Middle Earth Quest : A Review by Nigel Buckle

A snap review after one play – prior to playing I’d downloaded the rules from Fantasy Flight’s website, so knew pretty much how to play...





There were 4 of us, one who arrived a bit late, so we had a quick run through of a couple of turn (including a combat) before he arrived, so I think we had some idea of how the mechanics worked but no real idea about strategy, nor detailed knowledge of the decks.



There is a definite learning curve on this game, and each side plays differently and you need to know the goals and abilities of both to do well – what you need to do to succeed and what you need to do to stop the other side.



I won’t dwell too much on mechanics, as you can get the details of those from reading the rules from the publisher’s website, rather I’ll cover the feel of the game and give my opinion on who would like it.



The game is set 17 years before Frodo leaves the Shire with the ring – so Gandalf knows the One Ring has been found (or at least has very strong suspicions) but everyone else is largely ignorant. Hero players represent characters recruited by Gandalf to protect the shire and try to hold back the advancing influence of Sauron (his influence over leaders, the emergence of monsters, etc), the Sauron player represents Sauron – advancing his plots to overthrow the Free People and recover his ring.



It is worth mentioning Fantasy Flight’s other big box Lord of the Rings game – War of the Ring. These two games approach the theme from different directions. War of the Ring is set later (Frodo and the ring are at Rivendell, and about to leave on the quest to destroy it) and the emphasis is on armies and hunting for the ring. Characters are important, but only for recruiting troops, leading armies or protecting/hunting for the ring. In Middle Earth Quest it is the other way around – armies are abstracted and the focus is on individuals exploring Middle Earth and Sauron expanding his influence out of his strongholds in Mordor, the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood.



I played Sauron, so I can’t really comment on the feel of playing as a hero – but as Sauron I found the game is strongly tied to the theme, my role is to dominate the Free Peoples in 3 ways. In military terms I have minions (such as the Ringwraiths) to move around and carry out my will – either hunt down the heroes, defend critical areas (usually ones that are linked to my active ‘plots’) or allow me to play particular plots. I also have monsters, which are similar to minions, but usually weaker – and a significant number are just rumours, but even rumours can slow and distract the heroes. And then there is influence, this represents my power spreading actoss the map, corrupting people and generally making the world more dangerous for the heroes. Free People havens are the annoyance – they prevent the spread of my influence and offer respite and healing to the heroes, and I there is little I can do to remove them (if you want a game where you burn down Lorien or over throw Minas Tirith, you need to play War of the Ring instead).



The game is long, and early games will be longer – I expect with repeated playing you could get the game down to the suggested playing time of 2-3 hours, and quicker with 2 or 3 rather than 4 players.



Setup is fairly quick – and all players can help, there are decks to sort and shuffle and then tokens to put on the map. The setup is variable depending which characters are chosen and which starting plot Sauron has. Each side has an overall objective – which is important for the strategy you follow. As Sauron you might be hunting for the ring, in which case you want to play plots that progress that side over others (so if you have a choice you’d rather capture and torture Gollum for news about your ring than corrupt Saruman or muster orcs in the mountains). Of course doing anything ‘bad’ is better than not – and keeping the enemies guessing what your actual goal is helps too.



There are some clever mechanics to restrict when you can do certain things – so the most powerful cards and minions only appear later in the game, and the events are set to help the side falling behind, if Sauron is winning then the events are more likely to help the Free People. Events are numbered and in three piles, and Sauron’s shadow cards and plot cards often have a shadow pool cost requirement. This means Sauron has to ‘waste’ influence placing it in a pool and the size of the pool is limited by the phase of the game – early on the maximum size is 4, preventing play of any shadow card or plot requiring 5 or more.



There is quite a bit of variety in the game – through the card mechanics, but what you actually do in a turn is a bit repetitive, if you don’t much like the theme or mechanics you will get bored playing this game fairly quickly.



The combat system is interesting – there are no dice, instead it is card driven, with the number of cards you have and can play limited by your abilities. The strongest combat cards sap you of strength quicker, so playing those you want to overwhelm your opponent quickly – low strength cards do less damage but with those you are wearing your opponent down and hope to exhaust them. Familiarity with the cards helps, but I found the combat tactically interesting – damage for the heroes is represented by putting their cards in an out of play pile, if all the cards end up there the player is defeated. Cards used in a turn go into another pile representing fatigue, cards in hand are what the hero can do (combat or movement) cards in the draw pile are life points and potential for future turns. This works well, and means at some points the hero players have to rest (get back the fatigued cards) or heal (get back the cards representing wounds) – but doing that advances Sauron’s plots.



