About Before the Ash
Before the Ash is a small city builder game set in ancient Pompeii, with Mount Vesuvius sitting right in the middle of the map. You build on hexagonal tiles in the shadow of the volcano that buried the real town, and try to grow it into a thriving city in time.
Buildings come as cards. Click a card, place it on a tile, and the building starts producing resources on a steady rhythm. Save those resources and you can afford buildings that produce more. Each new day hands you free cards, and a shop sells extras when the hand you've got is not enough.
It's a blend of incremental growth and light strategy, played entirely with the mouse. The pixel-art map shows forests, a winding river and the volcano at its heart, with your score and resource counters along the edge. You can play Before the Ash online in a few minutes per session.
How to Play Before the Ash
- Click a building card at the bottom of the screen. Cards with a check mark are ready to place.
- Put the building on an open hex tile on the map.
- Let your buildings produce resources and watch the counters on the left climb.
- Spend those resources on bigger buildings with higher output.
- Collect your free cards each new day, and open the Shop to buy more.
- Keep your score growing while Vesuvius erupts around you.
What to Expect in Before the Ash
Before the Ash plays like a tidy city builder game with an incremental heart. At the start, a single pasture or camp feels like a big step. A few days later you're tracking half a dozen resources and deciding which card is worth buying next.
The volcano gives every choice weight. Vesuvius erupts often, and the city you're building lives right next to it, so growth always comes with risk. Because the setting is real history, the slow rise of the town has a quiet tension to it. You can play Before the Ash free in a browser tab, and it's at its best on a desktop or laptop screen.
Tips for Before the Ash
- Place resource buildings first. Everything bigger needs a steady income behind it.
- Cards marked with a red circle need more resources, so check your counters before planning your next build.
- Do not overlook the Shop. Buying the right card can beat waiting for the next free hand.
- Hover over a tile to check its type before you build on it.
- Play on a desktop or laptop if you can. The map and the card hand are much easier to read on a bigger screen.
Who Made Before the Ash
Before the Ash was made by Aviv Levy, Paul Maaswinkel, who released it on itch.io. It was built in Godot in one week for Godot Wild Jam 79, where the theme was Growing and the game had to be playable with one hand. FunClicker embeds the creator's own version so you can play it here without downloading anything. We did not make the game, and the credit for its design, code, and art belongs to its creator. You can find the original on the Before the Ash page on itch.io.
FAQ
Is Before the Ash free?
Yes. Before the Ash is free to play on FunClicker, right in your browser, with no download and no account needed. Click a building card, place it on the map and your Pompeii starts growing straight away. A session only takes a few minutes, so it's easy to try during a break.
How do you play Before the Ash?
Click a building card and place it on a hex tile. Buildings produce resources over time, and you spend those resources on bigger buildings that produce more. You get free cards every new day and can buy extra ones in the Shop. Everything is done with the mouse, using just one hand.
What is the goal of Before the Ash?
The goal is to turn Pompeii into a thriving city while Vesuvius looms over it. Your score climbs as the town grows, so the challenge is to build up as much as you can with the cards you get, while the volcano keeps erupting nearby and makes every expansion feel a little risky.
Who made Before the Ash?
Before the Ash was made by Aviv Levy and Paul Maaswinkel, who released it on itch.io. They built it in Godot, with pixel art made in Pyxel Edit. FunClicker embeds their own web build, and the Who Made section above links to the original game.
Can I play Before the Ash on a Chromebook or phone?
A Chromebook is a good fit, since the game runs in a normal browser tab and needs only a mouse or trackpad. Phones are a weaker choice. The map, the card hand and the counters are small, and the game plays best on a desktop screen, so use a laptop or desktop if you have one.
Is Before the Ash unblocked at school?
Before the Ash unblocked access depends on your school's network. The game needs only a browser tab, with nothing to install, but whether it opens is up to the network's filters, which we do not control. If FunClicker opens for you, the game should open too.
Is Before the Ash about the real Pompeii?
Yes, the setting is the real Roman town of Pompeii, next to Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed it. Before the Ash uses that history as a backdrop for a city builder game rather than a history lesson. You place pastures, camps, quarries and houses and try to make the town flourish.
Do you need a keyboard to play Before the Ash?
No. Before the Ash is a mouse-only game, made so it can be played with one hand. You click cards, click tiles, and open the Shop with the mouse. That makes it easy to play on a laptop trackpad, though a mouse is more comfortable for longer sessions.
