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In Theocratia, players take on the role of powerful alien beings watching a distant world from somewhere far beyond the stars. And if you have all the time in the universe, well… you have to find something to do. In this case that means making a small wager with the other cosmic entities. Over thousands of years you influence the development of a young world and see who ends up receiving the most devotion from its inhabitants.
On this island four cultures slowly grow and develop. They explore the land, build structures, wage wars, celebrate holidays and gradually shape their societies. From their perspective they are simply building their own future. What they do not realise is that unseen beings are nudging events here and there.
As time passes the civilizations record their achievements in their chronicles. These chronicles track how much a civilization has developed over the ages. The more successful a civilization becomes, the more valuable its admiration will be to the aliens influencing it. So across the ages players guide these societies from the shadows, hoping that when the wager finally ends they will be the one who earned the most worship from the world below.
👥 1-4 players, ages 10+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes/player
📝 Designers: Daniel Marinangeli & Daniele Tascini
🎨 Artwork: Andrew Bosley
🏢 Publisher: Mojito Studios (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
A game lasts five rounds, or four with two players. At the start of each round a pool of dice is rolled and placed in the central action table. Each die shows a number from one to six and a civilization colour. The number determines the action, while the colour can provide a bonus if it matches the civilization you assign it to.
Players take turns drafting dice and assigning them to civilizations. When you choose a die, you place it in the action row of any civilization and resolve the action using that civilization. There is one restriction. A civilization cannot perform the same action twice in a row unless a power card is used to ignore that rule.
These actions allow you to expand across the island, construct buildings, wage war against monsters or buildings, or manipulate dice values through divination. Instead of resolving the die normally you may also declare a holiday for a civilization, celebrating its people and generating worship depending on its size and available resources. Many actions also push civilizations forward in their development by adding warriors or crystals to their chronicles.
Once players finish their turns, the civilizations themselves perform actions during the development phase. They might expand, produce resources or celebrate on their own. After the final round players calculate their score based on their temple track multipliers and the development level of the civilizations they influenced.
Gameplay & Flow
The basic structure of Theocratia is fairly easy to understand. Draft a die, assign it to a civilization, resolve an action. Simple enough. But once the board starts filling up, things become more layered.
Each civilization has its own action row and that row restricts which actions can be repeated. To be fair, this rule looks harmless at first, but it regularly pushes players to rethink their plans. Just when you thought you had a nice sequence ready, the row says no. Time for plan B.
What I find interesting here is that players never really build something that belongs only to them. Instead everyone manipulates the same four civilizations. Expanding a civilization, building structures or starting a conflict can influence several players at once depending on where buildings stand and who has invested in that civilization.
The civilization chronicles play a big role in this system. Each civilization has its own little booklet where warriors and crystals are added. When a page is filled, the civilization advances and becomes more valuable in the end scoring. I know it sounds like a small system, but it creates a constant dilemma. Do you push that civilization forward now, or do you wait because someone else might benefit even more?
At the end of every round the civilizations also take their own development actions. Honestly, this is a nice touch. It makes the world feel alive, like the civilizations are doing their own thing even when players are not actively controlling them.
The game does involve a bit of housekeeping though. Pieces move into chronicles, buildings change places and resources move around. None of it is complicated on its own, but it does add up. During early plays it can slow things down while everyone checks what exactly needs to happen next.
Strategy & Luck
Strategy in Theocratia is closely tied to timing. The dice pool determines which actions are available each round, so players cannot always execute the exact plan they had in mind. Instead you watch the board carefully and take opportunities when they appear.
Building upgrades play an important role here. Houses can turn into factories or barracks that produce resources or warriors, while pyramids represent larger changes that also push a civilization’s development forward. These upgrades can be strong moves, but sometimes they give other players a small benefit as well. So yes, occasionally you help your opponent by accident. Let’s call it cosmic generosity.
There are also a few elements that introduce some unpredictability. Power cards and development effects can influence the board state. None of these dominate the experience, but they do make sure the game never becomes a purely mathematical puzzle. For players who enjoy reacting to how the situation on the board changes this works quite well.
