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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Baseball Highlights: 2045 in Tabletop Games
Jul 6, 2019
It’s 2045. Baseball has bored everyone to death (NOT my opinion – GO CUBS GO!). So Big Baseball has turned to employing robots and players have begun to improve their game by adding cybernetic body parts to themselves. This is the future in which I want to live. Editorializing aside, only the best and most exciting players can make in the new bigs. Will your team of Naturals, Cyborgs, and Robots claim victory, or will your players be bound for the minors – or worse, the scrap heap?
Baseball Highlights: 2045 is a dueling card game with an interesting twist. It uses elements of card drafting, hand management, take that, and deck building to weave a satisfying experience that can be enjoyed by baseball fans and non-fans. I will not go into explaining the entire rulebook here, but I do want to touch on some items that turn this into something more than your run-of-the-mill deck builder.
DISCLAIMER: This game has quite a few mini expansions. While we do have all the expansions in our collection, we will only be reviewing the base game (though I am sure there are some promo cards in my “base game”). Should we decide to review the expansions in the future, we will add it here or link to the full review. -T
Each player begins the game with a deck of starter players belonging to a generic team (Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, etc). Each card has a combination of immediate actions, threatened base hits, pawn movement speed, and costs printed on them. By playing a card from your hand on your turn you will threaten a hit, cancel your opponent’s hit(s), and/or attempt to score your runners home. Here’s the twist. The Visitor player will play the first card and potentially threaten a hit. Play then stops and it is the Home player’s turn to try to affect the threatened hit(s) using a card from their hand. If they can cancel the hit, then the Visitor player’s plans are dashed and play returns to them to try to cancel the Home player’s now-threatened hits. This back and forth using different portions of each card is a little awkward to get used to, but after you get the hang of it, becomes a very cool little variation on the simplistic card value comparisons found in WAR.
After you play through your hand of cards and determine the mini-game winner, a phase of the game to draft “free agents” allows players to use icons on the cards to purchase stronger cards from the offer row. If the alternating play of the main game had your head spinning then deciding which of your teammates to replace with free agents will definitely cause some anxiety. But this is how your team improves. Do you get rid of the player that threatens Home Runs but provides you with zero purchasing power or do you oust him to the minors to call up Kris Correa? These are important decisions, coach!
Components. This game is basically a card duel game with player mats and tracking tokens that are completely unnecessary (but very nice). The cards are great quality! The individual player mats are a great place to organize your game cards and components. The pawns are just red, white, and blue wooden pawns. Nothing special there, but the colors are important and symbolize how fast the baserunners are. The components are great, and the insert is functional, so that’s a huge bonus for me.
Is the game good? Quite. I love the back and forth. I LOVE the baseball theme. I love the deck building aspect. I love being able to use this game as a tournament game, though I haven’t yet played it that way. Maybe soon! In any case, this is an excellent game and definitely worth taking a look at and trying for yourself. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this one an over the fence bomb of 9 / 12 (with special guest scorer Tony – I think Josh will like it, but I’m unsure if Bryan will).
Baseball Highlights: 2045 is a dueling card game with an interesting twist. It uses elements of card drafting, hand management, take that, and deck building to weave a satisfying experience that can be enjoyed by baseball fans and non-fans. I will not go into explaining the entire rulebook here, but I do want to touch on some items that turn this into something more than your run-of-the-mill deck builder.
DISCLAIMER: This game has quite a few mini expansions. While we do have all the expansions in our collection, we will only be reviewing the base game (though I am sure there are some promo cards in my “base game”). Should we decide to review the expansions in the future, we will add it here or link to the full review. -T
Each player begins the game with a deck of starter players belonging to a generic team (Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, etc). Each card has a combination of immediate actions, threatened base hits, pawn movement speed, and costs printed on them. By playing a card from your hand on your turn you will threaten a hit, cancel your opponent’s hit(s), and/or attempt to score your runners home. Here’s the twist. The Visitor player will play the first card and potentially threaten a hit. Play then stops and it is the Home player’s turn to try to affect the threatened hit(s) using a card from their hand. If they can cancel the hit, then the Visitor player’s plans are dashed and play returns to them to try to cancel the Home player’s now-threatened hits. This back and forth using different portions of each card is a little awkward to get used to, but after you get the hang of it, becomes a very cool little variation on the simplistic card value comparisons found in WAR.
