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Board Game Reviews

Roll For The Galaxy By Rio Grande 2014

Designers: Wei-Hwa Huang, Thomas Lehmann

When it comes to a list of my favorite games to play, Race For The Galaxy is one that falls into the category of games that I like to call “love to play them, hate to teach them”.  That is to say, I think its a fantastic game, I will happily pull it out and play it but only with people who already know how to play.  Trying to teach Race for the Galaxy is a bloody nightmare to the point that I almost never do it.

Along comes Roll For The Galaxy, a dice based version of the same game, in the same style by the same designer.  The concept and goal is the same, build up your space empire by colonizing planets, discover technologies and of course doing it faster and better than the other guys.  Like Race for the Galaxy, Roll For The Galaxy is a race to the finish line but instead of cards, it uses a combination of tiles and dice.

Overview

Final Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star (3.9 out of 5 Stars)

Roll For The Galaxy is a game of resource management and while its driven by dice, unlike most dice based games there is not that much luck involved.  Its really a game of manipulating your dice (resources) to create the most optimal engine that scores the most points.

Now the fun part about both Race for the Galaxy and now Roll For The Galaxy is that you have limited control over which phases will be played during a round and its in this roll selection mechanic much of the games strategy takes place.  You have to try to guess what your opponents will do, guess right and you can leverage their chosen actions as well as your own.  This is how you really get the edge in Roll For The Galaxy and as such its both a game of resource management and reading minds.

Like its predecessor, this game is about a space race. You have to do it faster and better than everyone else.

 

Components

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_star

Pros:  Streamlined, clear and easy to understand iconography supported by explained text on everything makes learning the game easy, high quality tiles and dice.

Cons:  Player mats are a bit flimsy, the insert is too small to fit all components so you have to pull it out to fit everything.

Rio Grande Games has a mixed reputation when it comes to component quality but with b Roll For The Galaxy they really put in the effort here.  The quality of the tiles is the absolute best it can be, the dice quality is also above grade and while some of the player mats are a bit flimsy there are some nice organizational touches here that make every component very handy for streamlining gameplay.

Rio Grande has been disappointing lately. Its big success last year was re-printing a very lightly altered version of Dominion, which begs the question, why?

You have shields to hide your dice area, cups for collecting and rolling dice and there is fantastic organization of information on everything.  Really most of the components act as player aides so while the game has a lot of iconography like Race for the Galaxy did, its less confusing because the rules of each icon are always spelled out on the tile or player mat.  This makes the game very easy to reference and easier to pick up.

My biggest complaint about Race for the Galaxy is the difficulty in teaching it and this is largely due to the fact that the game has a ton of Iconography and its not explained anywhere in the player components, its all stored in the rule-book or index card requiring constant reference.  In Roll For The Galaxy they have solved this problem and its a huge blessing, deserving of all my praise.

Roll for the Galaxy is not a complex game, but there are a lot of special powers on the tiles, unique actions and a variety of special rules.  Thanks to the layout of the games components however, it all becomes second nature after a couple of rounds of play.

While there was quite a bit of art pulled from Race of the Galaxy, the majority of it is new and this was also a great decision.  The game feels fresh and the art work is colorful and themed just right even if you already own and have played Race For The Galaxy.

All and all the component quality here is really fantastic, I see little to complain about other then the player mats which are a bit flimsy and will definitely wear and tear over time.  The insert was also really bad, it doesn’t leave enough room in the box to fit everything so I had to throw it out.  Not really a big deal, but you have to wonder what they where thinking.

Theme

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_star

Pros: A sense of “race” remains in the game, art work does a lot to promote the theme.

Cons: Very abstracted and disconnected in most places.

Rio Grande Games generally makes Euro style games and Roll For The Galaxy, despite being a dice based game, is very much a Euro game.  Despite its roots, Roll For the Galaxy has more theme then most Euros.  Your building a space empire, playing out improvements, technologies, installing governments and colonizing planets.  All the science-fiction bells and whistles are here supported by great art that heightens the perception.

The art is crisp and techi, but there is limited connection between mechanics and theme here. Its very abstracted.

That said the game is not really particularly thematic, its all very abstracted, though in a dice game this is a given.  Its clear that everything that could be done to make this game thematic was, but it still does not result in an overwhelming sense of time and place.  It works well as a science-fiction theme and being based on Race for the Galaxy it retains that “space race” feel, but the theme here is pretty interchangeable, it could have just as well been themed to be medevil Mediterranean trading or well pretty much anything with trading and exploration.

I don’t think this really has much impact on the game though, you don’t really sit down to it expecting a thematic experience.  Its a fairly short, strategic dice game with roll selection and resource management.  The mind games of trying to guess your opponent strategy and intended action each turn is a lot of fun, but I’m not sure how that ties into the theme at all.

Needless to say the theme is sufficient, but isn’t going to overwhelm the senses and that’s just fine.

Gameplay

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Great core mechanics, streamlined and fun.  The game pace and timing is just right in the sweet spot.

Cons: Very little player interaction.

I consider gameplay to be of utmost importance in a game like this as it involves dice and that is very easy to fuck up.  In fact, I would say the overwhelming majority of dice games are huge disappointments to me so when I find a good one like Roll For The Galaxy its cause to celebrate.

Roll For The Galaxy functions on several levels, its actually far deeper than any dice game I have played before to the point where I’m not sure it fully qualifies as a dice game in the sames sense that Voyage of Marco Polo or Kingsburg may arguably might be considered to be in a category other than dice game.

Voyage of Marco Polo also uses a lot of dice, but anyone who has played is unlikely to refer to it as a dice game. Roll For The Galaxy I think falls into the same category.

On the surface its a game of resource management.  You roll dice in your cup which represents your available resources or work force.  The icons on the dice determine what options are available to you although there are countless ways to manipulate the results, in particular once you get a few developments into play.  Your also managing your money to bring already used workers back into your cup for your next turn.  There is a kind of engine here you have to coordinate to ensure you always have some resources to work with and much of the strategy of the game revolves around this cycle.

On the second level you have your action for the round.  Each round you will select one of the five possible actions to take, however each player does the same thing.  Only the actions selected by the player will be triggered, and since you assign dice to actions at the start of each turn, guessing correctly what actions your opponents will take will allow you to take both your action and the actions of your opponents.  This is a kind of mini game of trying to deduce what your opponents will do, its both a big part of the strategy and fun of the game.  Guessing correctly on a regular basis means you will gain a big advantage over time, as will your opponents.  Which again flips things where you don’t want to be obvious with your actions to prevent your opponents from guessing correctly.  Its really a kind of fun mind game, it can even create a bit of Analysis Paralysis.  I really love this aspect of the game.

You make key decisions like which action to take each round behind a screen. deducing what your opponents are going to do is key to a good strategy.

Finally their is the third layer where you decide what planets to colonize and what developments to build.  Here you have another engine where you explore tiles by pulling them out of a bag when taking the explore action, then choose which tiles to develop.  This is where you will build your long term strategy, a critical component to being successful in the game as the tiles both give you advantages like more dice for your cup, ways to manipulate dice or just outright score points.  The tiles themselves are also worth points and generally the more resources it takes to put a tile into play the more its worth, but of course the longer it takes to get into play.  Its a fine balance of tough decisions requiring you to have a flexible and well thought out strategy.  It is also the trigger for the end game, once any player has 12 tiles out, at the end of the round the game ends.  So there is strategy to how fast you develop, do you go for big hard to put out tiles to score big points, or do you rush to the finish line with lots of smaller tiles.

