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Board Game Reviews

The Witcher by Fantasy Flight Games 2014

Designer: Ignacy Trzewiczek
From the mind of a Pol that gave us the rather complex 51st State and the humorous civilization builder Imperial Settlers, after playing the Witcher its clear to me that Ignacy Trzewiczek is a designer with a bright future. Whether you love or hate his games, there is no denying that he aspires to be inventive, creating the line rather than towing it. I might not be a huge fan of his games as they don’t really rub the genre of board games I prefer, but there is no question regarding his fresh approach to game design.

The Witcher board game is an attempt at a quasi-semi cooperative, semi competitive adventure game based on the PC game that bares its name. Now right of the bat, if you have ever played any of the Witcher PC games you will note that there was a very dedicated and concentrated effort to bring the Witcher universe to life in this board game through the art style and flavor text. It burst with Witcher themes, backstory and art. It’s clear, whoever made this game is obviously well researched or big fan of the Witcher games. The attention to detail here is uncanny. I say this here at the start before I get into the review because whatever can be said about the game play, there is no denying that this IS a Witcher game and for that alone the publisher (Fantasy Flight Games) deserves a node from Witcher fans for making sure that when you make a themed game that the theme comes through and in Witcher the board game the theme is most certainly center stage.

In the Witcher each player takes on the role of one of the main characters from the Witcher PC games story, for Witcher fans you can probably guess who those characters are. These characters each have their own special abilities, combined with a special die(dice) that reflect those abilities which they add to a pool of common dice when facing various challenges. In addition there is a development deck which represents the various items and abilities of that character, each being unique and asymmetrical. The designer did a great job of making sure that not only do the characters in the game play and feel like their PC equivalents, but that each is well balanced and offers a unique way in which the game is approached from that characters perspective. The goal of the game is to complete three main quests, this is done by going around the map collecting clue tokens to qualify for completion of these quests. Relatively simple premise but in the world of the Witcher, this seemingly simple task is a daunting one because around every corner there are very unforgiving encounters that will do everything in their power to stop you. The game ends when any one player completes his third main quest, but the winner of the game is the player with the most

Its all about the characters and while there are only four you can bet with Fantasy Flight behind the game there will be expansions that will add more.
Its all about the characters and while there are only four you can bet with Fantasy Flight behind the game there will be expansions that will add more.

victory points at the end, so while it’s a kind of a race to complete quests you have to make sure that you are actually winning the game by having the most points.

It’s really a game of playing to your strengths, without question it’s all about the characters. For example if you are playing as Geralt, you are the definitive warrior able to take on the game’s most fierce monsters very early, even before you start gaining development cards. He is a bad ass and appropriately you feel like a bad ass throughout the game. While in the same token Dandelion is not particularly well equipped to fight, instead his approach is more subtle, able to gain great success through subtle plays and stealing the thunder from the success of other hero’s. The point here is that whichever hero you play, you will approach the game in a very different way and in its own way this creates significant replay ability, but above all else it empowers the thematic presence of the characters in this adventure game.

In the course of play each player will take two actions from a pool of five actions, four of which are the same for everyone and one which is unique to the character. Players can travel, which allows them to move on the board to new locations on the map. Something you have to do to track down clue tokens necessary to complete your quests and deal with different threats at those locations like misfortune cards or monsters. You can also investigate, which is essentially the act of drawing from one of three investigation decks. These can be positive or negative, but in general you can make gains through these cards and many of the cards you keep which can later be used in combination with other investigation cards. It’s kind of a gamble, but one you can prepare for by developing your character. It’s a dangerous endeavor but it is one of the many ways you can get one up on the competition as investigation can yield extra clue tokens, gold, victory points and sometimes even the much sought after and very powerful fortune cards.

Standard for Fantasy Flight Games the miniatures are amazing.
Standard for Fantasy Flight Games the miniatures are amazing.

You can also develop, now this is perhaps the only risk free thing in the game you can do. You get to draw two development cards from the unique development deck for your specific character and keep one card. These very potent cards make your character more powerful in some way by imbuing you with powers or representing special equipment. Absolutely necessary to gain developments throughout the game, the more you have the better chance you stand against the many threats you will face in the game.

Finally there is resting, simply put, during the game you are going to sustain injuries and the trouble with taking damage is that you place the damage tokens over one of the actions for your character. When you have an injury on an action you can’t take that action, so over time gaining too many injuries results in you having fewer options. If you take enough damage the only action you might be able to take is rest. Resting simply allows you to remove one of your critical wounds or two of your regular wounds.