Player Interaction
Interaction in Theocratia is constant, though rarely aggressive. Because everyone influences the same civilizations, actions often affect several players at once. Improving a civilization may strengthen your position, but it might also improve someone else’s scoring potential.
Conflict is possible through the war action, which allows players to attack buildings or monsters. However the game softens this somewhat by giving compensation to the affected player. Even when buildings are destroyed it rarely feels devastating.
Another form of interaction comes from the dice draft itself. Players take turns selecting dice from a shared pool, and if someone grabs the die you needed, well… better luck next round.
Overall the interaction feels thoughtful rather than confrontational. Players influence each other regularly, but the game rarely turns into direct sabotage.
Theme & Atmosphere
The theme places players in the role of distant alien beings guiding civilizations from afar. It is a fun concept and fits nicely with the idea that players influence several societies at the same time.
Some mechanics support this theme well. The civilization chronicles, for example, represent the long history of each culture as it develops over the course of the game. Watching these societies advance through their chronicles gives the impression that time is passing and history is being written.
The holiday action is another thematic touch. Instead of taking a normal action, players can organise celebrations that generate worship. Apparently even ancient civilizations enjoy a good party.
Still, like many eurogames, the theme mostly acts as a backdrop. Once the game is underway players usually focus more on actions and timing than on the narrative itself.
Components & Art
On the table Theocratia looks like a modern eurogame. The island board is colourful and divided into different terrain types, and buildings gradually spread across the map as civilizations expand.
The artwork by Andrew Bosley leans toward a stylised fantasy look rather than strict science fiction, which fits the idea of observing a distant world from above. The wooden pieces feel nice to handle. Each civilization has buildings in its own colour including houses, factories, barracks and pyramids, and these shapes are easy to recognise during play.
One particularly interesting component is the civilization chronicle. Each civilization has a small ring bound booklet that tracks its progress over time. Turning the pages as civilizations advance is both thematic and satisfying.
As the game develops the board can become quite crowded. It looks impressive, but sometimes it takes a moment to read the full situation.
Pacing & Replayability
During the first few games the pace can feel a bit slow while players learn how the systems interact. Once everyone understands the structure, turns tend to move more smoothly.
Replayability mainly comes from the changing board state and the dice draft. Different dice combinations appear each round, and development cards influence how civilizations grow during the game.
At the same time the core structure stays the same from one session to another. For players who enjoy exploring strategies within a consistent system this works well.
Accessibility & Complexity
Theocratia is clearly aimed at players who already have some experience with medium to heavier eurogames. The rules themselves are not extremely difficult, but the game asks players to manage several interconnected systems. Players influence multiple civilizations at the same time while keeping track of resources and development.
Because of this the first play can feel a little overwhelming. I know that feeling when you look at the board and think “wait… whose civilization is this again?”
The box suggests about twenty minutes per player. Honestly, that feels optimistic for early plays. With the teach included you should probably expect a full evening game.
The rulebook itself explains the systems with examples and highlighted notes. Near the end there is a helpful page with notes on the rules and an icons summary, which works as a quick reference during play. Some sections are a bit concise though, and we occasionally had to double check a rule during our first sessions.
Final Thoughts
For us, the most interesting part of the game is the shared civilization system. No one truly controls a single faction. Instead players influence the same societies and try to guide their development in ways that work in their favour.
This creates a situation where timing and awareness of the board matter a lot. Sometimes helping a civilization grow is exactly what you want. Sometimes it feels like you just gave your opponent a gift.
Theocratia is one of those games where the rules are fairly manageable, but understanding how everything connects takes a bit of time. The first play can feel overwhelming, but after a game or two the decision space becomes much clearer.
Not everything is perfect. The small bookkeeping steps can slow things down occasionally, and the dice can sometimes interfere with carefully prepared plans.
Still, for groups who enjoy eurogames where everyone interacts with the same systems, Theocratia offers quite an interesting experience. Once players get comfortable with how everything works together, guiding civilizations from the shadows can be surprisingly satisfying.
And honestly, if someone asks what you did this evening, saying “I influenced the rise and fall of civilizations” sounds pretty impressive.
📝 We received a review copy from Mojito Studios.