After you play through your hand of cards and determine the mini-game winner, a phase of the game to draft “free agents” allows players to use icons on the cards to purchase stronger cards from the offer row. If the alternating play of the main game had your head spinning then deciding which of your teammates to replace with free agents will definitely cause some anxiety. But this is how your team improves. Do you get rid of the player that threatens Home Runs but provides you with zero purchasing power or do you oust him to the minors to call up Kris Correa? These are important decisions, coach!
Components. This game is basically a card duel game with player mats and tracking tokens that are completely unnecessary (but very nice). The cards are great quality! The individual player mats are a great place to organize your game cards and components. The pawns are just red, white, and blue wooden pawns. Nothing special there, but the colors are important and symbolize how fast the baserunners are. The components are great, and the insert is functional, so that’s a huge bonus for me.
Is the game good? Quite. I love the back and forth. I LOVE the baseball theme. I love the deck building aspect. I love being able to use this game as a tournament game, though I haven’t yet played it that way. Maybe soon! In any case, this is an excellent game and definitely worth taking a look at and trying for yourself. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this one an over the fence bomb of 9 / 12 (with special guest scorer Tony – I think Josh will like it, but I’m unsure if Bryan will).
Darren (1599 KP) rated Street Fighter (1994) in Movies
Aug 24, 2019
Verdict: Basic Action Nonsense
Story: Street Fighter starts as the evil tyrant Bison (Julia) has been controlling the country of Shadaloo, Col William Guile (Van Damme) is leading the assault to bring him down after his latest demand is 20 Billion Dollars, to save the hostages he has taken. Chun-Li (Wen) has been reporting the story only for herself to have a personal investment in taking him down too.
Colonel Guile recruits Ken (Chapa) and Ryu (Mann) to go undercover to locate the secret base, before it is too late giving Guile a chance to go face to face with Bison in an ultimate fight between the two men.
Thoughts on Street Fighter
Characters – Colonel Guile is part of the Allied Nations a soldier that is trying a bring an end to the evil tyrant Bison, he is an expert in martial arts and will put himself in the line of fire in an attempt to stop this man. Bison is the dictator tyrant holding the country hostage, he is willing to offer anybody a chance to fight for their freedom, but his skills are beyond anything any normal person can handle, he is almost waiting for Guile to arrive for a worthy opponent. Chun-Li is a journalist with her own reasons for hunting down Bison, she is able to handle herself in a fight and willing to take just as many chances as Guile in finding the truth. Ken is involved in his own dealings with one of Bison’s supplies, he is used to get close to Bison to help locate the base of operations, while being one of the best fighters in the world.
Performances – Jean-Claude Van Damme is nowhere near his best in this role, he might handle the fighting, but everything else just looks out of place. Raul Julia is easily the best thing in this film, he is so wildly over the top you just want to see where he takes this character next. Ming-Na Wen does bring her character to life which is entertaining, though she seems to vanish for parts of the second half. We do get plenty of different characters from the history of the games, the performances are mixed as they look to bring these generic figures to life.
Story – The story follows the Allied Nations trying to bring down a tyrant trying to take over a country with his ludicrous demands, we see the favourite fighters from the game come into battle on both sides as they look to bring the end to the war for the country. This was one of the first attempts to bring a video game to life, we do get the characters, though as I am not a fan of the game, I can’t tell you how accurate the characters are. This isn’t a difficult story to follow, though it does feel like it wants to put all the favourite characters in scenes even if they aren’t always written strongly. This is however a good alcohol story because you can make a drinking game out of it.
Action/Comedy – The action in the film is countless numbers of fights, each fighter does have their own style, only for the scenes not being shot in the strongest style. This film does have comedy, though I am not sure if it is meant to be a comedy or not.
Settings – The film uses the typical locations with the secret base for the villain being a major part of the settings, it is filled with the gadgets you would expect to see from a video game style location.
Special Effects – The effects are low budget without being anything that will be remembered for being strong.
Scene of the Movie – The final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many characters not getting enough time to shine.
Final Thoughts –This is the typical video game movie that just didn’t work, we have too many iconic characters that don’t get their time to shine which would only disappoint the fans of the game.
Overall: Disappointing video game movie.
