Realm Warfare, Game Review

Chess is one of the original games of strategy. Two sides facing off against each other on a limited battlefield. Each piece has set abilities on how to move and how to capture enemy pieces. For some Chessis one of the, if not the only game, they play. There are those who see it as a purest game, and others who see it as a starting point.

Realm Warfaretakes Chess as the starting point. The basics have been taken and expanded to include additional players and features, allowing for new strategies.

A friend and I sat down and play a game of Realm Warfare with the developer, Kerry Murdock, at Salt Lake Gaming Conthis year (2017). We played the base game and by knowing the basics of Chess we started quickly get started into a game after a brief description of some of he added rules.

There are a couple of new pieces. The new pieces and their moves were easy to learn. These pieces were added to the board to be able to provide a balanced layout to the board design.

There are ranged attacks and hit points. Pieces can attack from a distance along with capturing by a standard Chess move. The distance attack is an automatic hit. Then the defending piece makes a d6 roll to defend. Roll above your defense and you take no damage to the piece. Some pieces can take more than one hit from a range based attack and you mark the piece with a hit marker to show the piece is injured, and by how many points. Injury doesn't change the capabilities of the piece until it has sustained enough damage to take it out of the game. However, the piece can heal.

At Salt Lake Gaming Con

After taking damage, that doesn't remove a piece, the player can opt to move the piece to one of the hunting locations on the board. Hunting allows the player to regain lost points for the piece on a successful d6 roll. This can allow a player to keep a piece in the game longer.

Each of the four colored kings have a special ability. This might be the way they deal damage or in the way they defend. This is means each player has a different personality with the army they choose to play. It also means you need to understand that your king's ability is different than your opponent's king and defend accordingly.

Realm Warfareinvolved taking the known of Chessand applying it to the unknown of the variants added. In playing only one game, I am sure I didn't get the full experience of what the game provides. This is partly because there are more options than a Chess player is used to, and, each color has a unique ability which makes the strategy for that color different. You need to take the abilities of the king into consideration.

Even with all this involving strategy, dice have been introduced. The use of a randomizer to determine if your piece takes damage can come into play in ways you might not be expecting. In our game, I moved my king out to use his ability, which was going well. I had strong defenses, which I was counting on. However, when I was attacked I rolled a one on the die and lost my king and removed me from the game.

For a person who enjoys only pure strategy games like Chess and Go, the addition of the dice isn't something they will appreciate. For those who are looking for something to expand the options of their game's strategy the addition of multiple players, range attacks, defense capabilities, and special powers, may be what you are looking for.

Getting ready to start a three player game

Along with the base game Realm Warfare also has an expansion taking it to an eight-player game.

Realm Warfare (link to website) (link to Facebook) was developed by Kerry Murdock and self-distributed for 2–4 players, ages 12+. A game is expected to take about an hour. In our conversation it was noted the time frame is very dependent on the players, however, the variants usually lead to quicker games.

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Eschaton, Cult Strategy Deck Building Game, Game Review

The time of the Dark One's rising is getting closer. As Armageddon looms, the factions are striving to gain the glory of being the true followers. Building the cult by gaining worldly and other worldly followers. Looking for artifacts. Battling other cults. Preparing for the day of reckoning where one cult will be raised above the others to be the chosen of the Dark One.

Eschaton is a deck building game, from Archon Games, pitting the players against each other in a dark fantasy world. Each player starts with a deck of seven cards and play a hand of five cards. Unlike some deck building games Eschaton does not rely on building connections between the cards. Instead, there are four attributes that different cult members represent. The hand is built, the scores for each attribute being played out in order.

Zeal allows the player to add more cards to their hand. No one starts with zeal. And certain cultist inspires more zeal in followers bring them out, in turn, making a player's hand bigger and adding to the scores of the attributes, if more zeal is added in the draw, then more cards are added.

Divination allows draws on the Arcana deck. This additional deck includes artifacts and other worldly followers that can be added to your deck. These build on your attributes, count for victory points, and affect play in other ways. In our game, my friend was able to add a card that every time it came into his hand he was able to curse another player, giving them a penalty.

Me taking some notes at the start of the game

Influence brings in more followers to your cult. The greater your influence the stronger the followers you can attract. This allows you to gain greater ability scores from a single card.

Aggression brings in the game board. The cults share the known world and it is through a player's aggression score that they are able to manipulate events on the board by adding and moving their own forces, or removing another person's markers from play.

Since the cards are score keeping your abilities, we found there is no reason to hide your cards when it becomes your turn. We started drawing the five and turning them over. This allowed for some quicker play because you weren't needing to look at the combinations that could be created. This was a great advantage also for learning the game.

