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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Tropico 6 in Video Games
Aug 14, 2019
I used to spend my time dreaming of what it would be like to live in a tropical paradise. No concerns in the world except for when my next umbrella drink was to arrive and how long I could nap before flipping over and beginning the whole process again. The leisurely island lifestyle seemed to be the perfect escape from the non-stop chaotic life that has become my own. Getting my hands-on Tropico 6, developer Limbic Entertainment’s latest installment of the popular city-builder series, quickly turned my peaceful dreams into a hectic, fast-paced adventure. Now instead of wondering what the difference between SPF 15 and SPF 30 in my sunblock are, I was forced to quell revolutions, ensure that my people had enough entertainment and housing, and promising improvement in healthcare…all in the hopes of getting re-elected and I loved every minute of it.
Tropico 6 takes the familiar city builder game and turns it on its head a bit. You begin your life as El Presidente with the ability to customize the look and feel of your miniature ruler. Not only dealing with his/her physical attributes, but also defining their personality type. This provides special in-game bonuses which can affect your influence with the super-powers or even the internal factions themselves. Your next option is to design what your palace will look like, everything from roof-top holographic images of yourself, to the type of wall that surrounds your palace. While these are really nothing more than decorative facades on which you will build your spanning empire, it’s these little touches where Tropico really shines.
For those who haven’t played Tropico before, there is a two-hour tutorial that takes you through not only the basics, but some of the advanced concepts as well. It introduces the player to not only specific buildings, but also some of the more in-depth features that are provided. Concepts such as firing an individual from a building and closing the opening job requisition or identifying rebels and putting down uprisings are all covered in detail here. The tutorial however barely scratches the surface as to all the things that can be done. Thankfully Tropico 6 includes fifteen story missions that take you through numerous game concepts and challenges to build upon what the tutorial has taught you.
There are essentially two ways one can play Tropico 6, there are the story missions as well as the sandbox mode. While players will likely be quick to want to jump into Sandbox mode and begin cultivating their own island, there are compelling reasons to play through the story missions first. The story missions are not truly connected to one another, and while you must complete several to unlock them all, there isn’t an order in which you need to play them. If you go in order, the game will take you through the various “Era’s” that are new to the series. Starting with Colonial times where you regularly need to appease the crown until you can raise enough revolutionaries (or money) to claim your independence. Working your way through the World Wars (which roughly cover the events between World War I and World War II), into the Cold war and finally Modern Times. Each of the Eras unlock access to specific technology and buildings, ensuring that each Era provides a unique challenge to overcoming certain obstacles. Each story mission tasks you with a specific goal and places several obstacles in your way. Everything from claiming independence in the first mission, to going after the seedy underbelly of crime and bringing down a notorious kingpin. The story missions themselves last anywhere from one to several hours, ensuring plenty of game play in each one.
Tropico 6 brings a lot of new concepts and gameplay to the series. The game now takes place on a series of islands interconnected with docks and bridges. It’s easy to focus on your main island only to forget your others, and some missions will task you with specific goals that can only be created outside the main island. It’s a good introduction to thinking on a wider scale. Additionally, you can build a pirate cove that allow you to send pirates on raids. These raids involve everything from “rescuing” educated people or stealing wonders from around the world, like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. A new character known simply as “The Broker” provides opportunities to raise cash for your swiss bank account. The swiss bank account is a private account for El Presidente’ and allows him to purchase items from the Broker. These can be anything from blue prints that unlock buildings at a cheaper price, or the opportunity to automatically complete a demand without having to do the grunt work behind it. Election speeches also make their return to Tropico 6, elections are held every ten years to ensure you are keeping the people in your island nation happy. Lose an election and you lose the game, fairly straight forward. One opportunity to sway your people is to craft election speeches from the four categories. These include acknowledging an issue (like entertainment or health care), praising one of the four factions that exist on Tropico, blaming a super power (Axis or Allies) for the current state of affairs and finally making a promise to address a specific issue. Be warned however, that each of these choices can hold severe consequences and note that a promise to address a concern means you’ll be focusing on that before the next election.
Each of the folks who inhabit the island are individuals. You can literally select any person walking down the street and identify who they are, how they are leaning in the upcoming election, what political party they belong to and even where they work. If someone is a political rival you can bribe them to choose your side, if a particular set of rebels are causing issues you can have them arrested or locked up in an asylum. You can even execute any individual you want; however, this will have lasting consequences. The amount of detail is staggering; however, Tropico 6 does an excellent job of allowing you to be as micro managing as you want to be. While you can certainly go in and fire individuals from the various businesses that pop up, you certainly don’t have to.