Time is represented by the story track – the Free People’s marker just moves along 2 spots a turn, putting the game on a clock that will end it – Sauron has 3 markers, representing the hunt for the ring, corrupting the Free People and mustering armies/power – and they move along depending what plots have been put in play. The game ends when either the hero marker gets to the end of the track or all the Sauron markers reach a point or one gets to the end. And which side is ‘dominant’ (ie. winning the struggle) depends on how far advanced these markers are.



This means the Free People need to disrupt Sauron’s plots – and Sauron needs to protect them. The disruption is done by the hero’s spending influence, which they gain from questing or exploring parts of the map which are seeded with influence and characters from the events. Characters also suffer corruption (either voluntarily following a dark path to get a short term benefit, or as the character is targeted by Sauron through shadow cards or dangers while exploring). These corruption cards limit various character abilities and make the character vulnerable to some of Sauron’s cards – they can be removed, but to do that the character has to rest and expend valuable influence.



If you approach the game disregarding the theme then I think you’ll find it too long and repetitious for much enjoyment, but if you enjoy the theme then you’ll have fun and the time will fly by. There is a bit of downtime while players think about their actions, check cards etc - but some of that will reduce with familarity. As Sauron I didn't notice downtime much, as I was involved in each player's turn (being the enemy), but I could see players on the same side not having much involvement in the other players' turns unless they are playing very cooperatively and giving each other advice (downside to that is Sauron can listen in to what is being said)


So in summary – if you’re looking for a more character driven ‘adventure’ type game with a Middle Earth setting then get this, if you want to mobilise armies in Middle Earth or destroy the ring, go for War of the Ring instead.



This is not a traditional adventure game – characters do not amass piles of treasure and an armoury of weapons, nor do they power up to demi-gods. Most of the time you will be travelling around Middle Earth exploring areas, fighting monsters (for no reward other than annoying Sauron and freeing the world of foul beasts) and meeting with important figures (such as Dain, Theoden, Aragorn etc). You can train, which adds cards to your pile (which helps in combat and movement), you can get a few items (boats, horses, cloaks) which help you move around and you can improve your abilities a little bit, but this is not the main focus of the game. Disrupting Sauron by using influence to remove his plots and visiting areas to remove his influence is what you will be mainly doing – and occasionally be ambushed by minions and monsters.



Unless the Free People have the objective to kill the minions, you are usually better off avoiding combat, as it just at best makes you stop to rest more quickly at worst defeats you advancing one of Sauron’s story markers. But this is only after one game – a different mix of objectives and characters might change the approach, I’m not sure.



Are there any downsides – yes, unfortunately. The game isn’t great for the colour-blind; areas are marked with coloured dots (gems) to designate which card decks to use and which monsters chits to place. Fortunately they’re also named, so if you are familiar with Middle Earth geography the colour issue is much less significant. Some of the mechanics are a bit fiddly, you need to remember a few rules, and both sides have different rules to remember. The game is screaming out ‘expansion’ (or expansions), the area decks are rather thin, and we got through all the corruption and plot cards in our game, and some of the cards use general enough terms that reference very few cards. All this implies that an expansion is either planned or the game designed to easily allow for one to be made. Is this bad? Not if you only occasionally intend to play, the game out of the box will be fine for that, but if you intend to play regularly you’ll want to extend the cards and characters to give variety, meaning you’ll be investing in the expansion(s), adding to the cost of an already expensive game.



Finally, the plastic used for the figures is very brittle, we had 3 figures broken out of the box, and I’m sure most others will have the same, not good for a game costing this amount of money – why they didn’t use a softer plastic I don’t know.



Overall, based on my one play I bought a copy – and if you’re a fan of big box fantasy flight games or looking for a character based Middle Earth game I suspect you’ll do the same.

Our Favourites: Cosmic Encounter

Ah, Cosmic Encounter.

Let's explain - my love is a new love. I am not someone who played earlier editions, nor am I someone who had even heard about the game except occasionally mentioned by others fondly, before Fantasy Flight announced it was reprinting this awesome game.

