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Champions of Hara — Adventures in the Land of Dreams
25.06.2023

 "Hara"... At first glance, the game looks picturesque, but not particularly impressive. Six adjacent tiles with six hexes each (plus a seventh, central, inaccessible hex into which the stack of cards corresponding to the tile is placed). Everything is abstract, everything is divided into hexes, everything is subject to the strict geometry of the number "6".  But do not rush to conclusions. After just one round in one of the hexes (the one with the lowest number) of each of these tiles, something will appear - a monster or an event. And it's still morning. At dusk, a new wave of monsters/events will appear; this time they will be drawn from another deck and placed on a random hex according to the result of the dice roll. Cracks in reality will open on the tiles, alien monsters will appear. But again, that's not all. At midnight, Hara itself changes: the two tiles switch places. You will always have a safe haven in the center tile, but only Hari knows what will happen to the others. Hara has perhaps the most well-thought-out field of all adventure fantasy decks. In one game day, it turns from a wasteland into a home for many unfriendly creatures. Safe hexes are rare and usually at opposite ends of the map, and most of the hexes are occupied by unfriendly (mostly) monsters, events, and traps. Together, this creates a whimsical, ever-changing landscape where the desert can instantly turn into an oasis...a thorn-fenced oasis. Here there will be a monster with a ranged attack, there, on the key passage between the tiles, there will be an almost invincible enemy, and here is a place where you can take a short rest. At least until the ground under your feet shifts. In general, Hara is very changeable. A typical reviewer cliché: "In this game, you'll have a different playing field every game." "Hara" will have a different playing field every 15 minutes. A wound that stood in your way, an obstacle can evaporate, and a previously open passage can become deadly.  Of course, it is much more interesting to try to cross this changing landscape than to look at it. In this regard, "Champions of Hara" does not disappoint. The complexity of movement is reminiscent of "Mage Knight": a simple path from point A to point B can be fraught with dangers, and even a successful outcome is not guaranteed due to the changing composition of the hand. However, Hara is a completely different game, and the movement mechanics here are better than in Ointment Knight: a more polished system that gives a similar feeling when you realize you're only 1 movement point short, but - yes! — these two maps can be combined to get exactly where you need to go. Only instead of the depressing atmosphere of trying to get out of the cage ahead with a timer, there is a spirit of adventure. The basic mechanics revolve around a hand of 4 (starting) cards. Each of the six heroes of Hara starts with 4 cards and can acquire new ones during the game. Nicely, the new cards usually expand your capabilities, rather than just amplifying the existing ones, rendering the old cards useless compared to the tricks you've learned. This is partly because the leveling options are very limited in this game, and partly because you can only play 3 cards per turn. But the main reason is the mechanics of using these cards. Let's take Lyst, for example, a muscular man with a belly. His 4 starting cards are Dash (a basic movement card common to all heroes), Falling Pine (movement and damage), Syncopation (damage, and with enough resources played out of limit) and Careful Walking » (movement and collection of resources). List's card synergies are immediately apparent: he gains resources by moving, then trades a bunch of resources for a bunch of losses. His personal resource - which every hero has - is called driving force, because his cards are tied to receiving movement bonuses. However, the effects of List cards are as long as you have them in your hand. After use, they are put aside, returned - and now they are a completely (or completely) different effect. Dash now gives half as much movement, but does a bit more damage. "Falling Son" deals pure damage, but can increase its effect due to the driving force resource. "Syncopathy" turns into a dual purpose card: healing or movement. Mindful walking still brings movement points and special resources, allowing you to move faster and faster, even running through some monsters. If you think that the changes are small, believe me: they are not.  Each of Hara's heroes has their own mini-puzzle: calculating movement and damage plus accounting for smaller, but also important aspects such as immunities, cash resources, and power-ups. Cards move between your hand and the table, forming new combinations with each turn. At the core of their mechanics, they are very simple, but they leave room for surprises, miscalculations and creative solutions. And for planning, although the landscape changes and sometimes turns the most carefully prepared plans to dust. And each hero has his own special approach. Inventor Thomas Evening reinforces his trunks with runes, achieving stunning results. However, runes can be found mainly in rifts, forcing him to periodically deviate from his intended route to stock up on ammunition. Kaoru and her bear Kuma are very resilient: their stamina is restored every morning. However, her reserves are limited, and if you overdo it and quickly spend a lot of resources, then with the onset of dusk, you will still have a hard time. Persephone becomes more frightened each time she is wounded, and gives vent to her fears in the form of nightmares. The special rules are few, but they perfectly give individuality to each character. This does not mean that all cards are equally useful. One of the few disappointments for me is that every now and then there's a new map that doesn't impress at all, doesn't really expand the character's abilities. This doesn't happen often, and each levelup (levelups occur when you reach certain reserves of blue, red, green energy) is usually an important event, because it gives the opportunity to, say, kill a monster blocking the passage. But it does happen. Fortunately, this is a minor flaw, like the game's other weaknesses. You can turn a blind eye to them, because the "Champions of Hara" succeeded in something very important. Unique characters. Unique cards. Unique items. Many unique abilities.  "Hara" offers a thoughtful and interesting adventure without annoying obstacles in the way. In this regard, it surpasses the Mage Knight, not to mention everything that happened in the Terrinot setting. From start to finish, in every scenario, with any number of players, co-op or competitive, Hara tells the story. And although the story is a bare mechanical skeleton on which your actions are layered, the result is an interesting narrative. Actually, this is often the best way of storytelling: describe the setting, issue a task, step aside and watch the actions of the characters. The tasks are standard for fantasy adventures: collect tokens in a certain sequence, defeat the boss, be the first to reach the maximum level, etc. However, you will encounter or avoid various threats and potential bonuses along the way. There are very few key features, but each of them changes the geography of the playing field and creates an atmosphere no worse than dozens of hexes and modifiers in other adventure games. Aggressive monsters attack before you. Friendly monsters can help. Armored monsters cannot be attacked with a ranged attack. Critical attacks require an additional die roll to determine if additional damage is dealt. Dangerous monsters counterattack when defeated. That's all - only 5 properties. Together with the basic characteristics (such as health, damage, attack range) they sculpt a living adventure, like a human from clay. For example, you are roaming the wastelands of Aerchi and you see three monsters in front of you: the Blue Spawn of the Rift, which you can befriend and which will heal your wounds, the Forgotten Sentinel, which will deal damage, but will share energy after defeat, or the Fatbeard pirate - a dangerous one who possesses a deadly a captain's hook that can be plucked from his weakening hand and used against new dangers in the future. By the way, did I mention that all the item cards are numbered and certain enemies don't drop randomly, but a specific reward? There is no random extraction of objects, no extra garbage. Each item is useful in its own way, each step moves you forward toward some goal and away from other potential possibilities, and each action moving across the table and back brings both new constraints and new possibilities to your plan.  Champions of Hara, with its colorful shifting field, well-crafted map management, and atmospheric characters and enemies, is one of the best adventure games I've played. An almost perfect combination of storytelling and gameplay. You'll have to put up with the vagaries of the event maps and read the art from time to time, just like any adventure game. But these elements are made so elegantly and unobtrusively that they are not annoying at all, but on the contrary, they delight every time something new is discovered; A little joy before we focus again on achieving the main goal. In short, "Hara" enchanted me. Perhaps its landscapes are changeable, but the sophistication of the game remains at the highest level...

