Ashes & Amber

The inevitable will come. Cities will fall. Yet from their ashes, you may rise again.

Guided by a single great moment of humanity, visible from the dawn of time to its distant future, every choice you make echoes through history. Plan carefully. Endure wisely. Preserve what truly matters.

Will your civilization be remembered as the one that left its mark?

Wondering how the game flows? In just 2.5 minutes, this video walks you through the setup and the first round for an example game with 3 players.

• 0:00 · Setup
• 0:34 · First Round Begins
• 0:40 · Income Phase
• 0:52 · First Actions
• 1:28 · End of Round
• 2:07 · A Glimpse of the End-Game Cards

Vous préférez voir une vidéo en français ? Voici ici un petit aperçu des règles et des actions possibles. 🇫🇷

Ashes & Amber is a competitive civilization card game for 1 to 4 players, ages 14 and up, lasting about 40 minutes per player and learned in about 15 minutes.

You build your civilization over five rounds, five eras, from Prehistory to the Modern Era, by creating cities. A city is a stack of cards placed in front of you, and only the card on top of each stack can be activated. The more cities you build, the more actions you can activate and combine. But the more cities you build, the greater the danger, because at the end of each era, a Catastrophe strikes.

If you do not protect your valuable cards, they will turn into ash. You will need to acquire special cards to safeguard them. One card in particular is precious: your Amber card. You start the game with it, and it represents the resilience of your people through time.

If you protect it and shape your civilization wisely, your Amber card can generate points near the end of the game, when a major moment in human history unfolds (described on the Achievement card). This objective is visible from the very start, allowing you to plan your entire strategy around it. You score one victory point for each Accomplishment card you gain during the game and lose one victory point for each Death card you fail to remove.

Each era has its own dedicated deck, from which you will choose inventions, discoveries, breakthroughs, monuments, and events to shape your tableau. At the end of every era, you must face devastating Catastrophes, anticipate their impact, and adapt as valuable cards crumble into ash. Each Catastrophe is specific to its era. Along the way, gather Accomplishment cards, but never lose sight of the final Achievement you are working toward.

Ashes & Amber is an asymmetric game in which each player chooses a Tribe, a specialized set of cards to develop throughout the game, granting unique powers and actions. Each set contains a Fire and four double-sided cards, and every time you build one of them, you choose which side to play.

Claim the most Accomplishments and lead your civilization to greatness!

Don't miss out on the ceramic token! Handcrafted one by one by Ineta and Julie, our beloved Lithuanian and Taiwanese artisans, each piece is unique and beautifully imperfect, marked by its own cracks and irregularities.

To the best of our knowledge, we are the only tabletop game in the industry to include a real ceramic token!

We have only a limited number available, and they are sent exclusively to our very first backers. So... don't wait!

Update: The ceramic tokens sold out almost immediately... Julie agreed to fire a new batch, and this time she had an idea to make them even more special: a beautiful turquoise glaze.🔥

300 are reserved for Early Bird backers, and a few extra will be available as upgrades (see the campaign reward "Artifact Edition", which includes the Kickstarter Edition and the glazed ceramic token).

Update: Sold out. It has been a huge success.

We’ve received many messages from backers who missed out, and I’m currently exploring with Julie whether she can make room in her schedule for a small additional batch.

They are handcrafted one by one, so I don’t want to pressure her and will wait for her decision. I’ll post a comment as soon as I have news.

We wanted an expert game that is deep but not fiddly, with rules you can learn in under 15 minutes.

The game is played over five rounds, each representing an era: Prehistory, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Age of Discovery, and the Modern Era. You start with one stack of two cards that represents your first city: Fire and Amber.

Players take turns until everyone has passed. On your turn, you may first claim a Wonder or Resilience card, then perform one or two of the following actions: play a card from your hand into one of your cities, exhaust a card to activate its ability, discard two cards to create a city, discard one card to move a card, or pass.

