imported, and one truly prestigious American wonder. Win the game. 3.2%
• Giant of Science Win a game with science rating of 30 or more. 3.0%
• Purple Collection Win all original red and purple difficulty challenges. 2.6%
• Colonial Superpower During one game, score 50 culture and gain 50 resources for your colonies. 2.5%
• German Culture Let three German leaders contribute to your victorious cultural heritage. 2.5%
• Story of Medicine Invent medicine. Invent a great diagnostic machine. Heal everyone. And still manage to win. 2.4%
• Supersized Fast Food Score 35 or more points for completing the Fast Food Chains wonder. 2.2%
• Cradle of Humanity An ancient ruler. An industrial wonder. A modern activist. All from the same continent. Victory. 2.2%
• Complete Green Collection Win all white and green difficulty challenges. 2.1%
• Completely Artful (of War) Win wars with every tactic. Do not forget about Sun Tzu. 2.1%
• Oh, My Wise Advisors! Get five different warnings on a single attempt to end a turn. 2.1%
• Dominant Empire Score 45 points when completing the Empire State Building wonder. 2.0%
• Great Historian Accomplish all Historical Triplets achievements from the base game. 1.9%
• Giant of Economy Win a game with combined food and resources production of 50 or more. 1.9%
• Story of an Apple Grow two hanging apples. Let one inspire a theory. Take a bite from the other and make it a symbol. Win. 1.7%
• Total Domination Score a domination of 2222 or more in original challenges. 1.6%
• Boom, Boom, BOOM!!! Arm your peasants with firearms. Make a boom. Make an ultimate victorious boom! 1.6%
• All Kinds of Trophies Win at least one challenge of each color on each page of challenges. 1.5%
• Mixed Total Domination Score a total domination of 2666 in mixed challenges. 1.5%
• Complete Orange Collection Win all yellow and orange difficulty challenges. 1.3%
• Prodigal Society Establish the same government twice in a single game. Still win. 1.3%
• UN Secretary-General Score 38 points more than anyone else when completing the United Nations wonder. 1.2%
• Ave Caesar! Pave the road for your legions. Lead them to a surprising attack. Win that battle, and the game. 1.2%
• Complete Purple Collection Win all red and purple difficulty challenges. 0.9%
• Absolute Domination Score a domination of 3333 or more in original challenges. 0.9%
• Completely Total Domination Score a total domination of 8888 in challenges of all types. 0.9%
• Expanded Total Domination Score a total domination of 2444 in expansion challenges. 0.9%
• Heroic Leader Accomplish all base game Feats. 0.9%
• Reverse Succession Win a game in which you replace a leader with one from a lower age. Twice. 0.9%
• Spanish Devotion Build an army ready for conquests. Invest a lot into exploring. Invest a lot into architecture. Win. 0.9%
• Mixed Absolute Domination Score a total domination of 3999 in mixed challenges. 0.8%
• Expanded Absolute Domination Score a total domination of 3666 in expansion challenges. 0.7%
• Broard View of History Accomplish all Historical Triplets achievements, both from the base game and the expansion. 0.7%
• Seven Samurai Defend the castle with seven samurai. Let one die. Put that heroic tale (and your victory) in celluloid. 0.7%
• Completely Absolute Domination Score a total domination of 13333 in challenges of all types. 0.5%
• Expanded Leader Accomplish all Feats, both from the base game and the expansion. 0.5%