A player can also shrink their deck. Along with building your deck you can sacrifice cultist and remove them from your deck. This is an interesting strategy that allows players to manipulate their deck to bring the stronger cultists into play more often by sacrificing the weaker ones needed earlier in the game. You don't have to sacrifice them and doing so doesn't count for or against any final scoring. It is a strategy move a player has to decide on doing to manage their deck.

The final deck used, the Event Deck, is the time keeper for the game. This is a semi-random deck that is built with Event and Omen cards. At the start of each round a card is turned over. Event cards effect play for that round. These can be random twists causing adjustments in strategy to cope with the event. Omen cards are longer term strategy changes that earns favor with the Dark One, victory points. Those stay in play until the next omen card, or Armageddon. Near the bottom of the deck, the Armageddon card announces the return of the Dark One, at the end of the round points are tallied and main cult is raised to glory while the rest are cast down.

Our game in progress

Two of us were able to sit down with one of the developers, Adam, to play Eschaton at Salt Lake Gaming Con this year (2017). The game was quick to learn and we were quickly into the full swing in the first round. Our event deck hit Armageddon on the seventh round, with two Omens going into play earlier. Our Seven round game went a few minutes over one hour. Our final scores were within seven points from high to low. And my friend came out on top of the developer.

Strategies

In our initial game three different strategies were being used. I was building world forces (aggression), my friend was building on divination, and the developer started out with zeal. As the game progressed I could tell there are other strategies that could be used. Strategies would also work differently with the number of players.

We had three players and there was limited contact on the game board. Eschaton is designed for up to 6 players, and the more there are the great the contact, and therefore, the aggression level. Strategy must take into consideration the number of people in the game.

Replay-ability

The variation in the artifacts deck and the event deck means that every game is going to have something different players have to deal with. Competition for the scoring from the Omen Cards will increase with more players. Personal decks will vary as different cards are added to reflect different strategies.

By changing the size of the Event Deck the length of the game can be varied, which will also impact strategy choices. We played 7 rounds, and the game definitely would have played out differently if we played with a deck that allowed for twice that number of turns.

Artwork

Some of the cards

The majority of art is done to match the theme of evil cultists. Most everything is done in black and white. However, the stronger cultists are done with more color, making it easier for them to be identified and advancing the feel of the theme presented. The art on the cards provides eye appeal during game play.

Overall

Eschaton is a good strategy game. It provides replay-ability and variations to the strategies used and how those strategies develop.

The setup and cleanup of Eschatonwas easy. The only constructed decks are the Event Deck and player decks. Cultist and markers are set out and the Divination Deck is shuffled.

The game is designed for ages 14+. I am sure this is because of the theme of the game. The rules were easy to learn and because you can play with an open hand on your turn, younger players can be helped without worry of over influencing their choices.

Eschaton is designed and produced by Archon Games (Web Page) (Facebook page)for 2–6 players, ages 14+. A game is designed to last 1–3 hours (and this is in controlled by how big you make the Event Deck).

Armageddon has arrived. Each cult bares themselves to the Dark One to see which one will be raised up. Fire blazes out consuming those judged unworthy while you and your fellow followers look on.

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Risk: The Lord Of the Rings, House Rules by Guest Author Paul Genesse

Risk: The Lord of the Rings
House Rules

Nine House Rules to Rule Them All, Nine House Rules to Bind Them

I want to conquer Middle-earth, and so do you. Admit it. You want to cover all the lands in darkness, or go full Aragorn and reunite Arnor and Gondor. One of your options to fulfill your master plan is Lord of the Rings Risk (Trilogy Edition). It’s a fun game taking the original Risk rules and adding some awesome cards, leaders, fortresses, events, and The One Ring.

I’m a big gamer, and after playing for several years, I’ve developed some house rules to make the game more fun. This method assumes four players, but you can adapt these however you want. I don’t recommend you always play with the countries divided up in the manner below, but it does make the game shorter, and it mostly makes sense, geographically.

I love The Lord of the Rings books and movies so much, and anything to let me interact with J.R.R. Tolkien’s world is a win. As my fantasy novel writing career has taken off with my Iron Dragon series, I’ve become known as the Middle-earth guy, and frequently moderate or serve on panels at conventions about the books and movies. I’ve also had the tremendous honor of meeting a bunch of the cast of the LOTR and Hobbit movies. Interviewing Sean Astin (Sam, my favorite character) on the main stage at a big event in front of thousands of people was so much fun. My John Rhys Davies (Gimli) and Peter Hambleton (Gloin) “Father/Son” interview was epic. Check out the videos on my website if you’re interested.

Please read over the nine house rules below. Ok, maybe there aren’t nine, but you get it.

Alternate Lord of the Rings Risk Trilogy Edition Rules

The Trilogy Edition Risk rulebook is essential, but supplement the normal rules with these.

