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..

 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..

 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..

 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..

 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..

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..