All of these elements come together to create a very thinky, very engaging game that far exceeds the expectations you might have of a simple dice game.  Much like Race for the Galaxy there is not a tremendous amount of interaction between players, its effectively a space race to see who can do it faster and better, but the game is sufficiently short that this does not become a problem.  You’re really focused on your own stuff, but because of the role selection mechanic your always keeping a close eye on what your opponents are doing in anticipation of having to guess what actions they will take.  It works really well to keep players interested in each others progress despite not really having much you can do to affect it negatively.

I absolutely adored the gameplay in this game, it has the exact same concept/premise of Race For the Galaxy, with the same feeling, but without the overly complex Iconography to slow the game down.  Its very easy to teach and learn and its very short even with a full complement of players.  Its a really great warm up game, yet it has sufficient depth to keep veteran players engaged and interested.

Replay-ability and Longevity

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Scales well, dynamic starts and plenty of randomization to create new experiences each time you play.

Cons: Nothing to complain about

Its really hard to measure the longevity of a game like this, but I think the fact that its a fairly short game (typically under an hour) its replay-ability ratio is very high.  I can see this acting as a warm up game for a lot of game sessions in particular because it scales so well with any player count.

The randomness of tile draws and dice rolling ensure that you are never going to play the same game twice, in fact, I would say even your strategy is very dynamic.  You are going to base a lot of your strategy on what tiles you start with and what tiles you draw, so your not going to walk into this game with a “this is how you win this game” pre-planned strategy.  Every game is different, requiring a different approach,  which does wonders for replay-ability.

Very little to complain about here, its easy to teach and learn, so you really can pull it out at any game session without fear.  It has a great dynamic start ensuring your going to be seeing the game through new eyes each time you play.  Just a good solid mechanic with plenty to explore.

Conclusion

Roll For The Galaxy has turned out to be one of the most solid titles to come out of Rio Grande for quite a while in my eyes.  It definitely surpasses its predecessor Race For The Galaxy and despite being a dice game, its a very strategic game well in the control of the player.  Lady luck plays her part but not nearly to the extent one might imagine in a dice game.

This is a multifaceted game that works on a fairly wide range of depth, yet manages to be easy to understand throughout.  It scales really well, it has a short play time that really hits the sweet spot for warm up games and there is plenty of exploration for repeated plays.

Definitely a highly recommended title for Race For The Galaxy fans and fans of dice games, but really this game is far more than the sum of its part.  This is a thinky, strategic game, worthy of the shelf space of any gamer out there.

Board Game Reviews

First Night with Runewars Miniature Game

I don’t do to many first impression articles, but on occassion I like to write one just to see what I think after the first play of a game and have it as a comparison to it when I do the final review.  This works best with miniature games as it takes me a really long time to properly review them.

Today on First Night With, I’m going to be talking about Fantasy Flight Games newborn sensation, Runewars the miniature game.  Its officially launched, I have played it twice, here is what I thought.

First let me just say that as expected, Runewars miniatures are extrodinarly well done.  The molds are clean, in epic (active) poses, there is great variety and they are just flat out beautiful.  FFG has hit the nail on the head, I find very little to complain about.  Personally I was amazed and delighted,  even inspired to paint, which for me, is nothing short of a fucking miracle because I despise painting mini’s with a deep passion.

The quality of the mini’s is undeniable. They look amazing!

I can see that some hard core miniature fans might have issues with the fact that the molds are designed in “fixed” poses.  This was clearly a design decesion made to make this miniature game a little bit more approachable for people new to the hobby as it makes assembly considerably easier with few parts to put together.  Most of the pieces snap together requiring glue only for select mini’s.  I know from experiance that veteran miniature gamers really want to customize and create something unique, with Runewars that will be a bit more difficult requiring some cutting and plenty of greenstuff, but I suspect most of these hobbyiest won’t find that to difficult.  Its a compromise, but it certainly favors guys like me who just want to get to the game.

Skeletons were a bit more fiddly when putting them together. They require glue to put together.

I really disliked the tray system.  I understand what they where going for here, but the interlocking trays and unit connectors are fiddly, too tight and really just get in the way.  I can see myself cutting all of these things off, a solution easy enough to implement.  I really don’t see the point of the interlocking system, its something that sounds good on paper, but didn’t really work that great in practice.

The trays were probobly not intended to be difficult to connect and disconnect, but they are, it was annoying and slowed the game down.

As for the rest of the components, in standard FFG fashion they have blown the doors off with the absolutly highest level of component and card quality, extremely clear and functional text, great artwork and aesthetics and streamlined to perfection.  After a single play I was already familiar with all of the games components and by the second play the symbology was already becoming second nature.  A++ here, they just nailed it.

Finally the books.  I spent an hour reading the Lore book cover to cover and while I think the Runewars universe is extremely bland and generic, and still very vague, its definitly the most we have ever gotten for it.  The writting was well done, clever even in some places, but the game world is still very much at arms length.  I find it hard to describe but its just not dark enough for my tastes and it has this fluffy, cartoony feel to it, much like its art that really just kind of makes it difficult to connect to.  It manages to fit in all of your standard over used fantasy tropes, there are magic runes, undead, forest elves and dragons.  All your usual stuff done a million times before with just the tinyiest amount of variation.  It was quite pedestrian with no suprises and not a single line of original thought adding a grand total of zero to the genre of fantasy work.  I was really hoping with Runewars the miniatures game they were going to dive in and create something to give the game some thematic muscle and perhaps they still might with some sort of story book (aka like they did for Android) but for now the game world is still very much common and largely irrelevant.

I really hope FFG takes the time to create a lore book for Runewars like they did for Android. It really needs it.

The other two books, the learn to play and Rules Reference on the other hand tackled the job of teaching you how to play and giving you a proper rule book reference, both of which are fantastic, easy to consume and extremely streamlined.  Its exactly what this game needed and I love the format.  It left very few questions unanswered and while I expect we will see quite a bit of errata in the future, for the purposes of learning the game and having a good reference guide these two books have it covered.

Ok so lets talk about the actual gaming experiance here because there is quite a bit to cover and it really is the heart and soul of this game.

To me the game really kind of breaks down into three core zones of mechanics.  First you have your list/army building.  Second you have your gameplay and mechanics.  Finally you have your strategic and tactical variation.

As far as list building goes I reserve judgement because frankly I did very little.  That said I was happy to see that despite there being a fairly limited selection of units there was quite a bit of variety in how you set each one up.  We had two core sets to work with and even there I felt like we could have easily gotten a 3rd.  How many ranks you put in a unit has a lot of impact on how that unit will be used, but the upgrades in particular really stood out.  Each one creating unique tactical oppertunities that really differeniate two units of the same type.

More than that though I can see how you can create a pretty wide range of lists with just the core sets with different levels of focus, tactical infusion and general strategy.  I think with more units coming into the fold in expansions, list building will be debated and fun with plenty of room for experimentation.  I was very pleased with the core set as a whole as far as list building went, it was definitly a big improvement over the core sets of X-Wing and Armada.