The final type of action you can take depends on your character but effectively this action will allow you to gain some special character advantage. Geralt can recharge his potions, Triss can recharge her spells, Dandelion gains much needed gold and Yarpen can make use of his companion cards. In a sense characters power up their ability, sort of recharging them and getting them ready for whatever dangers lay ahead.

The sequence of play is that each character takes his two actions and deals with any encounters as a result which is typically through the drawing of misfortune cards, investigation cards or monsters. You continue around the table taking actions until a winner is determined.

Each character has a unique die (dice) that reflect special abilities and actions they can take. A simple but clever touch to give each character a unique feel.
Each character has a unique die (dice) that reflect special abilities and actions they can take. A simple but clever touch to give each character a unique feel.

All and all the Witcher is a very easy game to learn to play and while there are a few special rules and effects, largely anything you need to do is written on the various cards you draw, most of which are very thematically laid out so that the card and the activity are decisively linked. There really is a lot of common sense in the game and the instructions are clear ensuring your focusing on the game rather than trying to figure out the game.

The question is does all this amount to a good game and my first instinct is to say yes, for an adventure game it really does exactly what you hope it would do and it does it in a streamlined and organized fashion. It’s entertaining to suffer at the hands of the Witchers very tough world almost as much fun as it is to watch your friends suffer. Unfortunately the Witcher suffers from three problems that make this largely a pass for me and I think unless you are a hardcore adventure board gamer and huge fan of the Witcher you will feel the same.

The first issue is the length of the game. Now when you first start to play the game, after a couple of hour’s players will be finishing their first main quests and really if at that point the game ended the length would be near perfect. At this point however you are only 1/3rd through the game. By the time someone finishes their 3rd quest not only will you be well into your 4th or 5th hour of the game (depending how fast players take their actions) but you will have known who is going to win the game a couple of hours back.

In every game that I played the winner was pretty much determined about midway through the game and while the game is well balanced (each time it was a different character), it was quite decisive. It was one of those situations where you are playing a board game for 2 more hours after you already know you lost and that really takes the steam out of the game.

Simply put, the game just overstays its welcome, it’s too long and the gaps between the clear winner and the losers comes way too soon in that process resulting in you playing a game you have already lost for far too long.

The second problem with the game is that there really is very little strategy in how the winner is determined. All the players are going to be doing pretty much the same thing and while I will grant you the how of it differs, ultiamtly its all about collecting clues, finishing quests and scoring points. There are different approaches to this, but while the methods differ, the strategies are identical.

The winner will be the player who has the fewest set backs and about 90% of the time when you draw a card with a negative effect it’s an effect you have no control over. You draw the card and it says “this bad thing happens to you”. There is no opportunity or chance to do anything about it in most cases, you simply suffer the effects for drawing the card, an element of the game made worse as you typically have no say or control or opportunity to avoid drawing the card in the first place.

In a sense, it’s a game of drawing cards and seeing what happens to you and while there are some decisions that will effect when you draw cards, to win you must push forward so drawing them is inevitable and since you can’t influence most effects it’s really just a question of how many bad affects you suffer compared to the other players, or more specifically which bad effects. Drawing a misfortune card that causes you to lose a couple of clues, or hits you with a bunch of misfortune tokens can delay your progress by 2 to 3 rounds. If that happens a couple of times, your chances of winning will slip away very quickly and catching up is very difficult. I played a game in which I gave no thought to strategy at all, I just moved around collecting clues as fast as I could and I won simply because I didn’t get hit as hard or as often as the other players with negative effects.

The moment you realize that the few decisions you actually make have very little impact on what does and doesn’t happen to you, the game really derails. It maintains some level of excitement because drawing a card to see what happens has its own fun element to it, but doing it for 5 hours is far too long.

The third and final problem is that although it’s an adventure game it’s neither cooperative nor competitive, even though it really does try its best to be. There really is very little you can do to help your friends, for example you always fight monsters alone, no one can help you and since it’s a competitive game of victory points, I’m not sure there would be any reason to do so. Cooperation comes in only one form which is trading gold or clues, something I found is seldom done, again because your so called allies are your main competition in the game so helping them is not something you want to do. In fact in 3 games only once did anyone actually ever trade anything. On the flip side while the game is a competitive race to victory points there is almost nothing you can do to other players in the scope of that competition to hinder them. There are no actions you can do to stop or slow them down in any way, really much like the rest of the game aside from drawing a random card that has an effect that impacts one or more players by chance there is nothing you can actively do to anyone.

