So Long, My World Review

There are but a few hours left, then, and then it’s all over. Everything. No more light, or dark, or time. Just the end. No one knows why. Or how. So before all the questions are gone too, all we have left is “what”. What are you going to do in the last moments of your life?

Game: So Long, My World

Designers: Enrica Fincati, Francesco Simioni

Publishers: Axis Mundi

Artist: Enrica Fincati, Francesco Simioni, Lorinda Tomko

Player Count:1 - 5

Runtime: 30 - 40 mins

[caption id="attachment_2806" align="alignnone" width="1920"] A chain of cards, this time I'm going to lead a good life[/caption]

So Long, My World from Axis Mundi, is a game bleak in concept, bleak in theme, and yes, you guessed it, bleak in art. It is the theme, rather than its execution that will get under your skin, that will leave a taste in your mouth after the game is done and put away. In it, you’ll find a little bit of deck drafting, bidding and a sort of tableau building that all coalesce over a Matrix-esque end-of-the-world story that isn’t quite a story.

The game revolves around the idea that the world we live in is an artificial construct, and somehow the code that binds us to the world and to our identities has become corrupted. This means that not only is The End of all Ends happening, no one is really sure who or what type of person they are. Each turn, as the clock marches forward, an Event card is drawn and read aloud—these cards are wonderfully, terribly rich, often giving the reader (the first player) a choice that will affect that round. Based upon the event, resources are doled out to their respective locations, these locations being the Visions players will experience and the resources are the Feeling Tokens that are attached to, and quantify the emotions and experiences of the drawn Event card.

[caption id="attachment_2802" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Even the clock face is bleak and daunting[/caption]

From here, players will secretly bid on which Vision they wish to visit and Drain, a simple choice of gaining a new Remnant card, the Vision’s inherent feeling, or some of the emotions that have become attached to it from past events. This simple choice forms the basis of your game, with the outcome of it you will then play cards from your hand, paying their emotional cost and gaining their benefit and Insight points which you’ll score at the game end.

[caption id="attachment_2804" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Feelings. Nothing more than Feelings! I quite want to listen to the Offspring now[/caption]

There are five types of emotions, two are positive, two are negative and the final one is neutral. Early game you’ll need to decide which way you want your final hours and your alignment to go, as there is a little quirk with the end game scoring by means of a Kama Chain.

The ‘NET’ feeling of the card-where a positive cancels a negative-gives the card a Kama score, so if you’ve explicitly, exclusively played cards towards one alignment you’ll get a Kama Chain Bonus; and it is a massive game swinging bonus: an extra point per card in the chain. The term dominant strategy springs to mind.

After my first game, it left me wondering “Why wouldn’t you do that in every single game?” After my second game I had to ask “What is the point of the neutral cards”...and then it all twigged: Bauhaus!

[caption id="attachment_2808" align="alignnone" width="1920"] This kama chain is full of despair[/caption]

Talking of memories and past experiences; a memory I personally have difficulty shifting is that of art history module on the Bauhaus Movement. Why bring this up? Well, the central principle behind this artistic movement was ‘Function over Form’, and with, So Long, My World you couldn’t get further from it.

Theme trumps mechanic, time and time again in this game and for added flavour, there are two themes vying for control over the game. On the one hand, you have this chilling end of the world thing going on, and it is brilliantly executed. But on the other hand, you have Reboot cards and these seemingly random remnant cards which when I first opened my copy I thought were test or errors in printing.

[caption id="attachment_2807" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Reboot cards are a hard and harsh reset of the game state[/caption]

The artificial existence aspect of the game feels like a different game entirely, like I’ve somehow mixed the components of two games together that just happen to use the same typeface and iconography. Perhaps there is a bigger picture here that I simply don’t know about; I know that all the games from Axis Mundi are somehow connected and exist in the same universe, but as the first contact with that ‘universe’ I’m left utterly baffled.

For me, a game about the end of all existence is interesting, engaging and different enough to grab my attention, I don’t want these silly frills—and that’s just how they feel. In this game, things happen that from a mechanical, nuts and bolts, point of view left me thinking “erm…”.

Lots of things.

[caption id="attachment_2810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Some Vision are dark and sinister,others quaint and charming, and at some point in a game you'll need each[/caption]

But, this game wants you to get involved, to emotionally commit to it, and the mechanics don’t all need to make sense for that to happen. It wants to shock you, send shivers up your spine, and at points, it does exactly this; other people overhearing some of the cards that are being read out are at once fascinated and terrified by this game.

