Printable Ancient History Timeline Game

Compete against your friends or family to assemble an accurate timeline of prehistoric and ancient events.  Each game card represents a pivotal moment in history, waiting for you to place it in its correct chronological order. Once you place all your cards, you win the game!

Features of Ancient History Timeline Game

• 90 beautifully illustrated double-sided event cards featuring historically significant events
• the cards cover the period from 13.8 billion years ago (the Big Bang) until 476 CE (the fall of the Roman empire, which historians commonly consider to be the end of the Ancient period), corresponding to the prehistoric and ancient periods
• a variety of rules (an educational game, an educational game with some luck-based elements, and a co-op game)
• the game can be played by two people, but can also be played in a large group in a classroom

Some examples of events from this period include “first life forms in the water,” “extinction of non-avian dinosaurs,” “emergence of Neanderthals,” “first domesticated animal (dog),” “invention of the potter’s wheel,” “first known writing system (Sumerian cuneiform),” “first postal system,” “invention of paper,”  “the oldest known board game,” and more!

How to Play the Ancient History Timeline Game

In the beginning, each player gets a certain number of cards (2-5, depending on the number of players). They see the names of the events, but not the dates. One card is placed in the center, with the date side up. This card becomes the starting point of the timeline.

On their turn, players try to place one of their cards into the correct place on the timeline. Once the player makes a choice of which card and where to place it, they can turn it to the date side and check their answer. If they’re right, the card stays in place, and the next player takes a turn. If they’re wrong, the card is discarded, and they add a new card to their hand from the deck, ending their turn.

The player who is left without any cards wins. If several players place their last card during the same round, all other players are eliminated, and a tie is broken by drawing and placing new cards until all but one player has been eliminated.

But that’s not all.

You can add extra cards that add elements of luck and strategy!

Ancient History Timeline with Elements of Luck

Set it up like the educational variant described on the previous page, but add the deck of luck-enhancing cards. At the beginning of each game, in addition to historical event cards, each player gets a random luck-enhancing card. These cards allow players to ask for help, exchange one of their cards, or steal a card from another player and replace it with one of their own! 

Play the game as described above, but get an option to use one of the luck-enhancing cards at the same time as placing a historical event card. 

This version of the game adds an element of luck, thievery, and cooperation, which may appeal to younger players or a more relaxed company.

Co-Op History Timeline Game

This game is also similar to the educational game described on page 2, but the point of this game is to work together and build a long timeline. This works especially well for games with young players and classroom settings.

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