Graphically Tropico 6 is a spectacle in itself. Everything from the waves as they slowly crash upon the shoreline, to the awe-inspiring sunsets. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful city builders around. Each building is unique enough to identify it easily and each has its own unique flavor all to itself. Even with all of this, I never encountered any hiccups in performance, and load screens are pretty much left to new games. Its soundtrack has a distinctive island flair to it, and while the longer you play the more repetitive it becomes, I never felt the urge to simply mute it. In fact, I found myself humming some of the tunes while doing chores around the house…yes it can get in your head like that.
Tropico 6 does have some flaws, but nothing truly game breaking. The road construction tool, while doing it’s very best to identify the best path you wish to take, will sometimes go a bit crazy. Spaces between buildings which should allow for careful road placement will be blocked for unknown reasons, which can force you to destroy existing buildings if you haven’t planned for expansion appropriately enough. With so much to do, some of the specific tools or buildings can be a bit difficult to find, in particular once you “acquire” a world wonder it took me several attempts to locate where you can go to actually place it. Again, nothing that stops the game in it’s tracks, and certainly some things that can easily be patched in later releases of the game.
Tropico 6 is all about freedom, the freedom to rule your tiny island kingdom the way you want. Well… at least the way you want as long as you can appease the numerous factions and ensure you get re-elected in the next general elections. You are free to do as much or as little as you want, and you are free to dig in as deep as any city builder type game allows you to go. The included stories ensure that you have at least 40-50 hours of defined content, but it’s the limitless playability of the sandbox setting where the game truly shines. The game isn’t perfect, but it’s about as close as city-builder games can get these days. It’s mix of humor, city management, and that one-more turn itch will keep you playing long after you told yourself you should go to bed. Long live El Presidente’! Viva Tropico!
What I liked: Variety of Story Missions, Excellent Tutorial, Amazing visuals
What I liked less: Road tool seems a bit finicky, some items are difficult to locate
Tropico 6 takes the familiar city builder game and turns it on its head a bit. You begin your life as El Presidente with the ability to customize the look and feel of your miniature ruler. Not only dealing with his/her physical attributes, but also defining their personality type. This provides special in-game bonuses which can affect your influence with the super-powers or even the internal factions themselves. Your next option is to design what your palace will look like, everything from roof-top holographic images of yourself, to the type of wall that surrounds your palace. While these are really nothing more than decorative facades on which you will build your spanning empire, it’s these little touches where Tropico really shines.
For those who haven’t played Tropico before, there is a two-hour tutorial that takes you through not only the basics, but some of the advanced concepts as well. It introduces the player to not only specific buildings, but also some of the more in-depth features that are provided. Concepts such as firing an individual from a building and closing the opening job requisition or identifying rebels and putting down uprisings are all covered in detail here. The tutorial however barely scratches the surface as to all the things that can be done. Thankfully Tropico 6 includes fifteen story missions that take you through numerous game concepts and challenges to build upon what the tutorial has taught you.
There are essentially two ways one can play Tropico 6, there are the story missions as well as the sandbox mode. While players will likely be quick to want to jump into Sandbox mode and begin cultivating their own island, there are compelling reasons to play through the story missions first. The story missions are not truly connected to one another, and while you must complete several to unlock them all, there isn’t an order in which you need to play them. If you go in order, the game will take you through the various “Era’s” that are new to the series. Starting with Colonial times where you regularly need to appease the crown until you can raise enough revolutionaries (or money) to claim your independence. Working your way through the World Wars (which roughly cover the events between World War I and World War II), into the Cold war and finally Modern Times. Each of the Eras unlock access to specific technology and buildings, ensuring that each Era provides a unique challenge to overcoming certain obstacles. Each story mission tasks you with a specific goal and places several obstacles in your way. Everything from claiming independence in the first mission, to going after the seedy underbelly of crime and bringing down a notorious kingpin. The story missions themselves last anywhere from one to several hours, ensuring plenty of game play in each one.
Tropico 6 brings a lot of new concepts and gameplay to the series. The game now takes place on a series of islands interconnected with docks and bridges. It’s easy to focus on your main island only to forget your others, and some missions will task you with specific goals that can only be created outside the main island. It’s a good introduction to thinking on a wider scale. Additionally, you can build a pirate cove that allow you to send pirates on raids. These raids involve everything from “rescuing” educated people or stealing wonders from around the world, like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. A new character known simply as “The Broker” provides opportunities to raise cash for your swiss bank account. The swiss bank account is a private account for El Presidente’ and allows him to purchase items from the Broker. These can be anything from blue prints that unlock buildings at a cheaper price, or the opportunity to automatically complete a demand without having to do the grunt work behind it. Election speeches also make their return to Tropico 6, elections are held every ten years to ensure you are keeping the people in your island nation happy. Lose an election and you lose the game, fairly straight forward. One opportunity to sway your people is to craft election speeches from the four categories. These include acknowledging an issue (like entertainment or health care), praising one of the four factions that exist on Tropico, blaming a super power (Axis or Allies) for the current state of affairs and finally making a promise to address a specific issue. Be warned however, that each of these choices can hold severe consequences and note that a promise to address a concern means you’ll be focusing on that before the next election.