Assumptions: The game is skewed toward the evil players winning (4 player game). They have more fortresses, and a better strategic position in this version of the game, which saves 1.5-2 hours of playing time. If Evil (Black and Red) team up on killing off Gondor (Gold) early on, the game can be over quick.

1. No Random Territory Assignments

All 64 countries are pre-assigned.

·       Gold (good) has all of Gondor, The Wold, and all of Rohan, but not Fanghorn (Red) or Eregion (Green).

·       Black (evil) has all of Mordor, and Haradwaith, plus Dead marshes, Brown Lands, Rhun Hills, and Emyn Muil.

·       Green (good) has all of Eriador, plus Eregion, and most of Arnor, just not Angmar (Red), Forodwaith (Red), or Eastern Angmar (Red).

·       Red (evil) is in the Northeast, has all of Mirkwood, Rhun, plus Angmar, Forodwaith, Eastern Angmar, Gladden Fields, and Lorien.

Set-up with one army in each country noted above, and then follow normal army distribution rules, one at a time per player in turn order.

The game near the start

2. Turn Order

This skews toward Good surviving more than three turns, but not necessarily. Red is in a bad position. Green is strong. Gold goes first, but Black is tough.

1.     Gold.

2.     Black

3.     Green

4.     Red

Alternate way to give evil an even greater chance of winning than they already do:

1.     Red

2.     Gold

3.     Black

4.     Green

4. Ring Cards

(10 total cards) are distributed before the game to all 4 players, not randomly.

·       Gold (2 cards): SMEAGOL, FARAMIR FINDS THE RINGBEARER!

·       Black (3 cards): GOLLUM, CAPTURE BY ORCS!, SHELOB’S LAIR

·       Green (1 card): BOROMIR TRIES TO SEIZE THE ONE RING!

·       Red (4 cards): HUNT FOR THE RINGBEARER (Can give Red 4 armies!), DANGEROUS CROSSING, KNIFE IN THE DARK, A BALROG IS COME!

5. Adventure Cards

·       Each player starts with 4 random Mission cards and 2 random Power Cards—all randomly dealt out from separate Mission and Power Card piles.

·       Remove the Event cards, they are not handed out in advance.

6. Card Exchanges Before Play Begins

·       The Good players are allowed to exchange their cards with each other before the game starts. The Evil players are also allowed to exchange cards with each other before the game starts.

·       After the game starts, no more exchanging. (*Alternately, you can exchange during the game).

·       Each player must still start with at least 4 total Adventure cards, though Black, for example, could give Red an extra Power Card to help them survive.

7. Event Cards

Standard LOTR Risk Rule, but sometimes forgotten: During the game if you draw an Event Card, play it immediately and keep drawing until a Power or Mission card is drawn. You could draw several Event cards in a row and play several in a row.

*Exception:  “APPOINT A SECOND LEADER” Event card. If this is drawn, and you have two leaders, keep the card in your hand, and play it if your second leader is killed. It has to be your turn to play it, and should happen at the beginning of your turn, though you can put out the additional leader any time during your turn.

**Alternate more fun variation (decide in advance): If you already have two leaders on the board and draw this card, add a third leader to the board. Or if you have three leaders already, add a fourth leader: 4 is the maximum.

8. Red Leaders Standing By

 The Red (evil player in the North) starts the game going fourth in the turn order, which is very difficult, so they get two additional advantages to help them survive:

·       Start with 3 leaders! (Moria, Isengard, and somewhere in the North are suggested starting points).

·        Misty Mountains inserted between Carrock and Rivendell. There is now no pass between those territories for an army to move through. (Print out some mountains from a LOTR map image and put them on the board).

9. New Capturing the One Ring Rules

Both Evil and Good try to capture the Ring on their turn only. Capturing the Ring does not end the game, but does give the player an advantage. Try to capture the ring as outlined below:

The 8 steps to Your Turn

1.     Receive and place reinforcements (always)

2.     Combat (if you like)

3.     Fortify your positions (if you like)

4.     Collect a Territory card as long as you have conquered a territory

5.     Collect an Adventure card (as long as your Leader conquered a territory that has a Site of Power within it. If you have a Mission card and you want to complete it, Fortify your leader to that territory and you can complete the mission, and get the benefits, but you don’t get to draw a new Adventure card. Your leader must conquer a site of Power to draw an Adventure card. Only one Adventure can be drawn per turn, no matter how many Sites of Power are conquered by leaders.

6.     Replace a leader if you have none on the board. You should always have one.

7.     Try to Find the One Ring (only if the One Ring is in a territory controlled by you. Example: The Ring is in Hobbiton, and Green controls the territory. At the end of Green’s turn, they can try to capture the ring by rolling two six sided dice. If they roll a total of 12, they capture the ring, but the game does not end. See benefits below.