In a sense everyone plays their own game and while it’s entertaining to watch people try and fail miserably at the hands of the many set back type cards, It’s really just a waiting game for your turn. The wait for your turn however can be excruciatingly long, in particular by the time you reach the mid-point of the game because by than players have many cards and effects they can use which triggers more card drawing and subsequent resolution. At first players might take the time to embellish their plays by reading flavor text, but that gets really old really quick. The downtime is extremely long in this game which again, combined with the length of the game as a whole makes this a very painful and often frustrating wait.

Conclusion
The Witcher is a very well designed and illustrated game, it’s streamlined and modern and there is no denying that Ignacy is a great designer that got great support from Fantasy Flight Games to make the Witcher. I think for hardcore fans of adventure games in particular if you love the Witcher universe you might be willing to overlook the drawbacks of the Witcher. For the average gamer however, the Witcher is far too long, with too much randomness and far too little interaction between players.

I think the Witcher might be a far better game if completing the main quests happened faster, for example if this was a game that took 2 hours to finish, I think I might be more willing to play it. At a 4-5 hour experience however this game is just way too bloody long and it’s not something I want to do again.

Final Verdict: Give this one a pass.

Board Game Reviews

Libertalia by Asmodee 2012

Designer: Paolo Mori

Libertalia is really a big surprise to me, it’s a game from a designer who’s games have not really hit with me in the past. I found Paolo Mori’s previous games to always come up short in the fun department even though games like Rise of Augustus and Vasco Da Gama featured interesting topics and mechanics, they were a bit of a drag. Libertalia is clearly Paolo Mori’s best game to date and has gained a fair amount of popularity and praise from some respected reviewers. I got an opportunity to finally try this little card game and while I went into it with limited expectations and a “sure let’s try it” attitude, after a single turn of the game it immediately got my attention.

In Libertalia you are a pirate captain who along with other captains (other players) has just captured and plundered a ship. Now it’s time to split up the loot and the game-play is a sort of card driven negotiation of that activity where you try to get the most amount of treasure from the plunder for yourself by playing pirate theme character cards with a wide variety of special powers.

This game is all about prediction and special character powers. What will your opponents play and if can predict it, what card do you need to play to get the edge.
This game is all about prediction and special character powers. What will your opponents play and if can predict it, what card do you need to play to get the edge.

The game-play is broken down into three days, presumably three separate ships that you capture as a group. During each day players will negotiate for treasure on that ship, broken down further into 6 turns, effectively 6 plays of cards. Each player will receive 9 identical cards from a deck of 30 cards numbered from 1 to 30. For each turn random bounty tokens are drawn for that turn of play, these bounty tokens are treasure from the plunder each with its own value, but also includes cursed treasure, treasure maps and a few specialty tokens. This is what your negotiating for. The goal of the game is to claim as many doubloons (victory points) at the end of the day as possible, the player with the most victory points at the end of 3 rounds (3 days of play) wins the game.

Claiming bounty tokens is very simple. Each player selects a card represented by a pirate themed character from his hand of 9 cards and plays it face down. When everyone has chosen a card, the cards are revealed and put in ascending order. Than starting from the player with the highest number, you take 1 treasure of your choice. Simple right!

Once the cards are revealed you need to put that information in the vault as any card played by a player cannot be played again by that player. It's like poker, any information you have is a clue to help you predict what will happen in future rounds.
Once the cards are revealed you need to put that information in the vault as any card played by a player cannot be played again by that player. It’s like blackjack, any information you have is a clue to help you predict what will happen in future rounds.

The catch is that each of these cards are actually characters, each with unique special powers. These powers vary is strength, but in those powers lays the bulk of the strategy. The trick to the game is that powers are executed in reverse order (from lowest numbered card to highest), so while playing the highest numbered card will yield you first pick at the treasure, the lowest card numbers have their abilities triggered first. These abilities can impact characters, victory point earnings and have all manner of special effects so by the time all the powers are executed some of the characters may have been removed, players may have already scored points or taken a variety of special actions that shift things in their favor.

The game is really about trying to guess what cards other players will play and playing your cards in a manner that will benefit you and screw everyone else the most. It’s also knowing which cards to save for later, a lot of this game is about timing. You know what the nine cards everyone has (at least in the first round) so it’s really about just trying to guestimate how your opponents will approach each of the turns in a 1 day round. You can only play any card one time and that card will either be added to your Den (your play area) which coincidently can result in added effects as some cards have effects that take place from the Den or they will be removed. In either case you will only play them once (in most cases) so you must choose wisely.