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Gallerist game review
24.06.2023

 I bought "Galerist" at a time when the wow effect from the variety of board games and mechanics had already subsided, and I stopped writing reviews for everything in a row. However, "Galerist" is still worth mentioning, since this game is distinguished by a good overlay of mechanics on the theme and without unnecessary conventions. Players become competing gallerists with empty galleries, two assistants, and a dozen bidder profiles. The task of each player is to fill his gallery with works of art, invite visitors who have nowhere to spend money, and sell canvases and sculptures at a reasonable price. The most successful gallerist wins. Success is determined by earned money, which is more pleasant than a counter of abstract software around the perimeter of the playing field. And since you have to spend a lot of this money during the game, you have to use it wisely. "Galerist" does not pretend to be hardcore. On the contrary, its rules are so simple that people without desktop experience can easily learn them; tested on relatives who did not follow Rummikub. But our party was in some sense phenomenal: we managed to increase the popularity of five artists as much as possible. The endgame trigger is a popularity boost of at least two. The game does not have a fixed number of rounds, but there are three events that mark the approaching end of the game. As soon as two of them are triggered, the game is over. The second trigger is visitors who gradually enter the field and at some point run out. The third is tickets to the box office, which are needed to attract these visitors. Visitors are divided into VIPs, investors and collectors. VIPs increase the gallerist's influence, collectors help popularize artists, and investors bring money. And the fact that the gallery is filled with them increases the capabilities of the gallerist many times over.  There are only eight actions in the game, divided in pairs between four locations. In "Artists' Settlement", players buy works of art or search for unknown talents in order to promote them. With the latter players, they make a kind of agreement, according to which the artist will sell his first painting at a starting price, regardless of the level of popularity, the price of an entrance ticket to the world of great art. His further works will be available at the current price. With each purchase of a work, the artist becomes more and more popular, and when it reaches its peak, the artist becomes a celebrity, and his works become masterpieces. And then he stops creating. And it is very important to have time to purchase it before this moment. Sales contracts are concluded in the "Sales Office" and, in fact, the sales of paintings themselves are carried out. Sold paintings leave the gallery together with one of the visitors of the player's choice and are stacked next to each other. At the end of the game, you can get extra money for a certain set of sold paintings. In the Media Center, gallerists use their influence to advertise their artists in the media, increasing their popularity, and also hire new assistants to help them in this difficult business. The more famous the artist, the more influence units are needed to "rock" him forward. But it easily pays off with bonuses for these actions and the selling price of the painting. Assistants are needed to be in several places at the same time. They work on contracts, promote the player at the international level, help to make more actions on the playing field. "International market", where gallerists earn a reputation by sending their assistants or participate in an international auction for world masterpieces. Reputation is revealed in Reputation Tokens, which provide extra money at the end of the game. For example, a coin for each visitor to the gallery or two for each sold work. At the auction, there is a fight for works that you can add to the gallery and thus collect a set (it is also available here). Or add to the pool of sold paintings to collect a set there. The works for auction are randomly selected at the start of the game and are placed next to the field on cute little wooden easels, but there is one oddity about the auction. In fact, this is a bet on the possibility of taking an additional picture at the end of the game first. Only one can lose in it. Others will get it for one work. And every time it turns out that their value is approximately the same, when the players' investments can differ by almost half.  Players perform their actions by placing a gallerist token on a location that interests them. They then call out one of the two actions available in that location and perform it. Point by point, according to the memo. By the way, the monuments are made very well: all the actions are briefly but comprehensively described and an explanation is given for all the iconography that is found on the field and on the game tablets. In "Galerist", the player who performs more actions per unit of time wins. This is facilitated by Vital's very interesting idea as "kick-outs" (kick-out action in the original), or "action-compensation", as translated by the localizer. The point is that a player gets the opportunity to perform a location action out of turn if his chip is knocked out by an opponent's chip. And during the game it will happen constantly. But on such kick-outs you need to spend influence, which may not be there, or which should be saved for a more effective move. Moreover, when the player leaves the location, he can leave his assistant there, and if he is knocked out, this will also be an opportunity to perform an out-of-turn move. And "if" is because the assistant can be taken at any moment and used in another place, if he suddenly "stuck" in the location or there are no other options. When I say influence, I mean an influence track. This is the most important element of the game and another amazing find of Lacerda. The impact track is versatile and elegant. It can be spent on performing actions, on additional "infusions" into the popularity of artists, it can simply be used as additional money if suddenly there is not enough to buy a painting. The main thing is to monitor the occupancy of the track.  I fell in love with this game precisely because it explains how and why it works and what it interacts with. And there are no artificial restrictions, which are, for example, in "On Mars", where you can build buildings strictly across the cell from previously built ones, or in "Vignos", where the player is obliged to buy vineyards from different regions in one turn. Everything works well at "Galerista" and you don't wonder why. The design of the game is also at a height. Capacious organizer, thick cardboard, colored soaps. The field is decorated in calm tones, but not pale. It perfectly contrasts with the bright elements of the players. Assistants on the field will not get lost and you can always quickly list the visitors in the gallery. For me, this standard design in terms of ergonomics. You can find something similar only in "Lisbon".  The game, of course, is not fast. With a full team, taking into account the knowledge of the rules, 1.5-2 hours will go. Despite the visible triggers, it will be possible to accelerate the course of the game only with joint efforts. However, these will be the most interesting hours...