When Armada was released and advertised as an Epic game of capital ship combat, when you got the core set it felt like anything but. Runewars however managed to really nail it. Its supposed to be a game of epic Fantasy battles, and it feels like it with just the core set.

One core set however is clearly not enough and I would argue even two will have you feeling a bit light.  Really I think most people are going to want to have 3 core sets in the end to make the 1st wave really robust and varied.

When it comes to gameplay I have to say that while I found a lot to love about it, the thing that really stood out the most for me was the core balance in the game.  FFG has done a fantastic job of creating a really solid asymetrical balance between the two armies and while both matches where won by humans, it was clear to me that this was just a fluke rather than a balance issue.  Certainly certain units stood out as clearly superior, but both armies had, asymetrical responses which even things out.  It was clear matches are won and lost with tactics and strategy, exactly as it should be.  There was one exception and that’s the Runes (more on that later)

Our first game the undead forces lost the game by a mere 5 points and the while the second match ended in largely a blow out I could see very specifically where tactical miscalculation and not balance issues where the direct cause.  You could very easily track back every mistake that lead to the loss and there was plenty of “I should have” moments that would have drastically changed the outcome of the battle. (Again with one exception, I promise, more on that later)

I was also very happy with the dice layout and system.  While the destiny of the dice certainly played its part, I never felt like the dice ruled the game.  The stat odds are very even keel, this is not a game you can win by rolling well or lose by rolling poorly.  Sure you might have a key roll that creates an epic moment of success or failure, but in Runewars battles are won and lost by decesions, not the dice, for which I can only say, thank you FFG.

The movement mechanic borrowed from X-Wing also worked really great.  In our first two games we made a lot of gaffs being unfamiliar with estimating ranges, but I can see how in the future we will get much better at this.  Still I think that uncertainty and “I hope I’m close enough for this charge” feeling will remain a part of this game and I think its really great.  Thankfully the penalty for missing a charge or unerestimating a move are not that harsh, which I think is a good thing, it would be a shame if battles were won and lost on one mistake, that is not the case here.  The movement system pushes players to take risks and hope for the best resulting in a lot more action on the table.

The table space is quite tight despite its size, usually by the second round units are clashing so you really get right to the action.  I think in time the game will feel more mobile than it did in our first game as we really didn’t leverage some of the more advanced moves that are possible.  While its not quite X-Wing in terms of movement, its clear that position, facing and timing are all part of the movement sequence putting players to tough decesions.  All good things.

The objective and deployment mechanic was also really good, I’m glad they pulled this away from being part of a list building mechanic and made it a random draw.  While I think this worked ok in Armada, the thing with. adding objectives to list building is that it creates too much dependency and drives list building.  With the Runewars way of drawing them, you really kind of need to prepare for all of them and this will result in list building being more diverse and less specialized, which ultimatly creates more balanced battles.  I really liked the system.

I didn’t love everything about the mechanics however.  For one, I really hated the “Rune” system, it really felt like a kind of pointless and underserved random modifier that rewarded players for doing absolutly nothing but getting lucky.

The mechanic is this “extra thing” on the side of a battle completly unreleated to any tactics, decsions or strategies of the players which really does nothing at all to make the game either more interesting, more balanced, fun or tactical.  Half the time we would forget about the mechanic entirely and when it did kick it, it did little else but give a player a random advantage that had zero to do with the fight. It was like flipping a coin to see if more units would die or not, simply put, it was a gift that rewarded a player for doing nothing.   I also didn’t think it was particularly balanced.  The undead army was allowed to regenerate units for their foot soldiers (1 or 2 of them) as long as the tray was still there based on the runes that appear.  This was offset by the human player getting 1 or 2 additional threat for their Gollums.  This was a poor trade of as regenerate would only kick in under very specific circumstances while the increasing threat of the Gollum pretty much kicked in every round.  In fact, in two games, the undead player never once was able to leverage this advantage while for the human player it was a key advantage that gave him a huge boost in the fight.

This random modifier was poorly thought out, it adds a random element to the game that serves only to create luck based results with no tactical decesions that can be made to avoid them. Worse yet it masquerades as a way to power unit abilities, rendering some way too powerful and others completetly and utterly useless.

Balance was not really my beef with the mechanic however, I just didn’t like the idea of this completetly random element affecting the results of the battle.  We already have dice for that, it just seemed pointless to have yet another element of pure luck in the game.  Definitly my least favorite aspect of Runewars.

If you are a hardcore miniatures fan, you will quickly realize that there are quite a few sacred cows that have been abandoned in Runewars, this is not your grandaddy’s miniature game.  FFG gave few fucks about the miniature gaming community at large, they designed this game through and through in FFG fashion with little concern as to wether or not Warhammer Fantasy/40k people will approve, or will or won’t like it.  They made it the way they like it and its a take it or leave it deal.  In fact, one of the biggest impressions I walked away with was that Runewars is just a giant FUCK YOU to Gamesworkshop.  Its a game that has solved every problem that has plagued Warhammer Fantasy & 40k for 30+ years with ease and flare.  The movement templates might has well say “eat a dick GW” on the side because its kind of like, after 30+ Years you assholes couldn’t design up a cardbord stick for movement in your game!?

Warhammer Fantasy died a very long and very painful death. It was never a good game. Runewars pretty much fixed every problem it ever had in one fell swoop. GW could learn a lot from FFG.

But I degress…

From a birds eye view as well as in the nitty gritty details, Runewars has made a very positive impression on me.  Definitly worth investing in and exploring.  I think as far as a straight to the point game of fantasy battles, this is the best I have seen in years and this is coming from a guy who when it was first announced instantly turned down the offer.  I think my main problems with the game like the fact that it is a assemble and paint game are more a minor nuisance compared to what you get out of it as a game.  I didn’t like the Rune mechanic, but this too requires more exploration.  While I felt it was rather broken as a first impression, I suspect with the core set we have not really seen its full intention and use.  Given that everything else in the game from the quality of the miniatures to the fantastic gameplay, it would be foolish to discount it based on these minor issues.

As a whole I would rate my impression as “really good” and I definitly look forward to future battles, so for now I stand excited about the game and look forward to exploring it further.

That’s my first impressions of Runewars, hope you enjoyed the article.  See you on the battlefield.

 

Board Game Reviews

Blood Rage by CMON 2015

Designer: Eric M. Lang

Blood Rage is perhaps one of the most evolutionary games to hit the board gaming scene in the last decade, I use the term evolutionary rather then revolutionary because while it certainly defines a lot of new ground, it does so with existing, well established mechanics.

This game has the look of an Ameri-trash game, populated with amazing miniatures, artistic flare and of course coming out of the American publisher CMNO (Cool Mini or Not).  Despite all that, its central core is without question eurocentric with elements like card drafting, resource management, victory points and Euro stylized area control.

What do we make of E. Langs creation, lets get to it!

Overview

Final Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star (5 out 5) Perfect Score!

In Blood Rage players are put in the position of a Viking tribe with the intent to control a mythological landscape, hell bent on an honorable death while navigating the cataclysmic resetting of the world lovingly known as Ragnarok.

Going on 4 years of game reviews and 20+ years of gaming, this is the first time I have ever given a game a perfect score! It earned every sparkle of every star.