Now you will only play 6 of the 9 cards in your hand and in the next round (the next day) players will get a new set of 6 identical cards. Hence by the second round of the 9 cards only 6 of those cards in the players hands are identical. This happens again in the 3rd round so things become a bit more chaotic as players not only consider what cards to play in any given turn, but what cards to save for future rounds.

There are many effects that transpire during the course of a round, characters will be eliminated, resurrected, create lasting effects, help players score points, put curses on other players (minus victory points). All of these effects are based on the cards so certainly anyone familiar with the game has a clear advantage but it doesn’t take more than one or two plays of the game to get a grip around what is possible so the game goes from “learning how to play” and “playing with strategy” for any given player after a game or two.

There is an online version of the game where you can "practice", but Libertalia is a social game first and foremost, a lot is lost in the online version and I don't recommend it.
There is an online version of the game where you can “practice”, but Libertalia is a social game first and foremost, a lot is lost in the online version and I don’t recommend it.

Libertalia is a game that is very simple to learn to play but nearly impossible to master. The complexity of the moving parts and trying to make predictions is very rewarding when you succeed and heartbreaking when you fail, but it’s not a game of guessing, it really is a mind game of prediction and reaction to what has already been played and what can be played in the future. There are a lot of surprises and “oh shit” moments in the game, it has that spark a lot of great strategy games I love have like Dirk Henn’s shogun where there is a period of quiet contemplation with a sudden burst of energy and chaos after a revelation. The more players the more chaotic and difficult it is to make predictions, but to me this really makes the game more fun. The game plays 2 to 6 players, but I think the sweet spot is 4 to 6 players.

It’s a fast, relatively short game, the box says 45 minutes and that is quite accurate and once everyone knows how to play I think it can be even faster than that. (the first game might take a little longer).

Libertalia is a game that scratches that hard core gamer in me, it’s got the depth of a very solid and thinky strategy game, but is so simple and social enough with a familiar theme (pirates) to be welcomed as a after dinner party game you can pull out with none gamers. It has energy and excitement built into that moment of revelation of the cards and I think this does wonders for the atmosphere it creates. It really has those longevity legs as well, it’s a game that gets better with repeated plays and is just short enough that in can almost be used as a filler. I was really surprised on how quickly I became enamored with it, in particular given that this designer’s games have landed so flat with me in the past. Now some might say this game is a kind of watered down Caylus, which I suppose one could make that argument but I personally never cared for Caylus so the fact that I really like this one says to me that the games are distinctively different enough.

I’m not sure one could say the game is thematic, it has a solid theme which really comes through in the art work which is nothing short of amazing, but you’re not really doing much piracy stuff. It really is just a kind of estimation, logic card game which could easily be layered with any sort of theme you like. I think choosing a pirate theme for this game was a smart idea though because pirates are kind of that universal theme that gamer or not you can get behind. Fantasy themes and science fiction themes typically don’t land well with none gamers, but pirate themes in my personal experience don’t have that “we are nerds playing a board game” social stigma.

I highly recommend Libertalia in particular for any gamers out there trying to get non-gamers into the fold. It’s a really clever yet simple game that can function really well as a gateway game, but it has the muscle and depth of a solid game for hardcore gamers. I honestly believe this to be one of the best games to be released in 2012, a solid contender for my top 10 entry level games, I’m certain if I did the list today it would find placement there. It might even breach my top 10 best games in the future, I really like it that much.

Board Game Reviews

Pillars Of The Earth by Mayfair Games 2006

Designer: Michael Rieneck, Stefan Stadler

Pillars of the Earth is one of those games that is touted as a classic or a gateway game into the world of designer board games by many. Released in 2006 it comes from that golden age of Euro games period where a tremendous amount of modern game design comes from and while I agree the game is simple enough to be a gateway game, I find it highly unlikely I would introduce this game to brand new would be gamers, there are just far better games than this one to do that with and the theme is a bit of a hard sell. I actually didn’t play the game until it was reprinted not too long ago, In fact, you could say I largely skipped the golden age of Euro games and I’m now kind of going back and playing some of these older games like Pillars of the Earth. This gives me a unique perspective because I have played games that use mechanics that where based on some of these originals. Interestingly enough though, I find that in in some rare cases the so called classics actually play a lot more like modern (recent) releases and Pillars of the Earth is definitely one of those.