Let me be frank and up front - the reason Cosmic has lasted so long is because it is a work of genius.

Not because it is complicated. Oh no! Far from it.

Let me start with what it is NOT.

It is NOT a game of space battles and whoosh bang explosions. No. If you are looking for a space battles game, this most categorically is not it.

It IS a game of negotiation and adaptation, cunning and misdirection.

======How DO I win?======

The aim of any game of Cosmic Encounter is to gain a number of "colonies" on other players' planets. you do this by defeating them in battle and establishing a base there.

The way Cosmic works is that it starts from a very simple game, and then messes with it in fun and exciting ways. Each of these can be added to your games as you like, creating extra chaos if you want it, or keeping things relatively simple.

======So what's this Simple Game then?======

Ah, my old friend the bold question and answer format!

The simple game here is a majority number game.

You are assigned by a deck of cards to an "encounter" - this is simply a very abstracted combat sequence.

You send a number of ships to the encounter (at least one, not more than four) then both sides play a card. You add the number on the card to the number of ships you sent to the fight, highest number wins, ties to the defender.

======Wow. That is simple. And rubbish.======

Frankly, yes.

So in the deck of cards are a couple of different ones; a negotiate card, that lets you make a mutually beneficial deal with you opponent, and a morph card that is always counted as identical to your opponent's card.

Both of these are joined by "artifacts" which are just simple "special" cards allowing you to take actions not normally possible.

======OK, that's sounding a little more interesting======

But still not wonderful, right? I hear you.

How about this for another building block. When you're involved in an encounter (either attacking or defending) you can ask the players not yet involved if they'd like to help you out. Of course, they will reap the benefits of a victory, so is it worth asking for their help? Or will it help them more than it helps you?

======Wouldn't you just hold onto good cards?======

No! Here's the clever thing with your hand of cards - it starts at eight, but you don't get new ones til you've used or got rid of ALL the ones you had. That card with a zero on it? You'll have to use it at some point!


======Nice! But come on, more variety, please!======

I'm a big fan of variable player abilities, so lets talk about the single most important aspect of the game - alien powers.

Each player in the game chooses at random (or from several picked at random) at least one power. This is simply a way in which they can break the rules. FFG have included 50 different ones here. That means you could play 50 successive games and never have the same Alien. For me, that is magnificently crazy.

Let's look at a couple for examples:

Normally when you play a card for your encounter, it is discarded. If you are the CLONE however, you get to choose whether to take it straight back into your hand or not - bearing in mind the other players now know what it is.

Can't win an encounter? No worries! LOSER aliens get the option to "declare an upset" and reverse the outcome, so the loser wins and the winner loses. Problem is, you must decide to do this before you play your cards.

Hopefully you can see how ingenious these powers are in changing the game.CLONE has a quandary - is that card worth taking, since everyone knows what it is? Also, if you're down to your last card and you pick it back up - you won't get any more cards to play with til you play it again!

As for LOSER - do you declare an upset? How confident are you that their cards are THAT much better than yours?

======And there are 50 of these?======

Oh yes indeed, From Amoeba to Zombie.

But, Wait, as they say! There's more!

Each Alien Power has a "flare" card; a powerful ability that either gives powers to other aliens, or massive powers to the right alien! These are shuffled into the deck at the start of the game as required, and add even more variety and craziness to the game. They are optional as well, since they are very random and can sometimes be irritating to some players (Resurrection is particularly annoying).

======So, even more variety?======

Oh, indeed. You get even more than that, too, in the form of Tech Cards. These represent abilities you can earn by spending ships. Again, these are entirely optional so you can decide to use them, or not. I haven't played a game with them yet since I have been having enough fun already, but for even more variety and value I say thanks to the designers.

======And the big finish?======

Cosmic Encounter is a game that can be tailored to suit almost any group of friends, so long as they enjoy games at all. The simplicity of the base rules is an absolute godsend to world weary rules explainers like myself.

The fact that in subsequent games you can add in the other rules one at a time is also helpful if you're the poor soul who has to introduce them to your mates.

There's a lot said about the various different games you can experience from getting different combinations of Aliens, and their interaction is really what this game is all about. Take for example the VIRUS, which everyone initially thinks of as outrageously overpowered (it multiplies its ships by cards instead of adding them) but the first time someone got it in our games, someone else got ANTIMATTER, which makes the lower score win. That made every encounter between them far more in ANTIMATTER'S favour. Interesting.

