Small World
Small World is a game set on a fictional world where
there are several races from which you can choose to play. You get to play
on 4 predetermined maps that are designed based on the number of players the
game supports, 2-5. The game operates similar to risk in that you are given a
number of armies, and the objective is to conquer land with those armies at the
cost of a certain number of units per territory (usually no dice are rolled). As
you conquer more territory, you earn more victory points toward your total
point score, which determines the winner. Since there are around 10 turns per game,
strategy plays an important role in how you play. In each of the games I’ve
played, the world has looked very different even if the map was the same. This
variety is thanks to the number of races from which to choose.
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| A few races and powers... |
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| A game of Small World |
Without expansions, Small World has 14 races to
choose from that can be coupled with any 1 of a total of 20 special powers that
will augment that race for as long as they remain active on the board. For the
original game, there are currently 3 expansions which offer additional races.
These give anywhere between 2 and 5 additional races with a combination of
anywhere between 2 and 5 additional special powers. If you purchase all of
these expansions for your game, it leaves plenty of variety in the game. While
I have seen repeats of some of the races, I’ve never seen a race and special
power combo twice. This leaves each of the games as fresh, and I find that
people get really interested to see what the next combo is going to be. In
addition to the official expansions, there is a secondary stand alone game that
can be purchased called Small World: Underground. This edition of the game
comes with 15 races and 21 special powers. Also, this edition contains a few
new items called places and relics that offer additional bonus powers.
For our first game of 3 players (2 of them new), it
lasted around an hour, including the time it took to teach them the basics and
let them figure out the strategy. By the end of the game, and that hour, the
new people had mastered the game enough that we could dive into a second game
with very little discussion. In addition, by the end of the first couple of
games, both James and Jennifer really enjoyed the game and are planning on
purchasing it themselves. It’s fairly high praise for the game when two new
people enjoyed it enough that they’ve already put it on their Christmas list. For a thorough review of the game, go here.
With all of this being said about the game, I would
like to say that I find this game very enjoyable. It’s a great way to spend an
afternoon with friends. In a good way, a single game won’t last an entire day
like with other games. This allows for plenty of socializing on the side, which
makes it great for small gatherings. At the moment, I am planning on picking up
some/all of the expansions to this game. Originally, I was introduced to this
game by my former roommate Alex and his friends Chris and Mai. If any of you
people are fans of board games, this is a great addition to your collection.
It’s not as simple as games like Sorry and Chutes and Ladders, but it’s simple
enough that you can master the game in no more than a few playthroughs. I
recommend this game whole-heartedly.
Gears of War the
Board Game
A
number of years ago, Epic Games released a video game entitled Gears of War.
This was one of those rare games that become popular enough through a unique
(sic unique enough) style of game
play that resulted in it becoming instantly huge. Since then, they’ve spawned a
number of video game sequels, comic books, etc. Among the franchise is this gem
of a board game.
The
game comes with over 300 cards, a number of map tiles, a number of tokens, and
30 plastic figures. For me, this game has punched just about all the buttons of
things I look for in a board game. I love games in which I can paint my own
miniatures, I love games that have cards that help randomize what is going on,
and I particularly love games with a cooperative focus. There are so few games
that are legitimately cooperative, but this is one of them. Other games come
close, but few of them require team
work in order for you to win the game. This game is for anywhere between 1 and
4 players, and the scenarios get much more difficult with additional players.
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| Bad guys! |
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| Painted Heroes |
The
cards for this game are for setting up the scenario, “drawing” the map,
determining the enemy’s actions, and for drawing orders and weapons. Each turn
is broken down into 3 steps: healing (drawing cards), giving orders (playing
order cards), and the enemy turn (drawing an enemy AI card and performing its
actions). We played the simplest scenario of the game, which is based around
escaping a prison in which all the figures are trapped. Despite this being the
simplest scenario, we still barely succeeded in our mission. The figures for
this game really spice up how it looks visually. There are 30 plastic figures
that are very well sculpted; 4 of them are for the hero characters (each of
them is a different sculpt), and the rest are for the various types of enemies
you must fight. The board is made out of thick card stock with a glossy print
finish. Each of the map tiles comes double sided with its own designation (and
they’re not the same size tiles either!). These map tiles all have their own
cards to which they are associated, and this allows for each game having a
randomized map.
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| A game in progress... basic scenario |
When
setting up this game, each player gets to decide which hero character they want
to be (which determines which weapons and abilities they have), and the heroes
decide as a group which scenario they wish to play. Simply put, the game is
complicated, so it takes a while to learn, but there is a TON of variability
for each game that gets played. So far, I’ve played the same scenario 4 times,
and the map has been different every time. Additionally, each game has played
completely differently. I’ve lost a few and I’ve won a few… but in every game
I’ve played, it was a close thing.
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| An example of a hero card |
Overall,
I think this is one of my favorite board games. With each of the scenarios you
play, there is a little written story that unfolds as you complete your
objectives. However, with a game that has this much depth, you are almost
certainly going to have a very complicated game. Because of this, it’s not for
everybody. A lot of people I know aren’t willing to spend 2 hours just to learn
the ropes. In our 4 person game, it lasted close to 4 hours. Where this game
really shines, though, is in the cooperative play. This game is truly
cooperative in that it requires cooperation
from all players in order to succeed in the mission. I admit that the game was
a little boring at the beginning when everyone was just trying to learn the
gameplay.
Towards the middle and end of the game, however, things really
started to pick up. Now the heroes aren’t sitting flush with plenty of ammo and
health… and there is no good place to earn more of these. Now each turn becomes
a desperate struggle against the Locust hordes. In our first game, two of our
four characters were taken out, one of them we could save, but the other we had
to leave on the ground to bleed out while we tried to complete the mission.
What really draws me to this game is the sense of desperation you get when
things really aren’t going well. But when you finally complete your mission and
roll a successful attack to kill the last locust, there is a sense of elation
as everyone in the group exhales that held breath. That game we played ended
victoriously, and we were all stoked to have beaten the bad guys. I remember
there were smiles and high-fives all around… the group won, we went through a
struggle together. Ultimately, it is because of this game’s ability to bring us
closer together that I recommend it and like it as much as I do. If given the
chance, I sincerely recommend that you play it with some close friends.
There's nothing quite like chainsawing an enemy... Also, for a video review, look here.
-Jack
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