Note: Review is based on 8 games with a friend. We decided to play co-op because the rules are not that easy to get used to and because my friend doesn't like to compete. We won twice (and jokingly noted that we had just watched "Alien" and "Alien 2", because in the first game the aliens appeared only at the end, when we were already in the cryocapsules, and in the second game, after waking up, we immediately started shooting the aliens by the end my soldier had 5 frags, maybe more), three times we lost in a tight fight by a hair of victory (due to a bunch of bad rolls), and three times the game crushed us without a chance (with some coincidence the ship can explode at the end of the first turn, also, with a certain coincidence of circumstances, the character can die at the end of the first turn, both of which happened to us). In general, I love "Nemesis" because the game is very thematic and because it will not be possible to plan ahead and optimize all actions, unlike many other decks; all that remains is to do as the circumstances suggest and enjoy the unfolding story. 2 players is clearly not an optimal lineup for Nemesis, so in the future we plan to use 2 characters each, because when there are only 2 characters in the game, you just don't have enough time for a lot of interesting things. The size of the map does not change, and the actions to explore it are much less. If you're unlucky with the layout of the rooms, 2 characters barely have enough time to complete the objectives and reach the escape pods before the timer runs out, provided they're not interrupted (in our winning and near-winning games, the timer was 1 - 2 moves). In conditions of acute lack of actions, it is impossible to be distracted by something extra.  The co-op mode is generally not bad, but the game was clearly not designed to be co-op; some cards and items are completely useless in this mode. If we had more players, I would definitely prefer standard mode. It's officially called semi-co-op, but in practice it can go from "co-op just called something else" to "I'd rather burn the ship to the ground than let anyone but me win" depending on your group and is much more interesting. It also seems more difficult, but on the other hand, it is enough for one player to win. Co-op is generally easier, but everyone has to win. In my opinion, standard mode should be played with 4 or more players, so that there is as much chaos as possible on the field.  Here's my ranking of the characters for the two-player co-op mode by fandom. 1. SOLDIER  This brute has exactly one goal in life - to kill aliens. I am very happy when I get a soldier in the draft. It's durable enough to roam the corridors alone - just don't expect it to be effective at anything other than grinding aliens. However, his ability to effectively dispose of aliens with ammo is invaluable in a game where other characters can barely kill even one adult alien. Oddly enough, I consider a soldier to be a supporter. He supports you by covering your ass and killing everything that gets in the way of an important goal. And if it doesn't kill, then at least it will give you an opportunity to escape. A very fan character with great weapons and decent quest items. You might think that the support role makes him less valuable in a two-player game, since he has almost no one to go with in a team, but he also shows himself well as a scout, opening the map and leaving behind corpses of aliens. He copes well with this role, he is very much a fan. 2. SCOUT An interesting character; the complete opposite of a soldier. If the soldier covers the others, the scout tries to be as far away from the other characters as possible. Her action deck is generally very impressive, but the ability to move without making noise is priceless. The weapon is not great, but there are a lot of cartridges, and it is not bad for suppressing fire with subsequent escape; it is not necessary to kill the alien that got out. I think it's best for the scouts to explore the key rooms as soon as possible and let the rest know where to go. Moreover, the game rewards for this, since one of its quest items is given in the cabin, where you should go anyway. Both of her quest items are very good. The security key allows you to manipulate the door, helping your friends (or hindering them in standard mode) from anywhere on the map, and the motion scanner is even nicer. Probably the most pumped item in the game. You can lose quickly due to random events if you're very unlucky, but a misplaced noise is much more likely to ruin your game, creating a sort of time spiral, with noise dropping much more often. The ability to roll noise cubes allows you to be cheeky and get out of the water dry. 3. MECHANIC  In general, I like him more than anyone, but he has a bad habit of wandering around alone, unable to stand up for himself. Despite all his utility, he is extremely vulnerable and unable to recover from a series of failures, so he is not as fun to play as the characters listed above. His quest items and weapons are mediocre, but that doesn't really matter because he has an extremely powerful action deck. He has two simple ways to repair rooms, the ability to use room actions for free, and the only available default way to get rid of fires without a fire extinguisher, which is just cool: fire is a very dangerous thing (he's also the only character who can easily start a fire, which in co-op is much less useful, but won us a game once when we set fire to a nest full of eggs and went on to another objective). And the map of movement along the technical corridor makes him apparently a mobile character in the game. The mechanic's role is to get to the engines, repair them, then fix broken rooms or put out fires. Unfortunately, my mechanic often went to certain death in the last third of the game in order for the escape pods to unlock. This character lives brightly, but not for long. 4-5. PILOT/SCIENTIST  I only played with the scientist once, but with the pilot quite a lot. In my opinion, these are equal characters. Maybe we were just unlucky, but both didn't seem very helpful. They are not good at standing up for themselves, just like a mechanic, but the actions available to them are not as powerful as a mechanic. Both appear to be background characters whose job it is to stay in the safe zone and activate room actions or unlock tiles, speeding up the exploration process. Unfortunately, none of this is very useful in a two-player game, as you have few actions and are running headlong around the map. Both characters have a lot of interesting things, but there was no time to implement them.  It is worth noting that the pilot can extract the key to the escape pod, and the scientist can start the self-destruct mechanism of the ship from any point. Both of them open access to escape pods, which allows you to quickly escape from the ship after completing the objectives, but the mechanic can do the same by killing himself, and bringing much more benefit (in co-op, you need to complete all the objectives, but one character is enough to survive ). 6. CAPTAIN  The pilot and the scientist can be useful and fan characters in a large team, but I'm not sure about the captain. In any case, not in the cooperative for sure. I'm even considering removing his card from the draft. He doesn't look like a ship's captain at all; it is the pilot who knows the ship like the back of his hand and can control it as he wishes. "Captain" is more like an official who happened to be on board. He is a pure support and only useful in a party, but the effect of his support is very questionable, and only works on the same room as him, which makes party cooperation with him a nightmare, given the order of the round (unless he gets a quest item , which allows you to command those who are in certain rooms... provided you're lucky and someone is there). The captain wants to be your partner, just like a soldier, but unlike a soldier, he is completely independent and there is little point in him even as a partner. His second quest item allows you to look at another player's objective card, which is useless in co-op, since objectives are public information. But in standard mode, the captain is most likely one of the best characters, because he is the best at scheming. Find out who you can trust by looking at their objective card, go in their company and help out when needed... and when they're no longer useful, use the action cards, which are great for saving by feeding your rivals to the aliens. In general, not a captain, but a real politician...

