Well, I opened the box and took a peek inside! Many wonders did my eyes behold!
You get the following:
Two Rules books (one a walk through).
4 figures (very nicely done to boot!)
And lots and lots of cards and tokens…….
This is not a novice boardgamers game in my opinion. The rule books need a good reading (probably 2) before you start and then are referenced many times in your first run through. In the solo game I played, you use a dummy player to help determine the length of each round.
The game does look good set up and I did enjoy the “feel” of the play. I am eagerly awaiting the chance to play with 3 or 4 players as I think the interaction will be interesting. The rule book has a number of individual and co-operative scenarios.
There is a good video walkthrough of one round at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/video/11547/mage-knight-board-game/walkthrough-of-1st-turn-of-solo-game well worth watching.
Below I include some photo’s of my solo game to give an idea of the components and set up.
Well into the first solo game
Attack the tower, orcs or Monastery??? Choices, choices, so many choices!
The game has some interesting mechanics such as leveling up and the benefits that each level brings. It may give you more units to recruit or extra skills and tactics. This is all recorded on a Fame and Reputation board (below). You can also gain spells and artifacts during the game.
Where all the goodies come from as you level up!
The rounds are played alternately day & night. Things change at night and spells become more powerful.
Your actions are governed by two resources:- The cards in your hand (normal 5) and your mana or crystal sources. There is a pool of dice used to supply mana to the players, but you can only use 1 each turn to boost your cards in hand. Once used it is rerolled and put back into the “Source”. An interesting aspect is that if you roll a dark mana during the day, the dice is depleted and can no longer be used…. If you roll a gold at night, it is also depleted and useless for the rest of the night… This means that you can run out of mana during the round and be restricted to the minor actions on the cards.
Movement and the building of the map is easy to follow, but not always easy to do if you don’t have the movement cards…. Another neat mechanic of the game is the ability to play cards sideways to boost Move, Fight, Block and Influence. However, you need to do this sparingly as you may need those cards later in the round! When a player has no cards in hand or depletes their deck, they can call an end to the round and all the other players get one last turn before you start another round.
All in all an intriguing game that warrants much more play and exploration!
Happy New Year!
Signing off – Truhlsrohk.
