March of the Ants and the Hunt for the Nest of Centipedes
Explore the meadow in March of the Ants on the hunt for the Nest of Centipedes and powerful broodmother.
Ants are pretty amazing. Nothing like a game to make that point! March of the Ants simulates the struggle of an ant colony to survive in a peaceful meadow where centipedes might be right down the next tunnel. What danger! The intrigue of evolving is another excellent focus, though, and I was ready to resume my search for the broodmother!
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
Fancy ants, indeed! Evolution cards provide bonuses and special abilities. These are important as the meadow expands over just 4 rounds. Centipedes act as enemies to battle while resource production is the key to moving and expanding. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s excellent!
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
Centipede Nymphs
Nymphs. What a nightmare! The yellow “ants” indicated their presence in this case. They spread out and showed up everywhere in the meadow. Very unpleasant business.
It wasn’t difficult to defeat them, though. My ants simply needed to occupy the collection sites and off they went.
So what was the big deal? These were baby centipedes who could molt into adults at any moment. It wasn’t wise to keep this many around, but moving so much was costly.
As difficult as it was to abandon parts of the tunnel, I had no other choice than to gather the ant forces elsewhere.
Agonizing Defeat
In truth, there was a single element missing from the meadow that resulted in the colony’s demise. What was it?
Centipedes. That’s right! They molted so rarely and showed up in only a few hexes that battles were very uncommon. I was hoping for molting near the end!
My trouble was a lack of food production. Exploring and moving all cost food, which I had almost none of. Only battles could help me keep the food stores stocked.
The broodmother must have been laughing in her nest! It was almost comical: I think 4 centipedes appeared in all.
Other Victory Points
Despite my struggle to locate the Nest of Centipedes, I still kept pace with the broodmother. For instance, Consuming Growth offered me an extra 2 victory points at the end.
Tactic cards have become some of my favorites. They can only be used during battle, but don’t cost anything!
It might not be clear above, yet I had 2 head evolutions and an extra army strength of 2 for each battle. Plus all lost ants turned back into larvae. Recycle and reuse!
Maybe I knew I was going to lose. Still, I learned more this time and expect this knowledge to help in the future.
Bad Luck with the Tiles
During setup, the necessary nest was shuffled in with the bottom 5 hex tiles. I wasn’t close to uncovering it, yet I decided to see how close it was to the top.
Naturally, it was directly at the bottom when I flipped the stack face-up! A classic move by the broodmother.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve uncovered this tile yet. It’s far from impossible. Some of my suboptimal moves came back to bite me here, and I’m still learning.
Maybe I just need to get a little luckier with shuffling, too! My ant army strength was pretty awesome. I was ready!
Session Overview
Play Number: 18
Expansion: March of the Ants: Minions of the Meadow
Solo Mode: Expanded with Minions of the Meadow
Play Details: Easy Expansion Difficulty Level
Outcome: 16-20 (Loss)
I did have a small victory, though! The trapdoor spider showed up again, much to my dismay. My ants took it down from the maximum health of 12 to nothing, though. Take that! Also, I found a real spider in my basement about this size. I’m convinced it’s a mutant, like all the rest. I am done having life imitate this game. Ha ha!
%
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)
- Each evolution card is very different and the combinations make for some interesting effects and bonuses.
- The multitude of hex tiles means that the meadow takes on a different feel with each play based on the order.
- Strategic planning is vital to success, yet the best path forward often shifts based on the state of the meadow.
- Random card draws in the battles against centipedes and predators make for interesting situations.
- Not all of the cards and hex tiles are used with each play, thereby opening up new opportunities and situations.
- The broodmother’s increasing power and bonus abilities mirror the increasing urgency to locate her quickly.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Some of the rules and sequences are a little harder to follow with unclear wording or spread out instructions.
- Although very realistic, certain pieces of artwork are rather violent or a little too creepy-crawler in appearance.
- With the upgraded wooden components, collection sites and the overall size of hex tiles are a little too small.
- There isn’t an included storage solution so it can be challenging to get everything organized across the boxes.
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 your favorite parts about March of the Ants? I love the challenge of it and how even at the easy difficulty level, I have a long way to go. Are there any evolutions you particularly enjoy? Now that I have an incentive to play cards, I see a lot more options. Next time, though, I definitely need to focus on early resource gathering. I’ll find the broodmother!
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