In Thebes, you step into the shoes of an ambitious archaeologist, ready to explore Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East in search of knowledge and treasures. The goal is to become the most renowned expert on five ancient civilizations: Greeks, Cretans, Egyptians, Palestinians, and Mesopotamians. To achieve this, you'll need to travel to acquire the necessary knowledge and then use that expertise to excavate historical sites and unearth valuable artifacts.

The game unfolds over two (or three) years, and every action you take consumes a specific amount of time. Moving between cities, gaining knowledge, and, of course, digging for artifacts, all have a time cost. The turn order mechanic is the big charm here: there's a 52-space time track around the board, and whoever is furthest 'behind' in time gets to play. This means you can decide to spend a lot of time on a lucrative excavation, but other players will get more turns to act while you wait. It's a strategic balance between being efficient and not letting your rivals pull ahead!

When excavating, you draw tokens from a bag that contains both precious artifacts and 'dirt'. The dirt is returned to the bag, which increases your chances of finding something valuable in subsequent attempts. Furthermore, throughout the game, exhibitions are revealed, and the archaeologist who possesses the required civilization treasures can claim the prizes. Ultimately, the winner will be the one who accumulates the most knowledge, the highest-valued artifacts, and the greatest number of conquered exhibitions. It's a race against time and your fellow archaeologists to see who will become the legend of archaeology!