BRIEF OVERVIEW  Rating - 7.5/10.  Buy DD if: You liked the PC version OR if you are a fan of dark fantasy like Lovecraft. You want a rectilinear cube metal dungeon crawler. You like nice miniatures and/or you like to paint them. You have nothing against games that are not very difficult or tactically deep. You have a lot of money (for replayability, it is recommended to have at least 1 add-on; currently only Crimson Court can be bought). Do not buy DD if: You would rather buy 3-4 good board games for the same price, even if they have fewer miniatures in total. You are not interested in a dungeon crawler. You don't care about thumbnails. You prefer complex decks with tactical depth. You don't like randomness (there are dice rolls when attacking, random dungeon exploration in corridors, random tile layout). You do not like the idea that you can lose due to randomness. You don't want to play the campaign (you can't play outside the campaign mode in DD). You don't have much free space on your desk. DETAILED REVIEW  Darkest Dungeon: The Board Game is a dungeon crawler based on the computer game of the same name. Four heroes (always four - i.e. designed for 1-4 players) go into dungeons, fight monsters, gain experience and gold, and also often die or receive terrible injuries and disorders (both in battle and while wandering around long) corridors connecting rooms filled with monsters). The campaign consists of 4 acts. Acts 1–3 each have three dungeons; in the first two you gain gold and experience, and in the third you fight the boss. After completing 3 bosses (that is, 9 dungeons), you are presented with the final creepy act with the most terrifying part of the Dark Dungeon. I will not spoil; let me just say that this is definitely my favorite act. After each trip to the dungeon, heroes can heal, recover and upgrade skills in the town of Hamlet. Each character also has their own unique skill that can be used in Hamlet. Some treat, others give supplements. supplies or some bonuses for the next campaign. Completing each dungeon takes 60-120 minutes, and each visit to Hamlet takes 10-30 minutes. If everyone in your group understands quickly, then the passage may take even less time (and vice versa), but since the options for each individual player, as a rule, are few, analysis paralysis is unlikely.  It is based on 11 characters, each with its own parameters and characteristics. Many have the same skills, and some have the same roles, but they all feel different and quite close to the computer originals. There are no traditional roles (tank, healer and damager), but there are combat positions that are well known to those who played computer DD: aggressive, defensive, long-range and support. Most characters are optimal in a certain position, but some are equally good in several positions. Obviously, some characters tank better or heal better than others, but the effect of combat stances is more important. Most of the skills of heroes and monsters only work in certain positions, so their position is very important. Moreover, there can be only one monster and one hero in each rack. There are also 4 bosses in the base (except act 4), a bunch of different monsters and a lot of all kinds of content (temperament traits, items, diseases, rooms, etc. ed.). Taken together, all this provides good regrabability. GAME PROCESS  You spend most of the game in combat. You activate heroes (previously monsters, if you're lucky - the initiative (i.e., turn order) is determined randomly) and decide which skills to use. What's better: healing an ally or stabbing a monster? Or maybe stun him so he misses a move? Is it just a matter of buffing an ally to increase the critical hit chance? In combat, the player has two actions that can be spent moving, interacting with loot, changing positions, or using skills. The first and fourth are most often used. The tactic in battle is primarily to move correctly so that you can use 2 skills at once on the next turn (at least that's how I played). In complex battles, there is not enough action, so you may not even have enough time to open the desired loot chest. But you usually have time to discover them during combat. After the fight, they disappear perfectly. When applying experience, you roll a D10 to hit. If you roll a low enough value, you can land a critical hit. Monsters also use D10, so both sides have chances to smear and critical hits. Depending on the level of the character, players have a choice of 3-5 skills in battle (there are 7 skills in total, you can take 3-5 per battle), which is quite a lot. However, sometimes there will be only one or two optimal options. Some characters have clearly useful and useless skills, so if you want to always have a lot of options to choose from, choose your character and skills wisely. Which skills are available for use depends both on the position of the character and on the range of the skill: some can be used only against the enemy in the same position as the character, others - in the adjacent position, the third - in 2 positions from him. Fortunately, there are also relatively flexible skills. Battles take up most of the game time. Between battles, there is an exploration phase: the heroes wander through the corridors of the dungeon, roll dice and get some effects. Periodically as you explore, you'll come across rooms full of monsters, and that's when the battle begins. The dungeon is represented by a separate field on which room tiles are randomly laid out (depending on the current mission), and exploration is simply moving a group token/miniature from one room to another. Usually you have a choice in which order you go through the dungeons, but sometimes you just go straight ahead. Dungeon exploration is very atmospheric in my opinion. This is a fairly quick process, especially considering the mechanics of intelligence, which in 90% of cases are mandatory to use. During exploration, each player gets a stress unit (more on that below), then you reveal all the nearby rooms. Also, you'll only roll 1 research die on your next research instead of 2. Since (depending on the current act) you almost always get at least 1 stress and some damage on the die roll, scouting is simply necessary. And it's boring. Not all rooms have monsters, but in the ones without monsters, negative effects await you, so it makes sense to spend most of your time fighting.  Now about stress. In addition to health, you also have a stress score. It's basically a second HP strip. Stress accumulates during exploration, from some monster abilities, when receiving a critical hit due to the features of some dungeon rooms, and even from some hero abilities. If you accumulate 10 stress points, you must make a resolve check by rolling a D10. If you somehow avoid it or throw out 1-2, you get a serious buff, if you throw out 3+, you get psychosis - a serious debuff. If you accumulate 20 stress points, you die of a heart attack. It should be noted that the stress counters are made simply terribly. They should not be considered properly, but the level of stress is marked with an ordinary token, which can easily be accidentally moved to the wrong position. I recommend marking your stress level with a separate die or tokens from some other board (the brain-shaped tokens from Arkham Horror are the same). In addition to death from a heart attack, characters can also die after receiving the fourth negative character trait (most often in the process of research) or when health reaches zero. However, what is unusual, at zero health the character does not die instantly, but reaches the so-called the threshold of death. As a reward/penalty, you get an extra die to roll every time you take damage. When the skull is thrown, the character finally dies. It is possible to acquire a new character in Hamlet after the party returns from the dungeon, if of course there are adventurers in town willing to join the party. If you can't get 4 characters, you lose the campaign and have to start over.  You will also lose the campaign if all 4 characters die in the dungeon, which is unlikely, but possible with extreme bad luck. I won't go into much detail about Hamlet's phase. It takes only 10-15 minutes. Players spend the gold they find in the dungeon to heal stress and damage, as well as all kinds of bonuses for the next dungeon trip. Even in Hamlet, you can improve skills and level up characters. By the way, there is an important bug in the game: the location "Guild" allows you to increase the level of a character or skill by 1, and not to increase a skill or character of level 1 to level 2 (otherwise you would not be able to level above level 2). EXPERIENCE FROM THE GAME APPEARANCE AND QUALITY OF COMPONENTS + Gorgeous thumbnails. If you like to paint them, then it's even ++ for you. - Unfortunately, the game does not have the red enemy miniatures promised at the start of the Kickstarter campaign. It's a pity that it didn't work out. I would be happy to paint them. + The quality of other components ranges from decent to excellent. - Cards in protectors do not fit into boxes. Sad, but expected. You will have to make your organizer from cardboard and electrical tape, as usual. PRINTS AND RULES - The game has a lot of typographical errors, including on the cards and on the playing field. - There is no description of many possible situations in the rule book, which forces people to ask "stupid" questions in Discord and Facebook. Not that dumb actually, as the rulebook only explains the basics of gameplay. FAN + The game is fan-made. Destroying monsters is especially nice. Players cringe when critically hit, and cheer loudly when critically hit. + It is interesting to choose skills, as well as to think of skill combinations of different characters. LEVEL-UPS AND LOOT + Playing RPG-like games, including dungeon..

 I have been waiting for King of Monster Island for a long time. This is a co-op dice-rolling game in the Lord of Tokyo setting. My box arrived about a week ago. I played solo and co-op. BOOK OF RULES  The authors of the game have a sense of humor. It's funny how the rulebook starts with the heading "Breaking News" and it looks ridiculously silly.  Overall, the rulebook is very nice: gorgeous illustrations and titles. It is written quite clearly. First, there is a list of components with a brief description of each.  The layout is described in detail with a huge illustration on two pages. The rest is fine. Sometimes I did not immediately find the right rule in the book (there is no alphabetical index or glossary), but in general everything is simple and clear. It's a shame, though, that there isn't anything useful in the back of the rulebook. And it is quite wide. You can't put it on a chair - only on the table. COMPONENTS  The King of Monster Island box is somewhat strange, of non-standard dimensions. For clarity, a comparison with a can of cola.  There are quite a few tokens here: minions (left), crystals (top right), support tiles (bottom right).  The field looks luxurious. Also in the box is a prefab volcano that is a tower for the boss action dice. You collect it and put it in the center of the field; looks great  There are also health and glory counters — for both the good guys and the bad guys — as well as ability cards and a volcano.  Black dice belong to players, and red dice belong to the boss.  Energy cards are player ability cards that are purchased for energy. In the same deck are event cards that add an element of surprise.  There are also maps of allies and bosses in the game. All the components are of excellent quality and the game looks great. GAME PROCESS Basically, King of Monster Island is Yahtzee (dice poker). You roll a handful of dice, keep the results you like, then reroll the others, after which you can reroll them one last time. Just like Lord of Tokyo, Yahtzee and many other dice games. And the most interesting thing is actions on cubes. 1. Heart: Gain 1 health. 2. Star: get 1 glory (spent on buying allies). 3. Tool: 3-4 tools can buy support tiles. 4. Leg: Move yourself, move an ally in the same zone as you, or deal 1 damage to a minion. 5. Paw: Deal 2 damage to a minion or boss. 6. Energy: Get 1 cube of energy (spent on buying capabilities). As you can see, the game already looks significantly more difficult than Lord of Tokyo.  Players choose their monsters. Interestingly, the monsters themselves do not have any special features. The difference between the two is which ally you choose. X+1 cards of allies are offered to choose from, where X is the number of players.  In the solo game, I randomly chose monkeys and medbots. Once you accumulate 1 glory, you can use your ally's first attribute, and as the game progresses, you will activate their other attributes.  To win, players need to defeat the boss together.  As you can see, with the growth of fame, the boss has new abilities. The players have 10 black dice for everyone (you usually roll 6, but sometimes some of the dice are blocked for a while), and the boss has his own red dice. They throw themselves into the mouth of the volcano and scatter over the island. And activate kapos effects: summon minions, bring glory to the boss, build crystals. As with most co-op, the gameplay consists of phases of bad (the effects of minions and boss dice) and good (the effects of player dice, ability cards and support tokens) events. There is also the concept of movement in the game: as a rule, players can only affect objects in the same zone as them.  