Synopsis
The clearest sky on the chart. Rise of Cultures is InnoGames' second attempt at the ages-of-history builder, and it learned from the first one: the city is bigger and prettier, research is a campaign map rather than a wall of icons, and the whole thing runs on one account across browser and phone without a stutter. The first hour is the best of any game we forecast this season.
There's no player-versus-player weather at all. You fight the game's own campaign battles with a small army, build allied cultures as side cities with their own goods, and climb through eras at a pace that respects an evening. The shop sells gems and speed-ups and stays out of the way; we never spent and never felt pushed to.
The outlook clouds over slightly in month three, when the loop is familiar and there's no guild war or season reset to stir it up. For a calm, well-kept builder that you can tend in ten minutes a day, there's nothing better on the chart.
Hour by hour
- First hourBright
- First eveningBright
- First weekFine
- First monthFine, hazy
- SeasonFamiliar
Bright spells
- The best opening hour of the five
- No raids and a shop that stays quiet
- One account across browser and phone
- Allied cultures give the mid-game texture
Warnings
- Familiar by the third month
- Less depth than older builders
- No competitive weather to stir things up
Confidence: Six weeks, two accounts, browser and phone. Region artwork © InnoGames, official press materials.