Antike II is an exciting strategy game where players represent ancient nations as they evolve and compete against each other. The players establish cities, erect temples, travel the seas, and study to search for new principles in science and technology. They sail the seas to settle new regions and then then defend them against attacks from the others. The game board is two-sided giving players two options when they play.

Each player seeks to attract ancient kings, scholars, generals, citizens, and navigators to their nation. The winner is the player who first acquires the required number of these ancient personalities (based on the number of players).

Antike II is different from the original Antike in several ways. In Antike II, players now own city tokens, which gives them a degree of choice as to which resource each new city can produce. Building a military capability is now more expensive, and the rules for the conquest of cities are simpler. Scientific advancements are also changed. There are now neutral temples, which players may destroyed to gain victory points, without attacking other players.