Each round players will do a round robin card drafting session, cards that will be drafted for their preferred strategy.  During the course of a round players will fight for control of the board as they attempt a series of raids in the name of glory and honor, to both score points and advance their clan on different resource tracks that strengthen their position.  Players will also use cards to quest to score more points as well as upgrade their clan with a wide range of clan and leader upgrades, as well as purchasing of one of a kind mythological units to fight on their side.

After four rounds of play the player with the most glory points wins the game.

In a nutshell, Blood Rage is a game of area control and scoring points, but this surface explanation hardly does it justice as the strategic depth and wide range of strategic options and approaches creates an incredibly versatile and dynamic game.

Components

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_star

Pros:  Perfect combination of quality, art and sculpted miniatures.  You simply can’t ask for much more.

Cons:  None

Cool Mini or Not has gained quite the reputation for their component quality giving even Fantasy Flight Games a run for its money.  Blood Rage exemplifies this to an extreme that is almost over kill.  Intricately sculpted and asymmetrical figures border on miniature game quality and are absolutely amazing, in particular considering they exist in a board game.  Every component is of the best quality from cards and tokens to the board itself.  Everything has a gritty art style that brings the Viking theme to life and as if this was not enough the board is clear, easy to read and streamlined to the maximum making everything identifiable and simple to read helping tremendously in gameplay.

These miniatures look like they belong in miniature gamers display case. Absolutely amazing!

To say it plainly Blood Rage, component wise is as perfect as it can be.  Its hard to imagine what else could have been done to improve the quality here.  As a gamer I can only tip my hat and say thank you, I think I can safely speak on the behalf of all gamer’s that when we spend money on games, this is exactly what we want them to look like.

Theme

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: An amazing blending of game play, abstraction and theme.  The best Viking themed game ever made.

Cons: You might like it less if you don’t like the Viking Theme.

The art style aside, which is in its own right a contributor to bringing the theme to life here, Blood Rage literally bleeds theme, you almost want to be careful not to get too much on you.

The connection here is deep and while the game is somewhat abstracted, somehow the abstraction really fits the overall thematic depth here.  Its a game where units die, go to Valhalla and get re-incarnated then come back and do it again, oddly enough this is thematically accurate despite being of course ultra unrealistic.

The dark and mythy artwork does a great job of getting you in the mood.

More than that though the mechanics stay out of the way of the theme when it counts, but appear when it feels just right.  For example it may seem odd that only so many units can fit on any given space, clearly a mechanical consideration, but they make up for it when ensuring that monsters that are brought into play are true monstrosities.  Not just in the visual representation of the miniatures, but in the game effects upon their arrival.  The impact is huge, the units are feared and getting them to the board is just pure bliss and satisfaction.  I absolutely love the fact that the game has this deep mechanical balance where a wide range of strategies and tactics can pull out a win, while simultaneously keep it gamy by having these huge power plays that just say “fuck you and your strategy, I have a Fire Giant!” It just feels right thematically and the game bursts with color and presence.

There is also this element of asymmetrical units and while mechanically the game is not asymmetrical from the start, the fact that by the second round each player will have devised his own strategy and adapted his clan to his preference, the game becomes asymmetrical.  Suddenly having asymmetrical units on the board, somehow makes sense and becomes relevant thematically.   Its ingenious that the producers of this game recognized that the presence of asymmetry of the units, despite mechanically not being so out of the gate was important to the theme of the game.

Adding asymmetric units to an unsymmetrical game because through the course of the game your clan becomes asymmetrical as a result of upgrades was a genius move, even if it is total overkill.

Finally there is just the blood thirsty nature of Vikings and their perceived love of war and fearlessness of death is captured in Blood Rage beautifully.  Units fight for glory and the only thing that matters are the results of battle, death is not feared, in fact often its a sought after a strategy of the game ensuring there is always action on the table regardless of the relative strength of a particular clan at any given time.  I absolutely love the fact that, I go into a fight totally outnumbered, knowing I’m about to die and its still a good move for me.  It ensures there is no turtling, no fussing about, its a game of war because Vikings love war and it just works beautifully to bring out the thematics of the games premise.

Blood Rage is pure perfection in capturing the mood and feel of a Viking based game of war, doing it with pizzazz and a flare for the dramatic.  Love it!

 

Gameplay

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: An amazing dynamically built, asymmetrical game with endless possibility and strategic depth.  Its the perfect game.

Cons: Ameri-Trash purist might find issue with its Eurocentric game-play.

When it comes to Blood Rage there just seems to be no weakness, Gameplay is no different.  Blood Rage is an amazingly diverse game that offers countless strategies in a dynamic forum that refuses to allow you to get comfortable.   This is a game that is not over until every last point is counted and no matter how it appears there are any number of ways to make a massive comeback to steal it.  As an amateur designer I’m in awe of a game that does not really create anything particularly new or revolutionary, yet manages to be so deep and intriguing.

To begin with, the card drafting mechanic has been clearly tested to a ridiculous degree.  The balance of upgrades, quests and attack cards are diverse and made good for a wide range of occasions.  There really are no bad cards, every card in this game can be “the perfect card” depending on the timing of its arrival and the strategy of the player.  Its amazing that you can look at a card in one game and effectively ignore it, while looking at in another game and realize that its your game winner.  The drafting in this game is a vital component of your strategy, the decisions are painful and its not uncommon to find yourself AP ridden as a result.  I just love the choices here, they have so much impact on how your round is going to play out.

Drafting cards is a vital phase in the game, its where you define your intended strategy.

Resource management is also so clever, rife with tough decisions.  Every point of rage and every improved stat has important impact and often is critical to your success.  A bad decision can cost you dearly, a good one can result in a major triumph.  More than that though its so well balanced here as well, every attribute of your clan is so important and its impossible to be good at everything so you have to choose wisely, yet it can be so dynamic what you are able to end up increasing because of how raiding works.

With raiding, each area will have a token that represents one of the three attributes and these tokens are randomly chosen at the start of the game which creates a lot of dynamics.  In some games you can end up with a lot of rage on the board, in others, you might find there to be a major shortage.  The impact of that on strategies and tactics, what areas become critical in a game and how that affects the actions of players is just fantastic.  No two games are ever alike as a result.

Resource management & upgrades are also critical. Nothing on this player sheet can be ignored, everything matters.

Finally there is just the global mechanics of combat, both in the cards you choose, where you put your units out, what upgrades you have in play and course what monsters you have available.  All of these create a wide range of combat results, with huge upsets and triumphs.  No matter what fight your going into, you can never be certain of the results, there is a ton of risk vs. reward here and in Blood Rage taking risks is a vital component of strategy.  Yet despite this system there is no luck in the combat element of the game, its all about what has put out on the table and what cards players have drafted.  Hence you can devise strategies to ensure the results you want, but of course you can end up being countered by other players strategies, all with virtually no luck elements to blame.  This should cater to Euro sensibilities, but as a Ameri-Trash player I can’t imagine how luck would improve the game in any way, its exactly perfect as it is.

The gameboard is where all the action takes place, control isn’t everything however, its as important to fight and win as it is to control. Blood Rage is definitely not a game of turteling.