Each of the folks who inhabit the island are individuals. You can literally select any person walking down the street and identify who they are, how they are leaning in the upcoming election, what political party they belong to and even where they work. If someone is a political rival you can bribe them to choose your side, if a particular set of rebels are causing issues you can have them arrested or locked up in an asylum. You can even execute any individual you want; however, this will have lasting consequences. The amount of detail is staggering; however, Tropico 6 does an excellent job of allowing you to be as micro managing as you want to be. While you can certainly go in and fire individuals from the various businesses that pop up, you certainly don’t have to.
Graphically Tropico 6 is a spectacle in itself. Everything from the waves as they slowly crash upon the shoreline, to the awe-inspiring sunsets. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful city builders around. Each building is unique enough to identify it easily and each has its own unique flavor all to itself. Even with all of this, I never encountered any hiccups in performance, and load screens are pretty much left to new games. Its soundtrack has a distinctive island flair to it, and while the longer you play the more repetitive it becomes, I never felt the urge to simply mute it. In fact, I found myself humming some of the tunes while doing chores around the house…yes it can get in your head like that.
Tropico 6 does have some flaws, but nothing truly game breaking. The road construction tool, while doing it’s very best to identify the best path you wish to take, will sometimes go a bit crazy. Spaces between buildings which should allow for careful road placement will be blocked for unknown reasons, which can force you to destroy existing buildings if you haven’t planned for expansion appropriately enough. With so much to do, some of the specific tools or buildings can be a bit difficult to find, in particular once you “acquire” a world wonder it took me several attempts to locate where you can go to actually place it. Again, nothing that stops the game in it’s tracks, and certainly some things that can easily be patched in later releases of the game.
Tropico 6 is all about freedom, the freedom to rule your tiny island kingdom the way you want. Well… at least the way you want as long as you can appease the numerous factions and ensure you get re-elected in the next general elections. You are free to do as much or as little as you want, and you are free to dig in as deep as any city builder type game allows you to go. The included stories ensure that you have at least 40-50 hours of defined content, but it’s the limitless playability of the sandbox setting where the game truly shines. The game isn’t perfect, but it’s about as close as city-builder games can get these days. It’s mix of humor, city management, and that one-more turn itch will keep you playing long after you told yourself you should go to bed. Long live El Presidente’! Viva Tropico!
What I liked: Variety of Story Missions, Excellent Tutorial, Amazing visuals
What I liked less: Road tool seems a bit finicky, some items are difficult to locate
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Gideon's Angel in Books
Aug 15, 2019
Note: this review is transposted from my personal review blog, and so was originally written several years ago. I figured if I reposted it here, someone might actually read it….
I received my copy of Gideon’s Angel through the Goodreads FirstReads program. This in no way influences my review, except to ensure that I was able to get ahold of this book and thus review it. I have to say, I really enjoyed this one. I want to describe it as “steampunk,” but my understanding is that steampunk is usually set in the 1800s (or at least that level of tech and society) whereas this work is firmly set in 1653. If there’s already a term for pseudo-historical fiction with a fantasy touch set in that timeframe, I apologize for not knowing what it is and using it accordingly.
Things are not going well for Richard Treadwell. The English Civil War is over, the King’s Cavaliers lost to the forces of Parliament and Oliver Cromwell, and Charles I has been executed. Treadwell has managed to escape the destruction of his cause, and has spent the past eight years in exile in France, performing a delicate balancing act between loyalty to his exiled king* and his employer, Cardinal Mazarin. When Mazarin informs him that someone is using the forces of Hell to tip the balance in their favor and asks him to spy on the exile court to find out if it is one of the king’s supporters, Treadwell decides that it’s time to get out of Paris. He accepts a mission for one of the king’s more militant supporters that will take him back to his beloved England–to lead a Royalist uprising, one last try to oust Cromwell and his Puritan cronies. Treadwell has other business to tend to as well, including a wife who by now probably considers herself a widow. Unfortunately for Treadwell’s simple worldview, it soon becomes clear that Cromwell’s power is the only thing preventing the more radical Puritan elements from running roughshod over the whole country. Worse still, a demon from the pits of Hell has appeared to a radical Puritan sect masquerading as an angel of light and ordering the death of Cromwell so that the Kingdom of God may be fulfilled. Now instead of assassinating Cromwell Treadwell will be forced to save him–if he can find a way to fight the forces of Hell, gain some allies in his quest, and avoid d’Artagnan, a young Musketeer dispatched by the Cardinal to bear him back to Paris….