It is very easy to get attached to your favourites (mine is GAMBLER) and wish for them to come out of the deck as often as possible - unfortunately this is unlikely (1 in 50 chance) so you must learn new things every time you play - sure you may have had an easy time with VIRUS last time out, but this time you've pulled out HACKER - much harder to get the most out of and you're not going to win as any encounters on your own.

It is this that brings freshness and fun to every new game of Cosmic Encounter you play. To win at Cosmic, you must be adaptable, cunning and persuasive. You are even given the option to have more than one Alien power if you wish - making for even more combinations and possibilities!

Not many games live on for as long as Cosmic Encounter, and while it will not suit everyone with its chaotic nature and vastly variable playtimes (some games last fifteen minutes and you won't get a go, others can go on for many hours) but if you're up for fun above all else then I'm not sure it has a peer.

Ten games in, I'm most looking forward to the next hundred.

As always, whatever you think of Cosmic Encounter, I hope you enjoyed my review!

A

Android - For Heroes!

"For Heroes" is our semi regular section on the more complicated (or, heavier) games in the world. These can offer great rewards to the brave gamer, but are challenging and sometimes mystifying to new players. Allow us to guide you through some of our favourites:



Android, by Fantasy Flight games, is an oddity - released after a highly successful and evocative viral marketing campaign it became a surprise release towards the end of 2008. The package is gorgeous, feeling "deluxe" in presentation and ambition.

It concerns the trials and tribulations of three to five investigators as they try to apportion guilt in a recent murder, whilst preventing their opponents from succeeding as well as battling their own personal demons. It takes place on a massive board depicting the Earth based city of New Angeles and the moon base above it.

And I love it.
To read the full article click here

There's something any review of Android should get out of the way very early on indeed - it is not for everyone - it has been the subject of much debate on the Geek, but I should be able to explain why I believe it is for MOST people.

I hope I can convey in this review what a game of Android is like and how it works. I also wanted to show you, from experience, how each game can be affected fundamentally by its most ingenious feature - the conspiracy puzzle.

My lofty aim is that this review can be followed and understood not only by those thinking of buying this game who have already done some research, but also understood by those they intend to play it with (who may know nothing). I hope I can achieve this in general enough terms that we avoid a rulebook rehash - a form of reviewing I find about as fun as a movie review that just tells you the plot and then says "It's OK".

I'm now up to 5 games played of Android and am loving it!

CAVEAT: I would recommend, from experience, that you don't try and teach four players at once! At least not while trying to play as well.

What I am currently liking a lot is how the different investigators are forced, due to their strengths and weaknesses, to take sometimes very different approaches from each other in order to win.

Though I have never won I have had immense enjoyment every time, and felt in control of events and able to affect the game significantly even if I felt unable to win.

I was also impressed by how despite the killing of one of their suspects, usually key to victory as it is the highest scoring thing in the game, the winner on two occasions still adapted and came out on top.

To people who don't know much about the game, I will explain its structure in very general terms.

======The Game itself - what is it?======

Android is a game that, like many others, uses the universally accepted all-purpose nebulous currency of Victory Points (VPs).

The winner of the game is the player with the most VPs at the end of the game. (well, duh!)

The trouble is, every turn you have a very limited amount of time to do things - usually allowing for a total of 6 "time" points. The task you have is to use your time well enough to score many points, while fighting off other players traps and roadblocks.

Your characters have a lot of personal stuff to use and think about - a guilty and an innocent hunch to prove, their own stories you live through during the game, and two decks of cards, one that helps them, and one that hurts them.

The detail of the plots, cards and how they work is unnecessary for a review like this, but I think it's worth taking a look at how you can get those all important victory points.

There are three points scoring methods;

1. endings to plots (between -10pts and 14pts),
2. having the right hunches (0pts if unsuccessful to 25pts if both guilty and innocent is correct),
3. picking up tokens from three places (Haas and Jinteki token 3vp each, conspiracy line completions 4vp each).

Aside from scoring for completed lines (horizontal, vertical and diagonal sets of five) the conspiracy puzzle does something even more crucial - it can modify any or all the other points scoring methods by anything from 1vp extra up to potentially 4vp extra. It can also make things that are worthless except in exchange (the favours) crucial to victory.