8.     Move the Fellowship (and the Ring) ahead one space. (Ring cards can be played during this step by ANY player, to help move the Ring along or hold it back).

Benefit(s) if you Capture the Ring (Choose One)

1. Appoint a Second Leader anywhere you want, or if you have two leaders, appoint a third leader. If you have three leaders, appoint a fourth leader. The maximum is for one player to have 4 leaders.

2. Draw an Adventure card. If it’s a Mission card and you control that territory (your leader does not have to be there) play the card and claim the advantage immediately. You do not need to move your leader there to play this card. If you draw an Event card, play it immediately. If you draw a Power card, keep it for later.

3. Play any Mission card in your hand already, and your leader does not need to move to the Site of Power. Just play the card and take the reward.

***If you Capture the Ring on your turn in step 7, the Ring still has a chance to move on Step 8, and is subject to the normal rules.

Bonuses to try and capture the Ring: If Evil controls the territory, add +1 to the roll. If Evil controls the territory and the entire Region (example: Evil owns all of Mordor) Evil adds +2 to the roll. If Evil has a leader in the territory, add an additional +1. An evil leader in a territory within a controlled region gives them a +3 to the roll. The maximum to the roll is +3. A good leader in the same territory as the Ring adds a +1 to the roll. If good controls the whole region that adds a +1 to the roll. The max Good can add is +2 to the roll.

NOTES ON STRATEGY

Each player is allowed to invade and take over their counterpart’s territories. Gold can attack Green and Black can attack Red, or vice versa, and all combination of the above.

In this turn order: 1. Gold, 2. Black, 3. Green, 4. Red, the following strategy often applies.

March on the Black Gate

Gold starts with a unique one-time option: a pre-emptive attack on Mordor. However, go too far, leave yourself open for destruction, or don’t go far enough, leave Mordor in great position to wipe you out in two moves with help from Red. At the end of the move, Gold must consider fortifying their leader and most of their army back to Minas Tirith or Udun Vale. Whatever fortress your leader ends up in must have enough armies to hold against Black’s counter attack, or just get out after doing your damage. Sending a huge army north to Dol Guldur from Osgiliath is also fun, but that means Gondor is abandoned (unless you Fortify the army back to Minas Tirith) and Black will probably win big, and fast, in the south. However, going north and devastating Red is a sold move. The key to winning team risk is often ganging up on one player.

Sauron and Saruman Gang Up on Gondor

If Black (Sauron) and Red (Saruman) gang up on Gold (Gondor) in the first full turn (Red at Helm’s Deep and in the overall territory of Rohan), Evil probably wins the game if Gold is crushed. Letting Red deal the final deathblow to Gold to get their Territory cards is a good move.

Aragorn and the Elves in the North

Green is in the strongest position, as they can deal a devastating attack to Red in the north and take most of Arnor in the first turn. They can also take away a single territory from Rhun and Mirkwood, robbing Red of 6 total armies. Green can dominate the North, but they need to help Gold survive the onslaught. Green probably still loses the game if Red and Black wipe out Gold early and turn north.

Saruman

Red is in bad shape to start, but creative strategies allow them to survive. Three leaders and the mountains added between Carrock and Rivendell help Red. Putting a large number of troops in Fanghorn and attacking Gold in Helm’s Deep is a solid plan, but lets Green take the North, and could mean the defeat of Red, but still an overall Evil victory.

Red could put a large number of troops in Moria and strike out into Arnor and Rohan, stalling Green’s attack on Arnor, Rhun, and Mirkwood.

Sharing Power

Black and Red should team up to defeat one of the good players, probably Gold first. If Black can get a sea invasion going from Umbar or Belfalas and take Tharbad early, and push into Arnor robbing Green of 7 armies, that helps keep Green from killing off Red, and could win Evil the game.

The Host of Mordor

Black must hit Gondor hard and take all of it as quickly as possible, then head North, probably along the coast to attack Green. Forcing Green to keep lots of armies in the Grey Havens, Tharbad, South Downs, Forodwaith is a good strategy, as it keeps those armies from conquering Mirkwood, Rhun, and Moria. Black should send some armies north early in the game.

How to Win

Overall, trying to hold full regions can be a mistake. Fortresses and leaders are key. Don’t hesitate to take one fortress and lose the one you were in, if the target fortress puts you in a better position. Holding entire regions is difficult. If you can do it, great, but don’t forget the overall strategy: eliminate your enemies’ bases of power, keep them from holding entire regions, and see them driven before you.

