First look at Ancient Empires, Archona's followup to Small Samurai - TCbH Review

About Ancient Empires, from BoardGameGeek:

Ancient Empires is an action-programming, area-control, civilization game of expansion, conquest, and cunning decisions. In just a small box, it packs the feel of an epic empire-building experience. Players take the role of rising civilizations, competing for dominance across a modular map divided into regions rich with resources, settlements, and natural wonders. Through clever programming of action tokens, players expand their armies, establish cities, harvest resources, and challenge rivals for control of key territories. The game is divided into three Ages. During the Stone Age, the players will play as roaming tribes, establishing villages and expanding their reach. In the Bronze Age, the players will choose one of the available Civilizations to play with, gaining unique abilities. Finally, in the Iron Age, the players will be able to construct their Wonders. The game is driven by an action-programming system. Each round, players secretly choose and place order tokens (such as Grow, Move, Build/Improve, Produce, or Attack) into a shared sequence. When revealed, these actions are resolved in turn, creating interaction, tension, and opportunities for clever timing. Success depends not only on which actions you choose, but also on anticipating and reacting to the choices of others. The game uses a streamlined area-control system where units don't fight individually but exert influence through their presence and special abilities, making every movement and attack a tactical puzzle. Technologies, events, and wonders add layers of strategy, while asymmetric civilizations grant unique abilities that push players to adapt their playstyles. Despite its compact size, Ancient Empires delivers the tension and depth of a full-scale empire game, playable in around an hour. It is part of the Empires Series by Archona Games, continuing the legacy of Small Empires series and expanding into new historical settings. -description from the publisher