======So this puzzle is the key to everything?======

Not always, but perhaps.... the cool thing about the puzzle is you can only do it if you forgo your right (and time) to do something else important (namely work toward your hunches) - Android is a game where you have very limited time resources to do everything.

You can't afford to ignore the conspiracy though.

FWIW, I think the puzzle can easily be underestimated as a force in the game. Even if you don't want to spend time on it, rest assured that it will affect the outcome of the game significantly if someone else does.

======Get to the point now, Algo!======

OK, so through a game turn you'll be following up leads, playing nice cards to help yourself and spending your hard earned favours to gain good stuff from special locations. On other people's turns you'll be playing bad cards to give them a hard time of it, some immensely satisfying (like taking half their time points away) and some just mean.

The card mechanics are a little complex to explain, but in summary you must play good cards in order to get the credit you need to play bad ones and vice versa.

Everything you do will cost you time, so all the considerations you make must be not only made with other players and your next turn in mind, but also with the economic use of your limited actions at the front of your mind.

I think this is where some players have lost patience with things, as the sheer number of choices and resources you have to use means you can get bogged down in your options if not careful.

For me, being the type of player I am, the speed of moves is not an issue, but I can see the point of view.

======Alright, alright. But is the game any good?======


It REALLY deserves a look. I appreciate many will find themselves unhappy with some of its mechanisms and its harshness with "take that" methods of winning, but if you let it, it can become a fantastic way to spend your time.

Plus, it feels to me like, while playing Android, you are actually playing three or four games (a card game, a race to complete the puzzle, evidence placement and plots) all of which are interconnected. The three to four hour running time doesn't really hurt that much given this fact. Sure, you could play four to six games of Shadows over Camelot in the same time as a five player game of Android - my advice would always be DO BOTH - In fact I have done precisely that on one recent game weekend!

Then I think about how you have 5 murders to try out and five very different characters to play as.

Each murder is essentially a set of rules specific to this particular game, so the basic one "Evil At The Estates" is the basic rules as written, but others change anything from movement rules to requiring any Earth based leads to be moved to the moon when followed up.

Every investigator has not only their own plots and rules, but entirely different card decks (noth light and dark) meaning that each is new and interesting to play - once you've exhausted your knowledge of one you can always start from scratch on one of the others.

While games are even more expensive than ever, and the economy is so bad I think this big box has ALREADY given me value for money at £6 a game or so, since a movie costs about that much. The inclusion of these different investigators and murders increases this value further.

======Hmm, interesting, but it sounds complicated======

My advice to new players is not to get hung up on winning the first game so much. There's so much going on you'll get a headache and won't enjoy it.

I've never been too hung up on winning anyway (lucky, really!) and I don't think anyone who views games as a social and fun activity can get too upset if their first game is a little unsuccessful points-wise (like mum!)

Take it easy and it'll all become clear, on average, about turn four. If you are really insistently unhappy at the disadvantage your mates may let the game be restarted and you can really go for it then.

If not - don't worry, just have fun. It's a fairly forgiving system so long as you keep an eye on your plot baggage (and remember draws are broken in favour of the bad outcome, just like in Shadows over Camelot) and you can still enjoy making things difficult for the other players as well as getting yourself back in the hunt.

======Wrap it up, half the audience are asleep!======

I'm very impressed with Android - I think everyone should at least give it a go. It is clear it does not work for everyone and that's fine, but everyone I have tried it with had a good time and got something out of it.

On a personal level, I am pleased with the variety, the value for money side and replay value.

I highly recommend it.

A

Essential Expansions: The Dunwich Horror

Welcome to our new series on game expansions. For some people, us included, games are even better when they get more pieces, rules and ways to play. While not all expansions are created equal, and some disappoint, this series will only concentrate on those we believe add value and longevity, as well as the crucial factor - fun, to all your favourite gaming experiences.

For fans of the excellent Arkham Horror, Fantasy Flight have really pushed the boat out on expansions.

The original game blends RPG elements with the control and reliability of board game rules, your investigators co-operate to fight off the forces of evil and win through against terrible odds.

It is a fantastic game in its own right, and we are proud to stock it.

you can pick up Arkham Horror here

So good is it, in fact, that to date there has been sufficient demand for Fantasy Flight to deliver five whole expansions (three smaller boxes and two larger) with another on the way in 2009.