The art style and the mechanics blend well to present and sell the theme, but convincing people to play a board game about 12th century architects building a cathedral is a tough sell.
The art style and the mechanics blend well to present and sell the theme, but convincing people to play a board game about 12th century architects building a cathedral is a tough sell.

Pillars of the Earth is a uniquely designed game and one of those rare Euro games with a theme that fits the mechanics even though being architects of a cathedral in the 12th century is not exactly what I would call an exciting theme, at least it doesn’t sound like it when I describe it. I don’t want to come off sounding negative however as Pillars of the Earth is a very interesting, very well paced and very challenging game and for a Euro game, very thematic.

In Pillars of the Earth you are grand master builders (Architects) in the 12th century contributing to the building a massive construction project (a cathedral). It’s a game based on a book by Ken Follet that you have probably never read as well as a TV show that comes highly recommended and acclaimed that no one has seen. I’m not entirely sure the theme of the book or the show come through, but you certainly feel like the manager of a construction project in the game and in the end that is far more important to the theme than the actual literature it’s based on.

In this worker placement game you compete via management of a variety of resources including workers, gold and various other building resources (wood, stone etc..) on a tight game board with limited spots all in the typical Euro style battle for victory points. This is not the part of the game that makes it unique, though I would point out that from an artistic point of view the game board is nothing short of beautiful and it’s a joy to play on. What does make the game unique is that the game is pleasantly balanced, has a number of random elements (that don’t make the game random) and puts players to tough choices that go beyond simply “where to place the workers”.

I love it when game designers understand that game pieces can be functional and cool at the same time. The use of a cathedral made out of wooden blocks to act as a turn counter is thematic and fun.
I love it when game designers understand that game pieces can be functional and cool at the same time. The use of a cathedral made out of wooden blocks to act as a turn counter is thematic and fun.

In fact, even worker placement itself is two prong as you first choose where to place your “worker units” to collect resources but later you also place your master builders on spots with various beneficial effects. The master builders are put into play using a really clever mechanic of pulling random master builders out of a bag and placing them on a roundel where the player who’s master builder is pulled must decide whether he will pay in gold the fee to put the builder into play, or pass so he can place the builder later in the round for free. This combined with other tough decisions like which resource cards or builder cards you pick all combine to create really an almost overwhelming amount of choices. Each choice has to serve a purpose and be planned, but the random elements to the game like when your master builder will be pulled out of the bag for example and how much he will cost to put into play create tension and management problems you have to solve as you go. It’s quite easy to mismanage yourself or manage yourself into a corner, so while newbie friendly rules wise, the game can be quite unforgiving at times and you can see your victory slipping away from you because of a couple of bad decisions early in the game.

I suppose the issue I have with most worker placement games is that they tend to become kind of predictable, it might explain why I like Lords of Waterdeep and Kingsburg. In Lords of Waterdeep you have quest cards and secret missions on your lords cards that force you to adapt your strategies for each game while in Kingsburg your rolling dice to determine where you CAN go. The randomness in Pillars of the Earth don’t force results upon you but rather put you to tough decisions, unlike Kingsburg for example where the dice limit what you can do as a mechanic. This is the sort of randomness I really like where it can be mitigated a great deal with smart decisions.

The art work on the game board is amazing, functional and clear.
The art work on the game board is amazing, functional and clear.

In either case the mechanic works very well, it creates tensions, opens paths to strategies and varies each game sufficiently so that you really can’t repeat the same strategies with each play. More than that though Pillars of the Earth has a lot of sections of decisions, the choices aren’t simple and they have long term effects. Which builder and resource cards you claim in one part of the round, which resources you claim with your workers in another part of the round, when to put out your master builders and subsequently where to put them in the last part of the round all form the events of a single round that has lasting effects for this and future rounds. Than you have to deal with the event cards, worry about your limited resources like gold for example all the while trying to squeeze as many points out as you can. There are a lot of moving parts yet the games sequence is fast paced and keeps everyone involved at all times so there is virtually no downtime in the game. You’re constantly making decisions and the game rewards you for those decisions and punishes you for mistakes. The pacing feels just right, the tension is just right and while I prefer the game with 4 players, it plays fine with 3 (skip it as a two player game).

I think as far as worker placement games go the tough sell here is the rather bland theme and again, I say bland more because it sounds bland, in practice the game is actually very engaging and interesting, with a theme that really fits the mechanics and kind of settles naturally into the games flow. The hurdle is trying to explain to your friends that a game about 12th century architects building a cathedral can be exciting, strategic and fun. When I describe Lords of Waterdeep for example, I tell them that they will be noble lords of a fantasy city vying for power and control, suffice to say, it’s a much easier sell.