I would like some player interaction, I would like to have more winning conditions and a more even scoring system, and hell I would like more in-game choices and some crunchy tactical decisions, but So Long, My World isn’t that game. It is chilling, interesting and quirky and I think can best be summed up by one photo of one component. Look at this and ask yourself this question: “Is this an interesting choice?”

If your answer is yes, then it would be worth checking this game out on Kickstarter now.

This review first appeared on the Polyhedron Collider Website but thanks for reading it here too :)

This review was based on a prototype version of the game provided by the publisher, as such the final version may differ from what is seen here.

 

Gladiatores Review

The sword is heavy in your hand. Sweat and blood run in rivulets down your tired and aching body. And the sun, that wicked golden eye, it stares down at you, relentless, glaring and baking your flesh beneath the scant armour. Of your opponents there is only one left standing and you know he feels the same. You can only hope that his weapon is heavier, his body more drained and that his wounds are deeper.

Game: Gladiatores: Blood For Roses

Designer: Jason Maclean Jones

Publisher: Badcat Games

Artists: Ania Kryczkowska, Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo

Runtime: 20 - 90 minutes

Player Count: 2 - 5

Gladiatores is a fast paced, hard hitting take-that game of arena combat, there’s a touch of deck building, a hint of memory, a smattering of betting and amidst all the Gladiator quotes there will be lots and lots of swearing at one another.  A game about fighting should always be accompanied by plenty of smack talk I say. After choosing which of the six different gladiators you’d like to play as and adding to the small deck of gladiator specific cards from the central supply you are more or less ready to say in a gruff Scottish accent “Gladiators, ready!” and start fighting.

[caption id="attachment_2791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Hoplomach is doing OK overall, maybe this fight he'll distinguish himself for a greater reward[/caption]

The combat in this game is very light and can be very fast, it’s based on a card trumping system, where one player will launch an attack by playing one of their attack cards, the defender has to play a card that repels the previous, which in turn can also be countered. And so this goes, back and forth until one player cannot play another card.  However, this isn’t just a case of playing one card after another; you’ll have to repel the previous card with specifically named cards. So, a Cleave, for example, can only be repelled by either a Parry or a Block, which in turn can only be repelled by a Disarms/Grab, or a Shove/Leap respectively.

This all means that players have to carefully manage and negotiate their hand of cards because this game isn’t really a deck builder, as you’ll be shedding cards far faster than you’ll be picking them up. You see, the cards don’t only represent what moves and actions you can take, but also your energy, use it up and your gladiator collapses to the sand. It’s important to note here that losing a bout of combat though isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be a good idea to let your opponent use up their defence cards where they don’t directly affect you.

[caption id="attachment_2789" align="alignnone" width="1920"] It started with a Thrust and the same player ended up having to Dodge[/caption]

In Gladiatores players are trying to do two things, as you are essentially playing the game at two levels. One in the arena as the gladiator, where all you care about is dispatching the others. The second is as the owner and operator of a Gladiator Ludi (a school or troupe) where all you care about is the overall fame and glory. This ‘glory’ is collected in a variety of ways and is represented by these little rose petal tokens. You’ll win it for pulling off certain or special moves in the arena, dishing out damage and naturally, winning the fight.

[caption id="attachment_2794" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rose Petal Glory![/caption]

Another way to win glory is through the in-game gambling system. This mechanic overall is very much like a backup plan, a hedging-your-bets type of thing and in that function, it works well, but I find myself wanting a little more from it. I will state here that I personally dislike gambling generally, but here I dislike it because when I lose the bet (which Gladiator will win) all I’ve lost is the opportunity to win, there’s no weight or consequence to it. However, winning the bet is both a great catch up mechanic and always leaves me with a smug sense of satisfaction.

[caption id="attachment_2793" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Glory Wheel, what it's all about![/caption]

It is with these considerations that Gladiatores is far more than a simple combat, card trumping game. Players will often have to plan and strategize about the whole fight, not just the combat they’re in because even when not in a fight the other players are watching what cards are going down on the table. If you see someone play more than two Blocks you can be fairly confident the attack on your turn will find its mark. This game has “active downtime” whereby a careful player will be watching and waiting for their perfect moment to strike. Add to this that in each fight at least one player will probably be trying to defend another to win the bet too and all of a sudden you have a dynamic and clever fighting game.