Dunwich was the first of the big box expansions for Arkham released, and while the smaller boxes like Curse Of The Dark Pharaoh added cards, rules and excitement, the Dunwich Horror expansion adds a whole lot more.

We are pleased to offer this expansion for a a very special price - check it out here

The main addition you get is the small town of Dunwich itself, represented by an additional board that sits above the original to increase the playing area. To reach Dunwich an investigator has only to go to Arkham's train station and pay a dollar for a ticket. Once they have done so, Dunwich awaits them with all new locations and events to face.

Chief amongst these events is the rise of the Dunwich Horror, a super-nasty beasty with variable strength which presents extreme peril and great danger for the investigators. It awakens if too many monsters are absorbed by the many wormholes around the town, so keeping the monsters at bay in Dunwich is crucial. If the Horror does awaken, defeating this abomination will give great rewards, and while it is awake the doom track hastens toward awakening the Ancient One itself, so the players are well advised to vanquish it as soon as possible.

The set contains more of these Ancient Ones for you to face, too. My personal favourite is Shudde M'ell, a giant worm like creature (think "Tremors"!) that destroys parts of town as he stirs in his slumber, meaning somewhere you wanted to go could well be razed to the ground before you get there. Even something as basic as changing the Ancient One you face can have far reaching consequences for the way your game goes, so getting four more in this set really gives a little bit extra.

The rest is mainly additional things for the main game, but there's so much of it included, I'm not sure where to start...

Well, you get eight new investigators like the Psychic and The Expedition Leader who give new ways to play as well as excellent new powers for your use. You also get many new items, unique items, allies and spells as well as all the mythos cards necessary for opening gates in Dunwich.

The new "injury and madness" cards give you the option to take a chance when temporarily insane or unconscious - where you would usually lose half of your equipment and clues you may now choose to take one of these cards instead, but beware! Some of them can cause major trouble and all of them put you at a permanent disadvantage, such as not being able to use a hand, or not being allowed any allies.

Another key introduction in Dunwich Horror is the Gate Burst mythos cards. In the original game, once a gate was sealed that was it - no beasties coming through there any more. With this addition, a sealed gate bursts open and must be resealed. These are easily identified by their red backgrounds and can be removed if you find the dynamic they present a little too long-winded.

Even more new bits in the form of new monsters and the introduction of tasks and missions for the investigators mean that this expansion is more or less essential for anyone wanting more fun from the Arkham system.

Frankly, I own all five expansions and am already saving up for the sixth when it is released. The Arkham Horror game more than any other captures, for me, the ideal cooperative feeling of desperation and victory against the odds, as well as being incredibly tough.

It's fair to say The Dunwich Horror adds a extra difficulty to the game, being as it creates a whole lot of new drains on an investigator's precious time and as it adds the gate bursts.

I would definitely say, though, that if you are planning to purchase just one expansion for Arkham - this is the one to get, though of course I'd recommend all five as worth the investment!

...keep playing!

Alec Chapman for The BoardGameGuru Team

Our Favourites: Co-Operative Games Special

We're big fans of innovation here at BoardGameGuru, and one area of games that is seeing lots of growth in popularity at the moment is Co-Operative games, and their evil twin, Semi Co-Operative Games.

The clue is of course, in the name, as far as co-operative games go. In games such as Arkham Horror and Pandemic, the games rules dictate a way in which the forces of evil or diseases spread across the land, and the whole set of players work together to overcome this problem.

Taking Arkham Horror as an example, each turn you draw a card which shows how evil will progress this turn; where gates to other dimensions will open which spill out evil monsters , where any monsters will move and many special effects too. These cards, in their presentation of challenges and development of the on-board situation are the heart of the game since they take the place of a human "gamesmaster" (such as those needed for roleplaying games) and allow all players to share the same goals.

In Arkham Horror, the players will socialise, agonise and organise together in a bid to defeat the forces of darkness and prevent the games major enemy, or "Great Old One" from awakening. If they do so, the players will usually have to defeat them in combat, but the odds are so often stacked against them in this final battle most groups try to avoid this if at all possible.

It's an intense and exciting game experience as you and your friends or family will fight monsters, explore dangerous and eccentric locales and ultimately try to win the game. The game is extremely tough, however and don't expect to win first time out.

