A Time of Mutation and Exploration in March of the Ants
Explore more of the meadow as mutations offer the colony unique bonuses against the centipedes in March of the Ants.
I almost didn’t make it, but I’ve kept up a little tradition over the last few years of always playing March of the Ants during the month of March. Technically it isn’t an unplayed game… Yet I had an unplayed expansion for it! So onward I went with my unplayed game challenge. So exciting to get this one back to the table after about a year!
Game Overview
Game Name: March of the Ants
Publication Year: 2015
Designer: Tim Eisner and Ryan Swisher
Artist: Tim Eisner, Ryan Swisher, and Peter Wocken
Publisher: Weird City Games
Solo Mode: Expanded with Minions of the Meadow
This is all about managing a colony of ants. It utilizes familiar 4X mechanisms with new concepts like evolution and a search for the centipede broodmother. Although the ants might not be classified as cute and cuddly, their survival is at the core of the interesting gameplay!
First Play
March 4, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
March 27, 2022
Expansions
2
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
25
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
26
Game Area
34" x 24"
Low Score
4
Starting Mutations
I finally opened up Empires of the Earth to try out the last content I had yet to see. One of the biggest changes was the inclusion of the starting mutations.
These didn’t count as evolutions for any sort of set bonuses or additional abilities, but they provided a little more asymmetry from the very beginning.
All of the remaining cards could either replace the base game cards, or get mixed in. I chose the replacement!
Not that I remembered any specifics, yet I wanted to experience the unplayed content as much as possible.
Under Overleaf
These meadow hex tiles are always a pleasant sight! The aphid hexes provide a boost to production with aphids.
Considered more like tiny friends, they follow an ant and provide additional harvest bonuses as they occupy more and more of a hex’s production spots. Very helpful!
Although hunkering down and living in a couple of hexes might seem wise, the goal is to locate the broodmother in order to banish her and the centipedes from the meadow.
No rest for these ants! I quickly read the rules, and then this little colony was up and running. Or… Marching?!
Rapid Expansion
I promised the ants weren’t going to stay put, and they certainly didn’t! Scouts raced off to examine new areas. For the most part, luck was on this colony’s side.
Not too many hexes appeared with a centipede, although there were some early losses to necessary battles.
And don’t even get me started on how cursed I seem to be with the trapdoor spider… No matter how I randomize the predators, that’s the visitor I almost always get. Ha ha!
Although the colony was healthy near the end, the ants were very far from locating the broodmother. Yikes…
Evolving with Time
The starting mutations didn’t quite work out for me, although I probably could have utilized their bonuses a little more. Something to consider for the next outing!
I had better luck with the evolutions. Although their bonuses didn’t necessarily help me out that much, I took advantage of the March and Queen Phase abilities.
More ants could move, and I was able to strategically save up a little more food. Both were excellent!
But it still looked a little bleak with so many more hexes left to explore. I wasn’t sure if I would find her.
Centipedes and Nymphs
The worst inhabitants of the meadow will always be the centipedes, for they’re ferocious and will take out all ants.
Nymphs, or baby centipedes, can be quite the nuisance, though. They might seem harmless at first, but they provide strength to adults and kill every lone aphid.
Although the ants could chase off the nymphs in some situations, the specialized collection sites in the aphid hexes became their safe spaces. How terribly rude!
I also had to pick my battles carefully, for even victorious outcomes resulted in the loss of many precious ants.
Double Enemy Time
Of the utmost importance was the centipede broodmother. The goal is always to locate her, then defeat her in battle.
Not that she doesn’t put up a fight from the shadows! Partway through, she called upon a predator to show up to cause some mayhem. Enter the trapdoor spider.
Although this wasn’t a death sentence for all of my ants, those in the same hex were effectively trapped forever.
It might have seemed harsh, but I had to leave those poor inhabitants to their fate. The colony couldn’t risk everything. Not with the broodmother so close!
The Realities of Managing Ants at War
“They’re just ants!” As silly as it might sound, I still hated to lose anyone in the colony. The trapdoor spider showed up in my most-populated hex. I was smart enough to spread out the colony, but there were still a fair number of ants who slowly perished over the power of the trapdoor spider. It only lost a little bit of its health, then we abandoned the hex.
I’m pretty sure the scenes from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! always stick with me. That ant was a hero! In a more abstract sense, the ants here are simply units who can collect resources, explore new hexes, or head into battle. But with the special wooden components I invested extra in… They’re definitely actual ants to me and I hate losing any of them!
Fresh Wormholes
Most hexes are fairly standard and differ in the collection sites. Others spawn a centipede for the unfortunate explorers to find. And still others provide fast transport!
Hexes with wormholes, like this sudden cluster, are automatically adjacent. This is quite helpful on opposite sides of the meadow. Like this? Not as useful.
However, I had a little plan up my sleeve. With both major workers, I was nearly to the last of the unexplored hexes!
The broodmother was so close, yet I wasn’t sure if I had enough food to keep everyone marching towards her.
Brand New Friends
A lucky draw provided me with an amazing sort of event! Just as I discovered the broodmother hiding out, I met the special conditions to use this card to move my ants.
Such a cinematic moment! This actually brought in most of the ants from the far north right next to the broodmother. The power of the underground wormholes!
She was still in a strong position, almost at maximum health. It was a time for me to lose a lot of ants, sadly.
I whittled her down a bit and had a single action left to do what damage I could. Would it be enough, though?
Session Overview
Play Number: 25
Expansion 1: Empires of the Earth
Expansion 2: Minions of the Meadow
Solo Mode: Expanded with Minions of the Meadow
Play Details: Easy Expansion Difficulty Level
Outcome: 11-19 (Win)
The last couple of turns were very tense as I sent in the majority of the colony to attack the broodmother. That’s no optical illusion: Her figure is enormous! So many ants were sacrified, but that nicely placed wormhole was enough to claim victory. Now that’s a meadow to live in!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
9
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
+ Pros (Positives)
- There are a plethora of cards to see, either with the base game or expansion, and each play feels very different.
- Even at the easy difficulty level, almost every turn feels very challenging with plenty of important decisions.
- As the meadow takes shape with new hexes, resources become abundant but battles become increasingly vital.
- Perhaps the ants aren’t exactly adorable, yet the art style is striking and the evolutions create appealing patterns.
- Broodmother finales are quite exciting and often use up most of the colony, but result in thrilling conclusions.
- Play time is relatively quick for the depth of strategy and complexity, typically taking under an hour with setup.
– Cons (Negatives)
- With so many hexes to explore, the amount of required table space can get pretty large and a little unruly.
- The card variety is excellent, yet sometimes it’s hard to collect the cards that will be the most useful to play.
- Rules are spread across various rulebooks, making it a little hard to keep track of every nuance or sequence.
- Many times, the first few turns are generally the same with little variety beyond collecting different resources.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Broodmother
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 expansion game at the easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the hard difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the normal difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What are some of the things you enjoy the most about March of the Ants? Do you prefer the base game or the expansions? I’m happy I finally had a chance to try out all of the new content! This deck was definitely very different, yet I still pulled ahead. Granted, I didn’t challenge myself this time… But it was another excellent time with the ants!
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