There is an online version of the game that you can play at http://www.brettspielwelt.de . I really don't care for playing board games online, I think almost all of the experience is lost and Pillars of the Earth is no exception. Bottle that excitement until you can play it with people.
There is an online version of the game that you can play at http://www.brettspielwelt.de . I really don’t care for playing board games online, I think almost all of the experience is lost and Pillars of the Earth is no exception. Bottle that excitement until you can play it with people.

Pillars of the Earth is a very good game, in fact, dare I say it may actually be a better game than Lords of Waterdeep which I consider the premiere worker placement game because it’s a got considerably more depth (in particular if you compare Pillars of the Earth to Lords of Waterdeep without the corruption expansion). It’s more gamey, even if it boasts relatively simple rules depth and I find that the many strategies and approaches to the game, coupled with some of its randomness give this game a very high replay ability value. It may in the future appear on my top 10 list, I like it that much.

I would put this one into the worker placement game for people who want to take a couple steps above the pure worker placement games. Lords of Waterdeep and Kingsburg are good example of very simple and straightforward worker placement games. You put your worker down, collect resources, score points. Rinse and repeat. These games are fun for various reasons and I will happily play them both, but for me, Pillars of the Earth really brings it up a notch above the standard worker placement affair. There is more umpf to it and I really think if you like worker placement games this is one you definitely should not miss.

I highly recommend it.

Board Game Reviews

Twilight Imperium Third Edition By Fantasy Flight Games 2005

Designer: Christian T. Petersen

Doing a board game review on a game that is 10 years old may seem pointless but given that this game is on my top 10 best games and I speak of in the blog a great deal it seems fitting I do a proper review on the game. I think it’s important as well to look at board games as largely timeless and given that Twilight Imperium 3rd edition is still in print and continues to get re-prints it’s even more relevant to look at it today as its completely feasible people are still looking into this one wondering if reviewers from 10 years ago would still score the game the same given alternatives available today.

First let’s get the important stuff out of the way. Twilight Imperium is an epic, time consuming and complex hobby in its own right. It’s far more than simply a “board game”. You can’t pull this out unplanned, introduce it to new players and expect to have a good experience. Twilight Imperium is an event in a box, you have to plan it, people need to read rules in advance and you have to be prepared in particular for your first time to have a 6+ hour gaming session. If that all sounds too complicated and too much work for you, than odds of you ever getting any enjoyment out of playing the game is pretty slim. It’s a game that demands commitment and makes no apologies for who it caters to, hard core, veteran gamers looking for a serious challenge. This is Twilight Imperium, there are no shortcuts.

It appears complex because it is complex, sorry, this is not the casual game you're looking for.
It appears complex because it is complex, sorry, this is not the casual game you’re looking for.

That said, I have found over the years despite its rather high learning curve and complexity, Twilight Imperium is a game that once you have one game under your belt becomes rather clear and by your 2nd and 3rd game its second nature. While there are many rules, the game has a sense of organization and logic to it, a structured sequence that registers with experienced gamers and while it certainly is busy with a lot of moving parts it’s not really as complicated as it appears. It’s nuances and strategy, its dynamic nature and it’s tactical play however have nearly infinite possibilities, so to master it is not an easy task. I have played Twilight Imperium hundreds of times that amount to hundreds of hours of playing the game and I can say without reservation that despite it all, each game is still very different and there are no reliable or repetitive tactics or strategies in this game. It’s a unique experience, every time.

One of the many races in the game, each is unique and plays very differently.
One of the many races in the game, each is unique and plays very differently.

Twilight Imperium is far too complex to get into any detail regarding defining the rules in a review without it becoming overwhelming. In simple terms, each player takes on the role of a unique alien race with special abilities and advantageous and guides them through exploration, conquest, technological advancement, military buildup and subsequent wars, diplomacy and trade all in a science-fiction space opera of epic proportions. You will build an alien space-faring civilization and compete with other space-faring civilizations for the ultimate prize, the seat for the galactic emperor.

Every faucet of the game is detailed out using cards, tokens and miniatures. You make both high level decisions like which technologies to peruse and low level decisions like what sort of ships to build to form your military fleets. Each choice you make has lasting impact and must be part of a long term strategy of dominance and you must leverage your racial advantages, creating a strategy that uses that racial advantage to the best of your ability.