Co-Operative games like Arkham Horror are excellent for groups who want to avoid the usual confrontational aspects of gaming. Since you are all working together there are myriad opportunities for creative problem solving as a group - meaning that valuable social interaction, one of the major advantages of the board gaming hobby over many other pastimes, is maximised.

In terms of complexity of rules Arkham Horror is far more complicated than Pandemic, but whichever you choose it will provide exciting challenges for your friends and family and they come highly recommended.

==================

If you are intrigued by what was meant by "evil twin" when I mentioned Semi Co-Operative games, read on.

These games are a relatively recent wrinkle in the gaming world, and are a great example of how modern board games are constantly innovating and improving on themes and mechanics to provide satisfying new opportunities for fun and learning.

The most famous example, some would say originator, of this sub-genre, Shadows Over Camelot, was published as recently as 2005. In this incredible game, you and your friends play the part of the brave knights of the round table, and by using the cards in your hand you stave off the forces of evil and try and complete such quests as the search for the Holy Grail, combat with the Black Knight or rescuing Excalibur from the water.

The difference between this and, for example, Pandemic, is that unlike that game not all the players are necessarily on your side - one of the Knights may be a traitor, secretly hindering your attempts to defeat evil while outwardly working for good.

I stress the word "may" in that last sentence, because it is always possible in any game that there is no traitor at all - and false accusations can be as costly as correct ones can be rewarding.

It's a wonderfully nasty twist to the co-operative game concept and makes for some memorable and frequently hilarious game nights.

For example, this weekend I was involved in a game and because I was certain a traitor was somewhere because various very helpful cards had gone missing, discarded no doubt by the nefarious ne'er-do-well that was hiding in the shadows.

I examined my fellow players' actions closely. In time, I became convinced that one of the other players, Sir Bors, was a traitor. He hadn't done anything obviously wrong, but his demeanour and reactions to the evil events seemed a bit off. I made the accusation that he was a traitor, as is my right - only to find he had been loyal all along! This false accusation meant that I had caused two white swords (the loyal knights' "score") to become black swords (and score for evil instead).

So my false accusation eventually led to the fall of Camelot, as the real traitor was elsewhere in the form of Sir Owain.

The great thing about Shadows Over Camelot is that despite the loss to the evil traitor we all agreed to try again immediately, since each game takes only about an hour and a half at most.

A similar idea has been developed into the tie in game for the new Battlestar Galactica series. In this game the humans are trying to protect themselves from the forces of the Cylons, a race of robots who have managed to create exact replicas of human beings as sleeper agents, who infiltrate the fleet and wreak havoc.

The game depicts this struggle by handing out the loyalty cards at the beginning and the middle of the game so someone who has spent the whole game thinking they were human suddenly changes sides. Of course, this is all secret information, so they are able to choose the right moment to reveal themselves and join their robot pals.

An excellent tie-in for fans of the show, since it captures the feeling of suspicion and desperation that pervades the series' best moments, it is also a fantastic game in its own right, presenting a severe challenge for the human players but with excellent game play for the Cylon agents too.

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If you are interested in these or any other games you read about on this blog, our shop at BoardGameGuru is available for you to purchase them. Feel free to send any queries or requests for tailored game packages to paul@boardgameguru.co.uk

....keep playing!

The BoardGameGuru Team

Our Favourites: BattleLore

BattleLore offers gamers the chance to play anything from a small historical battle between the French and English during the Hundred Years War to a huge, sweeping fantasy battle with magic spells being thrown, deadly creatures like the Giant Spider, and Dwarf or Goblin allies.

It is this ability to customise your favourite battles that make BattleLore so appealing to wargame enthusiasts and fantasy fans alike.

In the box you get two whole armies' worth of plastic miniatures, a big pile of tokens and cards making this a great value package. You also will get a gorgeous map to play on, adaptable to any one of the scenarios included with the game using the landscape pieces, so that your battles can take place in anything from an open plain to dense forest - and all the rules you need to take this scenery into account in your battles are included.

Everyone would rather learn a game by playing it, instead of having to memorise a massive book before they can get it on the table. The mass appeal of BattleLore is assured by its approach to teaching you the game. Your first game will be a battle between two human armies, and as you move through the scenarios provided you will learn all the extra rules for each in turn, making the learning of the rules both fun and easy.