Story: Street Fighter starts as the evil tyrant Bison (Julia) has been controlling the country of Shadaloo, Col William Guile (Van Damme) is leading the assault to bring him down after his latest demand is 20 Billion Dollars, to save the hostages he has taken. Chun-Li (Wen) has been reporting the story only for herself to have a personal investment in taking him down too.
Colonel Guile recruits Ken (Chapa) and Ryu (Mann) to go undercover to locate the secret base, before it is too late giving Guile a chance to go face to face with Bison in an ultimate fight between the two men.
Thoughts on Street Fighter
Characters – Colonel Guile is part of the Allied Nations a soldier that is trying a bring an end to the evil tyrant Bison, he is an expert in martial arts and will put himself in the line of fire in an attempt to stop this man. Bison is the dictator tyrant holding the country hostage, he is willing to offer anybody a chance to fight for their freedom, but his skills are beyond anything any normal person can handle, he is almost waiting for Guile to arrive for a worthy opponent. Chun-Li is a journalist with her own reasons for hunting down Bison, she is able to handle herself in a fight and willing to take just as many chances as Guile in finding the truth. Ken is involved in his own dealings with one of Bison’s supplies, he is used to get close to Bison to help locate the base of operations, while being one of the best fighters in the world.
Performances – Jean-Claude Van Damme is nowhere near his best in this role, he might handle the fighting, but everything else just looks out of place. Raul Julia is easily the best thing in this film, he is so wildly over the top you just want to see where he takes this character next. Ming-Na Wen does bring her character to life which is entertaining, though she seems to vanish for parts of the second half. We do get plenty of different characters from the history of the games, the performances are mixed as they look to bring these generic figures to life.
Story – The story follows the Allied Nations trying to bring down a tyrant trying to take over a country with his ludicrous demands, we see the favourite fighters from the game come into battle on both sides as they look to bring the end to the war for the country. This was one of the first attempts to bring a video game to life, we do get the characters, though as I am not a fan of the game, I can’t tell you how accurate the characters are. This isn’t a difficult story to follow, though it does feel like it wants to put all the favourite characters in scenes even if they aren’t always written strongly. This is however a good alcohol story because you can make a drinking game out of it.
Action/Comedy – The action in the film is countless numbers of fights, each fighter does have their own style, only for the scenes not being shot in the strongest style. This film does have comedy, though I am not sure if it is meant to be a comedy or not.
Settings – The film uses the typical locations with the secret base for the villain being a major part of the settings, it is filled with the gadgets you would expect to see from a video game style location.
Special Effects – The effects are low budget without being anything that will be remembered for being strong.
Scene of the Movie – The final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many characters not getting enough time to shine.
Final Thoughts –This is the typical video game movie that just didn’t work, we have too many iconic characters that don’t get their time to shine which would only disappoint the fans of the game.
Overall: Disappointing video game movie.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) in Movies
May 4, 2022
The noticeable Sam Raimi elements. (2 more)
The film is great when it's able to showcase horror.
The second end credits sequence is amazing.
The film is incredibly formulaic outside of its horror elements. (2 more)
You don't really care about any of the new characters.
No one is going to get that first end credits sequence.
Sam Raimi Finally Brings Horror to the MCU
Even with all of the universe jumping and Sam Raimi being able to add his filmmaking trademarks, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a bit too formulaic for its own good. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been having dreams of a different version of himself dying while seeking a mythical book known as The Book of Ashanti. In his dream, Strange encounters America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young girl with the uncontrollable power of universe jumping.
But then Strange meets America in his universe and learns that dreams are actually us seeing different versions of ourselves in different universes. Still blinded by the events in WandaVision, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) intends to capture America and utilize her universe jumping ability to reunite with the children she created with magic.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness relies on what feels like a simplistic storyline to drive what is essentially the MCU’s first horror film. Strange really only seems driven to protect America because he dreamed about her and Wanda Maximoff has only turned evil because there’s suddenly this very thin line between being a mother and becoming a monster. Most of the film feels like a typical MCU film featuring the standard humor and wisecracking you’ve come to expect from superhero films along with the fate of the world (and possibly every other) probably being at stake.
