Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Send merchants to a shared market, convert resources into Lydian lion coins, and build a tableau of properties at the dawn of currency.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Deck / Bag Building
Add new pieces during play to improve the cards, tokens, or dice drawn later.
Worker Placement
Commit limited workers to action spaces before opponents occupy them.
End Game Bonuses
Earn additional points for meeting conditions evaluated when the game ends.
Variable Set-up
Starting conditions, resources, or layouts change between plays.
Read the full game description
Lions of Lydia is a streamlined bag-building and engine-building game set in the ancient kingdom where the first gold coins entered circulation. Each turn, a merchant drawn from your bag visits the shared marketplace, letting you gather resources, exchange goods, or acquire property cards. Traditional merchants generate the materials that start your economy, while noble Lydian merchants unlock powerful lion coins that can substitute broadly and purchase the most valuable buildings. Every new card improves your tableau, creates discounts, or multiplies final scoring. Because every deployed merchant remains in the shared market until displaced, timing and worker color matter as much as the contents of your own bag.