Now, Gladiatores can be played one of two ways, a single event and season mode. The former functions better as a tutorial/demo than a true reflection of the full game simply because it doesn’t show off what this game is capable of, it doesn’t really allow players to build relationships and vendettas, it makes the gambling, tactic and sponsorship cards almost redundant. Having played Season mode I would now, never play a one-off fight outside teaching someone else.

[caption id="attachment_2790" align="alignnone" width="1920"] There's an array of Events to take part in, and these all add to the variability of the game[/caption]

In the “proper” game you’ll come to see and appreciate the nuances between each of the gladiators, knowing how valuable or dangerous particular cards are for certain fighters is part of the overarching strategies and joys of this game. With the highs of exciting and quick-fire card playing along with the often twisting combats, there is the ever-present risk of being knocked out of the game. With Gladiatores this pseudo player elimination; where your gladiator is killed and out for the remainder of the combat, it can be a little frustrating.  Yes, there is still the bet, but you have no way of influencing it, so you’re stuck in this kind of in-the-game-out-the-game limbo. Luckily, as more gladiators are knocked out of the fight, the rest of the match speeds up, but if you’re the type of gamer put off by things like this, it could still be a little too much like actual “player elimination” for you.

[caption id="attachment_2792" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Special Attack has been used, the player will have to wait another turn before it can be used again.[/caption]

The card trumping mechanic works really well, it's very quick and easy to explain and although it can feel a little random at times it also creates a more interesting and exciting twist to each fight, there is never a guaranteed winner. When a volley of cards are slapped down between two players this game triumphs at creating those “and take that” moments, while simultaneously having the other players grin like starving wolves watching their prey exhaust itself. This game manages to strike a good balance between being fun, fast and fighty, and also creating enough tactical and strategic moments to elevate it far above a simple card trumping game. As with any arena style combat game, the more the merrier and bloodier and with around five rounds of combat you’ll get bad luck, drama and a lot of variety each time you play.

Now would you look at that, a whole review of a game about gladiators without a Gladiator or Spartacus quote in sight...I must be getting professional or something.

Disclaimer:

This review was based on a prototype version of the game provided by the publisher, as such the final version may differ from what is seen here.

Villagers Review

“If we build it, they will come.”

“But we need them to come so we can build it.”

“Good point. If we make some delicious food, they will come, and then we’ll build it.”

“Do you know anyone who can make ‘delicious’ food?”

“I do a pretty decent Spaghetti bolognese?”

“...”

Game: Villagers

Designer: Haakon Gaarder

Publisher: Sinister Fish Games

Artist: Haakon Gaarder

Player Count: 1 - 5

Run Time: 30 - 60 mins

This review first appeared on the Polyhedron Collider website, but if you didn’t catch it there you can enjoy it here now.



The plague has run rampant across the land, devastating and ruining lives in its wake, but we humans are nothing but resilient, and so we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and begin again. This is where you start, at the very beginning, you’ve found a suitable patch of land to build upon, and so construction can get underway. As people flee their old lives, or search out a better way to scratch out their livings they come across your blossoming village. If they have the right stuff you’ll offer them food and lodgings in return for their contribution to the greater good (the greater good).

Villagers is a smooth, uncomplicated engine builder. Your goal is simple; become the most prosperous village, achieved by attracting the most skilled and industrious villagers who in turn will generate the most gold. You need to not only feed and house them but you’ve got to be able to supply them with the materials and tools they need to do their job also. Not forgetting that you need to draft them into your own personal pool of villagers before any of your neighbours do so; which is the first phase of the game:



Players draft villagers in turn from a central ‘market row’ or is this game the Road, where there will be 6 face-up cards and 6 face-down stacks; I like to think of this as the face-up cards being those who are close enough to be able to identify, and those that are a little further away so you know roughly their trade. These six stacks also represent the general populace of the land, and the game ends once they have all been emptied. At the bottom of the second and the final stack is the Market Round, which is where you inhabitants will sell their wares and make the all-important, game-winning gold.



There are 10 different types or suits of villagers, ranging from Ore to Lumber to Grapes. You’ll draft as many villages up to the amount of food your fledgeling settlement produces, food being one of the two basic resources you’ll need to manage.