CLAIM. Add a special card (Resilience or Wonder) to your tableau by placing it either on top of or beneath one of your stacks (each stack of cards represents a city).

PLAY A CARD FROM YOUR HAND. Take a card from your hand and place it on top or at the bottom of one of your cities.

EXHAUST A CARD. Rotate one of your cards that is on top of one of your cities to use its special power.

DISCARD TWO CARDS TO CREATE A CITY. Discard two cards, then take a card from one of your cities and start a new stack with it.

DISCARD ONE CARD TO MOVE ANOTHER CARD. Discard one card, then take a card from one of your cities and place it anywhere within the same city or in another city.

Ash cards are resource cards, but they vanish before the next Catastrophe, so spend them wisely before they disappear!

Keep an eye on the Achievement card. In the final round, this major moment in human history triggers as soon as all related cards have been claimed. These cards let you score a lot with your Amber card. Plan ahead and shape your civilization according to the vision you have had in mind since the dawn of time...

At the end of the game, players remove one Accomplishment card for each Death card they hold, then score one victory point for each remaining Accomplishment card. Finally, they score any Foresight cards gained during the game. This is your chance for a grand finale!

The rulebook is currently in development and will continue to evolve in the coming weeks. A few points worth mentioning (and the input from our backers truly matters, thank you!): we will add more thematic elements, including a first page that introduces the story and spirit of the game. We will also split the reference section into a separate booklet, making it more convenient to use and giving us space to present the full narrative behind each Achievement card (what the grand final event implies for your civilization and for the entire game). We hope you will take part in this process, and we would love to hear your thoughts as we shape the final version!

Ashes & Amber includes a fully designed solo experience.

Your goal in a solo game is to score 15 points by any means, while fulfilling every Decisive Moment.

You are not facing an automated opponent. Instead, the game itself creates pressure through shifting constraints and tough decisions across the eras.

The core gameplay remains unchanged:

• Build cities
• Stack and tuck cards
• Manage your resources and timing

With no one else competing for cards, the challenge becomes one of optimisation, anticipation, and survival.

Can you meet the demands of history before everything collapses?

The Kickstarter Edition* contains more than 800 cards (650+ unique cards), including 58 gold-foiled cards and 44 oversized cards.
* The regular edition (base game) contains 600+ cards and 41 oversized cards (gold-foiled cards are available only in the Kickstarter Edition).

+ content unlocked via Stretch Goals!

Estimated Delivery: January–February 2027. Best-case scenario: Essen 2026 pick-up or earlier delivery if production runs ahead of schedule.

5 decks of 60/70/80/90/90+ unique cards (1 per era, 6.3 cm x 8.8 cm). 4 unique Amber and 4 Fire cards. 1 First Player card. ~60 Accomplishment/Death cards. ~30 Ash cards. 5 unique oversized Timeline cards (24.6 cm x 12.1 cm). 32 unique oversized Catastrophe cards* (17.4 cm x 11.6 cm). 8 unique Achievement cards* and their related 32 Scoring cards. 40 Land cards*. 95 unique double-sided Tribe cards*. 16 unique Decisive Moment cards*. 16 unique Foresight cards. 4 player aids. 1 rulebook.

* The regular edition (base game) contains 31 Catastrophe cards, 5 Achievement cards, 20 Scoring cards, 65 Tribe cards, and 15 Decisive Moment cards (and no Land cards as they belong to the exclusive expansion).

ORIGIN. 4 Fire cards. 4 Amber cards. 1 First Player card. 40 Accomplishment/Death cards. 40 Ash cards.

PREHISTORY. 1 oversized Timeline card. 60+ Chronicle cards. 6 oversized Catastrophe cards.

ANTIQUITY. 1 oversized Timeline card. 70+ Chronicle cards. 8 oversized Catastrophe cards.

