Theme: Fictional monster fighting Players: 2-4 Playtime: 45-60min Suggested Player Age: 10 and up
Serious Face: 6/10 There are serious aspects to the game, your opponents will seriously kill you, they will seriously beat you, and you will seriously be sad. But other than that it is fairly light and un-serious. Player Interaction: 6/10 There is a fair amount of player interaction, you will kill each others monsters and your monsters will increase in level depending on other players monsters. Your choices will affect other players every round, but there is no trading or bidding, mostly you play by yourself. Strateejery: 6/10 There are strategically good choices in this game and obviously bad ones, but much of the game comes down to rolling dice well. If you make bad strategic choices you could still possibly win by rolling your dice perfectly every round. Although your chances of winning increase if you make sound decisions at crucial times. Feeling Lucky: 7/10 Like I said, there is a large amount of luck involved in rolling the dice on the right sides, at the right times, and picking the right dice from your bag. But not too much to break the game. Teachability: 5/10 This game is a little bit more difficult to teach than other games I have. First, because the theme is very nerdy few non-gamers want to learn it. Secondly, because there are so many dice and cards that every game is different and every set of cards is going to interact uniquely. How Hard Can It Be: 7/10 Once you play through it a couple times, the game begins to flatten out and become understandable. It becomes obvious that certain strategies are more useful than others and it becomes a race to successfully start that strategy first. It's not too hard, but the learning curve is pretty steep. Looking Pretty: 8/10 The game looks great! Besides the fact that some of my dice were printed weird, which they have fixed since, I have no issues with the cards and dice. The components are bright, fun, and durable.
In the Grand Scheme of Things: This game is a lot like Dominion if you have ever played that game, but it looks like Dungeons and Dragons. I think the theme throws a lot of non-gamers off because they don't want to be caught playing a super nerdy game. This game speaks to those nerds who want something that won't take 3 hours and is unique every single time you play. It is light and interesting, the strategies are captivating through the first 15 plays, then they get somewhat dry, but that's what expansions are for. I don't own any of the expansions yet.
Tide of Iron
Theme: World War II squad combat Players: 2-4 (preferably 2) Playtime: 1-3 hours Suggested Player Age: 15 and up
Serious Face: 10/10 I don't think there is a more serious game than Tide of Iron, you have to be on top of your game the whole time, thinking, planning, beating your opponent into a bloody pulp. Yeah, it's serious. Player Interaction: 8/10 There is a large amount of interaction, every move is interactive because you are attacking each other, but this game adds a few interesting twists to war games that make it more fun and exciting than most. Strateejery: 9/10 This is what you would call a "brain-burner". You are thinking the entire time, there is not a moment of rest from thinking about where you are going to move, who you are going to move, and how far, and doing what action...it is filled with an endless amount of decisions that will win/lose you the game. Feeling Lucky: 6/10 There are dice in this game, but in my experience, the winning and the losing comes from your decisions and use of your troops. If you make good moves, no matter how badly you roll, you will most likely come out on top, skill and strategy mean so much more than luck in this game. Teachability: 2/10 This is probably the most difficult game I own to teach new players. Even people who have played it before need refreshers on how to play and the rulebook, although great, is enormous. I love the depth of the game, which requires lots of rules, but I always dread teaching this game to a new player. How Hard Can It Be: 9/10 It is very hard. This game requires so much thought and planning that your turns can take awhile, you will constantly be checking the rulebook for clarifications and questions, and your games will take longer than you ever thought possible. Looking Pretty: 9/10 The components in this game are ultra-top-notch. They are so well made, I have never played a game that was quite as fun to just look and play with. This is like the best set of army men you ever had, on a beautiful and amazingly sturdy playing board. Fantastic design.
In the Grand Scheme of Things: Ok, I love this game with my whole heart, do I ever find people to play it with me, hardly at all. Most people pass by this game without even a second glance because the box is enormous and it looks all violent and war-like. It is an intimidating game, and it takes awhile to learn, but once you are past that, you have a fantastic game that appeals to the army general inside you and makes all other medium squad-based war games look like sissy games. If you love war games and have patience, this is the game for you.