The most refreshing moments of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are the moments that you can tell Raimi had a hand in writing, directing, or having some sort of input in some capacity. This is Raimi’s first directorial gig since 2013’s Oz: The Great and Powerful and it becomes quite obvious that audiences have missed his work. The Shuma Gorath sequence (renamed Gargantos for trademark purposes) is outstanding. Doctor Strange, Wong, and America battling a giant one eyed octopus is something so awesome that it kind of writes itself. Not only is it the film’s first big action sequence, but you can see a lot of Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man 2 influences as Gargantos destroys skyscrapers and gets his tentacles chopped off. The slicing of the bus as it’s thrown at Doctor Strange and America is also legitimately one of the coolest moments of the film.
There is a ton of homage to Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell buried within the film. The final 20 minutes are overflowing with concepts seemingly pulled from classic Sam Raimi films. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revolves around a book of the damned not unlike the Necronomicon. There are at least two major eyeball gags and a ridiculous amount of burning candles in the film. Like most Sam Raimi films, there’s an emphasis on corniness. His sense of humor has always been on the corny side and the heartfelt moments always seem to be milked and over exaggerated ever so slightly. All of these elements are in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and they are the moments that make the film feel more unique in comparison to the other 28 films in the MCU.
Strange saves America from Scarlet Witch by knocking her and himself into her own star shaped portal that sees them both falling through multiple universes. It’s a gloriously disorienting sequence, but it’s also incredibly similar to not only what we saw in the first Doctor Strange film but also a lot like the 700 space jumps in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This film is meant to open the door even further when it comes to the cosmic side of the MCU and now the horror side of it as well. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not Spider-Man: No Way Home. There are not a ton of nostalgic cameos sprinkled throughout the film. There’s one sequence that combines fan speculation and other universes, but there aren’t a lot of hidden cameos like the internet speculated.
What is perhaps most interesting about this superhero sequel is that Stephen Strange is still learning to be more humble. His only play during Infinity War that ended up costing so many their lives for five long years is still weighing heavily on his mind. He also still loves Christine (Rachel McAdams) despite the fact that she’s moved on and struggles with whether he’s now happy or not. Throughout the film he’s constantly compared to the Doctor Strange of that universe and yet the film goes out of its way to show that this Doctor Strange is different. He will break the rules if he has to, but he will only do so when it’s the only option.
With so many universes and alternate versions of himself, it was naturally only a matter of time before Doctor Strange would have to fight himself. The musical note war Strange has with the Darkhold obsessed version of himself in the collapsed universe in the second half of the film does some really intriguing stuff with musical notes that essentially borrows visuals from the Chuck Jones directed animated short, “High Note,” from 1960 as well as the battle or reactionary element found in video games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. It’s an unusual fight that seems to be inspired solely by Strange bumping into a piano during the magical brawl.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is dark, silly, and fan pleasing. The film is at is most bewitching when Sam Raimi can let his horror roots be showcased. It will satisfy horror and superhero film fans alike, but would have and could have been even better if Raimi was allowed to dive even further into the horror genre. Be sure to stay after the credits, as well. There are two after credits sequences with the final one being so absurdly on the nose for Sam Raimi that it may be the most entertaining part of the film.
But then Strange meets America in his universe and learns that dreams are actually us seeing different versions of ourselves in different universes. Still blinded by the events in WandaVision, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) intends to capture America and utilize her universe jumping ability to reunite with the children she created with magic.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness relies on what feels like a simplistic storyline to drive what is essentially the MCU’s first horror film. Strange really only seems driven to protect America because he dreamed about her and Wanda Maximoff has only turned evil because there’s suddenly this very thin line between being a mother and becoming a monster. Most of the film feels like a typical MCU film featuring the standard humor and wisecracking you’ve come to expect from superhero films along with the fate of the world (and possibly every other) probably being at stake.
The most refreshing moments of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are the moments that you can tell Raimi had a hand in writing, directing, or having some sort of input in some capacity. This is Raimi’s first directorial gig since 2013’s Oz: The Great and Powerful and it becomes quite obvious that audiences have missed his work. The Shuma Gorath sequence (renamed Gargantos for trademark purposes) is outstanding. Doctor Strange, Wong, and America battling a giant one eyed octopus is something so awesome that it kind of writes itself. Not only is it the film’s first big action sequence, but you can see a lot of Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man 2 influences as Gargantos destroys skyscrapers and gets his tentacles chopped off. The slicing of the bus as it’s thrown at Doctor Strange and America is also legitimately one of the coolest moments of the film.