In summary, your turn consists of playing a card to order units, moving those units and then attacking with them. Different units have different skills, strengths and weaknesses and one of the most fun parts of the game is learning to get the most out of your army.

It takes minimal time to set up a battle, and each one will take somewhere between a half hour and an hour, meaning several games can be played in an evening.

Take a look at a game set up and ready to play, below.
From this picture you can see a full game set up (that is to say, one using all the rules). One glance is enough to get you wanting to sit down and play a game or two immediately.

This picture shows two full armies facing off and ready to charge, as well as the order cards, magic spell cards and war councils. It should give a great idea of what to expect when you get started on the BattleLore journey.

All of the forest, river and hill pieces are removable, meaning a landscape can be set up in countless different ways, either by following the setup instructions in the scenario booklet, or by inventing your own epic confrontations.

For further ways to customise your own battles, the makers of BattleLore have released many expansion sets to give you even more allies, enemies and battlefields.


On the back of the board provided with the game is half of a giant board - the other half can come from a friend's copy of BattleLore - but you can always choose to make this Epic experience available to you by instead using a specially released extra board, available here. With the Epic Board setup, you can involve more players in your games, either with three a side using the Field Marshal and Generals variant, or two a side using the "Reluctant Allies" variant. Both of these options introduce a fantastic new team aspect to what is already a fabulous experience. It also includes many new scenarios for use with the larger format.


One of the hardest parts in designing your own battles is picking opposing forces that are different, yet balanced in strength enough to be fair - you can make this a matter of moments with the Call To Arms expansion - in a single box you are given the ability to create literally millions of army configurations, and this means no two battles need ever be the same again! It also contains many suggested battlefields to build for your custom armies to fight over.


Of course, if you find yourself growing tired of the same old units the option is provided to expand your game to include special packs, such as The Scottish Wars, The Hundred Years War, Goblin Marauders and many more - each provides new minatures representing exciting new participants in your epic battles. They also include the cards necessary to make them compatible with your other expansions, like Call To Arms, meaning great units like the Dwarven Cattle Riders can now take part in your own designs as well! These expansions each include new scenarios to play with the new figures, as well as those units in your original copy.

The BattleLore range offers a superb level of choice, customisability and fun for anyone even slightly interested in wargaming, and it is easy to teach, fast to play and has a real "just one more game" factor.

It is one of the true giants of modern gaming, we are proud to stock BattleLore and many of its expansions at great, great prices.

To purchase BattleLore follow this link. Any questions, as always, can be directed to Paul using this link.

...keep playing!

The BoardGameGuru team

N.B. At time of writing, the BattleLore range has recently changed hands, from the original publishers, Days Of Wonder, to Fantasy Flight - the publishers of Arkham Horror, Conan et al., . The means that over the coming months some of the expansions may not be available regularly, but rest assured that embarking on the BattleLore experience will continue to be as rewarding to its legions of fans as it has ever been. Fantasy Flight have a great reputation for the quality of their productions and their support for existing games - these expansions will return soon!

This week's new games (18th Feb 2009)

This week sees the release of two eagerly anticipated games;



Firstly, you can now experience the majestic, sweeping tale told by Age Of Conan: The Strategy Boardgame in which you embody the spirit of the legendary warrior, and fight for glory in the time of myths. Its publishers, Fantasy Flight, are famous for the attention to detail shown in their productions, as well as the sheer amount of "bits" you get. Conan is no exception to the rule, bursting at the seams with 168 miniatures, including towers, forts and armies as well as a vast pile of tokens, cards and playing pieces. Some or all of the players may even get to boast the heroic Conan himself as part of your own forces and he is depicted by his own unique, sculpted figure.

Conan is sure to be in high demand, as this release blends the flavour and excitement of the classic stories with the latest in board gaming innovation. It is be available to order now and is expected in stock at BoardGameGuru on Friday 20th February 2008.




Our second new release this week is the beautiful and epic Supernova, coming in a dramatic, gorgeously illustrated package. It features innovative and unique combat as well as technological development and empire expansion in one beautiful package.

With great new innovations and outstanding presentation, this is sure to be a hit. Get your hands on a copy of the new release, Supernova now, by ordering from our website.

With new releases arriving all the time, and the standards of games being raised higher and higher, this is without doubt an incredibly exciting time to be playing board games.

...keep playing!
The BoardGameGuru team.