I’m hard pressed to name any negative aspects of gameplay in Blood Rage.  I suppose I could say that this game improves greatly with more players.  While I think a 2 or 3 player game works fine, personally I think it just shines so bright as a 4 or 5 player game (need expansion for 5), that said playing it 2 or 3 player just feels wrong somehow.  This is a game of the more the merrier, though I’m not sure you could negatively score it as a 2 or 3 player game because all of those dynamics are still there.  I just think its so good with a full player count, I wouldn’t dream of playing it any other way.

In short, Blood Rage its just bloody pitch perfect (pun intended).

Replay-ability and Longevity

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Endlessly replay-able, this is a game for the ages, no two games will ever be alike.

Cons:  You would have to be a hateful son of a bitch to find replay-ability issues in this game.

Blood Rage is so dynamic I can’t think of a single game that could top it in the replay-ability department.  Its got it where it counts, which is pretty much everywhere.  I predict that this game will remain in our gaming group indefinitely, its always a contender for the table and I just don’t see myself ever tiring of it.

I think in part the great contribution to the Longevity of this game is the card drafting.  It creates what is effectively a dynamically, asymmetrical game.  After the first round of drafting, each player has customized their clan and by the end of the game, every clan is not only unique, but created from a combination of countless effects, monsters, upgrades etc.. Every game is just going to be drastically different from the next, which is kind of strange considering your playing on static board.

The expansions aren’t necessary for the game, its quite perfect without them, but they are fantastic in their own right. Gods of Asgard and the 5 Player expansion are well worth the investment.

There is also this intangible quality that great games have where after finishing a game you have this “I should have” feeling, urging you to play it again so you can try the next alternative strategy or tactic.  This game is not just about what strategy you choose but also about the timing of the execution of the strategy.  Your always working towards the win, but there are these big end game plays which sort of dynamically form over the course of the game, coming to a conclusion in the final draft.  The risk vs. reward balance here really drives this as players must make choices as to whether to play it safe or push it.

Its just a very satisfying game that keeps you hungry, win or lose you always feel like you should have won. You can always trace things back to a particular event, action or decision.

I can’t think of anything that would drive down or negatively effect replay-ability, in fact with the introduction of the expansions that allow for a 5 player game and the gods which create yet another crazy dynamic, this game is just infinity replay-able.

Conclusion

My rating system is very tough, its designed to keep me honest and make it near impossible for a game to get a perfect score.  Blood Rage is the first ever and I’m really unsure if it that will ever be repeated.

You might ask then why its not my number 1 game on my top 10 best table top games of all time.  Well there is no accounting for taste and while I absolutely love blood rage and I do believe its a  perfect design , I find some elements of my personal taste don’t fully match up with Blood Rage, though I would never count it against a amazing design like this.

I love civilization builders, miniatures games and story based games. Blood Rage doesn’t really fall into any of those categories, but it doesn’t intend to so I don’t hold it against it.  Personal preference and the ability to rate/review a game objectively are two very different approaches.  Objectively, to me, Blood Rage is the perfect game and while I’m still on the search for a perfect Civilization Builder, Miniature Game or Story Based game, Blood Rage definitely meets the standards within its own genre.

This is a game for anyone that considers themselves a serious gamer, it simply can’t be missed.  My first perfect review on my blog, amazing.

 

Board Game Reviews

The Great Western Trail by Eggertspiele 2016

The Great Western Trail is a German Euro game about an American tradition, the old west cattle drive and as strange of a combination as that might sound to be, the fascination with the old west actually tends to be quite strong in Europe.  In Great Western Trail however players don’t take on the roles of traditional “movie” cowboys, having shootouts in the OK coral but rather they take the more historically accurate role of cowboys moving cattle across the landscape of the old American west.

I have to admit when I first started hearing buzz about this game I was immediately intrigued, and it was quite specifically because of this more real cowboy theme.  The idea of a western based euro game about the economics of the cattle drive, as unusual of a theme as it is got my attention but even more than that was the fact that someone made a Euro game that wasn’t about Mediterranean trading or worker placement really sounded like someone finally realized that both of those elements are seriously played out at this point in game design.

Overview

Final Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star Quarter Star(3.1 out 5 Stars)

In Great Western Trail players traverse a series of trails with a wide range of stops where they can perform a variety of activities including resource and hand management.  Like most heavy German Euros, the game pits players against each other in a very non-confrontational environment, but one rich in strategic decisions and tough choices.

With many routes to victory using a combination of some classic designs and some very new ones, Great Western Trail is an intriguing puzzle to be unraveled.

Components

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_star

Pros:  Components made to last, very nice colorful art style.

Cons:  Lots of Iconography to learn and remember, player sheets are a bit thin.

Component quality coming out of European publishers has really improved dramatically over the last few years and while there is still a lot of reliance on wooden tokens, Great Western Trail boasts very high quality board, card and card board components.  There is very little to complain about here, this is a game built to last.  I would argue that the player boards are a bit thin and they are easy to damage thanks to combination of thin cardboard paper and hard corners, but of all the components in the box these sheets are the only thing that comes out a bit weak.

The game is colorful and bright, with a cartoony art style that is appealing to the eye. Of course like many Euros it’s also very busy with a lot of iconography.

Its a very colorful game with a clean, cartoony look capturing the western feeling/theme quite nicely.  Their is a brick ton of Iconography which adds a fair amount of time to learning how to play, contrary to first impressions the iconography is extremely logical and after a play of the game becomes second nature and easy to understand and remember.  By the time I was in my third game the manual stayed in the box despite the fact that even in a third game we were still discovering new elements with new iconography on them.  This clarity is needed and you’ll be glad that its there as it makes this rather complex game a lot easier to grasp in the long run.

For a Euro game or otherwise, Great Western Trail looks great on the table and while there are a lot of moving parts all of the mechanics and components mesh well in a logical easy to understand manner.  Initial learning curve aside, I think its thanks to the art style, iconography and logical combination of art and mechanics that makes this complex game a lot easier to learn and to play.

Theme

Score: christmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_star

Pros: A good choice of theme for the mechanics in place, the art helps a lot to give it a bit of extra energy.

Cons:  The theme is largely irrelevant and pretty feather light, there are some missed opportunities.

While I love the selection of the theme and certainly the art styles helps a great deal to bring it to the table, like most Euro game the theme is a thin layer added largely to facilitate artistic choices.  I would argue that they picked a very good theme when comparing them to the mechanics, it certainly works but if you are looking to experience the old west in a board game, this one does it just on the surface at best.

There are cowboys here, but you’re not exactly going to feel like Wyatt Earp here. The connection between theme and mechanics is fairly limited.

This is a game about mechanics and while there are some interesting abstraction mechanics added to the game like the hand of cards being your cattle, buildings being stops along the trail that also has various hazards and such, you aren’t exactly going to feel like you are in a role of a cowboy here.

Given the very minimal interaction between players as well, you can’t help but wonder if they missed an opportunity in this game to create some take that mechanics.  You can’t help but feel the absence of certain elements in a  western theme game like some six shooters, sheriffs or bad guys but I suppose since those things didn’t drive me to the game it feels weird to judge it negatively for not having them.  Still its a game about cowboys in the old west given the minimal interaction, the game ends up feeling less thematic as a result.

Like many victory point mash up games, it never ceases to amaze me how a game that appears so busy and full of life is effectively a solitaire game. GWT is not as bad as Caverna, but it’s definitely in the same category.