  

Find out more about Paul

Paul Genesse is the bestselling author of the Iron Dragon series, almost twenty short stories, and is the writer/producer/director of The Star Wars Rock Opera. He’s also the editor of the five volumes in the demon-themed Crimson Pact shared multiverse anthology series and loves to play role-playing and board games. Friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @Paul_Genesse, explore paulgenesse.com and send him pictures of dragons.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Word Domination: Spelling Disaster, Game Review

Art by Ryan Goldsberry from Uproarious website

Criminal masterminds don't just have to worry about the good guys. There are only so many great treasures to take and other domineering deviants are going after them. You must devise your strategic maneuverings to position your plot in claiming the treasures available before the secondary scoundrels abscond with the booty. And, in so doing you not only secure the ancient and modern artifacts of the society, but promote the security of your position by establishing control of the territories.

Word Domination: Spelling Disaster is an area control game that uses your vocabulary as the mechanic to gain the spaces to earn points. However, having the great words at your disposal is only the means to the end. It is more about how you build the words to gain the spaces, not just using the biggest, grandest words you can come up with.

Each player takes on the role of one of the criminal masterminds who are vying against each other by capturing the space and stealing the great treasures of the world. The criminal character information gives players a unique advantage. Or, in the case when I played it, everyone is equal. This is a benefit for beginning and younger players. Word Domination is designed for 1–4 players with both cooperative and competitive rules.

We played a competitive game. On your turn you spell a word using the tiles in play. As the game progresses it becomes more important on the location of the tiles and not so much as what the word is. That's because you don't score for the word—it's the mechanic for capturing the space.

Along with playing a game against the developer (Jeff Beck), I had the opportunity of watching others play at SaltConthis year (2017). It was fun to watch as people realized the change in strategy because so many people are used to scoring the word. In fact, I saw one younger player give a solid run to a much older player by going for the basics they understood. It was a good example of how well the game is balanced.

There is also a lot of replayability with Word Domination. The letters that come into play vary, booth on the initial setup and as they are drawn into the game. Some of the tiles have special play options that you can use when you play a word using that letter. There is also the variability of the criminal personalities available.

I liked the twist of using words as the mechanic instead of the scoring mechanism. Another person playing the game (at a different time) commented how using this as the means to the end caused them to have to rethink what they were doing because they started out in the mode of looking for the words instead of the territories.

You've sharpened your thesaurus talents to stay a step ahead of the conniving competition. The master plan is made and now it is time to implement the scheme to take demonstrate you are the mastermind you have always known yourself to be.

Word Domination is designed by Jeff Beck and illustrated by Ryan Goldsberry and is from Uproarious Games. It is for 1–4 players and designed to last 30 – 60 minutes.

At the time of writing this the game has successfully completed a Kickstarted campaign and should soon be available on the market.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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War Games, Part of the Great Variety of Games

A WWI Game

One of the top reasons I like tabletop gaming is the variety of game styles available. There are the family games, children games, card games, board games, etc. You can play games that are designed to be light and humorous and you can play others steeped with strategy. The availability of the variety is why gaming conventions are popular. You can find something you like, even when your likes might not be considered the main stream.

This year at SaltCon were three tables laid out with war games. The games being played were not the big box games that many of us grew up on, but the ones players who are deep into strategy and history enjoy. The tables were going during almost the entirety of the convention and even though there were some players who stayed at the tables, there was a regular group of interested people trying them out and watching.

One of the Civil War Games

War games might not be the one of the fast paced game styles that people cheer over a move. Instead, the people who stood back to watch were more intense as they shared their strategies in hushed voices with another spectator. A couple of times I found myself in the same row.

I can remember playing Risk!when I was young. Being the youngest of five and four years younger than the next in line meant playing the games the others wanted to play. And, as I got older I had to keep up as my older brothers found the games from Avalon Hill. The three of us would sit and play Feudalfor hours with barely a word spoken. Friends and I would play games recreating major wars and battles from history. With the mix of these older games and the newer ones players have I diversity in war games creating a new level of interested players.

I saw three different games dealing with the U.S. Civil War. Even though they were all depicting the same period of history in the same location, the basis for each was very different. While one was based on the movement of troops (which most of us know about), another was based on the railroads and how they were utilized, and the third was focused on the economics of the times and how battles were influenced by the flow of money.

Modern Afghanistan 

When I played more war games, years ago, everything was based further back in history. It could very well have been that I didn't know about games focused in more of the current events. Today's newer games still have the ones of the Napoleonic era, but they were also playing games based on events in Afghanistan in the 21^st century.  There were the large scale World Wars along with small battles. This variety was bringing older players along with younger ones to the tables.

I was reintroduced to a part of the gaming community that I had drifted away from. Sitting here on the tables was an aspect of gaming that is enjoying a resurgence as other styles of games are bringing people back to the table to play a game. In conversation the people enjoying the games were interested in the strategy of the real world events the games were based on. They were also getting more.