The build phase is where you’ll take those drafted villagers up into your hand and start adding them to the village proper. Naturally, this is also limited, this time by the number of builders you have. In short, to get people into your village you need food, then before they can start contributing to the village they need a house. Simple.

Now, to the nuts and bolts of you engine building village: it’s all based upon simple supply chains, to do G you F, which needs E, but if you had D then E is free, D obviously needs C, and if you have B then you’ll make more from G, but that also requires A. Which is very typical of this type of game, what Villagers does though is it takes this pseudo-algebraic nonsense and distills it in to a very accessible, very intuitive setting of 14th Century Europe…ish.

In the above gibberish what I really want is a Wine Trader – because on Market day the Wine Trader rakes in a pretty decent amount of gold, but before he can sell his wares a Vintner must first make it, and a Graper has to gather the choice grapes before that. But the Wine Trader also needs bottles from the Glass Blower, and the Vintner also needs barrels from the Cooper….and so on.



Villagers tricks you into believing you only have two resources to worry about; Food and Buildings, and that with its cute minimalist artwork style it’s a simple game. Whereas what you actually have is essentially two little engine builders that overlap one another creating rich, if not occasionally crippling decisions each turn. Each villager is a resource in themselves, providing a service or goods for anywhere between 1 and 10 other villagers (indicated by the keychain symbol). This includes neighbouring villages, meaning if you don’t have the required villager, but your opponent does, you have to pay them.



It isn’t always the largest village that prospers, it’s the most economical, and there are multiple ways to achieve this. A few of the direct supply chains end in very high-value cards, such as the Jeweller and Tailor, but an Ore Muler, Log Rafter, or Freemason can dish out plenty gold based upon who else is in your village during the final Market Round. Also, by just having those root villagers that everyone else will need you can gain a huge income from the other players like the Blacksmith and Carpenter.

Villagers does exactly what is said on the box, it’s a game about people building villages. You’re not juggling the raw materials that make a village; laying down roads and building up houses, your only concern is the people who will do this. You’ll be crafting a complex web of individuals, probably across other villages and players, to achieve your goals. Each card played branches out creating a new route and a new possibility. Above all Villagers presents a great engine builder but with a very accessible, and easily understandable theme, the links and chains between any two cards just makes sense.



I’ve walked away from this game each time thinking that I could have done it better, I could have built it more efficiently and I convince myself that next time I will. If you want to know more, or if this has been enough to convince you to get involved you can back this project on Kickstarter right now!

Disclaimer:

This review was based on a prototype version of the game provided by the publisher, as such the final version may differ from what is seen here.

Review: Farlight

 

Game Name:	Farlight	Published Year:	2017
Game Publisher:	Gamesalute	Player Scale:	2 - 5
Game Designer:	Nick Sibicky	Run Time:	45 mins

In the not too distant future, you’ll be able to pop off on your jollies to visit the Sea of Tranquility instead of Lanzarote if what Mr Branson is selling comes about, in the meantime, you can conquer that pesky atmosphere and go boldly into that void with Farlight. Much like Branson, Musk and Bezos, you’ll be running your high tech aerospace company in a tight, and faced paced race, attempting to outmanoeuvre, outwit and outclass your competitors.

 

[gallery ids="2430,2429" type="rectangular"]

 

Farlight is an auction and tile placement game in which each round players will bid on parts for their ship, to then connect those parts before attempting one of the all-important missions. This is as simple as it sounds, in turn, each player will place two of their 5 bidding tokens - ranked from zero to four - on any ship upgrade or facility at Farlight Station, with the option of adding one of their scarce and valuable crew to the bid to increase it by one. Once all bids are placed, the winner of each is revealed, losers who bid more than zero gain one additional crew for their trouble and then parts are added to the ship.

 

[caption id="attachment_2432" align="alignnone" width="3963"] My super-cool spaceship with big meaty engines![/caption]

 

 

This is a victory point game, with only one real way to gain points (there are also bonus points and as the name suggests, the bonuses are just that, they’ll make the difference between finishing second or third, they won’t win you the game). At the top of the board, there will be a selection of Mission Cards, arranged into three columns, and missions ranked from lowest value to highest and then the game ending Climatic Mission.