There is a ton of homage to Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell buried within the film. The final 20 minutes are overflowing with concepts seemingly pulled from classic Sam Raimi films. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revolves around a book of the damned not unlike the Necronomicon. There are at least two major eyeball gags and a ridiculous amount of burning candles in the film. Like most Sam Raimi films, there’s an emphasis on corniness. His sense of humor has always been on the corny side and the heartfelt moments always seem to be milked and over exaggerated ever so slightly. All of these elements are in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and they are the moments that make the film feel more unique in comparison to the other 28 films in the MCU.
Strange saves America from Scarlet Witch by knocking her and himself into her own star shaped portal that sees them both falling through multiple universes. It’s a gloriously disorienting sequence, but it’s also incredibly similar to not only what we saw in the first Doctor Strange film but also a lot like the 700 space jumps in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This film is meant to open the door even further when it comes to the cosmic side of the MCU and now the horror side of it as well. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not Spider-Man: No Way Home. There are not a ton of nostalgic cameos sprinkled throughout the film. There’s one sequence that combines fan speculation and other universes, but there aren’t a lot of hidden cameos like the internet speculated.
What is perhaps most interesting about this superhero sequel is that Stephen Strange is still learning to be more humble. His only play during Infinity War that ended up costing so many their lives for five long years is still weighing heavily on his mind. He also still loves Christine (Rachel McAdams) despite the fact that she’s moved on and struggles with whether he’s now happy or not. Throughout the film he’s constantly compared to the Doctor Strange of that universe and yet the film goes out of its way to show that this Doctor Strange is different. He will break the rules if he has to, but he will only do so when it’s the only option.
With so many universes and alternate versions of himself, it was naturally only a matter of time before Doctor Strange would have to fight himself. The musical note war Strange has with the Darkhold obsessed version of himself in the collapsed universe in the second half of the film does some really intriguing stuff with musical notes that essentially borrows visuals from the Chuck Jones directed animated short, “High Note,” from 1960 as well as the battle or reactionary element found in video games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. It’s an unusual fight that seems to be inspired solely by Strange bumping into a piano during the magical brawl.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is dark, silly, and fan pleasing. The film is at is most bewitching when Sam Raimi can let his horror roots be showcased. It will satisfy horror and superhero film fans alike, but would have and could have been even better if Raimi was allowed to dive even further into the horror genre. Be sure to stay after the credits, as well. There are two after credits sequences with the final one being so absurdly on the nose for Sam Raimi that it may be the most entertaining part of the film.
Mothergamer (1511 KP) rated the PlayStation 3 version of Assassin's Creed III in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
So after a long hiatus, I finished Assassin's Creed III. Did I like the game? Yes, definitely. Did I love it? Not so much. First let's get the good things out of the way. I really liked that there was a new world to explore and a great part of history to be involved in; the Revolutionary War. This made for a lot of interesting missions, side quests, and battles. I did like the new costume designs for the game and I definitely liked the new weapons. I did like seeing quite a few historical faces in the game and some of them had some pretty good missions. The story was fairly interesting especially towards the end when further details are revealed answering a lot of questions from the previous game. While I did wish for more city exploration, I did enjoy exploring the frontier areas because it was new and there was some interesting things going on out there.
Now, let us get to the parts that I found mildly disappointing and the parts that were so infuriating they got A LOT of swearing from me.
1.Connor Is A Wooden Boy: Connor while an interesting character, came across as wooden and I wasn't really feeling the passion from him or any emotion really. Even when he was supposed to be angry, it just came across as angst filled teenager. Shouldn't he be angrier about some of the things that have happened? I mean I know I would be full on raging if half the stuff he survives in this game happened to me. Speaking in a flat monotone in every situation is just not working for me. I also wish they had done a bit more with the story about Connor's tribe because it seemed like they were just a blip of a plot point and not much else which was a little disappointing. There's also this sense of Connor just being along for the ride and even as a full fledged assassin he doesn't really get to shine, so his story seems lost and smacks of missed opportunity. Bottom line, the pacing is off and that's never good when your main character doesn't feel like he's the main character to you.
2. The damned lock picking: Really, how hard is it to have decent controls for lock picking the chests you find in the game? I suggest that all those game developers go play all the Thief games so they can see how it's done. There is no excuse that late in the game for shoddy controls. Hold both buttons down, swirl around to find the correct "signal" and realize that you have the skills of a drunken monkey when you can't get the damn thing open. Also file under "the right signal my effing ass" because it was ridiculous.