The order of moves is boss-player-boss-player. And so for now the monsters will not defeat the boss together. If the boss defeats one of the monsters, if he builds 3 pylons or if there are no minions left in the bag, then you lose. SOLO MODE  Not entirely sure why, but it wasn't until the third game that I managed to play by the rules. The first time I soloed, I thought all the minions activated on the boss's turn (actually only the minions in the same area as the boss activated) and I lost without a chance. The second time I thought that after activating the dice in the boss zone, you reroll them at the beginning of the next turn (they are actually removed from the field). Finally got it right on the third try, even though I've played a bunch of co-op before. I guess I was just expecting to see a much simpler game, no more than a co-op version of Lord of Tokyo.  In general, I liked the game: it is fan-made, with a lot of interesting solutions. However, situations when the wrong dice fall out every time are very annoying. I liked playing solo and I don't mind playing it again. Compared to other cube metal co-ops, King of Monster Island is easier than, for example, Reckoners, but not by much. COMPARISON WITH KING OF TOKYO  From the components, design and characters, it is immediately clear that the action of King of Monster Island takes place in the same setting as "Lord of Tokyo". However, these games are not compatible. I'm one of the few who didn't like Lord of Tokyo. It's just a lightweight cube shooter where you hit each other, flip the dice... and that's it. For me, there is too much randomness and downtime in it - these impressions were formed after a game for six. One player was quickly out of the game and had to wait for the rest to play, and I had to wait for the other 4-5 people to come. In addition, you have no idea what will fall on the dice; the gameplay boils down to "roll the dice and manage the results better." There is almost no strategy.  However, I liked King of Monster Island. A little because it's co-op, a little because there's a lot more strategy here than in Lord of Tokyo. However, the difficulty has also increased significantly. So if you prefer simple mindless dice throwing, I must warn you that this game is much more complex. This is not just a co-op Lord of Tokyo, but a middleweight co-op in a Lord of Tokyo setting. Despite the appearance, King of Monster Island has a lot more mechanics and actions: block dice, grow crystals, buy support tiles, ability cards, cube tower, bad dice activation, minion activation, boss moves, boss abilities and upgrades, moves and upgrades monsters, pulling minions out of a bag, tracking abilities, etc. CONCLUSIONS  Both my friends and I liked King of Monster Island. We rate it 7/10. The components are excellent, the gameplay is quite fan-made and slick. The optimal composition is 1-3 players. However, Reckoners is, in my opinion, a much more refined co-op cube shooter. It has much more player cooperation (since you roll the dice and plan moves together) and less randomness (since you can always do something useful with the results that have fallen or help your friends), and the players choose their own turn order. In King of Monster Island, you sometimes have to wait a long time for your turn, which makes the game much worse with 4-5 players. I think King of Monster Island might well appeal to newcomers unfamiliar with co-op; although it has less co-op than Reckoners, each player is more independent. It is colorful, fun and with excellent components. If you like the setting of "Lord of Tokyo", King of Monster Island may well be for you. Just keep in mind that this is not just a co-op Lord of Tokyo, but a much more complex game...

INTRODUCTION I've been playing board games for about 5 years now, and before that I was really into miniatures wargames. I'm most drawn to kickstarter games with lots of miniatures and elaborate plot/lore. I prefer atmospheric decks that have a bit of depth, over-engineered but dry mechanics. I also play tabletop RPGs like Pathfinder 2nd Edition, mostly as a Game Master. I don't have a permanently active desktop cell, but I occasionally play in the company of friends and relatives. Most often, I play solo in the evenings, having sent the monster (baby) to bed. My favorite genre is dungeon crawlers. Now I have and regularly play the following: Middara; Gloomhaven; Etherfields; Swords and Sorcery: Ancient Chronicles; Altarquest. Listed in order from most favorite to least favorite. I don't have boss battlers like KDM, so I don't have anything to compare it to, although I've seen a few KDM letplays online. So the comparisons will only be with the above games, not KDM. EXPECTATIONS AND COMPONENTS  To be honest, I expected a lot from Oathsworn (around 9/10) based on the known information, art and lore. On top of that, Shadowborne Games ran an exemplary Kickstarter campaign, which further raised my expectations. And when the game arrived, it turned out that it even exceeded my expectations. Before moving on to the rules and gameplay, I want to draw your attention to the components. I'm pretty picky about it because I buy the deluxe versions of the kickstarters for three times the price of the standard kit, complete with an organizer and other premium components. However, Oathsworn's components are the best of the Kickstarter games I've invested in. Let's start with the fact that the art and drawing style here are great; on cards, on the box and even organizers. Even the playing field is a detailed work of art that makes you want to use it in an RPG. The only games I've played that come close to Oathsworn in terms of art quality are Etherfields and to a lesser extent Middara (there's stunning artwork, but not on every component), but neither is as polished and epic looking as Oathsworn . Art Oathsworn should rather be compared with AAA computer games; the local eerie landscapes would look great in the Elden Ring. In a word, the local maps are simply masterpieces.  As for the miniatures, they are great too. As a former wargamer, I'm very familiar with GW who, for all their faults, produce models of excellent quality. Compared to them, most board games are mediocre at best or just plain lousy. And the Oathsworn miniatures look on par with the best GW miniatures. They are large, beautiful and pleasant to the touch. Better than the Etherfields miniatures, which is a compliment in itself. In addition, due to the large scale of the models, they look more atmospheric and epic on the table.  The quality of the cards and cardboard ranges from good to excellent. Actually, the Oathsworn box is so heavy because of the many decks of thick, quality cards inside. Let them be inferior to MTG, but they are more than decent quality and do not need protectors. The cardboard is solid and, in my opinion, will last a long time. Yes, the cardboard card holders look very sturdy, and none of the character tablets have bent or crumpled. In short, all components look durable. The only thing of mediocre quality is the rather gloomy-looking cubes, which do not impress against the background of other components. However, they are pleasant to the touch and perform their function. Considering the price of Oathsworn, the level of components is simply amazing. For me, it has become a new standard against which I will compare all other boards.  Compared to Middara, Oathsworn's playfield doesn't look as epic as Middara's luxury tiles, and the storybook/journal isn't as impressive as Middara's thick tome, but otherwise the art and components are comparable or superior. The closest to Oathsworn are the components of Etherfields, but there are much thinner cards. Gloomy Harbor doesn't look bad to say the least, but against Oathsworn it just seems like a badass. No Harbor components were lying around with Oathsworn components. Just heaven and earth. In terms of component functionality, Oathsworn is also a champion. The box comes with card holders, a token tray and a plastic organizer to keep everything neatly organized. A very well-thought-out design. As a result, this monster decomposes quite quickly, unlike its counterparts in scale. And to worry about the purchase of an organizer, it is not necessary to say that it does not happen often. Yes, for those who are interested in "Grey Haven", a special organizer is essential if you want the game to unfold in an acceptable time frame, because there are so many components that an organizer is indispensable. It is even rarer to find games in which miniatures are also competently packaged: they do not break and do not take up a lot of space. It's such a well-thought-out system that I'm not going to change anything in it. Each enemy lies in a plastic housing and box only slightly larger than the model itself, so the space is used extremely efficiently. How often have you had to find in the box practically useless mannequin tabs, turning the layout and storage of the game into a real hemorrhoid, which you had to throw away and replace with normal ones? How often in CMON game add-ons was 80% of the space occupied by the insert, 18% by the miniature, and 2% by the card? They say that the novelty arouses the most interest immediately after its arrival, but during the first game some uncomfortable moments appear that noticeably overshadow the overall impression - whether it is a poorly compiled rule book (about it below), a tedious layout, a useless organizer or lousy components. Oathsworn is not your typical Kickstarter; not only has it exceeded my expectations, but it also values the player's time by not wasting it fighting components. There are no perfect components, but Oathsworn is as close to ideal as possible for the price. RULES It's probably not fair to judge the rules after only three games, so keep it short. As far as I can tell, the rules are generally well laid out and clear. There are two rule books, an encounter book, and rule summary cards; combined, it provides all the information you need in a convenient way. The only thing that bugs me is the decision to split the rules into two books. Separately, they are read quite normally. There is an alphabetical index, but most often it refers to a page in another rulebook and vice versa, which can be confusing. On the other hand, there is a very clear reminder in the back of both rulebooks, and two reminders are better than one. In general, dividing them into two seems to be a conscious decision of the authors, and I will not consider it a drawback. It should also be noted that there is a great series of tutorial videos on Youtube that make learning the game a lot easier. There are links to them in the Oathsworn app. Rating of the rules - 8/10. The rules are clear and generally well structured. There is nothing to complain about. STORY MODE  Story Mode is exactly what you thought it would be: a "choose your own adventure" in the spirit of a game book with periodic quizzes and challenges. The mode is interactive, but all you are required to do is decide where to go/what to do and take tests when needed. What is it practically? An awesome mod if you're even remotely interested in the game's lore, plot, or atmosphere. The plot is very elaborate, better than all plots of board games I have played. Not surprising, considering that Oathsworn was worked on by the bestselling author of the grimdark genre. The voice acting is also amazing, done at the highest level. Maps of the area are very beautiful and atmospheric. A high-quality plot, beautiful maps and the voice of James Cosmo together create an exciting adventure in the spirit of a book-game that does not let go until the very end. I even felt frustrated when the story cut off and I had to switch to another mode. Never before have I encountered such an interesting lore and atmosphere among the tables. As for the duration, it is within reasonable limits. The story adventure does not take too long - and you do not get the feeling that there is too much text or that it interferes with enjoying the battles, unlike the same Middara, where reading many paragraphs of text can take a long time. In short, there was a good balance between the plot and the battles. It is also worth noting that all chapters (so far) are interesting individually and at the same time are part of the overall storyline, making you want to know what will happen next. I'm not sure if the story will continue on the same level, but so far it's very interesting. How does it compare to other mobs? Honestly, there is nothing to compare it to. The quality of Oathsworn's narrative and voice acting take the game to an unsurpassed level. Perhaps the closest to it is Middara in that it pays a lot of attention not only to battles, but also to the plot. However, the plot of Oathsworn is better developed and noticeably more interesting. Also, the story mode is a bit similar to "Crime Scene" and "Sherlock Holmes". Detective-consultant" in the sense that you follow the storyline, trying to achieve maximum efficiency - only here there is less mechanics, and the visual part is better. Rating of narrative mode - 10/10. As you may have noticed, I did not compare this narrative masterpiece with the plot of "Grey Harbor", because "Grey Harbor" has almost no plot. "Havana" is played for the sake of battles, not a cardboard plot. BRIGHT MODE  Oathsworn avoids the trap of tiring players out of monotonous regular monster fights in a very simple way: jumping right into the boss fight. As far as I can tell,..