I really enjoyed this book. It’s not exactly “high literature,” but I think I’ve very well established that I care far more about a work’s entertainment value than whatever it is critics look for. The world Beal creates here feels very real, slipping in background historical information without making you feel like you’ve been lectured. Some readers will probably wish for more background on the English Civil War, and that’s fine. If they care that much, there are numerous good books on the subject. If they don’t, there’s a Wikipedia article that should give you a good rundown on what happened. Beal manages to evoke seventeenth-century London in all its grimy glory, much as it would have actually been aside from the fact that all the magic we dismiss as superstition is actually going on behind the scenes. Moreover, this magic very much resembles what you would find depicted in the folklore of the era without obvious modern embellishment. I’m not really all that well versed in the history of the Freemasons, so I can’t accurately speak to how they were portrayed here except to say that I very much doubt their claim to date back to the builders of the pyramids. Then again, I doubt they have the tools to summon demons too, so maybe I shouldn’t be too critical. Secondary characters generally proved to be interestingly complex, especially Billy Chard, but I am seeing criticism of how the female characters in the book act. They aren’t weak characters by any means, but they are constrained by their roles in society. Treadwell’s wife has pragmatically joined her fate to that of the officer who took over Treadwell’s land when he was banished and is pregnant with his child. Is she weak for this? Or is she a strong female doing what she has to in order to protect what is left of her family? Treadwell’s Parisian mistress follows him to England rather than stay in Paris and face the scandal of their liasion alone. Weak, for needing Treadwell by her side? Or strong, for following him into whatever dangers he may be facing? Finally, Isabelle decides to follow her father and the rest of Treadwell’s band into battle against the forces of Darkness, deciding that it would be better to fall by his side than live on without him. Possibly a sign of weakness, but look at her situation realistically. She and her father were driven from Spain for their Jewish heritage, her mother dying along the way. Jews do not fare well in the Christian world of the seventeenth century, not even in England. The lot of a young woman alone in the world is already hard enough in this time without adding the burden of religious and ethnic persecution. She would have no respectable means of supporting herself, and could conceivably find herself forced into prostitution–on her own if she was lucky, as no more than a slave if she was not. Is preferring death in battle to such a fate a sign of weakness or of strength? She certainly has no trouble speaking her mind, and in fact berates Treadwell severely for endangering her father when they first meet. I suppose I can understand where some people would find these characters and their portrayal to be weak and sexist, but I respectfully disagree. I submit that instead they are strong characters reacting realistically to a world where women are not treated equally–in fact, I would have more of a problem with them if they demonstrated anachronistic modern sensibilities.** The ending was a little deus ex machina, but on the whole I didn’t mind. I would say that I want to read a sequel, but I don’t think the author could come up with anything to top this in terms of personal impact on the characters–Treadwell’s internal conflict between hating Cromwell and having to save him is very well done, and I fear Beal would prove unable to find something equally interesting as a follow up. We never really got to find out what happened to Treadwell back during the Thirty Years War that introduced him to the world of angels and demons, so I could see maybe writing that up….I’d buy it, anyway.
CONTENT: R-rated language, occasionally harsh but I would argue not gratuitous. Moderately explicit sexual content, as you would expect from a work in this vein.*** A fair amount of violence, from both man and demon. Not usually too gory in its description. There is also a good deal of occult content, as the villains are summoning a demon they believe to be an angel. This demon’s lesser minions dog Treadwell and his friends, and there are multiple encounters with them. One is implied to be a golem, others appear as strange amalgamations of beast(s) and man. For me, this is adequately balanced by the recognition that, as powerful as the forces of Darkness are, God is far more powerful than they. Bottom line: if you’re mature enough to handle the other content, I don’t believe the occult elements should prove to be an issue.
*Charles I was executed, while his son Charles II went into exile. Just in case you were concerned with the historical accuracy of the book. So far as I can tell, this is pretty accurate. You know, aside from the demons and fictional characters roaming London…..