3. Paul Revere's Midnight Ride Mission: Yes, they did their research and yes, it was cool they had that in the game. However, never have I wanted so badly to shove a historical person off a horse. Having to constantly ask the man for directions while he yelled at me, "More to the left! No, more right!" made me seriously consider handing him over to the enemy. It was only for a minute, I swear.
4. THE DAMN NAVAL BATTLES: There is a good reason why that is in all caps. There is no real learning curve here. It's pretty much a learn or sink your ship situation here. While I get that the ships can't turn on a dime just like real ships from that era; the controls are pardon my French, utter shit. Not only are they clunky, there are some questionable load times for firing the various cannons and lord help you if you end up getting turned around and smashing on some rocks. One of the naval battles was so damn infuriating, my husband Ron had to step in and finish it for me. Yes, it was that bad.
5. The Chasing Lee Mission: This was the final mission in Connor's main story and it made me want to tear my hair out and scream out my frustration. I did scream in fact. Many times. First there's the optional objectives of don't shove anyone while you're running, followed by don't let any of the British soldiers touch you. So instead of oh I don't know getting to shoot murdering bad guy in the face, you have to run an obstacle course full of people, things, and a burning ship like you're an Olympic marathon champ. Then we factor in, how Lee is only five steps away from you but you get the desynchronization message if you don't get closer to him. At one point I was standing right IN FRONT of him in the burning ship; I could have had him right there, but because it wasn't part of the "story" he took off running and I got that message. I finally did finish that mission and the payoff for it wasn't really worth it; trust me.
6. Desmond Got Screwed Over: While I understand that Desmond's story was ending; the way they sent him off left no real resolution for him and it seemed as if they were just tired of him. Desmond needed a proper send off with some actual closure; not an ending that screamed, 'Hey, we're kind of bored and tired of this guy, so we're getting rid of him okay? 'Kay, see ya!'
Those were the big things that really disappointed me and made me nuts. My thinking was I couldn't believe they spent three years working on this game and this is what we got. I loved the previous Assassin's Creed games and I was genuinely excited for this one, but there were many things that disappointed me. While I liked the game and I did like the ending (not the thing that happened to Desmond because that was some bullshit), I didn't love it. It felt like perhaps they rushed a bit or just didn't test things out fully to make sure they worked right (I'm looking at you, lock picking controls team) or they couldn't be bothered. I'm not expecting perfection, but after working on something for three years, you better be able to deliver the goods. This is just my take on it, if you want to try it out by all means, go ahead. Just don't expect stellar, because that is not going to happen. Expect kind of good, but not great, and fun to play through once.
Now, let us get to the parts that I found mildly disappointing and the parts that were so infuriating they got A LOT of swearing from me.
1.Connor Is A Wooden Boy: Connor while an interesting character, came across as wooden and I wasn't really feeling the passion from him or any emotion really. Even when he was supposed to be angry, it just came across as angst filled teenager. Shouldn't he be angrier about some of the things that have happened? I mean I know I would be full on raging if half the stuff he survives in this game happened to me. Speaking in a flat monotone in every situation is just not working for me. I also wish they had done a bit more with the story about Connor's tribe because it seemed like they were just a blip of a plot point and not much else which was a little disappointing. There's also this sense of Connor just being along for the ride and even as a full fledged assassin he doesn't really get to shine, so his story seems lost and smacks of missed opportunity. Bottom line, the pacing is off and that's never good when your main character doesn't feel like he's the main character to you.
2. The damned lock picking: Really, how hard is it to have decent controls for lock picking the chests you find in the game? I suggest that all those game developers go play all the Thief games so they can see how it's done. There is no excuse that late in the game for shoddy controls. Hold both buttons down, swirl around to find the correct "signal" and realize that you have the skills of a drunken monkey when you can't get the damn thing open. Also file under "the right signal my effing ass" because it was ridiculous.
3. Paul Revere's Midnight Ride Mission: Yes, they did their research and yes, it was cool they had that in the game. However, never have I wanted so badly to shove a historical person off a horse. Having to constantly ask the man for directions while he yelled at me, "More to the left! No, more right!" made me seriously consider handing him over to the enemy. It was only for a minute, I swear.