GAME PROCESS Before a game in Street Masters, each player chooses one of the six fighter decks and places his character card. You then choose one of four enemy decks (each with its own boss, minions, and other cards) and finally choose one of eight scenario decks (each with its own layout instructions, special objectives, and event cards). When you place the heroes, boss, objective tokens and crates on the field, the game begins.  A round consists of a fighter phase, an enemy phase, and a scenario phase. In the fighter phase, each player takes a turn - in any order. At the beginning of your turn, you draw a card from the enemy deck (as a result, a new enemy may appear on the field in your zone), and then you can take 3 actions in any order: move, play one card from your hand, and take one action ( this could be activating an ability with one of your played cards, moving extra, interacting with cards or the field, gaining defense tokens). At the end of your turn, all enemies in your zone are activated, after which you draw a card and it's the next player's turn. In the enemy phase, you activate all cards in the enemy zone. In the scenario phase, all cards are in the scenario zone, after which you draw a new scenario card.  Most of the party, not surprisingly, will be taken up by the fight with the enemies on the field. When attacking, you roll the dice indicated on the card and add modifiers. Each die may drop a hit and/or block symbol. The dice here are "explosive": if a critical symbol falls out, you not only count it as a hit, but also roll the dice again. There are three main types of attacks: punch, kick and grab. When a character is attacked, he can place a block if he has the corresponding token. Then you flip your token over: it's now a power token that helps charge up your character's special ability. To win, you need to defeat the boss. Defeat occurs if one of the heroes is disabled or if the corresponding scenario card is activated.  In addition to the standard "Arcade" mode, you can also play in the story mode, that is, in the campaign. In this mode, new maps appear: allies, rivals and upgrades for both heroes and enemies. They can also be used in the Arcade to make the game easier, more difficult, or just for variety. There are also story decks for each hero that can also be included in the game. PROS OF THE GAME Even in one base there is a lot of variety. Enemy decks and scenarios can be shuffled around to create different parties, and different combinations of heroes force drastic changes in strategy. In addition, you can play in the campaign mode or simply add allies and opponents to the game. There is a lot of regrab here. All fighters are unique and all have their cool combos. For example, Gabriel has a lot of abilities that allow you to play additional attack cards and deal huge damage, while Yin Hua knows how to manipulate the enemy deck. In addition, all decks are delivered already assembled, and each has its own synergies, which makes learning a new character very interesting. Flipping defense tokens to charge your character's most powerful ability is both thematic and cool. Adds interesting tactical dilemmas to the game and also means you'll almost never waste. The game looks very attractive, especially the map artwork, but the field and miniatures are also nice. It's surprisingly easy to get the hang of, thanks in large part to the beautifully structured rulebook and helpful reminders for each player, as well as the fact that Street Masters is generally an easy game to play. All the newbies got involved after a few rounds. CONS OF THE GAME What I don't like the most is that the difficulty is too low. In my games, there were a couple of tight contests until the finals, but overall the score is now 5-0, and this is despite the fact that I played with a different composition of participants. In the last game of three, we even added three opponents and still won. As I mentioned, I really like exploding cubes and block/charge tokens, but these mechanics give heroes too much of an advantage. There are a lot of details to keep an eye on. You can easily forget to do this and that in your turn. Also, it makes the game too slow for a tabletop fighting game. And sometimes very annoying; if you forget an active ability or miss one of the turn phases - in my experience everyone forgets to draw an enemy card at least once per game - then you will probably have to cancel the move and rethink your actions. Inserting miniature rubber stands is not easy. Although this is not a problem for minechki dyes. CONCLUSION Although Street Masters is less challenging than I expected, I still really enjoyed playing it. Each character has their own style, card decks and scenarios make each game unique and the game looks great. In my opinion, Street Masters is a very good deck; it is not for nothing that many adore her. But I'm not likely to play it often because I prefer other bad-guy-beating games. Beatdown: Streets of Justice or Marvel Champions are similar but more difficult games that are generally superior to Street Masters. So for my collection Street Masters will not work. However, I am very interested in other games with this wonderful modular deck system from the Sadler brothers. Yes, I'm looking forward to playing Altar Quest...

COMPONENTS The miniatures of the ships are elegantly worked out. The field - a large piece of fabric with an image of the ocean - also looks great and may be useful in other games. But the elements of the landscape are very thin and light and easily turn over if they are caught. The rulebook had a broken binding (although it was replaced), but otherwise there are no complaints about it. I like John Blanche's art, and the book has just a lot of his illustrations. The rules are clearly laid out, with one or two spreads under each section of the rules. Under the description of each ship and captain and the scenario too. The book has a table of contents, so it is not difficult to find the right place. The rules themselves take up about half of the book; the rest — lor and other. A ship's rudder helps turn ships around. The ruler is also very useful; it can be bent and fixed at an angle of 45 degrees. The white and one red die look kind of cheap compared to the other components. However, these are ordinary six-sided cubes, nothing more is required of them. There are several decks of cards in the game, as well as a card for each ship and for each order for each player. Apart from ships and orders, all the cards are quite small. They feel a bit subtle. Given their regular use, it is not a fact that they will last long... BRIEFLY ABOUT THE RULES The rules are quite simple. There are no unusual innovations here that could surprise or surprise - which, in my opinion, is not lacking at all. The gameplay is based on cubes and several decks of cards. Very random, which balances the players in a sense: a less experienced player has a good chance of beating a more experienced one. On the other hand, depth suffers from this. If you're looking for a serious game, then Dreadfleet is not for you; if you're looking for a fun random battle, then the game might work for you.  The move is divided into several phases: 1) Status phase: for each long-playing effect (as a rule, one or more such effects are constantly present in the game, usually these are fate cards) dice are rolled. Depending on the result, something can happen. 2) Fate phase: both players draw fates on the card, which are played immediately. Again, random effects, some with very serious consequences. In this phase, the direction and strength of the wind changes. 3) Action phase: players take turns walking the ships - first I walk this, then you this, then I that, etc. 4) Final phase: verification of winning conditions. The statuses phase at the beginning of the game is allowed quickly, but the longer the game lasts, the more cards accumulate, which must be checked each turn by rolling dice and activating the effects that have fallen. The fate phase activates random events that usually hurt one of the ships, but sometimes help.   The main action takes place in the action phase. On your turn, you choose a ship, and then perform the following actions in order: 1) Orders: large ships with named captains (5 on each side) can give orders. In this case, it is necessary to pass a command check (discard a result above a certain value on one D6). 3 of the 5 orders modify your movement, the 4th repairs the ship, and the 5th is a lookout of sorts (allows you to fire back if you're attacked). 2) Movement: movements and turns. If the wind is in your face, you swim slower; if in the back, then faster. You can only return after moving a certain distance or more, depending on the type of ship. In general, the mechanics are typical of naval battle games. 3) Volley: you can shoot from both sides in an arc of 90 degrees. You can continue firing even during boarding. Each ship has a specific shooting rate. During the shot, the corresponding number of dice is rolled. Depending on the distance to the target, successes can be considered 4+, 5+ or 6. +1 is also given for the first volley of the ship in the game and +1 for a shot to the nose or stern. Here are all the modifiers, except for the rare events on the fate cards. On a success, the target rolls dice for an armor save. For each failure, the map of losses is drawn. Usually they mean a small decrease in crew, speed, hull strength, and sometimes more unpleasant special or status effects hang over them. Damage cards remain under the ship until it is repaired or sunk. 4) Boarding: upon collision with an enemy ship, the movement stops and you have to engage in a boarding skirmish. It begins with a duel between the captains: both roll dice in a number equal to their swordsmanship rating; 5+ is considered a success. Whoever has more successes wounds the opponent (or both are wounded in the event of a tie). After 4 wounds, the captain goes to the hospital bed. His ship will continue to operate, but he himself will cease to participate in the game. After the captains have had fun, it is the turn of their crews. The skirmish proceeds similarly, only instead of fencing - the number of the remaining crew. Moreover, the one who lost does not receive 1 loss card, but cards in the amount equal to the difference in results. HOW WAS OUR FIRST PARTY In the first duel scenario, your ships start at opposite corners of the map, with islands in the middle. I immediately drew a sea monster fate card and placed it directly in front of my opponent's ship so that it could not avoid collision. Since he plays as Count Noctilis, he has a special ability to try to take control of the monster instead of giving orders. He passed the test and didn't have to fight the monster, but he couldn't do anything with it either. Small boats and all monsters are considered "support vessels": they have some special rules - in particular, they cannot break contact on their own in the event of a collision. As a result, the monster could not move, and the Reaver could not swim past or through it. He could try to break contact, but in that case I would move him close again because I could control him. In the end, the "Robber" got rid of him, killing him in the course of several boardings. Here, on the map of fate, another sea monster fell to me, which, naturally, took the place of the previous one. As my opponent dealt with them, moving an inch within a few moves, I had to cross the entire field to get within shooting range. Ah, the hard life of a sailor... As