The "Stone Age" times were indeed difficult. In their roles as hunters, collectors, farmers, and tool makers, our ancestors worked with their backs and legs straining against wooden plows in the stony earth. Of course, progress did not end with the wooden plow. People always seeked out better tools and more productive plants to make their work more effective. In Stone Age, the players live in time of our ancestors. They gather wood, break stone and wash their gold from the river. They trade freely, expand their village and so gain new levels of civilization. With a balance of luck and planning, the players fight for food in this prehistoric time. Players use up to 10 tribe members each in 3 phases. In the first phase, players put their men in regions of the board that they believe will benefit them, including the hunt, the trading center, or the quarry. In the second phase, the starting player activates each of his staffed areas in whatever sequence he decides, followed in turn by the other players. In the third phase, players must have enough food at hand to feed their populations, or they face losing resources or points.