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Oltree Game Review
23.06.2023

 Co-op board games are an important part of my collection. Constant rivalry with opponents, struggle for resources, bluffing, race for victory points - all this you will not find in this genre. Sometimes you want to be on one side of the barricade, unite with everyone against the impending threat, and walk this path side by side. In general, there is not too much variety of such cooperatives in our market, and only a few representatives in the topic of knights. So I couldn't get past this game. Did I like her? Let's figure it out.  About the game. "Oltre" is a cooperative board game for 2-4 people. Everyone has to take on the role of one of the heroes-knights, who were assigned to go to the old fortress to restore justice in those lands and take the peaceful citizens under their protection. The plot will move as we go through the annals, the pages of which we open by throwing a special die. On our way there will be interesting meetings, unexpected events and not always easy challenges.  Layout and components. This is clearly Oltre's strong point. The field looks voluminous and detailed, the design is colorful, the cards have amazing art, what are the figures of knights worth, each made in its own way. Two-layer tablets of characters add ergonomics, and a convenient organizer is made in the form of boxes that give the game sophistication. Pleasant to the touch components, unusual cubes and elegantly designed chronicles in the form of books. The authors clearly did not spare money and time to work out these details. Personally, I have no complaints in this regard, I want to show it to my friends, especially those who are far from the world of board games and think that, except for Monopoly, there is nothing worthwhile. Separately, I would like to emphasize that the game will clearly affect children as well.  Gameplay This is where the questions start to arise... There are only 7 chronicles in the base game, 2 of which are short. "The Living and the Dead" add-on adds only 3 more. At the beginning of getting acquainted with the game, you will be interested in reading them, they really have new interesting stories every time, somewhere you will be offered a choice of which way to move forward, somewhere you will be rewarded for successes or, on the contrary, insert several sticks into the wheels. But when you finish the last chronicle, the question arises: What next? Yes, the game adds replayability by introducing new objectives into the game, but they don't change the plot at all, the essence remains the same. You will already know which characters are better to play in this or that case, which buildings to build first, which can be neglected, which resources will come in handy, and which can simply be forgotten. All this leads to the fact that the game quickly annoys you, you will forever miss something. The only thing that can be done about it is to increase the time between games, return to the game no more than once a week, maybe twice, and then once a month. Over time, the nuances of the annals will be forgotten, which will allow you to fully (without advantage) return to them. The game is clearly not for every day, you can't play it to the core. Separately, I would like to talk about mechanics. At the beginning of the turn, each player rolls a special die that brings a new page of the chronicle closer. This is complete randomness that you cannot influence. There were cases when the chronicle rushed to its end, leaving no time for the players to take the necessary actions. The game itself decides how this party will go. But sometimes randomness is on the side of the participants, even with an excess. There are extra steps that are not worth spending on. This mechanic is an "Oltre" chip, but it does not always show its best sides.  Difficulty level. On the way there will be troubles and events that we will have to solve. But most often, any problem can be solved by giving some resource from the general inventory or simply by passing an inspection. In all cases, even if you fail, the event is considered complete, bringing you closer to the goal of the game. It turns out that, in principle, it does not matter who goes there and how to deal with this event, you will still get the desired result. Yes, successful completion will bring you bonuses or resources, but there will be no further benefit from it. Diluting the situation is that in some tasks you will be given a choice of how to act, but again, it will not change the course of the game too much. In the first games, you will build your tactics, think through each move, face new difficulties, but then all this will enter the usual course and will not be so interesting: the mechanics will become clear, events and troubles will begin to repeat themselves - and everything will turn into a routine. There is clearly not enough crisis in the game. You shouldn't expect "Ancient Horror" from her. It is for those who do not want to think over strategy for a long time, do not like long stories, do not wait for serious tests and upheavals of the entire plot. The process in "Altra" proceeds peacefully, your character cannot die in principle, the game often does not break the plans of the players. Still, it imposes some restrictions, but they disappear quite quickly. Over time, you will understand what the game requires of you, and it will become easy. The whole strategy will be based on which player to send where and what to build first. As a rule, whoever is closer is the one who goes to deal with the events.  Characters There are as many as 8 characters in the game, but they all differ only in appearance, one individual ability and a symbol that will allow you to roll more dice on a certain check, and a small difference in "hearts". All this makes a stingy asymmetry, you often forget about personal qualities, because you use them very rarely. In fact, the difference is only in the figurines.  What is missing? There is a lack of versatile characters, longer chronicles, more opportunities to influence the plot, work out your plans several moves ahead, more  complex checks and tests, new scenarios. In short, those sensations that the "Ancient Horror" gives. Perhaps someone does not need them at all, for someone a calm environment, the absence of complex monsters and difficult decisions is more important.  What in the end? I can recommend Oltre, but not to everyone. If you like this genre, theme, you are looking for a colorful design with elaborate components, a simple and short story game - this is your ideal choice. Do not wait for challenges, this is primarily a calm, family game. Personally, I expected more from her, but I had no desire to sell her. "Oltre" should be compared to a book that you have read and put on the shelf. There is nothing to get her very often, she has a completely different purpose. "Oltre" will be a good addition to a collection where there are other, more difficult games that you want to return to more often, but sometimes take a break from...