 

[caption id="attachment_2417" align="alignnone" width="3233"] Bonus Tiles - three of which are used each game[/caption]

 

These missions form the focus of each game, and there is a nice assortment of them, as missions can vary with their requirements as a mixture of, or a sole requisite of Science, BioTech and/or engines. And it is here that we encounter the most interesting, and most frustrating aspect of this game: getting the right parts at the right time. At the beginning of the game the board is filled with parts, and then at the end of each round, anything that was 'sold' is replaced.  However, since there is no seeding of the deck, nor a separate deck for each part "type", the draft is very random.  So, important, game-necessary cards, like, I don't know, engines, for example, don't appear quite as frequently as one would hope

 

[caption id="attachment_2421" align="alignnone" width="2539"] Engine dice - these dictate how powerful your engine is.[/caption]

Now kids, remember getting into space is really difficult because you have to break away from the Earth’s gravitational pull. Which is really, really hard. In order to do that you need really powerful engines. So when only one appears in Farlight Station, it becomes very highly sought after. Even Two engines mean that most players are going to be bidding on both of them, and probably bidding high, this essentially creates a bottleneck of bids, since only empty slots are replaced, you can end up with only two or three cards being drafted. So the “issue” is not only exacerbated but is self-serving.

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2427" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Not every Mision requires engines, these few are easy pickings for Science & Biotech ships[/caption]

 

 

Is it really a problem? For me, it’s not a deal breaker, it is frustrating, and I think there are some easy ways around it, or even a little House Ruling to make it flow a little better. But, for others, this could be too much. It does create an individual economy per game, in the same way that a scarcity of one resource in say, Splendor does alter how everyone plays, but unlike Splendor, there is no way to get around not having an engine on your spaceship (although you can get around Science and BioTech, which is odd). And if you ever hope to achieve one of the Climatic Missions then you need engines. At least two, but more likely three.

 



So let’s do the maths. In a five player game, each player is going to really want/need three engines, so that will be fifteen engines in all. Of a possible sixteen, and to me that seems pretty tight, and in the games I've played, it has been.

 

[caption id="attachment_2428" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Missions aplenty for your would be tech companies to attempt[/caption]

 

The Climatic Missions themselves also present their own quirk, and that is a linear narrative. These missions almost force the game to move in a specified direction - which really does feel like your choices are being stricken off as you advance through the game.  Normal missions are stacked in front of these, so the Climatic Missions can’t be attempted until the stack is clear, meaning that as soon as two of the normal missions are resolved, all players now focus on that column, making the others more or less redundant, since winning a climatic mission will pretty much bag that player the win.

 

[caption id="attachment_2433" align="alignnone" width="3026"] Winning the game comes with a little winner card - which is nice[/caption]

 

Since these missions are so high scoring that in some cases it can be the only mission a player accomplishes and they still end up winning.  Obviously, this does sour the milk a little for everyone else playing.  That being said, you can stop a player running away with the lead,  you can outbid them as rarely will an opponent just need one part.  It is within every player's power to stop and hinder that winning bid, but again, by doing so, this limits your choices.

 

[caption id="attachment_2424" align="alignnone" width="4032"] He really wants that piece...or are all of those low bids, it could be 4, or 11[/caption]

 

You could argue that the game is broken, or that it isn’t balanced, etc. and I could argue with you, but I wouldn’t argue particularly hard or for very long. However, and it’s a big HOWEVER, the game is really good fun. I’ve really enjoyed playing it, each and every time. Unlike Steampunk Rally (which has a similar feel, and tile placement mechanic), where all the players are building at the same time, in Farlight you have time to take stock and see what everyone else is doing. You can bluff and inflate the cost of a valuable piece for your opponents that you know they really, really want while you pick up that other thing. And there is a great sense of satisfaction when you win a tile on a low bid because you’ve misdirected everyone. Or when you bid here, and then there, to do that, so that next turn you can do the other thing. It’s a game that wants you to plan and more importantly to it wants you to scheme. It creates a wonderful market conflict and for a game with only indirect player interaction, there is usually a lot of trash talk too.

 

[caption id="attachment_2423" align="alignnone" width="3320"] Enter a caption[/caption]

 

Farlight makes for a very enjoyable experience, perhaps a little too random and linear for some gamers, but I've found it to be just the right amount of fun to counterbalance those failings.

The Good

A thought-provoking economics game

Really good fun to play

With the right crowd, it will have some great player interaction

The Bad:

Doesn’t feel very balanced,

Can suffer from a runaway leader

Has a linear and predictable conclusion

This game was purchased/ backed on Kickstarter so some of the contents may vary from retail editions of the game