MIDDLE AGES. 1 oversized Timeline card. 80+ Chronicle cards. 8 oversized Catastrophe cards.

AGE OF DISCOVERY. 1 oversized Timeline card. 90+ Chronicle cards. 9 oversized Catastrophe cards.

MODERN ERA. 1 oversized Timeline card. 90+ Chronicle cards.

ACHIEVEMENTS. 8 oversized cards. 32 Scoring cards.

DECISIVE MOMENTS & FORESIGHTS. 32 cards.

Instant-setup card boxes. Inside the game box, the cards are organized in thoughtfully designed small boxes, made to keep everything tidy and to make setup and tear down almost instant. Each card box opens sideways into two sections, a draw side and a discard side. Simply place and open the Origin and Prehistory card boxes on the table, give each player their Amber and Fire cards, and start playing right away!

The Tribes are organized into 19 * individual illustrated envelopes.
* The regular edition (base game) contains 13 Tribe envelopes.

Ashes & Amber can be played with the Tribe sets. If you enjoy asymmetric gameplay, this is for you!

Alongside your normal hand, you receive a personal set of 5 unique double-sided Tribe cards, which you may build at any moment during the game. Each Tribe features its own visual identity and a distinctive set of powerful abilities: some Tribes introduce new interactions (such as the Mercari, who can give cards to other players), others twist core rules (like the Chthonians, who can play cards in the middle of a city), some bring a strong narrative identity (such as the Reckless Builders, who must face God Himself!)…

13 Tribes, +6 in the Kickstarter Edition.
65 double-sided Tribe cards, 95 in the Kickstarter Edition!

Double-sided Tribe cards. Choosing which side to use when you play a Tribe card feels like building your own technology tree!

THE PRIMI SCIENTIAE. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Focus on Science to unlock inventions before anyone else. Will you dare to play a Modern Era card during the Middle Ages?

THE HOUSE OF SLEIGHT. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. How will you take advantage of their strange ability to exhaust non-action cards?

THE EXPANSIONISTS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Expand. Expand. Expand. You have one motto. They say nothing can stop you. Is it true?

THE EXPLORERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. You are the only one out there able to go one way and also the other, searching for every inch of strategy you can squeeze out of your Tribe cards… (you can flip them even after they have been played!)

THE INDUSTRIALISTS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Grow. Grow more. Grow even more. Your cards will help. Use them.

THE SEERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. You will see what others cannot: Catastrophes before they strike. And as your power grows, you will bend fate itself.

THE MERCARI. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Interacting with other players will be your key to success! You will help them by giving them cards. And a reward awaits you…

THE ELDERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Patiently use the Claim action to your advantage... Create incentives for other players... Secure your own ambitions.

THE HUMANISTS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Will you enjoy life more when it is balanced? Balance your numbers, balance your growth, balance your expansion.

THE NECROMANCERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Use Death at your advantage. But you should stop creating Death cards before it's too late...

THE HAZARI. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. You like randomness more than anyone else. Alright then, play with it! Push your luck! Try unexpected moves!

THE INK & MILK FOLKS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Black, white, clear-cut decisions. And actually, grey as well... because they can store ash for the future…

THE WHISPERERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Hire your spies. Dispatch your agents. Let rival civilizations grow proud. When the moment comes, you will mirror their powers. And surpass them.

Epic. Build your civilization, but constantly balance growth and protection against the catastrophes to come. Or let your cities burn... and rise again from their ashes. Or walk your own path somewhere in between...

Striking artwork and extreme attention to detail. From graphic design to icon clarity, usability, and production choices, everything has been carefully crafted and polished, guided by a strong personal artistic direction.
A huge amount of care has also gone into the flavor texts (I know, I know, you do not need to read them to play!). They are meant to be surprising, grounded in little-known facts, or simply poetic.

