
- BGG rank
- BGG #119
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
- 2–4 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 4.2/5
- 2006

Rules assistance for Media Mogul
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Media Mogul is a board game released in 2004 for 3–5 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Richard Huzzey and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Auction / Bidding, and Open Drafting.
A Machiavellian game of media rivalry, Media Mogul thrusts players into the role of international tycoons seeking to spread their own operations over the globe. Winning over audiences with your television, radio and newspaper media with quality content is a key element, but it won't directly bring you victory. Lucrative advertising contracts are needed for you to profit from your media operations, but they bore and repel your audiences, requiring you to balance profit and sustainability at all times Each turn is divided in multiple phases: the business phase, the media phase, the advertising phase, the boredom phase and the mogul phase. In the business phase, players must select two actions to branch out into new media outlets, break into new continents and secure advertising contracts. They may purchase a media outlet, draw a media card, invest in their outlets or confirm advertising contracts. Once every player has chosen two actions, the process is repeated twice more. In the media phase, players bid for the attention of patrons on different continents and receive awards according to their global and specific media performance on each continent. Bids are made using permanent content bought for each player's office in the first phase (investment) and temporary content from media cards. To maintain an outlet, players must meet minimum content requirements. In the advertising phase, players earn revenue through advertising from patrons they've attracted. In the boredom phase, players lose patrons from their office according to a pre-determined pattern found on the turn order track. In the mogul phase, the turn order marker is advanced, face up cards are changed and the leading mogul marker is passed to the next player. The game ends once the media deck has run out twice or if the turn marker reaches the end of the turn track. The winner is the player with the greatest media value.
Media Mogul supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Media Mogul is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Media Mogul for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Media Mogul has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Media Mogul belongs to these categories: Economic and Movies / TV / Radio theme. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Auction / Bidding, and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Media Mogul are: Richard Huzzey. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Media Mogul as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.