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Novelties and replenishment of board games! (23.06.2023)
23.06.2023

 Hi to all! Over the past few days, we've received a ton of great games. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we want to inform you about fresh arrivals and product updates in our store. Get acquainted with the novelties and what's new in Lelekan-chiku. Hurry up, the games are great and will satisfy all tastes, be the first in time)..

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Age of Steam and Steam
21.06.2023

 Martin Wallace is one of those designers who constantly refines his old games, releasing the same pleasure several times under different sauces. You don't have to go far for an example: Age of Industry, which is essentially a slightly updated Brass, is about to go on sale. In this article, we'll look at how big the difference is between the 2002 Age of Steam game and its modified version called Steam 2009 Edition. It should be taken into account that in addition to the normal mode, Steam has a light game mode, so we will have to compare three types of gameplay. The first phases of "regular" Steam and Age of Steam are identical: players must plan their spending and decide how much to borrow from the bank. Players collect cash from the bank, noting the number of loans taken on a special counter. In Age of Steam, this is a special scale, and Steam credits are directly marked by a decrease in the player's position on the income scale. It is more convenient and understandable for the player. In the light mode of Steam, this phase does not exist as such: players can take loans from the bank at any moment of the game - when they do not have enough cash to make a specific payment. The second phase of the normal mode of Steam and Age of Steam is the determination of turn order through an open auction. However, on Steam, unlike Age of Steam, a zero first bet is allowed. The turn order will affect all remaining phases of the round. The person who saved at the auction places his chip on the last free place on the ranking scale. Thus, the first to save becomes the last player of the round, and the winner of the auction becomes the first. At the same time, only the first and second players pay their bet in full. The last one pays nothing, and the rest pay half of their last bet, rounded up. In the simplified mode of Steam, a series of auctions takes place (separately for each place on the ranking scale). However, this process is carried out only at the beginning of the game, during the preparation for the game. In the future, the sequence in the next round is determined by the numbers of the roles that the players will sort out in the next phase.  The third phase is obtaining roles. In regular Steam and Age of Steam, players choose a role (or action, if desired) from a pool in a queue. If one player has taken a certain role, it is no longer available to other players. The "Move order" role in this game mode allows you to save once painlessly for yourself at the nearest auction for the order of the move, without flying to the end of the queue. In Steam's light mode, players sort through the role tiles in the same way, with one exception: some of them (such as "City Growth" or "Urbanization") require a certain fee to the bank. The "Turn order" role in this mode gives a guaranteed first place on the ranking scale in the next round. The fourth and fifth phases of the move (building roads and transporting goods) are identical in all three analyzed types of gameplay. Just remember that only in the light version of Steam you can take bank loans at any time. In other cases, you will have to rely only on cash. The sixth phase—earning profits and paying off debts—is different in all three varieties of the game. In Age of Steam, the player receives income according to the appropriate scale, and then pays $1 for each bank loan and for the current level of development of the locomotives. If he does not have enough funds, the player loses one position on the income scale for every dollar not paid. If a player's profit drops below zero, he is declared bankrupt and out of the game (!). In both Steam modes, the earnings scale has a negative segment and the player is allowed to drop down to $10. The player, of course, does not receive income that is "in the red", but on the contrary, must pay the bank. In Steam's light mode, a player who can't pay off his debts must take out one or more loans, lowering his position on the income scale even more. If this position is already at the level of $10, then the player can borrow, losing victory points (2PO for $5). If the victory points are also not enough to pay off the debt, the player is declared bankrupt. In standard Steam, due to a lack of cash, the player is first deprived of victory points at the rate of 1PO for $2, and only then loses his position on the income scale. Note that in standard Steam mode, the player pays interest on loans and money for the level of development of locomotives. In the easy game, only interest on loans.  In Age of Steam, there is another phase of the round, during which, according to a special table and with the help of six-sided dice rolls, it is determined which goods will appear in which cities. In Steam, this terribly unacceptable for a truly serious game feast of randomness has been replaced by a more adequate solution. At the beginning of the game, 3 cubes are drawn from the bag 12 times, which are placed in threes on special places on the field. During the game, the participant who chose the role of "Growth of the city" can take any of the three remaining goods and put them in any city that has not yet had a similar replenishment. This solution is much simpler, more elegant and more honest than the method used in Age of Steam. In light Steam, before the end of the round, the positions of the players on the ranking scale are redefined. These positions simply depend on the roles chosen in the current round: each die role has a number, and players' chips are lined up in ascending order of these numbers. I remind you that in the standard mode of Steam and Age of Steam there is no such decision, and at the beginning of each round a new auction is held for the right to be the first. Separately, it should be said about the game components. Age of Steam, in addition to the main field, flaunted two more inconspicuous black and white additional cardboard boxes with scales of income, bank loans, the level of development of locomotives, and a table of replenishment of cities with goods. In Steam, they got rid of the latter altogether, and everything else was placed on the area of a single playing field. Martin Wallace's work on modernizing the game can be called successful. In Steam, they got rid of the random decision to replenish cities, made the mechanism for obtaining bank loans more transparent, implemented a single playing field and added a simplified game mode that is not so hard for beginners. The good old Age of Steam wins in only one thing - in the box format, which is flatter and easier to store and carry...

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Napoleon's Trump. Review and impressions of the super wargame
20.06.2023