a result, the fight started almost at its starting location. I managed to successfully open fire on the nose and deal additional damage to his slightly monster-ridden ship. The Rogue killed the second monster and was finally ready to face me, but the forces were already clearly unequal: he had 7 damage cards, mine had 0. This scenario ends when one of the enemy ships has 8 damage. Although many fate cards rained down on me, all the damage was prevented by rescuers or repaired. The "robber" stayed only slightly above the waterline... After completing the scenario objective, we continued the game anyway: there's no point in cleaning up ships when you're just learning how to play. I got in his nose a few more times, but the main thing was that the fate card drawn allowed the support boat to be converted into a brander! Just a gift of some kind. I was preparing to lower her from the anchor, when the Robber crashed into my side, after which the boarding began. It was not possible to break contact before the end of the game for several reasons. In particular, because at first we got carried away with the boarding skirmish, and then there was not enough crew left. Now the Rogue was getting lucky, avoiding almost all the damage it should have received from fires and damage down to the waterline. My ship, on the other hand, was cracking before my eyes, and more than once there was only one loss card missing from sinking. The skirmish continued, both captains were disabled. In the end, I managed to sink the Rogue. By then we were so battered that both ships had what seemed to be 33 damage cards out of 55 in the game. I wonder if there will be enough loss cards for a full scale battle involving 8 ships. IMPRESSION +Quite an interesting process. +Nice ship miniatures, especially if painted. +The box contains all the necessary components, nothing extraneous is needed. Even a plastic ruler came in handy. -The game takes up a lot of space. The map of the field in the unfolded form is 180 x 120 cm. Obviously, there is little space left for the rest - and this is despite the fact that they played with 2 ships out of 10. With 10, it will clearly be a tight fight. Moreover, the map cannot be laid out only partially, since the yellow fields along the borders determine the direction of the wind. - The wind is so changeable that it is almost impossible to plan ahead. Yes, this is another element of randomness. -Random events quickly get boring. The decks are small, and soon the cards will start repeating themselves over and over again. - The cards are quite fragile, and it is not a fact that they will not flutter if you play for a long time. Especially considering that according to the rules the decks will be scrolled and shuffled regularly. The more ships, the more often. +/- Basically, this is a wargame with miniatures (albeit contained in one box), and not a normal board. +/- Lots and lots of randomness. Experience is of some importance, but very often you will win and lose at the will of fate, which is a minus for some, and not for someone. CONCLUSIONS In general, the game is not bad, but nothing more. Not sure if it's worth the price, and unlikely to attract collectors in the future. Whether it is worth painting the models is a controversial issue. This is not an easy job; given that all ships are different, painting them will take more time and effort than painting an entire fleet. On the other hand, a painted Dreadfleet will look many times better, and the process is probably..

 Ryan Lockett has made a career out of creating decks that combine Euro mechanics with narrative. The most obvious example is "Near and Far", but a similar design can also be seen in "Above and Below" and in Empires of the Void II. Unfortunately, according to feelings, all these games did not carefully work out both of their components and did not merge them successfully into a single entity. However, with experience comes success. "Sleeping Gods" from the company Red Raven Games turned out to be a masterpiece.  The design approach of this game is very different from the company's previous games. Instead of trying to give equal attention to both the placement of the workers and the storytelling, the developer focused on creating a narrative that gradually unfolds. There's still resource management—almost overdone, perhaps—as well as combat resolution and skill check mechanics, but they're all clearly secondary to the stories of the Manticore's journey through a strange, faraway wonderland. "Manticore" is your ship. A steamboat straight out of the 1920s with a crew of nine — that is, characters that you, the players, will control together. It all begins like a plot from Ravenloft: a steamship falls into a thick fog and ends up in an unfamiliar sea. Surprises, amazing discoveries and difficult moral decisions await you. The game is apparently inspired by the recent hits "The 7th Continent" and "Tainted Grail". It invites players to explore an open world while requiring close attention to health and fatigue management for both team members and Manticores: the right to move on must be earned. The approach to narrative in The Sleeping Gods is a cross between its two predecessors. "The 7th Continent" sets you the task of removing the curse, focusing on several faint hints of evidence. Along the way, like a pigeon rushing between scattered pieces of bread, you will encounter many side tasks and other interesting distractions from the main task. It even seemed that the main plot was needed only as a motivation to explore the continent. Unfortunately, this has hurt Continent 7, because the gameplay is based on a vicious circle of resource gathering, and it's so monotonous that you gradually begin to wish Continent 7 would fail the hell out of it. "Tainted Grail" is its opposite: a clear focus on the plot. If you don't follow the main story line of searching for King Arthur's legacy in a cataclysmic Britain, you'll be stuck endlessly hauling resources to menhir statues to light them. The game became successful only thanks to a very high-quality plot. In "Sleeping Gods" there are no such or other flaws. Although you will have to spend time resting and healing, the grind is much less here. Instead, the gameplay is focused on visiting locations and exploring them, or interacting with locals. This goes well with the main task, which no one forces you to rush: collect totems and use them to awaken the sleeping gods in exchange for freedom. It's especially notable that what's happening doesn't feel like a set of simple stories, even though the game is essentially a huge collection of side quests. Each little errand you take on - like "go to the west of the island and find the lost sword" or "go south and find my son" - is unrelated to the main plot, but the atmosphere of participating in one big adventure is never lost . The design of "Manticore" is made according to the same principle. Because players control multiple crew members—each with their own personality and special abilities—you're tied to a ship and can't go on independent voyages, unlike the two Sleeping Gods predecessors. This is a very important point for several reasons. First, the game is fully revealed, regardless of the number of players. Each team member will be involved regardless of the number of players. Thanks to this, "Sleeping Gods" are also very good in solo, and they open up perfectly in cooperative mode. Secondly, the general involvement in the gameplay is preserved. When you get into combat (which doesn't happen often), everyone is involved. When you read an excerpt from a storybook, everyone is interested to hear what's in there. Although leadership may shift from one player to another from turn to turn, the emphasis remains on the importance of each player. The way all these separate quests are tied into a ball around a miniature steamer, causes some pleasant warm feelings. One of the central themes of the plot is sailing the seas of a mysterious world, but in reality the world is floating around you. All great things happen because of your efforts and your decisions. Let the world of the "Sleeping Gods" not be your personal creation, but its fate is solely in your hands.  One of the hallmarks of Red Raven Games' style is that the worlds they create are… not entirely serious. Therefore, "Sleeping Gods" is perceived more as juvenile literature than a serious dramatic work. In "Desecrated Grail" there is grimdark, here it is more playful and eccentric. At times, Sleeping Gods gets a little dark and creepy, but overall, this adventure is suitable for the whole family. On the one hand, this is an advantage in terms of general accessibility, on the other hand, the plot of "Sleeping Gods" cannot touch on deep and important topics raised in classical literature. Nevertheless, the plot is generally well-written and clearly corresponds to the chosen style. It is also worth noting the mechanics of keywords. It could be called innovative if it wasn't already used in Farther and Closer and The Unholy Grail, but it's still beautifully designed and serves as one of the foundations of the gameplay. The bottom line is that you get all kinds of quests when you meet strangers or explore locations. Quests are drawn from a huge deck of cards, and after a while you will have a whole sea of them. Players will periodically take one card or another, trying to remember why they agreed to deliver a statue of a one-eyed macaque to an old woman on the other side of the world; it is recommended to take notes. At the bottom of each card is a keyword. When you visit a location, you may be asked if you have certain keywords. Access to additional options depends on their availability. This is how the plot branches out. Some triggers can even remain relevant until the finale and affect the ending. The game does not force you to follow an exact storyline, but allows you to wander through a dynamic world, as if flipping through the pages of a handbook. Each quest is another piece of the general history of the world. Playing Sleeping Gods is like slowly painting a picture, stroke by stroke, until the individual elements come together into a single picture.  If there is any element that is not fully thought out in the game, it is the difficulty. In general, it feels good: there is a certain challenge, but it is not fatally difficult. However, the difficulty can vary greatly during a game. Choosing certain story options or failing quests can have many outcomes that will drain your resources or ability to fight effectively. It snowballs: the more failures, the harder it becomes to play, and the more failures and frustration. On the other hand, finding a powerful totem can greatly increase the combat potential or utility of team members. Find some powerful weapons and the next fight with a group of minotaurs will be like kindergarten. Death isn't a big deal here, as it just speeds up the game timer by sending event cards to reset. This heightens the tension, but you'll still reach a compellingly interesting ending regardless of your accomplishments. Interestingly, with great efficiency of the processes, it will be difficult to reach a gloomy ending. The save system is also a shaky aspect of Sleeping Gods. No matter how cool it is, taking it all apart and then putting it back together is a headache. You need bags for each of the team members, for tokens of status effects. Retention sheets must be filled out. It will also not work to play a game in the mode of single sessions or start another campaign in the current process. Of course, all this is not a problem if you have the opportunity to leave the game spread out on the table, but this luxury is not available to everyone. The last ambiguous aspect of the game is that the map on which you navigate and take notes immediately includes elements from the Tides of Ruin expansion. Without the addition, some areas on the map will be inaccessible. It cannot be said that without it the experience is inferior, but still there is an unpleasant feeling. In addition, the addition is made first-class, and not screwed to the base retroactively.  