All that said, like most Euro games it becomes very easy to overlook and dismiss the theme as you focus your energy on the mechanics and Great Western Trail is really no different.  The theme in short is really not that important here.

Gameplay

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Dynamic setup, non-traditional euro mechanics and thinky gameplay make for a great combination.  Very good victory point smorgasbord.

Cons: No real catch up mechanics in place, pretty limited player interaction.

All games generally live and die by their mechanics but its in particular true about Euro games because they often share so many of the same mechanics and aren’t focused on theme, but thankfully in the case of The Great Western trail, there is sufficient deviation from the standard fare of role selection and worker placement that it allows the game to stand out.

There are a number of things to really like about Great Western Trail, I think the most notable however is that while its a pretty weighty Euro with a lot of strategic juice, turns are very quick and the activities of a turn are pretty straightforward and easy to understand.  The choices might be tough, but what you actually do on your turn is very simple.  Move your cowboy and perform the action on the space you land.  Conceptually it falls into the easy to learn impossible to master category and I think above all else this is the zone in which Euro games find the most comfort and simultaneously excel at.  Great Western Trail is a wonderful example of this.

Personally I been exhausted by many of the traditional euro mechanics like Worker placement, action or role selection mechanics and I think the the real strength of Great Western Trail is that its a very strategic and thinky game that does not fall back on these tried and true cores.  Instead it ventures out into some new territory which I found to be a breath of fresh air.  Its nothing I would call revolutionary, but its a new dynamic puzzle and that can be a lot of fun with the right group.

Russian Railroads is often hailed as one of the best among the Victory Point Mash up Euros, but its based on a very static, tried and true worker placement mechanic. I like GWT a lot better mainly because it does something fresh and new in the genre.

The combination of movement, hand management and resource management along the way works really well to create some really tough choices.  You sort of build up a route that works to the strength of your selected strategy for scoring points and while Great Western Trail is very much a Victory Point Smorgasbord, you do have quite a few variations on what you can go for and the initial setup is dynamic as is the way the games tokens that can affect strategy are so you end up with a wide range of variation between plays.  This of course helps with re-playability a great deal but what it really means for the game is that you can’t sit down with a strategy planned in advance, a problem a lot of Euros suffer from.  You really have to look at the board, see what buildings are available, where neutral buildings are initially placed, what workers are available, what cards are in the market place and then you can think about how you are going to do strategy wise.

One of my beefs with Le Havre is that despite its dynamic nature and simple complexity style design, it has a pattern that becomes apparent and rather predictable after several plays. GWT manages to dodge that quite a bit thanks to the many dynamic elements that really shift attention to a wide range of strategies from game to game.

While the interaction is quite thin, one point of interaction is the placement of buildings which can tax players, create stalling points and with hazards can add additional hurdles for players who put their buildings in riskier, but more profitable spots.    This really helps a lot to make the game feel like your playing with others, though the impact of their decisions still has pretty minimal impact on you.   In a lot of ways Great Western Trail can feel a bit solitaire, in particular in two player games but in 3 and 4 player games I think the games interaction makes deeper cuts and I definitely recommend to play it this way.

The personal player board is also very important in the game, what actions you unlock here and where you place your tokens on the train track are critical for getting good positioning of future runs through the trails.  There is a lot to think about and plan here.  There is a lot of investment in strategies as well so you have to make good choices throughout if you hope to win, there really are no “big moves” but rather slow and steady build up of smart choices that pays out in the long run.  For better or for worse, in Great Western Trail it can be pretty hard to catch up if you fall too far behind as players who make wise choices will get momentum that is difficult to halt.  In a lot of ways Great Western Trail is very much about building a functioning engine which acts as a sort of race and its in this that the competition and tension of the game really exists.

When and how you unlock your personal player board actions is really important to a good long term strategy. There is this mix between long term strategy on the player board, several moves ahead strategy of your hand of cards and turn to turn strategy with your movement. The combination creates a lot of tough decisions.

I think the inability for players to do much to slow down a player with a lot of momentum kind of hurts the game.  You can find yourself about halfway through the game falling hopelessly behind or watching one player get far ahead and effectively have to play a game to its conclusion knowing who will win since mid game.  Its hard to say how often this would happen in a game of experienced players, I would venture to say not very often, but given that the game takes about 30-45 minutes per player in a four player game, if you are 1.5 hours into a 3 hour game and you already know who is going to win with no way to stop them it kind of spoils the tension built up at the start of the game.

With all that in mind I have to say that I really enjoyed the thinky elements of the game mechanics.  For a victory point focused Euro, this is a really good one and I have played quite a few at this point.  Given options like Russian Railroads, Voyage of Marco Polo, Terra Mystica or the always popular Caverna, I think I prefer Great Western Trail, if for no other reason than the fact that its not driven by rather stale and over cooked worker placement mechanics.

In Great Western Trail what you are going to do isn’t just a question of this turn but this and perhaps even the next run.  You have to be able to see your actions many moves in advance and there is a bit of luck and risk vs. reward elements here so you can take some chances.  There is a lot of satisfaction and reward for good decisions and I think Euro gamers in particular will find a lot to love in Great Western Trail.

Replay-ability and Longevity

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Dynamic starts and dynamic draws of tiles and cards create a fairly wide range of unique games that will drive strategies, creating plenty of longevity and replay potential.

Cons:  Victory Point Smorgasbords generally have a fixed shelf like getting boring after X amount of plays.

I think the most important element of a game with limited interaction is to find a way to make itself re-playable.   In my experience, the less player interaction there is in a game the less likely it is that people will find any real longevity in the game.  That said Great Western Trail does a lot to curtail this problem with its dynamic variations in setup and general “draw” elements, with its card management and tile reveals.

I’m not sure how long this game will stay in my collection, but I do believe that a game like this will wind up being someones favorite just because it really does have that spark of strategic depth and thinkiness I think a lot gamers enjoy.  I always say that I don’t really understand why people are so captivated with victory point smorgasbord games, but they are and games like Russian Railroads for example see a lot of play and are beloved by a lot of people.  I think Great Western Trail does very well in this genre/style of gaming, so much so that I actually like it a great deal more then most of the games of this type I have tried.

I have to admit part of the reason why I like this game is that I like the theme and while strictly speaking the connection between theme and mechanics is not particularly strong here, I’m still drawn to it.  I think Great Western Trail is one of those, right people, right occasion type games where if you bring it out with the right group they will love it and want to play it repeatedly while other less Euro centric gamers are likely to find it difficult to get through even the first play.  Great Western Trail won’t have that wide, for all gamers, appeal.  Its a niche product, but one I think people like this genre of games will want to play repeatedly as there is a ton to discover and unravel here.  There are many challenges and interesting puzzles to solve and its going to take a great many games to truly master this one.

This is a Heavy Euro with a ton going on, its definitely not for the feint of heart but all things considered I found that people will have that “aha” moment much sooner then what appearances might suggest.

I think the biggest boon to this game is the fact that it has a higher level of complexity but relatively simple round structure and I found that after my first couple of plays I still wanted to go back to try out the many other possible strategies and approaches to the game so I definitely believe there is plenty of longevity here.