**Please understand, I’m neither defending nor endorsing the inequality of the seventeenth century. Neither is Clifford Beal, for that matter. I’m simply pointing out that it was how it was, and this was the world the characters would have come from. I’m all for equality, but to whitewash history and pretend it was different from it was….that way lies dangerous waters.
***This evokes more than anything a supernatural-tinged Alexandre Dumas novel for me….and you know how bawdry his musketeers could be when they wanted to be.
Original post: https://jordanbinkerd.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/review-gideons-angel-by-clifford-beal/
I received my copy of Gideon’s Angel through the Goodreads FirstReads program. This in no way influences my review, except to ensure that I was able to get ahold of this book and thus review it. I have to say, I really enjoyed this one. I want to describe it as “steampunk,” but my understanding is that steampunk is usually set in the 1800s (or at least that level of tech and society) whereas this work is firmly set in 1653. If there’s already a term for pseudo-historical fiction with a fantasy touch set in that timeframe, I apologize for not knowing what it is and using it accordingly.
Things are not going well for Richard Treadwell. The English Civil War is over, the King’s Cavaliers lost to the forces of Parliament and Oliver Cromwell, and Charles I has been executed. Treadwell has managed to escape the destruction of his cause, and has spent the past eight years in exile in France, performing a delicate balancing act between loyalty to his exiled king* and his employer, Cardinal Mazarin. When Mazarin informs him that someone is using the forces of Hell to tip the balance in their favor and asks him to spy on the exile court to find out if it is one of the king’s supporters, Treadwell decides that it’s time to get out of Paris. He accepts a mission for one of the king’s more militant supporters that will take him back to his beloved England–to lead a Royalist uprising, one last try to oust Cromwell and his Puritan cronies. Treadwell has other business to tend to as well, including a wife who by now probably considers herself a widow. Unfortunately for Treadwell’s simple worldview, it soon becomes clear that Cromwell’s power is the only thing preventing the more radical Puritan elements from running roughshod over the whole country. Worse still, a demon from the pits of Hell has appeared to a radical Puritan sect masquerading as an angel of light and ordering the death of Cromwell so that the Kingdom of God may be fulfilled. Now instead of assassinating Cromwell Treadwell will be forced to save him–if he can find a way to fight the forces of Hell, gain some allies in his quest, and avoid d’Artagnan, a young Musketeer dispatched by the Cardinal to bear him back to Paris….
I really enjoyed this book. It’s not exactly “high literature,” but I think I’ve very well established that I care far more about a work’s entertainment value than whatever it is critics look for. The world Beal creates here feels very real, slipping in background historical information without making you feel like you’ve been lectured. Some readers will probably wish for more background on the English Civil War, and that’s fine. If they care that much, there are numerous good books on the subject. If they don’t, there’s a Wikipedia article that should give you a good rundown on what happened. Beal manages to evoke seventeenth-century London in all its grimy glory, much as it would have actually been aside from the fact that all the magic we dismiss as superstition is actually going on behind the scenes. Moreover, this magic very much resembles what you would find depicted in the folklore of the era without obvious modern embellishment. I’m not really all that well versed in the history of the Freemasons, so I can’t accurately speak to how they were portrayed here except to say that I very much doubt their claim to date back to the builders of the pyramids. Then again, I doubt they have the tools to summon demons too, so maybe I shouldn’t be too critical. Secondary characters generally proved to be interestingly complex, especially Billy Chard, but I am seeing criticism of how the female characters in the book act. They aren’t weak characters by any means, but they are constrained by their roles in society. Treadwell’s wife has pragmatically joined her fate to that of the officer who took over Treadwell’s land when he was banished and is pregnant with his child. Is she weak for this? Or is she a strong female doing what she has to in order to protect what is left of her family? Treadwell’s Parisian mistress follows him to England rather than stay in Paris and face the scandal of their liasion alone. Weak, for needing Treadwell by her side? Or strong, for following him into whatever dangers he may be facing? Finally, Isabelle decides to follow her father and the rest of Treadwell’s band into battle against the forces of Darkness, deciding that it would be better to fall by his side than live on without him. Possibly a sign of weakness, but look at her situation realistically. She and her father were driven from Spain for their Jewish heritage, her mother dying along the way. Jews do not fare well in the Christian world of the seventeenth century, not even in England. The lot of a young woman alone in the world is already hard enough in this time without adding the burden of religious and ethnic persecution. She would have no respectable means of supporting herself, and could conceivably find herself forced into prostitution–on her own if she was lucky, as no more than a slave if she was not. Is preferring death in battle to such a fate a sign of weakness or of strength? She certainly has no trouble speaking her mind, and in fact berates Treadwell severely for endangering her father when they first meet. I suppose I can understand where some people would find these characters and their portrayal to be weak and sexist, but I respectfully disagree. I submit that instead they are strong characters reacting realistically to a world where women are not treated equally–in fact, I would have more of a problem with them if they demonstrated anachronistic modern sensibilities.** The ending was a little deus ex machina, but on the whole I didn’t mind. I would say that I want to read a sequel, but I don’t think the author could come up with anything to top this in terms of personal impact on the characters–Treadwell’s internal conflict between hating Cromwell and having to save him is very well done, and I fear Beal would prove unable to find something equally interesting as a follow up. We never really got to find out what happened to Treadwell back during the Thirty Years War that introduced him to the world of angels and demons, so I could see maybe writing that up….I’d buy it, anyway.