If you have played Puerto Rico than you have a rough idea of the role selection mechanic in TI3, though its worth mentioning that the strategy cards go far deeper than Puerto Rico.
If you have played Puerto Rico than you have a rough idea of the role selection mechanic in TI3, though its worth mentioning that the strategy cards go far deeper than Puerto Rico.

The goal of the game is to score victory points but how you score victory points is dynamic as a special objective deck of cards randomized for each game is revealed to you as you play defining the goals. You don’t know what the victory objectives will be until they are revealed and as such you must prepare for every contingency. Each player also has a secret objective which can drive part of your strategy and of course you must always include your competition (the other players) in every element of your decisions. It’s impossible to cover all of your bases and no matter what you do, you will always have weak spots. As such, diplomacy, negotiation and the appearance of preparation is often as vital as an actual plan. You must prepare where you can, and feint preparation where you can’t.

Twilight Imperium may look like a war game, but all the machines of war are a facade and really at the heart of the game is a deep strategic and tactical game of intimidation, diplomacy and feinting threats. War is inevitable, but war is costly and not a particularly good route to victory, in fact, one could say if you are playing Twilight Imperium and are at war, you are losing.

At a glance TI3 appears to be a war game, but it very much is not. A common saying around our table is, "If your at war, you are losing".
At a glance TI3 appears to be a war game, but it very much is not. A common saying around our table is, “If your at war, you are losing”.

Much of the games strategy revolves around the role selection mechanic (Strategy Cards) and the use of the very limited resource known as command tokens. These two mechanics work side by side to create the high level tactical and strategic play. It’s a game of decisions, pushes and pulls on resource levers trying to out-do your opponents.

There are two expansions for Twilight Imperium and to exclude them from the review at this point would be criminal, in particular given that in particular the first expansion “Shattered Empire” is absolutely vital. The original “Vanilla” version of the game was very close to the perfection TI3 has grown into, but it’s growth was in my personal opinion stunted without the much needed first expansion. It addressed a couple very glaring oversights in the gameplay and I have personally never played the original version again since getting the expansion. The second expansion is less necessary, but for a true fan of the game it brings the already epic play up even another notch in particular in the department of thematic additions. Suffice to say, both expansions are awesome and deserve praise for adding much sought after variants aimed largely at veteran players (as expansions always should).

The Shattered Empire expansion is vital to TI3, it fixes a lot of problems with the game, its a slam dunk in terms of TI3 purchases go, you must have it.
The Shattered Empire expansion is vital to TI3, it fixes a lot of problems with the game, its a slam dunk in terms of TI3 purchases go, you must have it.

You should by now be pretty excited about the prospect of Twilight Imperium as a gaming experience and in my personal experience, bar none, it’s one of the most complex and exciting board games you can ever play. It keeps you involved at all times, always at the edge of your seat, each decision you or your opponents make involves everyone and in that lays the magic of this treasure.

It does have a couple of drawbacks however and they must be mentioned. First, it’s a very long game. You can expect a typical game of TI3 to take about 6 hours, sometimes a little less, more often than not a little more. Its complexity and excitement also really depend highly on the players involved, if they aren’t excited, if this game doesn’t get peek their interest, those players can make it quite a miserable experience for everyone else. It’s a game everyone at the table has to love to play, for all of its fine nuances to shine through. It’s a tall order even for veteran gamers, it really does take a special kind of group to get the most out of TI3 and I often find myself going against my core instinct to recommend it for these two reasons alone.

In the end though a game can’t be judged on merits it does not intend to have, you can’t fault TI3 for being complex and long any more than you can fault Dominion for being simple and short. TI3 sets out to create a very specific type of gaming experience and it accomplishes that with flying colors, what it fails to accomplish it never had any intention to. It is in my humble experience, one of the finest examples of a designer board game in existence and deserves every inch of the praise I give it. Games simply don’t get better than this.

Board Game Reviews

Star Realms By White Wizard Games 2014

Designers: Robert Dougherty, Darwin Kastle

In the last few years we have seen an ever increasing amount of deck building and deck drafting games, they are what you might call “All the rage” as far as designer board and card game mechanics go. The popularity of games like Dominion and Thunderstone is undeniable and that’s just the most notable ones, there are certainly plenty of under the radar games out there that are worth mentioning in this category. With its very low price, thumbs up from respected reviewers, high praise from board game geek and science-fiction theme it really was almost an automatic buy for me. The fact that there was a dirt cheap online app version of the game to test drive the game electronically was just icing on the cake. Let’s face it, some publishers know how to promote a game and some don’t, White Wizards Games clearly knows its audience.