I would also argue however that Victory Point Smorgasbords in general play themselves out and I would imagine at some point this game will make an exit from my collection, but I don’t think its going to be any time soon.

Conclusion

Great Western Trail is simultaneously a traditional Euro style victory point mash up and a uniquely styled game with fresh mechanics and interesting approach.  Like many Euro games I find its a bit short on player interaction and I see that as a problem with many of my gaming friends who want to have mechanics that interfere and obstruct each other as part of a gaming experience.  To me however you don’t buy and play a Euro game if you have issues with limited interaction and to be fair there are plenty of games that I like that have virtually no interaction like Race for the Galaxy for example.  This in its own right is only a negative for people who have issue with it and I really don’t.

That said I do believe there was some missed opportunities in Great Western Trail as a “cowboy” themed game for more direct interaction.  Its a Euro through and through and if you love Euro’s you will likely enjoy this game.  I think its component quality, art style, clever mechanics, dynamic nature and fresh approach work together draw just enough interest to squeak into my personal collection.  I’m drawn to it, I want to play it again and I think that’s a good sign as this is rarely the case for me with Victory Point Mash up Euros in this style.

Great Western Trail is a fun game, its unique within its own genre and while I would rate it as a heavy euro, its considerably easier to teach within its class among games like Terra Mystica, Russian Railroads and Caverna.

I recommend this game for Euro fans for certain, but I think unless you already have an affection for Victory Point Mash ups you should probably skip this one.

Board Game Reviews

Empires: Age of Discovery by Eagle-Gryphon Games 2015 (2007)

The re-released Age of Empires III also received a new name and a considerable component upgrade, but since I never reviewed the original I thought I would do so using this new edition.

Designer: Glenn Drover

Overview

Final Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star christmas_star(4.5 out 5 Stars)

When Age of Empires III was first released in 2007 it was presumed that it would be a game that attempted to mimic the PC game as its namesake would suggest.  Contrary to that, Age of Empires III, now Empires: Age of Discovery is actually a far closer match to the classic Sid Meiers PC game, Colonization.

In Empires players take on the roles of nations from the age of exploration on a mission to explore the new world.  This is of course done in a competitive and sometimes combative manner but Empires is not a war game, but rather a worker placement game with area control.  A combination that today is a lot more common than it was back in 2007 when Age of Empires III was a lot more unique.

Components

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star (3 out 5 Stars)
Tilt: christmas_star

Pros: High Quality Components, Fantastic Art, Over-sized for easy handling.

Cons:  Very expensive for mostly unnecessary upgrades.

While the components of the previous version Age of Empires III where very good, in this deluxe version of the game the components get a significant upgrade.

The gameboard is quite large, with fantastic art and plenty of room for the components which is good as the game becomes quite busy during play so the large  size is really appreciated.  The plastic worker units are larger and weightier than you would expect for game pieces and there is a brick ton of them, far more then you need in your average game.  The molds are good quality and easy to identify and the rest of the components like cards and tokens are all of great quality with appealing and thematically correct art to get you in the mood for exploration of the Americas.

This is a visually impressive edition of the game, with great quality components, there is no doubt about it but the question is whether or not this new deluxe edition is worth the 100 dollar price tag.

Bright, big and elaborate, Empires: Age of Discovery is a visual treat.

While I’m always happy to shell out extra dough for a deluxe edition of a game, my assumption is that deluxe means, above and beyond what you would expect from your normal version of a board game and while certainly there are visible upgrades from the original edition they hardly qualify for the term deluxe .  The qualify of the game board, pieces and tokens are really not a whole lot better than what you get in say Tide of Irons, Twilight Imperium or Cry Havoc.  I get that there probably is justification to raise this game to the upper levels of heavy miniature game release cost, after all Twilight Imperium also costs 100 bucks but I just felt a bit meh on the whole calling it a deluxe edition and passing it off as something more than normal quality level components.  This is a more expensive edition with better components than the previous edition but it does not meet the requirements to be called a deluxe version nor does it exceed the norm.

I’m not sure that should affect the games score any, but if you ask me if you already own Age of Empires III there is no reason to upgrade, even if you are a fan.  If you want to get into this game and find an opportunity to buy the original version, you should definitely do that instead.  There is nothing in the old edition that was poorly done, the quality of Age of Empires III was excellent and while this is an upgrade its well over double the price of the original,  which personally I don’t think was worth it.  Especially since this upgraded version takes up the box space on your shelf of two other normal sized board games.

The difference between the Age of Empires III version and new Deluxe version are insignificant, hardly worth double price.

I’m not disappointed with this edition and I’m certainly going to get over the cost I shelled out but given the opportunity to do it again, I would seek out Age of Empires III on the secondary market and save myself some money and shelf space.

Theme

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star (4 out 5 Stars)
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Very good connection between mechanics and theme, great art goes a long way to bring atmosphere.

Cons:  Age of Discovery theme is not for everyone.

I’m a bit biased and simultaneously prejudice when it comes to certain themes like Age of Discovery, I think it’s largely because I have an image in my head about what a game with this theme should be.  Very much the same with X4 space games and Civilization based games.  There is a PC game image I have in my head that I believe board game with these themes should try to capture.  For example with X4 it should be Master of Orion, with Civilization games it should be the obvious Sid Meiers Civilization and when it comes to games about the age of discovery, to me it means the game should emulate another Sid Meier game, Colonization.

Colonization is a classic, you won’t come closer to a board game version than Empires: Age of Discovery.

Is it fair?  Perhaps not and I will say that I’m willing to overlook a failure to meet that thematic essence if the alternative is equally good but thankfully with Empires: Age of Discovery that was actually not necessary.  Thematically, it encapsulates the theme of Colonization with near perfection, in fact it does so not just thematically but also mechanically in a lot of ways creating an even deeper connection to that premise.

The Theme here is exploration, control of the new world and the butting opposition and competition of Europe’s other nations.  While a worker placement game, the mechanic is considerably more interactive thanks to direct conflict mechanics which fit the theme perfectly.  For example as you explore the new world and send colonist to control it, fights can break out, hence sending soldiers and building up a military present becomes part of the age of discovery here which sits just right into the game.  It’s of course not a war game and it shouldn’t be, exploration, resource management and development are are at the forefront of the theme but worker placement games without some conflict have a tendency to get quite boring even when thematically correct.  It isn’t a problem here.

I’m not sure Age of Discovery is a great theme in its own right that everyone will appreciate, but I personally love it as it reminds me of some classic PC games from the past like Colonization. Like it or not however,  Empires has captured that theme splendidly and to a degree respectfully unlike other Age of Discovery games I have played (looking at you Archipelago).

Now if you are a big fan of Age of Discovery games you might note that one element of Age of Discovery as a theme is naval combat and ship based elements which are included but only very abstractly here.   That part of the theme wouldn’t really fit into the global layout of Empires, but for those of you looking for something more down on the ground “sale ship” type stuff this is not the game for it. This fits the bill of a more “Civilization Building” & “Worker Placement” genre game in an Age of Discovery theme and in that regard Empires: Age of Discovery nailed it.

Gameplay

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star (5 out 5 Stars)
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Very tight and balanced worker placement, varied worker powers is a great concept that works well.

Cons: Its a pretty long game, some repetitive patterns can emerge.

