Marble Age

About

"Marble Age" is a strategy game where players step into the role of a marble entrepreneur in ancient Rome. Your goal is to build a successful marble empire by gathering resources, trading, and completing various quests. The game features a dynamic economy, historical events, and a variety of strategies to employ, providing a unique and immersive experience in the ancient world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 600 reviews

gameplay32 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a charming and simple interface that is easy to understand, making it accessible for casual players.
It provides a unique blend of resource management and strategy, with a surprising amount of depth for its price.
Many players find it addictive and enjoyable, often losing track of time while playing.

The gameplay can feel repetitive and linear, with a lack of strategic flexibility and only one optimal way to win.
The English translation is poor, leading to confusion and frustration with the game's mechanics and events.
Some players have reported bugs and issues, such as crashes and unresponsive elements, which detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
54%
5%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its interesting mechanics and strategic depth, appealing to fans of text-based strategy games. However, many players find it becomes repetitive and overly simplistic after a few hours, with issues such as linearity and poor balance detracting from the overall experience. While it offers a decent amount of playtime for its price, the gameplay may not sustain long-term engagement due to its lack of variety and depth.
- “The core gameplay is easy to understand, and mark my words, you'll get half of the achievements during your first 2-hour run.”
- “The game offers two styles of gameplay: diplomatic and conquering.”
- “Very fun game with great mechanics!”
- “Sadly, it is hindered by linear strategic gameplay. If you want to beat all the challenges, the sliders are annoying late game, numbers scale too quickly, and after the halfway point, it loses most of its appeal as it starts to feel redundant.”
- “The gameplay, most of all, is utterly dull and uninspiring.”
- “The simplicity, combined with cute graphics, pretty nice music, and semi-educational content would have actually made it a great little title, but Marble Age's convoluted and unpredictable gameplay is what ruins everything about it.”
replayability
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
66%
13%
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low, primarily due to the limited number of playable factions and repetitive gameplay after completing the two campaigns. While some players find enjoyment in the different playstyles and starting perks, many express disappointment in the lack of content and variety, suggesting that additional factions could enhance replay value. In summary, while there is some potential for replayability, it is generally viewed as minimal and may not sustain long-term interest.
- “Awesome, I love this game and it has good replay value.”
- “Luckily, a decent variety of starting perks and two different factions give a nice replayability.”
- “You could probably play through it at least twice and, if you're up for it, you might want to go for a high score for replayability.”
- “Final verdict: fun until the first successful play, little replayability value.”
- “Replayability very low... get bored with the game when I'm endlessly being attacked by 'barbarians' that outnumber me by millions...”
- “Adding insult to injury, the game has literally zero replayability.”
graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
45%
10%
The graphics of the game are generally described as average, with a charming and cute aesthetic that features a bright color palette. While some players appreciate the simplicity and cartoonish style, others criticize the visuals as being minimal and reminiscent of a low-budget knockoff. Overall, the graphics are not a standout feature, but they are deemed acceptable for the game's fun and addictive gameplay.
- “The graphics are very good, which I quite dislike in their recently-released Old Kingdom, which requires a high-end PC for ugly graphics in return.”
- “I loved the cartoony graphics; when the models are on this scale, they look really good.”
- “It has high replayability and a cool graphic style.”
- “If 5 pounds is all you have, buy this; otherwise, buy Civilization because this is just a cheap, terrible graphics, knock-off version of Civ with barely any features.”
- “It has much worse graphics and limited strategy options.”
- “I would be aware that it only plays in a 1200x800 window or so, which is annoying, and the graphics generally are pretty minimal.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
72%
17%
The story of the game emphasizes resilience and the unpredictability of life, but players criticize its execution, noting that many quests lack clear explanations and guidance. The fixed mission paths and reliance on luck for random events detract from the experience, while translation issues further complicate understanding. Overall, the narrative feels underdeveloped and poorly communicated, leading to frustration among players.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “The missions lead you in a fixed avenue and you have to be extremely lucky with the random events in order to resolve whatever the current invasion task throws at you.”
- “The last quest was not clearly explained; you did not tell us each option can be only selected once.”
- “Many of the quests, such as 'Christianity', are not explained at all, nor do they give hints of what you need to do while you're getting punished for 20 turns.”
- “The missions lead you in a fixed avenue, and you have to be extremely lucky with the random events in order to resolve whatever the current invasion task throws at you.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing quality and pleasant integration with the visuals, enhancing the overall presentation. Many users appreciate the simplicity and charm of the soundtrack, which complements the cute graphics and semi-educational content. However, some feel that despite the music's appeal, the gameplay's complexity detracts from the overall experience.
- “The music gives it a nice touch and the presentation is inviting.”
- “It has a website, video gameplay example, good user interface, fun graphic animation, relaxing music, and good sound effects.”
- “The simplicity, combined with cute graphics, pretty nice music, and semi-educational content would have actually made it a great little title.”
- “Music and sound effects are lacking.”
- “Too bad, because I love the music and the arts.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players enjoying the comedic translations and amusing grammar mistakes, which add a lighthearted touch. However, the humor can become overshadowed by repetitive gameplay over time.
- “I liked that the game is Civ on speed without the boring bits, and the translations to English made me laugh sometimes.”
- “The grammar is hilarious though, 'you are leaving city and losing everything.'”
- “The humor in the game is funny, even if the gameplay can get repetitive after a while.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Players express frustration with the game's optimization, noting that it detracts from enjoyment by requiring 'optimized' solutions to progress. Additionally, performance issues further hinder the overall gaming experience.
- “This gives the feeling that this game is no longer fun, because you need an 'optimized' answer to achieve the objective.”
- “It would be that bad if it weren't for the fact that it interferes with the game performance.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report that the game effectively immerses them in the role of a ruler, evoking a strong sense of authority and emotional connection to their decisions. This experience enhances the overall engagement and investment in the game's narrative.
- “It made me feel like I was a real ruler.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a need for increased farming activities, indicating that grinding is a significant aspect of gameplay that requires more focus and development.
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
100%
Reviewers express concern that the game's low price might lead to a lack of polish or excessive in-app purchases designed to extract more money from players. However, there is an underlying hope that the game will deliver value without resorting to aggressive monetization tactics.
- “At the low price point, I was worried it would lack polish or try to nickel and dime me with in-app purchases.”
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't feel exploitative, which is a breath of fresh air.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers plenty of content without pushing me to spend more money.”
- “At the low price point, I was worried it would lack polish or it would try to nickel and dime me with in-app purchases.”
- “At the low price point, I was worried it would lack polish or it would try to nickel and dime me with in-app purchases.”