History of the World retells the story of humanity, starting from ancient Sumeria and ending with modern day USA. The map emphasizes those lands where civilizations flourished, with over sixty peoples featured on empire and event cards.

Capitals, cities, monuments, and forts are brought into play and then, just as quickly, are reduced by the armies of rivals. Control of buildings and lands enables players to collect gold. Whosoever has the most gold at game's end wins.

Compared to earlier editions of History of the World, this edition:

• Allows you to play with or without dice rules.
• Has a different distribution of empire cards and event cards
• Features new event cards and gold collection mechanisms
• Allows for a new "area tokens" strategy
• Includes new "honor tokens" that provide benefits
• Has a new player array

In general, the spirit of the game has been left intact, while incorporating elements from the earliest editions of the game as well as later developments. "Catastrophe", for example, has now become an honor, and "Weaponry", which was always too strong an event, has been removed.