Despite its few flaws, "Sleeping Gods" is impressive. There is a lot of component management here. Yes, you hang fatigue on team members to increase the chances of passing the test. Characters gain new abilities over time through skill cards, as well as treasures and equipment. The gaming table can be full of balls. However, the game does not become overwhelming because each individual element is simple and does not require much management. This is facilitated by the licked structure of the move. You take an action on the ship board, draw an event card (they act as a timer), then take two personal actions. The next player does the same - and so on in a circle. You can easily take a break at any moment. Thanks to a minimum of obstacles, you can immerse yourself in the gameplay without any problems. "Sleeping Gods" is one of those games where you don't notice how fast time flies. "Now, just make one more move..." Reducing combat elements to a minimum, simple inspection mechanics, lack of tedious management - all this allows the game to breathe fully and offer players a very pleasant frivolous adventure. "7th continent" felt like hard work; too monotonous after the moment when the..

 Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy (2021) by Gale Force Nine is a simplified and remastered version of Dune: A Game of Conquest, Diplomacy, and Betrayal (2019), which, in turn, is an update of 1979's Dune.  Unlike the 2019 "classic" version, this new version is clearly based on characters and scenes from Denis Villeneuve's Dune. The cover features the actors' faces, as well as the signature ornithopters and a worm hovering over people running through the desert. Gameplay and rules are licked off compared to past versions of Dunes. There are fewer ambiguous moments, and the game time has also been significantly reduced. Dynamic fast games last 30-60 minutes. The feeling of the game is familiar and at the same time different. These innovations are just for busy people: they allow you to play a Dunes-themed game in just 5 turns. The developers have also tried to make the dueling version more relevant, which again is good news for those who don't have a large company of Dunes/board fans. Hooray, they didn't forget about us! My review is based on several batches of two players. RULE BOOK AND COMPONENTS  The first two pages of the rulebook introduce the Dune universe, describing the four playable factions: the Atreides, the Fremen, the Harkonnens, and the Emperor. Unfortunately, the Bene Gesserit are no longer a full-fledged faction, although Lady Jessica and Reverend Mother Mohiam are playable characters that fell into the Atreides and Emperor factions, respectively. The field is thought out; what is where is intuitively clear. In the upper corners are counters of moves and phases, in the lower - vats of tleilax and a bank of sais. A sandstorm token is placed on the edge of the planet. During the course of the game, he can move to any of the eighteen sectors indicated by dotted lines. The map itself consists of four types of locations: Sand, Rocks, Citadel and Polar Hollow. Compared to the 2019 version, the field has become much darker, which makes up for the gloomy atmosphere. According to feelings, some pieces of the area below are painted in too dark tones, which makes it difficult to see their boundaries and symbols. Instead, the location names are highlighted in white and are completely readable. There are 4 types of decks in the game: Spice, Combat, Traitors and Goods. As well as 4 sets of faction-specific components: a sheet describing its advantages, leader disks and troop tokens - with the corresponding colors and icons. In addition, there is also a first player token, spice tokens (local currency), phase and turn counter tokens, and two battle wheels. There are also two faction alliance sheets and citadel block tokens for two-player games. The layout takes only a few minutes, since the fairly short process is described on the faction sheet. Only the deck of traitors requires special training — to remove faction cards from it that are not present in the game. Also, if Harkonnen is in the game, they have a choice advantage. GAME PROCESS Each player's goal is to control at least 3 citadels by the end of the 3rd, 4th or 5th turn. The player who did it wins. The game lasts five moves in total; it is impossible to win in the first two moves. If by the end of the 5th turn no one fulfills the victory condition, then the players receive 5 points for each citadel under control and 1 for each spice in reserve. Whoever has the most points becomes the winner. The game is divided into seven phases, which are marked on the playing field with icons and inscriptions: the phases of storm, influx of spice, receiving cards, revival, landing and moving troops, battle and collecting spice. As soon as you remember what happens in each phase, you will get involved in the gameplay, and there is no need to constantly check the rules. 1. SAND STORM You roll an eight-sided die to see if the sandstorm has moved, and if so, by how many 1 to 6 cells. Unless you're a Freemen whose troops don't die in a sandstorm, you should be wary of his approach. 2. INFLOW OF SPICE You turn over the top card from the spice deck, hoping it's not a sandworm. If a location card is dropped, you place spice in the two locations indicated on it and start planning how your troops will get there if you need spice (and who doesn't?). If a sandworm, the worm destroys all spice supplies and troops in the two locations indicated on the previous card drawn. Unless you're a Freeman who can climb a sandworm and come out of the water dry. 3. RECEIVING CARDS You can take up to four battle cards and three goods, but the latter cost two spices each. Also, if there is an Emperor in play, he gets this charge, so you should think twice before refilling his bins. 4. REVIVAL If you have lost parts of your troops, you can respawn two squads in Tleilax vats for free, as well as additional squads and leaders, for two spices each. Yes, reviving people is not cheap. 5. LANDING AND MOVEMENT OF TROOPS Troops on the faction sheet can be landed at any location or citadel on the planet by paying one unit of spice per troop. After disembarking, you can move any number of units in one location to another location up to 3 cells away. The mechanics of the Freemen are different: they can land troops only in the Polar Depression, but for free and five units at a time. They can also move troops twice per 3 cells or once per 6 cells. As you can see, Freeman has serious advantages. 6. BATTLE Battles are the most difficult aspect of the game. A battle begins when two or more factions are in the same location. Each player secretly forms their battle plan from selected units, leaders, and weapon/defense battle cards. The Emperor faction has an advantage in the form of the Voice ability, which forces the opponent to play certain cards. The Atreides faction has an advantage in the form of foresight, which allows you to force the enemy to reveal one of the four parts of their battle plan. After both players reveal their battle plans at the same time, they can play additional cards that can affect the outcome of the battle. Players can also reveal a traitor if they have a traitor card that matches the enemy leader. The goal is not just to win by gaining the highest combined strength, but to kill the enemy leader, since you get spice for killing leaders in battle, including your own. 7. COLLECTION OF SPICE If you have units in the sector where the location with the spice is located, then each unit can collect 2 spices. If you have less than 3 spices at the end of this phase, you can get up to 3 with a spice bank. After collecting the spice, the victory condition is checked. If it is not fulfilled, then the game continues until the end of the 5th round. HOW OUR PARTIES WERE  In one game night, I played three games against two, winning all three times. The first game took 50 minutes and a full 5 moves. We played by taking one faction each: Atreides and Harkonnenov. The Harkonnens won: 41 Spices and 2 Citadels against 8 Spices and 1 Atreides Citadel. The second game took 70 minutes. We tried allies mode: I'm for Atreides + Freemen, the enemy is for Harkonnen + Emperor. First to win: 14 Spices and 1 Citadel vs. 8 Spices and 0 Citadels. Admittedly, I only scratched out the win thanks to a last-minute goods card that allowed me to move the squads into the spice collection phase and collect some spice in the final phase of round 5. I really liked such a victory, but my opponent did not. We liked the mode with allies, and in the third game we laid it out again, only changed the factions. This time the game took only 27 minutes: on turn 3 I won by holding three citadels for Harkonnens+Emperor. IMPRESSION What do I like most about this game? First, it is based on "Dune", which is an absolute plus. Fans of the film will love the new artwork and darker tones. The rules are simple, and thanks to the instructions on the faction sheets, the layout is quick. Even if I hadn't played the original, I think it would be easy to master. Since this "Dune" can be laid out in just an hour, with a sufficient minimum of two people, I would prefer this version to other, longer ones if I had very limited free time. In terms of atmospherics, I really like the ability to predict, both because of its thematic nature and strategicness: it is very useful to know some of the trump cards hidden up the opponent's sleeve. The Harkonnens' ability to receive additional traitors is also thematic. I also like the "Voice" ability - it's a shame, though, that it's exclusive to the Emperor, so Jessica has nothing to do with it. But since the Atreides already have foresight, a second ability of the same plan could cause an imbalance. The Freemen's dual movement and sandstorm protection seems logical, and also makes them an interesting faction. Allies mode, which allows you to use the abilities of an allied faction, opens up additional options for actions and strategies in a duel, so I intend to explore it further. For example, having to pay the Emperor for purchased market cards made me wary of buying them, as it is essentially giving the enemy money to buy cards for themselves or deploy troops against me. Since this Dune has fewer turns for everything, we quickly learned not to waste money at the start, which was exactly the mistake my opponent made in the first game. However, this version of "Dune" is by no means perfect. There are no more screens to help you hide your battle plans from your opponents, which is a shame. This would be more convenient than holding the battle wheel and the leader and the cards in the hand. I would also recommend putting the cards in protectors, because after two games the edges are already starting to wear a little. Concise and shortened games mean you have less time to catch up if you fall behind. My opponent in the first game faced this problem. Citadels can change..