 This is not a gameplay review. Therefore, those who want to understand how to play it, it is better to turn their eyes in another direction. Rather, it's an overview of what makes Napoleon's Triumph the greatest game in the universe. That is, why a few pieces of wood and a little more metal, as well as a dense map, and all this in a strong cardboard box - make "Triumph of Napoleon" the most beautiful game in the universe. The point here is not that they "wow" you with their unsurpassed beauty. Separately, at first glance, the components look unremarkable, and the average player is unlikely to be killed immediately upon opening the box. There are two large sacks here, one red and one blue, with blocks inside, and each with squad symbols. There's a bag of metal 'commanders' strips (and a sticker sheet for the decal, with a spare included in case you make a mistake). The casual player might get a little carried away when they notice two rulebooks - great, one for each player (and this is not typical for most games). And most players will be excited to see Bowen Simmons' innovative map design that focuses on 'locations' rather than hexes or transitions between points. But by themselves, the components alone are not enough to elevate the game to the most beautiful in the universe.  Even after the preparation of the game, when the commanders and corps are organized, and one of the armies is stretched across the width of the field, and someone finally feels the growing excitement - the "true beauty" of the game will still not be revealed. REAL BEAUTY The key to the game's aesthetic pleasure, as well as the true beauty that makes "Triumph of Napoleon" the most beautiful game in the universe — is revealed only in the dynamics of the gameplay. Only when, in obedience to your glorious orders, these components begin to move, when the battle begins, and when the two armies converge in lines, stretching across the width of the field - only then does the true beauty reveal itself. While beautiful at first glance (ie having attractive components), the game takes on 'real beauty' from the combination of its beautiful components in a thematically rich, strategically rich and action-packed environment. The "true beauty" of the game lies in realizing the true feeling that the player here is, as it were, a "god-like commander" who moves real shelves and brigades on the battlefield.  No game before or even close has awakened in me a sense of realism similar to that in "Triumph of Napoleon". No game before has ever made me feel like a "god-like commander" on the battlefield like I do in Triumph of Napoleon. This doesn't mean the game is "realistic" (and I'm not trying to say it's the "most realistic" wargame) - a real commander (like Napoleon) wouldn't be able to see all his troops at any given moment and he wouldn't have such an incredible the ability to give them orders instantly. But realizing that most war games sidestep these issues and most offer the player to be a 'god-like commander' - Napoleon's Triumph offers me the most realistic feeling of being immersed in the role of a god-like commander that other games try to offer. In the position of a "god-like commander", players get full information about the strength and location of their units, as well as a "divine overview" of the entire battlefield (enemy units are mostly "hidden"). This part is hardly different from most other war games, which deal with individual battles. So what sets Napoleon's Triumph apart from other games of this genre? Again, this is a combination of components with gameplay. The use of long rectangular blocks, often located on the attacked 'steps' (or 'fronts'), when faced with enemy blocks, also often located along the defensive 'steps' (or 'fronts') - conveys a stronger sense of 'reality' than cardboard tiles.  The fact that these units lie on a light-toned map that subtly (but clearly) conveys the terrain (and its role in the gameplay) means that the battle itself is the focus. The players are absorbed in the battle and after a couple of "training" games (in particular, teaching the attacking sequence) are not distracted by "shine", "exclusions" or "unclear rules". There are very few things on the map that can distract or confuse the player. It is "clear and functional", but at the same time "simple and beautiful". A quick look at the map immediately and clearly reveals the full picture of the battle. By looking closely, the player quickly reveals the missing 'tactical' details (mainly the strength of the squads and the physical obstacles standing in their way)  Maps and 'traversing areas' are abstract in all battle-oriented wargames. But, probably, "Triumph of Napoleon" is distinguished by the fact that it offers the least standard (innovative) way of abstracting movement. The use of locations (non-standard regions to move around in) and 'steps' (borders of locations used as potential 'fronts' or 'sides' of battles) help to convey the imagined feeling of a more realistic 'battle environment'. Essentially, Napoleon's Triumph is the most beautiful game in the universe because this game most effectively combines clarity, simplicity, and attractive components with a well-thought-out set of rules to convey an environment that allows players to become deeply involved in the battle to the point where, in compared to other games, they feel most like 'god-like commanders', commanding troops on the battlefield...