Simple yet original and deep. The core system is easy to grasp. You play cards on the top or bottom of your cities. But the way your cities collapse is genuinely different. When cards burn, they are replaced by Ash cards. You must carefully design the structure of your cities around what you expect, what you cannot foresee, and the long-term strategy you have in mind.

No direct attacks. There is no card that steals from or destroys another player’s civilization. Interaction is instead built on timing and shared opportunities. When will you claim this key card? And will you be prepared for it?

Low downtime. Each turn is fast and focused. One claim, then one or two short actions. You can plan ahead while other players take their turns, but keep a close eye on the resources they reveal!

No scoring track. No end-game math. Scoring stays tight and clear, keeping tension high until the very last moment.

An authentic solo mode. It works straight out of the box. No automa. No cumbersome flowcharts. You play against the game itself, trying to build your uchronia while surviving the Catastrophes that strike you. Reach the threshold and you win. Fail, and your civilization falls.

Very high replay value. Because of the game’s dynamic flow and the large variety of cards in each era deck, the game is inherently highly replayable. On top of that, the game includes 5 Achievement cards (7 in the Kickstarter Edition). Seeing one of them approaching reshapes the entire flow of the game. Suddenly, priorities shift. Are resources scarce this time? Do we need speed and flexibility? Where can our Amber truly stay safe? Add to this 8 Tribes (12 in the Kickstarter Edition), each offering a powerful and distinctive set of abilities made of multiple double-sided cards that combine in many different ways, and the range of possible strategies quickly becomes massive.

Future expansions. Two major expansions are already being prototyped. The "Era 6" expansion explores what humanity may become after the Modern Era, introducing extremely powerful cards that must be built gradually throughout the entire game. The "Great Persons" expansion introduces historical figures such as Ada Lovelace and Martin Luther King. When a player fulfills the requirements, all players gain access to that figure's unique power. We cannot reveal more just yet, but if these ideas excite you, backing the game will help make them real!

Limited availability. Pledge for the Kickstarter Edition of Ashes & Amber to unlock exclusive content that will never be available at retail!

The Kickstarter Edition includes the full base game, plus a large amount of additional content created exclusively for our backers:

• +"The Long Reach" exclusive expansion, featuring 1 Catastrophe card, 1 Decisive Moment card, and 40 unique cards.
• +6 exclusive Tribes, "The Chthonians", "The Gifted", "The Winterborn", "The Golden Nobles", "The Warmongers", and "The Reckless Builders", for a total of 30 unique double-sided cards.
• +3 exclusive Achievements, "We Become the Code", "We Return to Fire", "We Remember the Giants", 12 unique cards and 3 unique oversized cards.

This will never be sold separately. You miss it now, you miss it forever!

"THE LONG REACH". In this Ashes & Amber expansion, you discover the lands humanity has settled across throughout history (Land cards are created instantly as cities, and never burn).

THE CHTHONIANS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Is it okay to play cards anywhere you want? You do it anyway! Dig, dig, dig. Move your Amber. You will score for it. The reason for all that effort? I do not see one… yet!

THE GIFTED. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. You begin at the top of the mountain, blessed from the very start by Mother Nature with powerful first cards. But dark clouds are gathering. Prepare.

THE WINTERBORN. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Your beginning is harsh. In the cold, everything costs more than anywhere else. Your first cards will hinder you more than they help. But if you endure, greatness awaits.

THE GOLDEN NOBLES. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Gather gold. Chase it. Hunt for it! Focus on Engineering, and you will become efficient. But at what cost?

THE WARMONGERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. Push the other players to acquire more Death cards than usual. And then… drop it. Drop the bomb.

THE RECKLESS BUILDERS. 1 unique Fire card. 4 unique double-sided cards. You dare to face God himself. With the cards at your disposal, you feel powerful enough. But beware… God is not easily fooled.

WE BECOME THE CODE. Will you let the machines control humanity? Or will you truly manage to pair Population and Culture? 1 oversized Achievement card, 4 Scoring cards.