Cuban Revolution

One player was enjoying the learning aspect of what these games bring. Here was something that sparked his interest and he was taking notes from the rule book about outside reading. Another was talking about how playing the game helped them to understand what they had already read. Their companion in the conversation was talking about how learning the strategy was so much like what he did at his job (I didn't ask because I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what he did for a job). But, the games were bringing people together.

Many war games take longer to play and some are highly complex—not all of them, but many. Because of that one factor I know there are many people who are not interested in trying them. I find that a little interesting because many of the other games I play, and I saw other people playing, take about the same amount of time. I heard one person say they didn't want to learn how to play a war game because of the amount of rules involved, which, again, falls in line with so many of the newer highly advanced games. For some of these players, not all but some, if the setting was placed on another planet against different races I think they would be all over it.

Another Civil War

If you haven't checked out the war games section of the game shop, you might want to. People who like strategy, or people who like history, will probably find something they like. Many of the strategy games are also designed to have stopping points. You can play, let it sit, and come back to it. I have known people who do this playing Risk!, or Monopoly, or pretty much every game out there. You can also use modern technology to help like one war game group does.

War gaming groups are also starting up, or you can start one. For one group they have limited space to play so they use their phones to take pictures of the layout. This allows them to continue play one week to the next.

Opportunities with old and new games are out there to be had. I've gone back to see which ones are sitting on my shelf. And, don't be afraid, the war is contained to the map on the table.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Coins, in Development, Game Review

Some of the coins from the game

The field of battle lies between you. Across the field you can see your enemy prepared to enter as your forces wait for the orders to advance. Each of them personally selected for this confrontation, a confrontation of winner take all.

I was able to play the Coins at Life, the Universe and Everything (LTUE). This was a demonstration game with the developer to gain feedback as he is still working on it. The basis of the game combines a strategy of selecting your troops for battle, moving them into play, and combatting your opponent. We played one-on-one.

Carl Duzett, the designer, currently has the game setup to be a two player game with a fantasy theme. In our discussion he mentioned he is looking at other variations of number of players, themes, and available coins. I will focus on what I experienced with two players.

The mechanic used for combat is flipping the coin that is the troop piece. One side of the coin focuses on defense while the other is focuses on attack. When the coins first move out into play the defensive side is up, but at some point someone has to attack. The coin is flipped and the result of the flip is where the coin stays. There are also some special effects for different coins.

Some coins have an effect when they move into the battlefield. These one-shot events have the possibility of changing the course of the battle. You need to plan ahead and decide not only which piece should be moved out when. Other coins have special actions when that side comes up. But, the strategy starts before you even move a coin into the battlefield.

You choose which coins are part of the army you field. The set we played had twenty five coins to choose from and we each had identical coins to fill out our six member force. There are also other ways to build an army: each person could choose from their own set of coins, the players could draft from a common pool, you could take turns drafting from individual pools, or you could take turns choosing which coin every player has. I am sure there are other variations you could come up with to build your force. There are more coins being considered, but even with the current number of coins and variations of creating a force, there is great replayability.

With a force of six the game took about fifteen minutes to learn and play. Variability of time can be made with different drafting techniques and the number of coins included in the armies. These variations allow the game to be used as a filler game while you are waiting for other, and the size makes for a good cabin game that can travel with you.

I look forward to seeing how Coins develops. I believe Mr. Duzett has a good solid start and this is one that can be brought to market.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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The Forgotten Planet, Game Review

Throughout history mining has always been an important part of building civilizations. The ores and minerals have provided the material for developing new a greater things. As we have expanded throughout the galaxy, mining has become no less important. And now, the energy crystals are more important than just about anything else ever mined. A new source of the minerals has been discovered, and the race is on.

The Forgotten Planetpits 2–4 players in developing a mining operation on a distant world on the edge of known space. The environment is harsh and the planet is unstable so you have to use robots, which creates its own concerns.

Players start with one each solar collector, robot, and each energy crystal resource. There is a limited area available for mining, which eventually puts you and the other miners in conflict. Your strategy needs to include collecting power to run your robots; mine; and build more robots, bases, or walls; which in turn allow you find new mining sites where you can collect the crystals you need to sale to the merchant guild or use to build. There are options open to you, and the other miners, so you have to plan ahead for success.

Three of us sat down with The Forgotten Planet, without looking at the rules beforehand. At first, the rulebook looks imposing. However, the rules are presented in four languages, so they are easy to get through. As one person started reading the rules the other two of us started sorting the pieces. In a short time we had the basic concept of the rules and were starting our first turns.