CONTENT: R-rated language, occasionally harsh but I would argue not gratuitous. Moderately explicit sexual content, as you would expect from a work in this vein.*** A fair amount of violence, from both man and demon. Not usually too gory in its description. There is also a good deal of occult content, as the villains are summoning a demon they believe to be an angel. This demon’s lesser minions dog Treadwell and his friends, and there are multiple encounters with them. One is implied to be a golem, others appear as strange amalgamations of beast(s) and man. For me, this is adequately balanced by the recognition that, as powerful as the forces of Darkness are, God is far more powerful than they. Bottom line: if you’re mature enough to handle the other content, I don’t believe the occult elements should prove to be an issue.
*Charles I was executed, while his son Charles II went into exile. Just in case you were concerned with the historical accuracy of the book. So far as I can tell, this is pretty accurate. You know, aside from the demons and fictional characters roaming London…..
**Please understand, I’m neither defending nor endorsing the inequality of the seventeenth century. Neither is Clifford Beal, for that matter. I’m simply pointing out that it was how it was, and this was the world the characters would have come from. I’m all for equality, but to whitewash history and pretend it was different from it was….that way lies dangerous waters.
***This evokes more than anything a supernatural-tinged Alexandre Dumas novel for me….and you know how bawdry his musketeers could be when they wanted to be.
Original post: https://jordanbinkerd.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/review-gideons-angel-by-clifford-beal/
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Kingdoms of the Deep in Tabletop Games
Dec 26, 2020
Underwater-themed games are fast becoming some of my favorite to play. I have always enjoyed visiting aquariums (the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is by far the best I’ve seen) and I have owned many of my own tanks. So I have a soft spot. Couple a great theme with a great publisher and what do we get? A great game? Yep!
Kingdoms of the Deep is an abstracted area-control game set in the ocean for one to six players. In it players lead a faction of creatures intent on ruling the underwater kingdom. The player who scores the most VP at the end of the game is the winner, and as their king the player must rule with a strong pectoral fin. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but it should be.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. You are invited to back the game on Kickstarter launching January 12, 2021, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after it is fulfilled. -T
To setup players will choose a color and take all components of that color. Obviously, the best choice is purple. Next the central board will be built of large hex tiles surrounding an Atlantis tile. Upon Atlantis one Shark token will be placed. The Score Board is placed near the central hex board and upon it is placed the Round Marker, the End Game Scoring tile, and the three Goal cards. Players then populate the board with their Influence Cubes on their specific preferred terrain types. Upgrade Cubes (discs in the final version) are then placed on each player’s individual play mats on the furthest value to the left, save for the Reset upgrades: players will choose one to place a cube. Give the starting player the Start Player token (a manta ray in this prototype) and the game may begin!
On a turn each player will choose a card from their hand of Action cards to be flipped simultaneously. The starting player will resolve their card first and play will continue around the table thenceforth. Each player will take their action and prepare for the next round. Should a player choose a card that no other player had chosen for the round they will also be able to activate the Solo Ability printed on the card. Typically these Solo Abilities are a furtherance of the action chosen. For example, should a player choose the Deploy Action card and be the only one to do so, they will be able to deploy one additional Influence Cube on the board than normal. The actions are Bolster, Deploy, Move, Upgrade, Shark, and Reset. Each action is limited to a number of cubes added, spaces moved, or upgrades allowed according to where the player board discs (large cubes in the prototype) lie on the player’s mat.