WE RETURN TO FIRE. How will you still stand when everything humanity has built vanishes? 1 oversized Achievement card, 4 Scoring cards.

WE REMEMBER THE GIANTS. Will you preserve the relics of the past? Will you bring them back to achieve even more? 1 oversized Achievement card, 4 Scoring cards.

In the Kickstarter Edition, every Wonder card and every Amber card will be holographic foiled. Deluxe! (Oh... and you might want to take a look at the last Stretch Goal...)

Update: €99k stretch goal unlocked! The cards are now upgraded to Gold Foil ✨

And for our first backers, we have a very special gift... Don't miss the Early Birds section.

Bring it to life. Ashes & Amber can only become reality with your support. Every pledge directly drives its production, its quality, and its future. We are a brand new board game publishing studio, and this first project truly matters to us. It will shape what we can build next. If you believe in bold, original, and beautifully crafted tabletop experiences, we would love to have you with us. By backing Ashes & Amber, you are not just helping fund a game, you are helping us take our very first step together!

The game is in English, but we worked very hard to make all icons instantly understandable. As a result, we removed almost all text from the cards, except for flavor texts, and except the Tribe cards, which have specific and unique powers that are clearer when written out.

If you are not an English speaker, you can still fully enjoy the game for three reasons:

• You do not need to read the flavor text to play the game.
• We will provide digital versions of the rulebook and player aids in French, German, Spanish and Italian*.
• The game is still great even without the Tribe sets. However, for non-English-speaking players, we will also provide a web app (a simple link you open on your phone, no installation required) that lets you scan a card and see a full explanation in seconds. Explanations will be available in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian*. The app is already developed and working.

* Italian translation kindly provided by a backer.

Estimated delivery: January to February 2027. We are also aiming for an ambitious production schedule targeting Spiel Essen 2026. If everything proceeds smoothly, backers may receive their copies earlier.

Note: The delivery date shown in the Kickstarter reward section reflects the best-case estimate. The timeline above shows the planned schedule.

We are currently doing our best to secure the best shipping prices. If better options become available, we will of course do our best to pass that on. If you would like to ask about a specific country, whether listed here or not, feel free to send us a message. We are happy to help.

* USA (lower 48), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Asia: Additional taxes may be collected additionally in the pledge manager. We are actively working to ensure that, if it is possible, no taxes will be charged.

** EU Zone 1, EU Zone 2, Europe Zone 3, UK (United Kingdom): 19%-21% VAT will be collected additionally in the pledge manager. Your games will ship from The Netherlands or from the UK. No taxes are charged at the time of delivery.

*** Ukraine: We do not yet know whether we will be able to deliver to Ukraine, but we will do our best, and we will cover any additional cost beyond this price 🇺🇦

**** Rest of the world: + additional taxes. Unfortunately, we are unable to ship to the following countries: Afghanistan, Brazil, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mexico, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Yemen, or PO Box addresses.

Please note that shipping and relevant taxes will be charged later in the pledge manager. No extra shipping charge for the ceramic token.

In our ambitious scenario, we will ship games to backers at the same time as we send copies to the warehouse near the Spiel Essen convention. We expect that you will receive your game before the convention. That said, delays can sometimes happen, and we truly appreciate your patience if it takes a little longer. Our priority is for backers to receive the game before anyone else, and we will do everything we can to make that happen.

Coming to Spiel Essen convention? Skip the shipping cost! Visit our booth, show your backer ID, and receive your game on the spot. (If we manage to produce the game in time!)

We built the game on mechanics and titles we truly love and revere, such as Terraforming Mars, Daybreak, and Innovation, games we especially enjoy for their abundance of cards.

We wanted a game that feels deep and epic, yet remains quick to learn. A game with straightforward rules, fast setup, and no fiddliness or tedious exceptions.

