7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat
Released Jun 2013
What Ancients Begat is a complete (~15 hour) game of family generations surviving the rise of western civilization. Survival is the ultimate goal. The sub-goals, you choose, build their story.Experience an abstract telling of the lives of our earliest recorded ancestors.
53% positive · 770 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Steam $9.99 $19.99 −50%
Can't confirm — worth a look
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Evaluation
7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat launched on June 7, 2013 as a self-described complete game. The store description explicitly calls it "a complete (~15 hour) game," and the game has received no post-launch DLC or major content updates. The only meaningful developer communication after launch was a news post from August 18, 2014, in which the developer explained they were moving on to a new project ("TANK or BOYFRIEND") rather than producing further 7GS content, citing earnings, tooling changes, and burnout. They mentioned a sequel as a future aspiration after finishing that shorter project, but no sequel or additional content for this game has ever materialized. With no post-launch content ever released, no unreleased DLC listed, and the developer explicitly framing the game as complete and their attention elsewhere as of August 2014, this game launched and remains a finished, standalone product.
Evidence
Developer explains they are moving on to a new game (TANK or BOYFRIEND) rather than producing more 7GS content, citing earnings, tooling changes, and burnout. A sequel is mentioned only as a vague future hope, not a commitment.
Store description explicitly calls the game 'a complete (~15 hour) game,' signaling it was designed and shipped as a finished standalone product.
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Mousechief
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows, macOS
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player
About this game
What Ancients Begat is a complete (~15 hour) game of family generations surviving the rise of western civilization. Survival is the ultimate goal. The sub-goals, you choose, build their story.
Experience an abstract telling of the lives of our earliest recorded ancestors. Part board game, part machine, part nod to computer games of yore, it begins with a simple mechanic. Spend tokens to traverse the wheel of life. Earn tokens by tempting the jaws of death. Then, like layers upon a pearl, game play expands, introducing fresh tactics and strategies which, turn by turn, drive a sophisticated, emergent narrative. How you play defines the lives of one family's generations through the changing ages.
An enormous tableau of ancient western culture awaits your exploration:
Experience an abstract telling of the lives of our earliest recorded ancestors. Part board game, part machine, part nod to computer games of yore, it begins with a simple mechanic. Spend tokens to traverse the wheel of life. Earn tokens by tempting the jaws of death. Then, like layers upon a pearl, game play expands, introducing fresh tactics and strategies which, turn by turn, drive a sophisticated, emergent narrative. How you play defines the lives of one family's generations through the changing ages.
An enormous tableau of ancient western culture awaits your exploration:
- Core Mechanic - Back and forth tactics, across four social boundaries, to win legend points.
- Family Strategy - Romance. Raise children. Rite of Passage.
- Family Drama - Tales in the life. Sibling rivalry. Failed branches. Graveyard of ancestry.
- Grand Legends - Earned over generations, they strengthen your family: Discoveries and Invention. Social Advancement. Heroics.
- Ruling Games - City Administration. Warring Kingdoms. Imperial Senate.
- The Challenges of an Age - Special for each social level. Survive and overcome, to enter a new age.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 28, 2026
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