Empires: Age of Discovery is first and foremost a deeply nested Euro game based on one of the most recognizable  Euro mechanics there is, worker placement. More than that though it is a Worker Placement game in the absolute most classic sense and stripped down sense. If Glenn Drover is nothing else he is what I like to call a clean designer, a guy who knows how to trim down a games mechanics to the absolute minimal possible and use reliable, well tested mechanics to base his games on,  without hurting the concept or goal of the game.

Worker placement games are very popular right now and pretty much since they were introduced. Empires is one of the finest examples of the mechanic.

While Empires: Age of Discovery is not revolutionary from a game design perspective what it does is does amazingly well.

For starters the worker placement mechanic that drives the entire game is done in a fashion that ensures no matter how you approach the game its always super tight, exactly what you want out of a worker placement game.  Every decision you make, every worker you place can trigger analysis paralysis because while there are not a terrible amount of choices, every choice feels like a vital decision and there is very little wiggle room.  I especially like the fact that while placing workers during the main phase of one turn, your thinking about the placement of workers for the next turn.  This is because workers in Age of Empires are not all created equal and its in this core element of the game where all the deep strategy really happens.

There are normal workers known as Colonist but you also have specialty workers, experts in different fields that grant users advantageous when leveraged on a certain worker placement spot (or job).  For example you have missionaries who when sent to the new world expand the colony by two rather than by one (presumably by converting the locals).  You also have captains who are experts at exploring or builders like the name suggests are experts at building.  To get these workers you must convert colonist on one turn to make them available on the next and as such during the worker placement phase of the game you are put to the decision of doing something that will grant an advantage this round or invest in the next.

By mid to late game, many of the workers are converted to area control units on the map. Control on the map is one of several ways to score points in the game.

This is not the only tough decision that must be made, but because of this duality of worker placement and the fact only one expert of each kind is available each round to convert, it raises the competition for them dramatically.

There are other kind of races in the game that include taking trade goods to raise money which are absolutely vital to winning the game and of a very limited supply.  Gold is a key ingredient to expanding your developments which of course is another competitive space.  In each age, development tiles are available and you must not only get to them first to get the best advantageous (or advantageous that fit your strategy) but must have the gold to pay for them.  Suffice to say there is a lot to think about within that simple decision of placing a worker which creates both a very tight environment and very cerebral experience.

I think the real icing on the cake for Age of Exploration however is the commitment of the game to the theme of Imperialism.  These are European nations competing for control over new lands and in that conflict is inevitable.  One type of specialty worker is the solider and when he is sent to the new world he can be activated to make direct attacks against opposing colonist or even trigger wars across the entire new world.  This direct interaction takes this classic style of a worker placement game and gives players a way to actually assault each other.  Not everyone will be a fan of this mechanic but thematically its an absolute must have and without it the game would feel considerably less in line with the concept and theme of the game.  An important and well executed addition that does not devolve the game into a war game but it does create that additional tactical element that everyone must think about throughout the game as they send people to the new world.

There are two maps on which the game can be played, the classic North American map and the world map.  While the maps change, the rules don’t and with the exception of a couple of minor differences these two maps just offer some variety in playing fields.

This is a very tight, well thought out worker placement mechanic with more interaction than you normally get from games like this.  Its incredibly well balanced, creates lots of tough mini decisions and an enormous amount of tension from the very first round to the very last.  The included expansion called “builders” adds another worker type (the builder) but having played with it for the first couple of games I can’t imagine why you would not always auto include it, its a really great expansion that should almost be treated at this point as a standard part of the game.

The Gameplay in Empires is smooth, with a simple flow that is easy to remember and works in a logic way that becomes second nature to everyone at the table after the first round.  There are no gotcha mechanics and while there is definitely something to be learned from game to game, this is one of those easy to learn impossible to master games.  I wouldn’t call it a good introductory game, there is sufficient complexity here to disqualify it, plus I think its a bit too long to work as such.  Still for a gaming group who enjoys Euro mechanics this is an incredibly clean game that gets right to the point and bury’s you in tough decisions.  For a worker placement game is has an incredible amount of tension that goes well beyond the typical “you took my spot” arrangement.

There are a number of ways to trick out Empires, the most common is getting some golden metal coins. This would have been a nice upgrade one might expect from a Deluxe edition yet was omitted.

If the game has any drawbacks mechanically its that its not 100% clear where you actually stand point wise at any point in the game.  Points are only scored three times during the game, at the end of each age and its really difficult to predict where anyone will end up.  Scoring kind of feels like trying to guess who will come out on top after the apocalypse.  Everyone is doing everything they can to stop, block and damage everyone else and its not that hard to be successful, so its really just a question of how much you can hang on to during these scoring periods.  This is in particularly true at the end of the game when battles and wars can really decimated opponents chances of winning.  This actually creates a good amount of tension but it is very unpredictable and results during the scoring rounds can swing quite widely.

I personally think this is ok for the game, it really doesn’t hurt it but if your the type of player that wants to be able to calculate and control how many points you will earn you might find it frustrating to see other players always throw their two cents into blocking your efforts and screwing up your scoring.  In fact I found that blocking other people is a much better strategy then trying to score yourself in many cases, so this is a tactic you can expect to develop in every game.

Replay-ability and Longevity

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star (4 out 5 Stars)
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Dynamic gameplay allows for a wide range of strategies to explore.

Cons: Its best with 4+ players, anything less and a lot of the tightness evaporates.

When it comes to Longevity and Re-playability of a game, there are certain types of mechanics that are almost always successful and worker placement is definitely one of them.  Its just by design made to create dynamic situation.  Every placement of every worker in every round will completely alter how that round and ultimately that game will result and the effect is very dramatic in terms of results.  This I believe attributes to the fact that so many of the top games are in fact worker placement games.

In the case of Empires this is equally true, thanks to the worker placement mechanic this game is truly dynamic and will play differently pretty much every time you play.  Now that said there is a kind of sequence to certain events and certain spots will always be sought after first which kind of creates some default opening moves but this is typically attributed to a type of strategy a person is going for.  For example if you are going to go for a builder strategy your first move will always be to grab the builder as this is of course a key to your strategy.  This can make the game feel a little bit predictable at times but I think you would need to play it a lot to really start to see that pattern emerge.

I do believe this games longevity while a direct result of the worker placement mechanic is not all that it hinges on.  This is a very beautiful game that looks amazing on the table, its easy to teach and offers a wealth of strategic gameplay.  This is going to draw people in and you are going to get requests to “play it again”, in particular from Euro game fans despite its Ameri-Trash appearance.

Conclusion

Empires: Age of Discovery is a smash hit in my humble opinion, a game that has earned a place in my personal collection which is become tougher and tougher to qualify for.  Considering its a reprint of an older game I’m actually surprised.  In fact it has kicked out Kingsburg and Dominion to make room on the shelf which was a pretty tough culling for me as far as my collection goes.  But I do believe this game is that good.

I highly recommend this game though I would caution that I’m not sure that the Deluxe edition was really worth the rather high price tag, I would say if you have an opportunity to buy the Age of Empires III version of the game you should probably do that.  There was nothing in this Deluxe version that really stood out as an absolute must have over he regular version of this game.  That said, I have no regrets, its an amazing game that belongs in the collection of any serious gamer.