4. THE DAMN NAVAL BATTLES: There is a good reason why that is in all caps. There is no real learning curve here. It's pretty much a learn or sink your ship situation here. While I get that the ships can't turn on a dime just like real ships from that era; the controls are pardon my French, utter shit. Not only are they clunky, there are some questionable load times for firing the various cannons and lord help you if you end up getting turned around and smashing on some rocks. One of the naval battles was so damn infuriating, my husband Ron had to step in and finish it for me. Yes, it was that bad.
5. The Chasing Lee Mission: This was the final mission in Connor's main story and it made me want to tear my hair out and scream out my frustration. I did scream in fact. Many times. First there's the optional objectives of don't shove anyone while you're running, followed by don't let any of the British soldiers touch you. So instead of oh I don't know getting to shoot murdering bad guy in the face, you have to run an obstacle course full of people, things, and a burning ship like you're an Olympic marathon champ. Then we factor in, how Lee is only five steps away from you but you get the desynchronization message if you don't get closer to him. At one point I was standing right IN FRONT of him in the burning ship; I could have had him right there, but because it wasn't part of the "story" he took off running and I got that message. I finally did finish that mission and the payoff for it wasn't really worth it; trust me.
6. Desmond Got Screwed Over: While I understand that Desmond's story was ending; the way they sent him off left no real resolution for him and it seemed as if they were just tired of him. Desmond needed a proper send off with some actual closure; not an ending that screamed, 'Hey, we're kind of bored and tired of this guy, so we're getting rid of him okay? 'Kay, see ya!'
Those were the big things that really disappointed me and made me nuts. My thinking was I couldn't believe they spent three years working on this game and this is what we got. I loved the previous Assassin's Creed games and I was genuinely excited for this one, but there were many things that disappointed me. While I liked the game and I did like the ending (not the thing that happened to Desmond because that was some bullshit), I didn't love it. It felt like perhaps they rushed a bit or just didn't test things out fully to make sure they worked right (I'm looking at you, lock picking controls team) or they couldn't be bothered. I'm not expecting perfection, but after working on something for three years, you better be able to deliver the goods. This is just my take on it, if you want to try it out by all means, go ahead. Just don't expect stellar, because that is not going to happen. Expect kind of good, but not great, and fun to play through once.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Prowler's Passage in Tabletop Games
May 19, 2021
Night in the city – guards patrol the streets, protecting the extraordinary wealth found across all the city districts. Your goal? To infiltrate the districts and steal the valuable items for yourself. But with the heightened security measures, you’ve got to find an alternate route for entry… tunnels! Burrow underneath the city in a network of passages and grab all the valuable goods you want! Better move fast, though, because your thieving rival has had the same idea and is already on the prowl to steal the wealth for himself.
Prowler’s Passage is a 2-player game of area majority, route building, and set collection in which players are trying to plunder the city and amass more wealth than their rival thief. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns building a passage, collecting items, and gaining influence over certain city districts. To setup the game, place the control track between the 2 players, and randomly select and place 6 board hexes as described in the rulebook. Place 3 random Achievement cards face-up next to the control board. Place the Statues and Control markers in their corresponding starting spaces, populate the board with item tiles, and each player receives 13 passage sections in their chosen color. The game is ready to begin!
On your turn, you will perform 3 actions, beginning with placing a passage. Take a passage section from your supply and place it on any pathway on the board that has an item tile on it. It is important to note that you can place your passages anywhere on the board, as long as there is an item tile in that space – your passages are not required to create a continuous, unbroken pathway. After placing your passage, collect the item tile from the pathway where you just placed your passage. Finally, each pathway is adjacent to 2 city districts. Move the Control markers for the corresponding adjacent city districts one space toward your side of the control track. Play moves on to your opponent, and the game continues as such. There are 2 scoring phases, one in the middle of the game, and the other at the game’s end. You score points for continuous passages, statues collected, sets of items gathered, city districts (if you have majority control), and fulfillment of achievement cards. All scoring items are worth different point values, so check the rulebook for the specifics of how everything is scored. At the end of the game, total up points from both scoring phases, and the player with the most points is the winner!