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Alien RPG
18.06.2023

 This article is an account of my personal experience and does not claim to be the ultimate truth. I hope it will be of interest to someone here.  To begin with, it should be noted that this game is a tabletop role-playing game (yes, yes, just like your D&D or Passfinders). If all these words mean nothing to you, my dear reader, then I advise you to read at least the article on "Wikipedia". Well, so that when you heard about RPG board games again, the image of a friendly group of geeks clapping for a drama club appeared in your head, and not aunts and uncles in latex (well, you got it).  So, about the board role-playing game itself. The rule system used in this game is taken from Mutants: Year Zero. Fortunately, the creator of the game "Alien" and "Mutants" is the same. This system is typical: we roll the dice, compare the results with the sexes of our character, try to complete some important task with our comrades. I want to point out right away that this game has a greater bias towards storytelling and gameplay than counting and endless rolling of dice. All you need for the game is a master (preferably a fan of the Alien setting), from one to five players (YES, you can play face-to-face with the master here!), a sheet of paper and pieces of 5 six-sided cubes. In my opinion, the fact that the game is based on regular 6-sided cubes is a very good point; it allows you to REALLY play anywhere and with anyone (it very often happens that in some role-playing games, 20-, 10-sided dice are used, or even worse - CUSTOM dice, which you can get anywhere except from the manufacturer of this very game, about the price tag I will shut up). So, ordinary hexagons are everywhere, where there are at least a few board games, and buying them will not be a problem.  A very interesting feature of this role system is the stress system. Moreover, this is exactly the SYSTEM of stress, and not the usual rule that you can turn on/off in your adventure. When I first read the rule book, I, as a master, did not pay much attention to this highlight. (No, not like that. To a huge prune!) However, when playing the game, I encountered a very interesting effect: the stress system itself helps the master to create the atmosphere of panic and horror that we often see in horror films. You just saw your friend being dismembered by an alien monster, what are you going to do? Do you think that by letting out the whole clip in him, you will overwhelm the heathen and become the savior of the world? Phew ... you're more likely to just miss when you start shooting because of the adrenaline in your blood going through the roof. Or, even worse, you will die of shock and horror, watching the creature devour the remains of your party member. The stress system very well conveys the human psyche in the game: it is very difficult to remain a cucumber when the whole world around you is going to hell. Stress allows you to eliminate such a phenomenon in the game that my character is so special, he will get out of any situation. No. Not in this game. In essence, this is a game against the system, and the master here plays the role of a decorator.  In fact, the stress system is both a plus and a minus in this game. If the master is competent, he will be able to control the level of stress both in the game and at the gaming table. But if the master is a jerk who likes to dominate, you better not play this game with him. Here, one Stranger is really capable of wiping out the entire patch in one fight. And then there's vacuum, decompression, radiation, acid, and of course, EVIL BUGS and greedy corporate bastards! Yes, yes, everything here follows the canon of Aliens — there are androids who are suddenly androids, there are corporate employees who are two-person characters, there are brave marines, and there are ordinary workers. And this is where we move to the next feature of this game - playing the character.  In normal role-playing games, each player creates a character for himself according to certain rules or a template, and then can play it the way he wants. For experienced players, this is a chance to play as an apothecary minotaur or a pyromaniac goblin. Fun, cool, unforgettable. For beginners, this can be a problem - not everyone can motivate and play. And here the rules of conducting adventures come to our aid.  In the cinematic version (game for one evening), you should have a game as close as possible to one of the Alien movies. This means, for example, that you get on an empty ship, explore it, find a monster or it finds you, problems start, everyone tries to survive, almost everyone dies. Curtain. Here you have panicking marines, and soulless androids, and greedy corporate agents, and brave workers. Roles and behavior are predetermined, there are hidden missions for each type of character. Yes, in this game you don't have to work like a dream, everyone has to survive. At any cost. It is very interesting to listen to the players after the game discussing their epic or ridiculous deaths and rejoice with genuine admiration for the only survivor among them. Well, where else will you see this?  In the campaign version, everything is the same as in any other long sandbox campaign. Play the way you want and what you want. Want to replay the capture of a living Alien? Not a problem. It is necessary to transport alien artifacts to Earth - forward. They dreamed of catching the android David and tearing his ass - great! In general, the campaign also has a lot to do. And the best thing about all this is that the master does not need to sit and convulsively generate content at the stage of game preparation. There are movies, books, comics, novels, video games all around. Just take what you like and make your own! None of the players will leave with the regret that he came to play one thing and got a completely different one. We will learn the setting of "Alien" if it is not necessary to explain to new players for a long time and persistently what a rich and complex world is in front of them. This allows you to immediately weed out those who are not interested, and someone in the topic immediately agrees to play.  Now about the game. Before going through my first batch of cinematic Alien, I read a few articles about how really good horror in film and literature is made. The described psychological techniques work perfectly at the gaming table, allowing you to manage stress among players. Need a little fear at the table so players can feel their hero's fear? Dim the lights, start quieter, and play appropriate music. I used the soundtracks from John Carpenter's Something and Prince of Darkness. The effect was honorable. This game, and the setting in particular, is more focused on the cinematic mode. After a few times your masterful tricks stop having the proper effect, the game starts to lose its emotional tension. Well, seriously, when the players first find out that, for example, one of them is an android, everyone's nerves burn so much. It is much more difficult to turn it around the second time.  In the end, I would like to note the potential of the game and this system in general. This game is perfect for playing any horror movie, since they all follow the same general pattern. You can try to work a little with a file and get a new game class — predator. I think everyone knows what I mean? Also, one evening is enough to rebuild the Alien as a terminator - and voila! You have another setting in your pocket. As I said, there is an obscene amount of material for all these games. Just take it. If you want to introduce your friends to the world of role-playing games and they are not afraid of horrors, "Alien" is just for you...

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Infiltration Game Review
16.06.2023

 Infiltration is a game about "corporate espionage". Each player chooses a character and tries to steal data from some corporation (perhaps an evil corporation). However, once you've stolen data, it's still very important to survive - after all, a dead spy is much worse than a living one, even if he knows a lot. And being dead is very unpleasant. In each of your turns, you can take several actions: you can advance further into the building, retreat closer to the entrance, try to hack the computers in the room where you are now, and, if successful, get information or play an item card. Items will help you kill non-player characters (such as a police officer who can press the alarm button), crack security codes (thus finding even more information), kill lab workers, or add difficulty to other players. At the beginning of the round, each player chooses an action, in order of turn, on their turn, reveals it and performs it. After that, all active NPCs, if any, take their actions. And finally, you roll the dice and add the overall threat level of the alarm to the value (which is why the officer on the alarm button is so annoying) - you add the result to the already existing danger of calling drones. Once the threat level reaches 99, security drones arrive and destroy anyone still in the building. In this case, the one who collected the most information and survived is the winner.  The first thing I liked about the game is that it has a large element of luck. You definitely have to decide how far into the building you are going to penetrate, trying to keep in mind that you will have to escape (in the first games it may be obvious that the winner is the only one who survived and escaped). What I really love about this game is that luck is a central element of the game and not the only element of the mechanic (just like Farkle and many other dice games where you experience luck). Yes, you'll have to decide how far you're willing to go and how many rounds you're going to stay in the building. In addition, you will have to make a lot of strategic decisions - the winner is not necessarily the one who stayed in the building the longest and survived (it is worth experiencing success). The second thing that should be noted about the game is that it is quite replayable - if you liked the game, you can play it several times and at the same time it's like the first time. There are many room maps in the game, and every time you shuffle them, you create a new building that will be different every time. In addition, the game has a lot of support item cards, some of which you will only see once per game and can make different combinations of them. And finally, there are several different uses for items.  Still, with both of these pluses in mind, I think the game has some things that could be improved. First off, the item maps in this game work absolutely horribly. It's very difficult to explain what I mean, but everyone who played with me had the same feeling, and all for different reasons. Although items are a very important element of the game and without them the game would be very dull. However, there weren't many ways to get these item cards (I think this was done to give the game a sense of scarcity). There are also a few items that are so specific and fit only for a specific situation that you have a good chance of not encountering. In fact, it seems like a lot of these items don't live up to their rarity - in the event that I'm only collecting four items in the entire game (which could possibly happen with a few players playing with all six), I want these items to be really useful . But instead, many of them seem useless and you can't even try to use them (so you'll be glaring at one of your opponents when they can use the item effectively). I think that another disadvantage of the game is its quick ending, which does not give players time to learn and develop well. This is facilitated by the presence of a second floor in the game (each floor consists of 6 rooms). In order to get to the second floor, mind you, and leave the building, you need 13 moves (if I counted correctly) without special rooms or items. However, this does not include data collection. The duration of the game may vary depending on the troubles you encounter and the values you roll on the dice. But assuming you roll an average of 3.5 each time, the game will take 28 moves. Accordingly, if you want to enter the last room of the building and at the same time escape, then it takes 23 moves. Therefore, the farthest rooms will remain unused.  Now let's move on to such an element of the game as alarms. We were playing once when the officer who pulls the alarm was in the first room. This practically cut our game time in half because there were 5-7 alarms that we couldn't do anything about. However, if you get three alarms (which I think is pretty average) with an average dice roll of about 6.5, the game is reduced to 15 turns, which is enough to get to the first room on the second floor, extract the data twice, and get out outside. I understand that there can be many options here, and all this I lead to the fact that it feels like the game does not have time to develop at the time of its completion. I must also admit that there are a few rooms that will help you avoid this. The loading platform allows you to escape immediately (this is the first floor room), and in the manager's office you can get a secret file that will free you from any room in the building. There are also rooms that allow you to move through several rooms at once. However, depending on where these rooms are located, they can be incredibly useful or useless. After all, the loading platform, if it is the sixth room on the first floor, will give you freedom to move around and explore the second floor. If she is the first on the floor, she will be completely useless. And thirdly, I was a little disappointed that the characters didn't have any unique characteristics. There is also a game option where the characters are specialists, and two of the six items are predetermined. One of the things I really like about most Fantasy Flight games is how balanced they are in terms of where your character starts moving and what specific features they have (much more important than what their figure looks like). This doesn't make the game bad per se, but it was exactly what disappointed me.  Overall, I give Infiltration a 7 out of 10. And I think that's a pretty fair score. I would like to play it again, if, of course, my friends ask for it...