 Note: This review is written after two three-player games in competitive mode. Other modes did not play. In the first game, the bare base was played, in the second - in the base together with kickstarter extras. goals The "Ancient Creatures" and "Black Powder" add-ons were not used. BRIEF REVIEW MECHANICS  There's a lot to The Great Wall, but the core of the game is the worker placement mechanic. The field is divided into an administrative zone, where players send their workers to activate actions, and a battle zone, where players build wall sections and/or barricades, and send archers, infantry, and cavalry to fight the horde. Foot soldiers can also be placed in an administrative area as overseers and will produce resources for their owners during the income phase. The number of available actions and received bonuses depend on the player's chosen command cards (they are revealed simultaneously). There's something in common with rock-paper-scissors: some command cards give their owners extra goodies if other players pick certain cards (say, if you pick a Despotism card, you can place an extra worker if other players pick a card "Economy"). Some locations of the administrative zone are activated if there is at least one worker on them, and to activate others, they need to be completely filled with workers. So, in addition to everything, you will have to try to predict the plans of other players here. Each player has his general and 2 or more advisors. Advisors can either be kept drunk, which gives additional opportunities, or put under the general so that he receives additional icons and his ability is strengthened. Victory Points in The Great Wall are honors awarded for building fortifications, defeating hordes, general effects, advisors, and tactics cards, as well as three artifact cards that give extra points in the end-game SP tally. The latter are especially important. Players can also gain tokens of dishonor (they give penalties if not removed by the end of the game): either if you are the only player with workers in a resource gathering or troop gathering location when it activates, or if a horde breaks through a wall , and you have no troops in this field.  There are several end-of-party triggers — automatically after 6/5/4 years in a party of (1-3)/4/5 members, or at the end of a year if: a) all three zones of the wall are completely filled with fortifications (or 2 out of 3, if there are less than 4 players); b) or the stock of shame tokens has run out (this, most likely, can only happen in cooperative mode); c) or you beat the Genghis Khan map (if playing with the appropriate module). DESIGN AND COMPONENTS  I have the version with wooden meeples, but all versions of the game have miniatures for the Iron Dragon and the Rat, so I can roughly judge the other components by those. Both illustrations and components (in all versions) are of luxurious quality. Both the artistic text on the cards and the very functional built-in inserts are pleasing (although if you want to insert the walls into the box without disassembling them, you will have to throw out the insert from the box with additional purposes). Overall, the nice cards, meeples/miniatures, and 3D walls add a lot to the game's immersion (more on the combination of theme and gameplay below). However, I have one important remark. The game is big and takes up a lot of space. There are a lot of different cards spread out all over the field. And the fonts here are very small. You'll have to constantly pick up cards to look at what's written on them, or ask other players to remind you what cards they have, since you won't be looking at their effects yourself. It is especially critical for elderly people with poor eyesight. I would not recommend them to buy "The Great Wall", despite all its advantages. GAME PROCESS  I skipped the Kickstarter campaign because I'm used to Awaken Realms making ameritrash with overproduction and mechanics that range from decent to useless. It wasn't until I looked at reviews from reviewers with similar tastes that I realized that this time Awaken Realms made an overproduced euro. I really like the variety and thoughtfulness of the mechanics. There is a large deck of generals and an even larger deck of advisors. They all have special abilities that range from cool to awesome. However, the cards of generals and advisers seemed quite balanced to me (with the exception of the general, who can spend gold like any other resource, but maybe it's just that we haven't learned how to counter him yet). A large space for searching for synergies and creating combinations. It is difficult to say how balanced everything is in general, but if one of the players is unlucky enough to be obscene with the starting hand, then it is quite possible to counter him - everything is in the hands of competitors. Also, by the end of the game, everyone will have obscenely strong abilities and everyone will get a fan from them.  The worker placement here is unlike other games with similar mechanics I've played. Players have to think not only about whether their competitors will help them by filling the missing slots in locations that are activated only when completely filled, but also about whether it is worth taking a risk and going to the barracks in the first place to recruit soldiers: if no one else goes there , you will receive a dishonor token. In addition, the workers in the administrative area are activated in the order according to the tea ceremony track, but the activation order of the locations is determined by the player with the active command card in hand. Therefore, an active player can play all kinds of tricks: for example, activate the locations of recruiting troops or building fortifications before the competitor has time to collect resources from the location that generates them. The tea ceremony track also determines who will receive the cards of the defeated hordes in the event of a tie. In some games turn order will not play a big role, but sometimes it is critical. Choosing the right moment to send workers to the tea house to gain control over it is another interesting and difficult decision. The rock-paper-scissors mechanics of choosing team cards are even more interesting when you consider that after discarding team cards, players may not return them to their hand (and may also later draw cards from the discard pile into their hand). Each card left in the discard pile gives the owner 2 honor. On the other hand, it is easier for other players to predict which team card the opponent will choose next time.  When the horde is defeated, part of the units remaining on the card die, unless their owner spends "chi" to save them (with the exception of assassins, they cannot be saved). Exactly how to deploy your troops is a decision with important strategic implications, not one for the atmosphere. But the output still comes out thematically. In addition to the wide variety of cards in the kickstarter database, there are also many additional game modes in addition to the main, cooperative and competitive ones. There are 6 historical scenarios (chronicles) that significantly change the goals and rules of the game, as well as three modules that can be mixed into the base. More about them below. GAMEPLAY WITH KICKSTARTER ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVES GENGHIS KHAN  "Genghis Khan" consists of a central card with 10 vital points and two trait cards (chosen randomly from the corresponding deck). Each has additional points and an ability that makes life difficult for players in the section of the wall where Genghis Khan is currently located. It cannot be attacked directly. When defeating another horde, the player who received its card can move one of the surviving soldiers to the Genghis Khan card. Each point covered gives the player 6 honor, but that soldier is essentially removed from the game. Also, during layout, two types of basic horde cards are removed from the deck and replaced with three special types. Yes, in our party we removed the assassins and palii (who set fire to the fortifications). They are replaced by Genghis Khan's Armored Archers (shooting your archers on the wall; in the base they are immortal unless the horde breaks through the wall), scouts (forbid attacking other hordes in the same section of the wall while the scouts are alive) and barbarians are replaced by another card from the deck hordes). Together with the special abilities of Genghis Khan himself, this makes you think much more about the competent placement of your soldiers in the battle zone. Additionally, when playing with Genghis Khan, a random Emperor's Grace card is selected during the layout. When a player builds part of a wall, they receive this grace and its special bonus. Until another player does the same and takes away that mercy. Each player also gets a standard bearer in addition to the standard troops: he helps to recruit more soldiers. This partially compensates for the increase in game complexity. Verdict: A great addition. It's not necessary, since the base is already great, but it's definitely worth it. Especially when you want particularly deep and complex games. RAT This module features a small deck of cards. Each year, one is revealed and indicates who will get the right to place the rat (as always, ties are allowed by the tea ceremony track). A rat must move every year. When a rat location is activated, each player who has a worker there receives 1 gold. Verdict: A decent addition, but nothing special or impressive. Adds another difficult decision to the game, and the extra gold doesn't hurt if you're playing Genghis Khan or a difficult scenario. IRON DRAGON This is a cannon (not related to the Black Powder add-on) with its own special location and a small deck that determines which horde cards (in a 3×3 square) can be fired from this cannon. When..

ABOUT THE GOOD PLOT  The plot of "Familiars" is without exaggeration very charming. I will not spoil it; I will only say that you play as four charming familiars, who one fine day fell to the duty of protecting a little girl. While this game doesn't have as many funny moments as The Lost Seas (also a Plaid Hat Games game, I just love it!), Familiars is closer to Disney / Pixar / Studio Ghibli in spirit. In the course of the game, relationships are gradually built between the characters, and the plot unfolds relatively slowly, which allows you to fully enjoy the surrounding world and setting. The plot is rather a saga; there is a feeling that a lot of time passes in the new chapters, and the characters develop - especially the children who grow up. In addition, during the game, the plot will branch out depending on what important decision you make.  Each of the four familiars is a full-fledged individual. They are reminiscent of the sidekicks to the Disney heroes we all know and love so well, only now they have become the heroes of their own story. The plot of the game will pay a lot of attention to each of the familiars. You are probably interested in the question, can "Familiars" come to a group of adults? Yes, they can. My company really liked the plot, and I personally liked the solo games. Although marketing and reviewers say the game is perfect for a younger audience, that doesn't mean it's all pink ponies and rainbows. There are darker, tense moments in the plot. Of course, the quality of the storyline is a very subjective criterion, and you may not like the same thing as me. If you prefer serious dark stories, then this game is definitely not for you; although "Familiars" has serious moments, overall it is a light fairy tale. I can't go into too much detail without spoilers, so I'll just add that it's basically like a Pixar or Studio Ghibli movie, just a little more mature. VOCATIONAL TRAINING In most decks that emphasize plot, you have to read quite a bit. The problem is that the final impressions depend very much on who is reading aloud to others. To be honest, I'm not much of a speaker, like most of my desk friends. Therefore, I cannot help but note how much the voice acting helps the plot. The voice acting in "Familiars" is simply wonderful. The narrator, familiars and other characters are all excellently voiced with rare exceptions. The voice acting not only makes familiars more alive, but also helps to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a fairy-tale world. Thanks to the voice acting and the well-developed plot, players are fascinated by the story of "Familiars" and never get bored. ILLUSTRATIONS AND GAME FIELD-BOOK  I love spiral bound playground books for a number of reasons: This leads to a great variety of locations. This allows players to enjoy the pictures in detail and immerse themselves even more in the atmosphere of the game. This makes layout much easier. Having played dungeon crawlers like "Gloomy Harbor" and Descent, they know very well that trying to find the appropriate map tiles for the scenario is a headache. Unique rules can be introduced in each scenario with progressively increasing complexity.  I wish more dungeon crawlers and storyboards took this approach. It provides much more variety than a standard set of tiles and takes up much less table space.  The illustrations here are made in bright warm colors, in tune with the atmosphere of each of the scenarios. As soon as you open the first page of the field book, you will immediately feel the atmosphere of the game thanks to the bright pictures. It is probably worth mentioning the miniatures. They are high quality, beautifully detailed and unpainted - so table runners with painting experience can get an extra buff by painting them. ABOUT THE BAD REPLAYABILITY Although the plot of "Familiars" branches out in several places, in general it remains practically the same, so replayability is low. On the one hand, this is a minus, on the other hand, there are a lot of scenarios, so you will still spend a lot of hours playing the game. There are no legacy elements (such as sticking stickers or destroying components), so the campaign can be replayed. However, "Familiars" is a shallow game in terms of mechanics, so playing in some new style will not work. The variety of events, plot solutions and enemies is also small. In addition, you can't play individual scenarios here, just like you can't skip several scenarios in order to get to the "most interesting": the development of many scenarios depends on whether you have previously encountered certain events / items / keywords. DOWNTIME In addition, you can't play individual scenarios here, just like you can't skip several scenarios in order to get to the "most interesting": the development of many scenarios depends on whether you have previously encountered certain events / items / keywords. As a rule, in cooperatives, downtime is not such a serious problem, since you are constantly discussing your plans with your friends, and the actions of your friends are also interesting. However, downtime is still a problem, especially if you have scattered people in your group. ABOUT THE AMBIGUOUS GAME MECHANICS  In terms of mechanics and depth, the game is very lighthearted. It's a cross between a dungeon crawler and deckbuilding, but it's much simpler than most of its relatives in both genres, both in terms of difficulty to master and victory. For those not in the know: deckbuilder is a genre of decks where you have a specific set of cards. As the game progresses, you buy more powerful cards. Each turn you draw cards into your hand, play them, then repeat. Dungeon crawler is a genre of board games in which you move figures around the map (usually a dungeon), fight monsters and use skills. Most often, you also roll dice that determine the success of your actions. "Familiars" took the mechanics of both genres and simplified them. The result is a great game for newcomers to the tabletop world, as well as for casuals and kids. The downside is that fans of mechanically deep games, in which you need to analyze, calculate chances and think strategically, have nothing to do here. Personally, I prefer story boards that are easy to win; I don't like it when you spend many hours on a game, then lose and start all over again. This was my main gripe with Plaid Hats Games' previous game, The Forgotten Seas, where the difficulty jumped dramatically in places and was easy to lose, leaving some losing games feeling less than pleasant. PREFERABLE TO PLAY WITH FOUR  Although Familiars scales for 1-3 players, the scaling doesn't work well for me. According to the rules, you combine the decks, including the missing member cards, so that when playing solo, you have one big deck. But when playing solo, it is much more difficult to customize the deck for yourself, since it must take into account all 4 familiars. When playing with four people, it is much easier: each player can create a deck that matches the spirit of his character and at the same time matches his play style. For example, you can make Burzilla a walking tank/warrior by adding more strength/defense focused cards to his deck, or you can make him a gentle giant by adding more support cards. However, in general, the space for customization is small compared to other deck builders. Because the difficulty of Familiars is low, regardless of the number of players, you won't feel like the odds are against you. It's just that with a small number of players, you won't be able to fully enjoy the game mechanics. Therefore, I strongly recommend playing with four people. So you can choose the appropriate deck and items for your character. APPLICATION I usually can't stand add-ons. I play a lot of computer games, and board games are a great way to spend time with friends and family. When I think about the push for an app, I have a picture of people buried in their smartphones, tons of bugs, and the developers of the game abandoning the app as soon as sales drop. But don't worry: Familiar is nothing like it. Plaid Hat Games is the only company that has convinced me of the viability of board games with an app: first with Lost Seas and now with Familiars. Everything is arranged simply: you enter the code of the location you are going to on the site, and the site will instruct you on what to do and how to lay out the game. Since it's a website instead of an app in "Familiars", this eliminates incompatibility issues (almost all modern phones can open a regular website). Unlike other boards with an application, here it is not a way to stand out, but a way to improve your game. However, I recommend using a tablet or device with a large screen instead of a smartphone: it's easier to follow the instructions and navigate the app. Personally, I prefer that the app does not require too much time: introduce events into the game, facilitate the layout, but do not touch the actual gameplay. The gameplay of "Familiars" takes place on the field and not on the screen, which I am very happy about. A few times there were bugs (the background music or the narrator's voice disappeared), but these are insignificant little things that will be fixed soon.LOOOONNNGGG CAMPAIGN The campaign is really long. Each scenario takes about an hour, each era has 10+ scenarios, a total of three eras, so at least 30 hours of gameplay are waiting for you. Therefore, it is desirable that you have a group of 4 players ready to meet regularly. Personally, I don't like long campaigns because of organizational problems, and I often forget the plot and rules if there is a long time gap between games. It ruins an otherwise great gaming experience. In general, a long campaign can be both a plus and a minus - depending on your preferences. If you don't..