For a small, 2-player only game, Prowler’s Passage packs quite the punch. It is essentially a tug-of-war between players as they try to gain control of the 5 city districts and amass the most wealth. But instead of using brute strength to pull the districts in your favor, you use strategy. Every passage you put into play moves the adjacent 2 city district Control markers one space in your favor. So you have to strategize what passage placements are the most beneficial for your overall scoring, and most detrimental to your opponent. And since passages do not need to be played in a continuous line, your strategy can be more open-ended instead of limiting you to only certain future placements. Aside from gaining control of the city districts, you also receive points for collecting sets of item tokens. That’s just another layer of strategy added that takes this game to the next level. Not only do you have to decide what passage placements are best for you, you need to figure out what item tokens you want and if you are willing to risk letting go of certain district influence in order to complete an item set.
One thing that I love about Prowler’s Passage is that it is a game of open information. There are no hidden objectives, secret powers, or unknowns overall. Everything is laid out and plainly visible to both players. You can see exactly what your opponent is doing, and they can see what you are doing. So your strategy must be two-fold – putting yourself in a good position, while also attempting to stifle the progress of your opponent. Can you anticipate the strategy of your opponent, or will they be able to keep you off their trail? And as the game progresses and passage placement options dwindle, you really have to kick your strategy into overdrive to squeeze out as many points as you can before the end of the game!
The biggest drawback for me regarding this game is the actual scoring. Each city district is scored in a unique way unlike any of the other districts. So when I play, I find myself referring back to the rulebook during both mid-game and end-game scoring to check how to score everything. It’s not as intuitive as I would like, and it just slows the game down when tallying up scores. The other thing that can be a drawback is that since there are so many strategic options, it could lead to some serious AP in players. Every move affects several other factors, so you really have to be thinking deeply and in advance for each of your turns. Which is cool – I love trying to figure out the best strategy for success. But at the same time, it could bring the game to a screeching halt as one player must decide between so many options. It’s supposed to be a quick game, but overthinking is definitely a possibility.
The components of the game are nice and sturdy overall. The colors of some components don’t match perfectly, and that can lead to some confusion. The Purple city district has a nice Purple meeple, but the corresponding tile sections look more Pink to me. The Brown meeple is fine, but the city tiles have some pinkish hues. Just a little mismatching, but nothing that an edited printing can’t fix!
Overall, I would have to say that I really like Prowler’s Passage. There are many strategic options and ways to score points, and you must be able to adjust your strategy on the fly to answer back to your opponent. There is no single right strategy, and discovering different options is fun for me. Aside from the color matching in the components, and the possibilities for serious AP, this game is a great one. Enough strategy, scoring options, and player interaction to keep both players engaged, but not so difficult that you have to devote an entire game night to play one single game. I’m glad that I was able to get Prowler’s Passage in my collection, and it is high on my 2-player-only games list. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a sneaking 9/12.
Prowler’s Passage is a 2-player game of area majority, route building, and set collection in which players are trying to plunder the city and amass more wealth than their rival thief. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns building a passage, collecting items, and gaining influence over certain city districts. To setup the game, place the control track between the 2 players, and randomly select and place 6 board hexes as described in the rulebook. Place 3 random Achievement cards face-up next to the control board. Place the Statues and Control markers in their corresponding starting spaces, populate the board with item tiles, and each player receives 13 passage sections in their chosen color. The game is ready to begin!
On your turn, you will perform 3 actions, beginning with placing a passage. Take a passage section from your supply and place it on any pathway on the board that has an item tile on it. It is important to note that you can place your passages anywhere on the board, as long as there is an item tile in that space – your passages are not required to create a continuous, unbroken pathway. After placing your passage, collect the item tile from the pathway where you just placed your passage. Finally, each pathway is adjacent to 2 city districts. Move the Control markers for the corresponding adjacent city districts one space toward your side of the control track. Play moves on to your opponent, and the game continues as such. There are 2 scoring phases, one in the middle of the game, and the other at the game’s end. You score points for continuous passages, statues collected, sets of items gathered, city districts (if you have majority control), and fulfillment of achievement cards. All scoring items are worth different point values, so check the rulebook for the specifics of how everything is scored. At the end of the game, total up points from both scoring phases, and the player with the most points is the winner!
For a small, 2-player only game, Prowler’s Passage packs quite the punch. It is essentially a tug-of-war between players as they try to gain control of the 5 city districts and amass the most wealth. But instead of using brute strength to pull the districts in your favor, you use strategy. