Wednesday Game Session

This week I was finally able to get in a board gaming session with Rob.  With only two of us, our choices were limited, but we had plenty to choose from.

After playing some Small World and Nueroshima Hex (review forth coming) via the iPad, we settled down for some analog gaming in my game room, which included;

Perry Rhodan: The Cosmic League
Battlefields of Olympus
Defenders of the Realm.
and The Isle of Doctor Necreaux (review forthcoming)

First up was

Perry Rhodan: The Cosmic League

My initial impression was fairly unimpressed…  though I recognize why others would enjoy it more.
This is a "pick up and deliver' game set in what is apparently a very popular German Space Opera SciFi series.
Basically players, who have the same decks of cards, try to pick up and deliver goods from one planet to another while using cards to either gain advantages or thwart their opponents plans for said advantages. 

I think the game plays fine and can certainly be a challenge.  The process seems polished in that there are clumps of goods to strategize around and the cards fit those strategies well.   However, winning seems to come down to having the right cards at the right time and catching your opponent lacking.

While I found my first game of The Cosmic League mediocre, I feel like it shares some similarities to a set of games I do enjoy; Blue Moon.  In both games, I feel that you must first understand the exact composition of your deck of cards, and modify your play according to what has come out and more importantly, what will come out.  I don't plan to buy this and would probably not initiate a game of it, I look forward to playing it with a little more knowledge of what is possible.

Battlefields of Olympus

This game sucked. 
Advertised as a turn-based strategy game, this game is little more than an annoying version of War mixed with Rock, Paper, Scissors…  only you only have a functional hand of 4 cards.

The best part of this game is the art…  The art is edgy and well done…  too bad the lack of different cards results in the visuals becoming commonplace quickly.
For me this game was simply too simple and not compelling at all.  Your choices are so limited that the game quickly stagnates and I found myself wishing it would just end.   When I play games like this, my friends and I inevitably discuss the multitude of ways you could fix the short comings…  I have learned that it is often not even worth the effort, as the game, in this case, would only be mediocre at best and the time spent de-bunking the problems could be spent creating an entirely new and more robust game.
Avoid this turd if possible.  You'll thank me later.

Defenders of the Realm.

I liked this game in spite of not wanting to….  in retrospect I am finding some faults with the game, but still can't deny my initial enjoyment.

Defenders of the Realm is a cooperative fantasy board game in which 1-4 players take a role as one of the King’s Champions (Choose from Cleric, Dwarf, Eagle Rider, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer and Wizard). You, as one of the King's Heroes make use of strategy, special abilities, cooperation, card play and a little luck for a unique experience in every adventure. As each Enemy General is struck down in battle, the remaining dark forces only grow more difficult to vanquish and their march to Monarch City gets faster with each Hero victory.

Defenders of the Realm (from Fred Distribution) is a Fantasy based coop game that borrows heavily from the more popular Pandemic from Z-Man games.  The amount of 'borrowing' nearly requires a mention of Pandemic in the rules, but there are several departures and additions to the flow of the game.  
Many of these editions make the game more difficult and serve to frustrate the players and dissolve any real sense of cooperation.  In our initial game, the two toughest Enemy Generals were close to Monarch City after turn 2 and our choices became very static as we had to tailor our strategy to defend against loosing the game.  Though we were able to defeat them and in the end win the game, I have several issues with title in general.
1. This game may borrow from pandemic, but albeit in the most sterile way.  Yes, the evil forces will multiply and you must keep them from chain-infecting the areas, and the game quickly feels frantic, but there are important things missing from Pandemic's design.  Players are unable to trade resources, so in almost every case several of the players need to be in one single location in order to have a remote chance to defeat the generals.

2. This game, like so many other coop games suffers from the same problem.  Usually the common threats are such that several of the players need to gang up and do the same action.  This always results in one player trying to master play the entire game.  Instead, these games should require players to defeat several lesser threats at the same time.  Games like Shadows over Camelot and Lord of the Rings have the right idea.  In my experience, Defenders of the Realm is probably the worst in this regard.

3. Art and General Design.  On a scale of 10, I give this game a 2.  The art and designs are atrocious.  Larry Elmore is at best a recognizable fantasy artist from the late 80's…  and if you like fantasy, you have seen ALL the art this game uses.
For me, Larry Elmore has always looked like an ammeter…  his style is clean to a fault and his color schemes are localized and sterile…  Look at the cover…  the blue dragon stands out like a sore thumb…  it's hard to imagine any thing being that ridiculously blue in reality.  His characters are boring and his women have tragic non-fantasy hair-do's that scream the 80's.  I would much rather have seen Keith Parkinson's art if they had to dive back into D&D history.  The general design is less than lack luster and the board is boring on an epic level.  It is hard to find areas with names like Gryphon Woods or Minotaur Valley.

I put the fault here squarely on Fred Distribution's Management.  I've dealt with them in the past and my opinion of their publishing style is less than flattering.  As a company they seek out compelling games and ruin them with terrible design and boring art.  In today's market, I think it is obvious that art sells games.  Yes there are always going to be exceptions to this, but generally, great art will sell a mediocre game.   This is especially true if you take the heavy theme approach to a title.
Fred Distribution has a lot to learn about the over-all product when it comes to games.  Take for instance Roll Through the Ages.  Great Game, Terrible art.  Look at how much better the iPod version of the game looks.  ;)

In the end, while I did enjoy playing Defenders of the Realm, I feel like future plays of the game will only lead me to find more fault with it.

We ended the night with

The Isle of Doctor Necreaux.

This is another coop game that is known to be chaotic and often overly difficult.  My experience of the game is just so, as I have won the game several times and other times, been defeated so soundly and quickly that it is laughable. 

The Isle of Doctor Necreaux is a cooperative card game for 1 to 5 players fighting the diabolical mad scientist Doctor Necreaux. You’ll find yourself wondering what in the world is worth saving when the world itself is held hostage.

Rob and I got some decent character cards for this and eventually made it through with a win, though in truth that 'W' comes with an asterisk since we misplayed one of the cards. 

Until next time;

Good Luck and Good gaming-

River