The rules are easy to understand and the game is recommended for ages 12+. During the first game of the two we played, we referred to the rulebook a few times. For the second game we only used the book to choose a different layout for the board. We had the concepts and were willing to give our strategies a second chance.

The game is well balanced. The first game was decided by a tie breakers based on the number of crystals players had. The second would have probably ended with a different winner if there had been one or two more turns, the rules allow a way to push to an end game, which I did. Both games we played completed in the time frame presented of 75 minutes.

The Forgotten Planetfrom giochix.it, and designed by Michele Quondam, is a good strategy game. I come to this conclusion based on two aspects. First, how close both games were to determine a winner, Second, I, and the other two players, were discussing strategy options the next day. When a strategy game doesn't get you thinking about the strategy, it isn't intriguing enough to play again. This is one game that is not going to be collecting dust in our group.

Thanks to giochix.it for a copy of The Forgotten Planet.

This article was first published in Utah Geek MagazineSept/Oct 2016.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Viceroy, Game Review

Every kingdom is only as strong as the people. Having the right people in positions of power make the kingdom even stronger. To build your powerbase you need to recruit the right people to fit into the right positions. Their placement in the scheme of things creates a stronger base to grow your power into a formidable kingdom. It is about how much power you control that will make you the king of kings.

Viceroy puts you in a position of building your kingdom's power. A strategy game with multiple ways of earning power points (victory points).

Four of us sat down to learn and play Viceroy (we had no previous experience with the game). We had a few problems at the start of the game because of the number of strategy options, but the mechanics were easily picked up. By the end of the first game we were moving through the turns without any problems

You start with a few characters and laws you can play, but the first phase of the round is bidding on recruiting more characters. This phase has a silent bid strategy, but you don't have to be silent about it. You can pass a bid, and you can also lose your bid and gain nothing.

When placing characters into play they can start on the first level or higher. But to place them in a higher level they must be supported by two characters already in play in the level below them. Depending on the level they come into play, they have different benefits that may come into play now, during the rest of the game, or during the scoring at the end. Placing a character into your pyramid becomes more expensive the higher they are placed, but the benefits become better.

Placing a law cards work very much like the character cards, but you don't have to pay for them. They are placed in your pyramid in the same manner as characters. Laws also have different benefits that can come into play in the same manner as the character cards. One difference in the playing of a law card is the timing during the game. Some of them have advantages to being played early while others later in the game.

An early pyramid

Scoring is done from different action, placement of cards, and collection of tokens during the game. What I found while playing was the strategy of the game isn't in how quickly, or tall, or wide your pyramid is, but how you recruit and the particular placement of the cards within the pyramid. Depending on how your strategy is developing you may do better placing a late level card lower than higher in the structure.

The strategy of play is based on focusing on the building of your kingdom, your pyramid. Although there is some need to follow what others are doing, your focus is on what you need and desire to complete your strategy in building and collecting your power points.

Replay-ability is high with Viceroy. With the number of characters, the order they become available, and how they are played all leads to altering your strategy. The bidding also can affect how you play. During our first game I missed out on a bid cycle which required me to look at how to make up for the lost ground.

All four of us enjoyed playing Viceroy. There was a uniqueness about the game giving it a fresh feel, and a fresh look. I am sure when we are sitting with a smaller group at our game night table, this will be in the consideration for playing.

Viceroy is from Mayday Games (English version) licensed from Hobby World and was designed by Yuri Zhuravlev for 1–4 players of ages 13+. It is designed to take 45-60 minutes.

Thanks to Mayday Games for the review copy.

If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here, or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Towers of Conquest, Game (in Development) Review

Nearing the end 

As king, you are in charge of building your kingdom by expanding your lands and protecting your people. In the early times of the kingdom this is easy enough. You send out your pathfinders to find resources to help your kingdom and build new settlements. However, there are other kings doing the same as you. So you build protection, and forces to battle against their expansion. Eventually, you are able to erect a tower which allows your wizards to summon forth great creatures of legend to battle for you. Then, there is one high lord, who the rest pay tribute to.

Towers of Conquestis a strategy game for two to four players. I had the opportunity of playing a prototype with three others at the Salt Lake Gaming Con (website) this year (2016) and I look forward to seeing this game make it to market.

The game has three stages of play starting with an emphasis on collecting resources, then expansion, and ending in battle.

At the start of the game each player has a settlement and a couple of pathfinders (scouts). You claim areas where resources are available so you can build more settlements, grow your settlements, and build additional forces. A variety of the five resources is important, but specializing in a particular resource also comes into play later in the game.

As you are able to collect more resources you can start to build your kingdom. You can more pathfinders, but you also need to enhance your settlement. Once a settlement is upgraded you can bring on rangers. Whereas pathfinders scout area and collect resources, rangers are fighters. You need to keep collecting resources to build your tower and bring even greater forces.