Star Realms is actually a very simple game, it makes use of the deck building mechanic that most of us are already familiar with because of games like Dominion but instead of making the game about collecting points in a sort of race, it pits two players against each other in an outright “magic the gathering” like duel. No surprise, given that the two designers of this game are Magic The Gathering designer veterans.

Most deck building games are victory point races in one form or another, Star Realm however is all about combat.
Most deck building games are victory point races in one form or another, Star Realm however is all about combat.

Star Realms is effectively a combat game in which players use and purchase ships to generate gold to purchase new ships and bases and attack power to attack the health known as authority in Star Realms of their opponent. Each round you draw 5 cards from your deck, play the cards, buy cards from the pool of 5 randomly lined up in the center of the table and use whatever attack power you have to deal damage directly to your opponent. Take turns, rinse and repeat until someone runs out of health.

Now like all good card games the cards have all manner of special powers from forcing your opponent to discard cards, drawing more cards, earning you additional health and all manner of other interesting effects. The more powerful the card the more it costs. In addition each card you purchase be it a ship or a base is associated with a faction (one of four) and most of the cards have a primary effect and a secondary effect that triggers when a card of the same faction is played in the same round. For example an Imperial faction fighter has an attack power of 2 and forces your opponent to discard a card, but if another Imperial card is played that fighter deals an additional 2 points of damage.

This triggers lots of strategic options but since only 5 cards are available at a time from a deck of about one hundred, unlike Dominion, there isn’t a fixed strategy you can pre-plan and play, its very dynamic and your always making tough choices round to round. The pace of the game is very fast, you can start and finish a game in 15 to 20 minutes and it doesn’t take up a lot of space so it’s a game you can definitely travel with. This one should definitely go into the camping backpack or in the glove box on a road trip.

I usually don't like online apps for boardgames but Star Realms comes with a series of very challenging campaigns which are well worth scratching a couple of nickels together to buy it.
I usually don’t like online apps for boardgames but Star Realms comes with a series of very challenging campaigns which are well worth scratching a couple of nickels together to buy it.

There are many twists and turns in this game in particular given its very basic core rules mechanic, in fact, for such a light and easy to teach game its depth is surprising. I was in particularly impressed with the games fluidity and approach-ability, it’s one of those card games you really can teach to anyone and it was very easy to get non-gamers to try it out.

Do I like it? Truth be told, I love it. I’m not sure if its the art work or the mechanics, but the game has an addictive appeal and I suppose for me personally its the same reason I like games like Dominion and Thunderstone. That deck building mechanic is fantastic and its always fun to see it applied to different types of themes. I think being largely a two player game Star Realm is of limited use for me in my collection since I so rarely only have one other player available. In fact these days even 2 to 4 player games come up short, I tend to have 5+ at my table. That said, Star Realms immediately became a permanent addition of what I like to call my “Race For The Galaxy box of space card games” which includes of course Race for the Galaxy but also other space games like the Eve Online CCG. I like card games themed in space and Star Realm certainly earns its stripes as an ideal addition. It fits that “We got 20 minutes, its just the two of us and one of us doesn’t know how to play the game” niche, which is actually contrary to what it sounds like, far more common. Its a game you can teach on the fly, its fun, its got depth, its pretty and its science-fiction. Its what I like to call a “yes” game, as its one of those games when I look to my collection for a game to pull of the shelf it answers yes to a lot of filters that are commonly used.

You could go nuts, buy multiple copies, all the expansions, promos etc. But why would you? Its simplicity, portability and streamlined elegance is why its a great game.
You could go nuts, buy multiple copies, all the expansions, promos etc. But why would you? Its simplicity, portability and streamlined elegance is why its a great game.

I’m not sure the game really needs expansions, I have talked about this before but there are a lot of games that are just great the way they are and while I’m sure the expansions are interesting and worthy additions, I don’t see the point, the game is perfect the way it is. To me personally games like Star Realm are great BECAUSE they are simple and expansions always unquestionably complicate games. A good example is Dominion, the base game is a simple to teach, fast and very uncomplicated. Throw in a couple of expansions and it becomes a very complex, very intricate game that takes waaaaay to long.

This game definitely gets the seal of approval from me, don’t hesitate if you’re a scinece-fiction nut looking to find a 2 player game that’s easy to teach but offers plethora of depth for repeated plays.