The Bolster action allows the player to add a number of Influence Cubes to the board on the player’s current preferred terrain type. To Deploy units is to add Influence Cubes to the board on hexes already containing their Influence or hexes directly adjacent to those already containing their Influence cubes. When a player chooses the Move action they are able to move creatures (Influence Cubes of any player and Shark tokens) a number of spaces that can be used for once creature or split between several. Players will certainly wish to Upgrade their actions throughout the game by increasing their player board discs’ spaces on their mat. For example, upgrading the Move action could allow the player to move creatures three spaces instead of two. The Shark action allows the player to move the Shark token(s) and chomp creatures on the same hex. Once a Shark feeds, the controlling player will increase their standing on their own Bait Pile track on their play mat. Certain increments on this track will provide the player with one instance of an action (Move, Deploy, etc), and the creature’s Influence Cube is returned to the matching player. Reset actions allow the player to recall their played Action cards to their hands, but also provide whichever action the player originally chose at setup. Should a player wish to Upgrade their Reset action more actions will become available to them each time they utilize the Reset action. Additionally, at the end of the player’s turn having used the Reset action card the Round Marker token is moved one space closer to the end of the game on its track. More on this later.
During play, some creatures may be moved onto the Atlantis tile in the middle of the board via the Deploy or Move actions. When this happens the player who moved the cube onto the Atlantis tile will score a point immediately, and the creature cube is placed in the Atlantis castle (cloth bag in the prototype, but a castle component in the final version). At the end of the game points are awarded to the player with the most creatures in Atlantis.
Every three movements of the Round Marker token signifies a scoring round takes place. Players will consult the current Goal card for any scoring round bonuses and points are earned. The Goal card is then discarded to reveal the next Goal card in sequence on which players can concentrate during the next rounds of play. Also during the first two of these scoring rounds another Shark token is added to the board on the Atlantis tile to be moved around seeking lunch. Once the Round Marker reaches the final scoring round the game ends and points are tallied to arrive at the winner.
Components. Again, this is a prototype version of the game, and while I know certain things will be different in the final version, I do not know what else may be upgraded as a result of any stretch goals reached. Therefore I do not want to comment on the quality of the components, but rather the art style and direction this game is heading toward actual production.
The art on this one is simply gorgeous. The style is the same as that of Animal Kingdoms, which is also a release from Galactic Raptor. All the art I have seen in this game is sublime and permeates the theme into every portion of the game. It is so beautifully colorful and the creatures are all unique and interesting that it may be difficult to concentrate on the actual game for some people, I imagine.
All that aside, I really do think this is a good game. It certainly gives me the Witch’s Brew/Broom Service vibe with benefits for the player who chooses something the others have not. Combine that feeling with that of the chaos of Survive!: Escape from Atlantis area control of constantly-shifting cube placement and I think Galactic Raptor has a hit here. Again, I am excited to see the final product with the more premium components and tweaked rules, but what I have here is still a good implementation of the mechanics with a hard-to-beat theme.
I do quite like the Shark ability to chomp not only everyone else’s creatures, but also your own to take those cubes back into your supply to be Bolstered or Deployed elsewhere. I also really like being able to Upgrade any action I wish to truly personalize my style and tactics during play. I like being able to Move other players’ creatures into Atlantis for that immediate point, but also to remove that cube from play altogether. It creates quite an interesting dynamic and strategy to facilitate other players’ majority status in Atlantis in order to gain quick points and board control right away. There are so many thing to like about this game, and I am so glad I was able to give it a chance on the table.
If you enjoy games similar to those I mentioned previously, then check out Kingdoms of the Deep. It is beautiful, offers quite a bit of strategy and tactics, and stands to become an excellent mid-weight simultaneous action, area control game WITH SHARKS. While I probably won’t be playing this one every game night, I can certainly see myself introducing it to many of my fellow gamers. I urge you to check out the Kickstarter campaign for Kingdoms of the Deep once it launches in January. Tell ’em Old Travis sent ya.
Kingdoms of the Deep is an abstracted area-control game set in the ocean for one to six players. In it players lead a faction of creatures intent on ruling the underwater kingdom. The player who scores the most VP at the end of the game is the winner, and as their king the player must rule with a strong pectoral fin. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but it should be.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. You are invited to back the game on Kickstarter launching January 12, 2021, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after it is fulfilled. -T
To setup players will choose a color and take all components of that color. Obviously, the best choice is purple. Next the central board will be built of large hex tiles surrounding an Atlantis tile. Upon Atlantis one Shark token will be placed. The Score Board is placed near the central hex board and upon it is placed the Round Marker, the End Game Scoring tile, and the three Goal cards. Players then populate the board with their Influence Cubes on their specific preferred terrain types. Upgrade Cubes (discs in the final version) are then placed on each player’s individual play mats on the furthest value to the left, save for the Reset upgrades: players will choose one to place a cube. Give the starting player the Start Player token (a manta ray in this prototype) and the game may begin!