We also wanted it to be tightly bound to its theme. We love civilization games where history unfolds against you, where you struggle to shape your own uchronia, where you stand on the shoulders of giants. At the same time, we did not want the theme to override the mechanics. As a result, the theme may sometimes stay in the background. There is no need to read the flavor text on all 600 unique cards. But if you take a moment to do so, you will find that we tried to make them surprising and often unfamiliar.

Replayability was a key goal. We wanted a core system that always works, yet always works differently. Even the grand finale is different every time in Ashes & Amber. We also love asymmetric powers that bend the rules, letting you twist the game to your advantage while it pushes back. On top of that, you still have to outwit your friends.

We deliberately avoided direct confrontation, which often creates bitter feelings. Instead, interaction comes through subtle, indirect effects that shape your game without shattering it. You play while constantly weighing your own priorities against those of your opponents. Do you need this card right now more than anything else?

In our view, randomness should create thrill. The best kind is drawing a card, hoping it fits your plan, while keeping fallback options in mind. We worked to preserve this good randomness while removing the bad kind, the kind that punishes you without warning or control. Catastrophes will strike, but you will see them coming, forcing you to adapt and anticipate.

We wanted the game to feel original, unlike anything you have played before, while still relying on familiar mechanics. There are no strange or opaque rules to learn. The core is simple: draw cards, tap them to activate abilities, build your tableau, and use cards as resources. That is it. And yet, the depth that emerges is vast.

Finally, we wanted a strong sense of progression and achievement. When the game ends, you feel that you have built something meaningful. And if you lose, you can see where you failed, and you will want to try again, stronger.

One last thing. We stripped away everything that could clutter the experience. No scoring track. No cubes. No cumbersome calculations. Everything is lean and clear.

In the end, this game is a reflection of how we like to create. Slowly, carefully, sometimes obsessively. It carries years of iteration, doubt, and excitement, shaped by countless small decisions made because they felt right, not because they were easy. We believe games can be demanding without being punishing, deep without being obscure, and beautiful without getting in the way. If Ashes & Amber stays with you after the table is cleared, if it makes you think ahead, adapt, and return with new resolve, then it has found its place.

LongPack Games. For more than a year now, we have been working with LongPack Games to deliver the best game we possibly can. From high quality cards and vibrant colors to clever box design and fine details such as embossing and debossing on the game box, nothing has been left to chance.

Meeples Group & Spiral Galaxy Games. To ensure smooth delivery for every backer, the games will be shipped to warehouses in EU/UK/US, and dispatched from there, ensuring fast and efficient delivery.

Jellop. We are working with Jellop to help spread the word about our game. They have supported more than 6,000 successful campaigns on Kickstarter.

By career, I am a computer scientist with a PhD in software architecture. I have founded several IT companies and served as CTO for some of them. Last year, I made the decision to step away from software engineering for a while and reconnect with something much more personal: my long-standing passion for board games (I have been playing expert-level board games since the age of 10, nearly 40 years now…). I had already been working on Ashes & Amber for many years, and it finally felt like the right moment to give it the time and care it deserved.

For me, this project is more than a game. It is an excuse to create, to experiment, and to express myself, especially through the artwork on the cards. At the same time, I naturally brought with me everything I had learned throughout my software career. I designed and built custom graphics tools to achieve exactly the level of precision and visual consistency I wanted, all the way down to the final print-ready files.

Beyond game design, something very close to my heart is The Travel Team, a nonprofit international youth basketball programme I founded 18 years ago. It brings together children from different countries so they can meet, build friendships, and discover how small and connected our world truly is. In recent years, we have been especially welcoming children from Ukraine, and seeing them laugh, connect, and simply be children again despite everything they have been through has been profoundly meaningful to me. You may notice a few cards in the game that celebrate Ukraine, in its beautiful yellow and blue colors.

This project is promoted by Jellop, the ad tech power behind the best Kickstarter launches with 6,000+ successful Kickstarter projects and over $1.4Bn raised in total.