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Impressions of the game 011
14.06.2023

 Congratulations. I bring to your attention a small review of the board game "011" - by Marco Valtriani, an Italian game designer. The game was created in cooperation with the group "Therion" (Swedish metal grandfathers, playing since 1987, who love mythological themes and are happy to add symphonic sounds), which can already attract attention; well, a solid portion of steampunk stylistics (there are GEAR!!!), which is generously seasoned on the tabletop, and partly raises the question: is it a nuclear mixture, or a senseless kitsch? Let's try to figure it out.  To begin with, about the plot. The action takes place in the 19th century: some scientist, analyzing an unknown poem by the famous Scandinavian bard Snorri Sturluson, discovered that in 12 hours (!) none other than Ragnarok (yes, the Scandinavian end of the world!) will begin, but it can be prevented by finding some The Chosen One and a special artifact - some Organ (such a musical instrument) on which this Chosen One has to perform a special musical piece - the Song of Creation; this Song has yet to be invented. Ah yes, and the action takes place in the Italian city of Turin... So the plot immediately blew the clinic: could Snorri Sturluson know something about the organ? The music that prevents Ragnarok is immediately clear, how to write? Ragnarok will explode 12 hours after reading the manuscript ... and all this in Turin? It's clear where the music comes from here (and who's against it), it's clear where the Scandinavian motifs come from, it's even clear where Turin is in the game - but it all blows the brain together. Well, good. The tie gives an idea of what needs to be done, nothing more is needed from it. drove through Actually, a small explanation can be made here. "011" is a Eurogame in its pure form (except for one moment, which will be discussed later). That is, as in the case of any Eurogame, it can be transferred to any setting, and this mechanic will not change at all. For example, the action could take place in the distant future, a scientist would decode a message from the stars about an extraterrestrial invasion, and we would search for the Fifth Element, along the way collecting parts of a super-cannon that would stop the invasion. It would be just as... hmm... logical. Now let's talk about mechanics. No, no, I'm not going to explain the rules in full (by the way, they're small and completely learnable from the first time), I'll just briefly describe what happens during the game, and also highlight the non-standard moments that appeared to me. So there's a field that's a map of Turin divided into blocks - you can move around them however you want, no marked paths. There are 8 characters that move around the field. And there are 3 to 6 players - they are not game characters, they play... well, let's say, for themselves. That is, here is the first surprise: there are no players on the field, all the characters of the game are pawns in the hands of the player, and he can influence each of them. But it is the players, the "invisible puppeteers", who compose the Song, seek out the Organ and the Chosen One and bring them together - with the help of characters on the field.  The game has 11 turns, marked by clocks, each turn is divided into phases, each phase players go through in turn. The order of the turn is set anew every turn with the help of an auction. Time is the main value used as a "currency" in the game: at the beginning of the game, each player has 45 conditional units of action (or time), which he spends on all actions in the game: movement, trading for turn order, etc. The game has ways to save time: transport can make it easier to get around, and one of the characters can even restore it bit by bit. In the first phase, the game "goes on": an event is drawn (which, by the way, is not an event at all - the rules for this move are simply slightly changed, for example, it is forbidden to take a specific character or another character receives bonuses during activation). In the second phase, there is an auction for the turn order (here you can bargain not necessarily for the first place - often the game gives bonuses, for example, to the third or even the last player). In the third phase, the actions themselves: the player chooses the character he wants to use and walks with him. All 8 characters have their own properties: someone invents music, someone walks faster, someone helps to find the Chosen One; if the character was intercepted by another player, then this move cannot be used. In addition to the properties of the characters, the player also uses the capabilities of the current move - they are determined by the gears, which the game is already famous for (yes, there is a GEAR!!! Three gears, fastened together and screwed to the field, which each player must must rotate during its actions, the gears are different in size and therefore give different combinations each time.  Actually, I would like to note several points from the nuances of mechanics. First, search for the Favorite. The fact is that the chosen one is one of the 8 characters on the field. At the beginning of the game, each player is given 1 character card - these are definitely NOT selected (that is, after receiving a card in your hands, you can already exclude 1 character from the search). One of the remaining cards is placed under the board - it will be the Chosen One. Next, each player also has 4 "super action" cards in their hands - cards that give special advantages in the turn; so, their shirt is identical to the character cards. If the game or character allows, a player can randomly draw several cards from another player's hand and look at them - so he can calculate another "Unchosen". It would seem, but why not open up to everyone at the beginning of the game and thus prevent Ragnarek sooner? And the thing is, dear fans of "Arkham", that in the European apocalypse everyone plays for himself, and the one who won can be only one (these are the rules))). Actually, this is the interest: the first thing is to calculate the Chosen One, bring him to the Organ and trumpet victory. The second moment is the search for the Organ. There are a small number of special, "mystical" locations on the field; and sometimes players draw special tiles, which usually offer some bonuses, or can simply mark given locations. If you go last, then you have the right to put such a tile on a special place on the board to indicate in which part of the city the Organ is located in relation to this location (you will also be given bonuses for this). That is, with each laid out location tile, the place of the Organ on the map is specified, and with the last tile you simply place the Organ (and there is a special figure for it) on any block in the exited zone.  Finally, when everything seems to be clear, and the players have adjusted to the competition usual for Eurogames (we seize the initiative and the necessary characters from each other, save resources, go to victory), the game throws out a knee worthy of Battlestar Galactica. At the end of 5 hours, Fenrir appears in the game. Fenrir, if it is such a mythical wolf that will begin to devour everything in the world with the beginning of Ragnarok. So, one of the characters in the game becomes obsessed with Fenrir - he wants to find his embodiment, and for this he needs, oddly enough, to compose his Song (shorter), catch the Chosen One and, apparently, devour him). Only the player who received a special card knows which of Fenrir's characters (this card is played at the end of the 5th turn, until then the player plays like everyone else). Now for the player who knows about Fenrir, the task changes: he must, by writing a Song, bring the "possessed" character to the Chosen One. Considering that the characters are moved by any player as he wants (often focusing on the bonuses they provide), hunting is far from an easy task. The most interesting thing, of course, is that if by the 12th hour none of the players have managed to finish their work, then everyone loses - and Fenrir, since he did not have time to incarnate before the start of Ragnarok. Summarizing from the mechanics, I would like to note the following: we have a Eurogame in which a task is set that is not typical of the rest of the Eurogames. Usually we just collect points - whoever has more, well done; here you either win or lose, there are no second places for you. Interesting. A few words about the components. Everything is made at the highest level - thick cardboard, excellent art, very accurate steampunk style. Even the notorious gears are not attached to the field with plastic bushings, like, for example, arrows in Runewars, but with brass screws on the thread! And the field with the gears attached to it is folded so that they are outside and fit well in the box. The plastic figurines of the characters and Organa are well made - there are even runes on the stands that mark each character on the cards so as not to get confused; however, we came to the conclusion that it would be good to paint the runes more brightly so that you don't have to look every time. Finally, the characters themselves are presented on the cards in the form of photographs — members of the band Therion posed for them.  A big advantage of the game for our audience will also be the fact that the game is completely language-independent. There is no inscription in the game - everything is marked with icons, the icons are learned after a few turns - we remember "Struggle for the Galaxy". A rather large downtime can be called a minus. It seems that the player is not given a lot of actions, but here you go - as soon as he starts planning, and everyone else, half the company goes for a smoke break. Moreover, this problem is almost unsolvable: playing with less than four people is not that interesting at all (in this case, there..