With your tower built you are able to summon legendary creatures. Each of these creatures have specific abilities setting them apart from the others, and there is only one of each—so, first come first served.

Starting positions

I sat down with three other people at Salt Lake Gaming Convention (Facebook), with the developers, to learn the Towers of Conquest. One person had played the game before, at earlier stages of its development. And two of us were being introduced to the game.

The rules were explained to us, and the information was easily understood. For me this is a good sign for a good strategy game. The rules were simplified over time instead of being layered with "What if" clauses. I talked with the creators about the rules and they explained that during earlier stages of development they were getting a number of special restrictions coming into play to address "game-breaks." Then, it was decided to go the opposite direction to fix the breaks before they happened instead of a special rule to address the break during play.

Our game took about 90 minutes to play. In actual time it took longer, but we had a number of interruptions being at a convention. We also had experiences strategy players, however, Towers of Conquest is a game a less experienced person could easily pick up. The game has great reference cards so you have the information needed right in front of you. Everything you could buy, and when, were listed on the cards.

The artwork of the game provides a great visual—one of the reasons our game was being interrupted often. The developers took the time to come up with a look that draws players in. I can see gamers using the pieces in other games just so they can use them more often.

A little closer to see the pieces in action

Another nice aspect about the game is replay-ability. Towers of Conquest has a number of variables built in that allow the game to be played back-to-back without having the same expected outcome. They are also working on a number of additional variations players can add to the game without having to change the rules. We played one of their variant rules by placing the board sections instead of using a preset layout.

Towers of Conquest(Facebook) (website) is scheduled to come out on Kickstarter later this year. The developers are working on the rulebook and final layout. From the enthusiastic response at the convention, I think it is a game worth watching for.

Since this is still in development this information is based on my experience.

The game is designed by Troy Banks and Joshua Chinsky (BC Games) for 2-4 players (they are working on variations to up the number) of ages 13+, and a game should last 90 minutes.

If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here, or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Modern Naval Battles - Global Warfare, Game Review

As the admiral of the fleet you have the responsibilities of directing the deployment of the ships, their attacks, and their defenses. Although it may seem like ships move slow, in the heat of combat, the pace is fast. With each maneuver there is a countermove. With each little change in the battle there are needed changes to your strategy.

Modern Naval Battles - Global Warfare has you controlling your fleet against up to five opponents. Each player chooses a country (there are nine to choose from) to represent, then, from the available ships, selects their fleet. Each fleet is deployed, and the battle begins.

Our initial play of the game went smooth. The rules were easy to understand and the cards are designed so information is easily visible. Players control a hand of seven cards, which is used to determine reinforcements, attacks, and defending. Because you use your hand for defending as well as taking other actions, after a player completes their turn, everyone replenishes their hands back to seven cards before the next player starts their turn. A round is completed, everyone taking a turn, before determining if a victory condition is met.

Some of the Ship Cards

The game is listed for an hour; our games took around 90 minutes. With a better understanding of how the game plays the turns could go quicker. Game length can also be altered by changing the sizes of the starting fleets, and altering the number of victory points needed. Since every player can be involved in every person's combat round by defending their own ships, the game keeps everyone involved. Also, since it is not dependent upon watching piece movement, the level of attention needed during game play is not as high.

Depending on the countries being represented you can face a force more technologically advanced. This can be easily overcome by having players choose countries similar in technology and size. Of course, pulling the unexpected victory can also turn a seemingly out-of-balance engagement quickly. Another way of dealing with these types of scenarios is to develop different victory conditions.

There are several scenarios presented in the rulebook. Starting with those, it is easy enough to make alterations and create your own scenarios. Information on the ship cards also allow for designing scenarios for specific time frames. Just remember not all of the ships of a countries fleet are represented, so designing scenarios to specific battles may not be possible (I know there expansions).

Some of the Action Cards

Modern Naval Battles - Global Warfare played well. The strategy was engaging as each person worked on determining how to attack—in a free for all you have to determine if you are going to go for an injury, and possibly let another player get the kill, and victory points. You can also negotiate to focus jointly on an overwhelming force.

With nine fleets, and 110 ships represented, there is good replay-ability, even when doing the same scenario. The choosing of the fleet is a major component. Balance is maintained with everyone replenishing their hand after every battle. As one fleet started taking more damage, the result became a little predictable, but attacks and defenses are determine by rolling a die, and there were some interesting turn of events.

Modern Naval Battles - Global Warfare from Dan Verssen Games was designed by Dan Verssen for 2–6 players, and expected to last an hour.

Thanks to Dan Verssen Games and Utah Geek Magazine for the review copy.

If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here, or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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