On a turn each player will choose a card from their hand of Action cards to be flipped simultaneously. The starting player will resolve their card first and play will continue around the table thenceforth. Each player will take their action and prepare for the next round. Should a player choose a card that no other player had chosen for the round they will also be able to activate the Solo Ability printed on the card. Typically these Solo Abilities are a furtherance of the action chosen. For example, should a player choose the Deploy Action card and be the only one to do so, they will be able to deploy one additional Influence Cube on the board than normal. The actions are Bolster, Deploy, Move, Upgrade, Shark, and Reset. Each action is limited to a number of cubes added, spaces moved, or upgrades allowed according to where the player board discs (large cubes in the prototype) lie on the player’s mat.
The Bolster action allows the player to add a number of Influence Cubes to the board on the player’s current preferred terrain type. To Deploy units is to add Influence Cubes to the board on hexes already containing their Influence or hexes directly adjacent to those already containing their Influence cubes. When a player chooses the Move action they are able to move creatures (Influence Cubes of any player and Shark tokens) a number of spaces that can be used for once creature or split between several. Players will certainly wish to Upgrade their actions throughout the game by increasing their player board discs’ spaces on their mat. For example, upgrading the Move action could allow the player to move creatures three spaces instead of two. The Shark action allows the player to move the Shark token(s) and chomp creatures on the same hex. Once a Shark feeds, the controlling player will increase their standing on their own Bait Pile track on their play mat. Certain increments on this track will provide the player with one instance of an action (Move, Deploy, etc), and the creature’s Influence Cube is returned to the matching player. Reset actions allow the player to recall their played Action cards to their hands, but also provide whichever action the player originally chose at setup. Should a player wish to Upgrade their Reset action more actions will become available to them each time they utilize the Reset action. Additionally, at the end of the player’s turn having used the Reset action card the Round Marker token is moved one space closer to the end of the game on its track. More on this later.
During play, some creatures may be moved onto the Atlantis tile in the middle of the board via the Deploy or Move actions. When this happens the player who moved the cube onto the Atlantis tile will score a point immediately, and the creature cube is placed in the Atlantis castle (cloth bag in the prototype, but a castle component in the final version). At the end of the game points are awarded to the player with the most creatures in Atlantis.
Every three movements of the Round Marker token signifies a scoring round takes place. Players will consult the current Goal card for any scoring round bonuses and points are earned. The Goal card is then discarded to reveal the next Goal card in sequence on which players can concentrate during the next rounds of play. Also during the first two of these scoring rounds another Shark token is added to the board on the Atlantis tile to be moved around seeking lunch. Once the Round Marker reaches the final scoring round the game ends and points are tallied to arrive at the winner.
Components. Again, this is a prototype version of the game, and while I know certain things will be different in the final version, I do not know what else may be upgraded as a result of any stretch goals reached. Therefore I do not want to comment on the quality of the components, but rather the art style and direction this game is heading toward actual production.
The art on this one is simply gorgeous. The style is the same as that of Animal Kingdoms, which is also a release from Galactic Raptor. All the art I have seen in this game is sublime and permeates the theme into every portion of the game. It is so beautifully colorful and the creatures are all unique and interesting that it may be difficult to concentrate on the actual game for some people, I imagine.
All that aside, I really do think this is a good game. It certainly gives me the Witch’s Brew/Broom Service vibe with benefits for the player who chooses something the others have not. Combine that feeling with that of the chaos of Survive!: Escape from Atlantis area control of constantly-shifting cube placement and I think Galactic Raptor has a hit here. Again, I am excited to see the final product with the more premium components and tweaked rules, but what I have here is still a good implementation of the mechanics with a hard-to-beat theme.
I do quite like the Shark ability to chomp not only everyone else’s creatures, but also your own to take those cubes back into your supply to be Bolstered or Deployed elsewhere. I also really like being able to Upgrade any action I wish to truly personalize my style and tactics during play. I like being able to Move other players’ creatures into Atlantis for that immediate point, but also to remove that cube from play altogether. It creates quite an interesting dynamic and strategy to facilitate other players’ majority status in Atlantis in order to gain quick points and board control right away. There are so many thing to like about this game, and I am so glad I was able to give it a chance on the table.
If you enjoy games similar to those I mentioned previously, then check out Kingdoms of the Deep. It is beautiful, offers quite a bit of strategy and tactics, and stands to become an excellent mid-weight simultaneous action, area control game WITH SHARKS. While I probably won’t be playing this one every game night, I can certainly see myself introducing it to many of my fellow gamers. I urge you to check out the Kickstarter campaign for Kingdoms of the Deep once it launches in January. Tell ’em Old Travis sent ya.