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Review Chronicles of Avel: New Adventures
13.06.2023

GOAL This review assumes you are familiar with the base game; if not, check out our in-depth review of the base game! Here, we'll give you an overview of everything that the New Adventures expansion adds to the game. GAME DESCRIPTION First, we're introduced to the Moon Monster, a new boss that can replace the Beast in the final battle. The Moon Monster, unlike the Beast, has some interesting and complex characteristics that make it feel like a worthy boss in the game. For example, in each round he uses a special power that he does not know in advance. Funny twist! There is also Oberon, a character that appears on the map when you add him to the game. He offers for sale quite powerful equipment, but it is not always easy to get. Gear has a value in coins, trophies (tokens from slain monsters), and/or other gear tokens. In addition to Oberon, you can add Titania to the map. Titania is another character that can be added to the game and she offers magic perfume help for 2 coins each. Spirits have powerful properties that can only be used once during the game. However, Titania is not the only way to enlist the help of spirits. New monsters have also been added to the game, for defeating which you can get perfume tokens. These monsters are a bit more difficult to defeat, but the reward is definitely worth it! All of the above can be added to the game at will. You can add new items or create different combinations of them and watch the game change with each combination. But that's not all! The New Adventures expansion adds 3 new scenarios to the game that can be played either independently or as a shorter campaign of your choice. Each scenario has its own story, its own mechanics and unique rules. You even fight new monsters! You can also add all the aforementioned aspects to these scenarios, making the game even more diverse! REVIEW If you already own the base game Chronicles of Abel, you know how beautiful the artwork is and how good the components are. The New Adventures expansion will not disappoint you. It's built to the same standards, the artwork is beautiful and complements the base game perfectly, and the 3D components are great. It takes some time to assemble the 3D elements for the first time, but it's not too difficult. Once assembled, they fit neatly into the box so you'll have them ready for future games. Having 3D components on the map is definitely an added value and the game looks much better! When we first received the expansion and saw how many new options appeared in it, we were afraid that it would take much longer to prepare the game and the difficulty would increase significantly. Fortunately, this turned out not to be the case. You'll need both boxes, we don't think there's a way to fit everything in the original box, but both boxes are so well made that it's not a problem. The additional rules are as simple as the basic game rules. Each part is clearly separated, so new elements can be introduced one at a time to ease the transition, especially for younger children. The game itself, as before, is language-independent. In our opinion, this is a very successful expansion that enhances the capabilities of the base game well. Moon Monster, Titania, and Oberon are good additions that make the game a little harder or easier depending on how you use them. Abel was our son's favorite from the first game, at the age of 7. This expansion only improves the gameplay for him and for us. The 3D components are great and really add something to the gaming experience. If you are a fan of the base game, you will definitely love this expansion! FOR WHOM? For all fans of Chronicles of Avel. ..

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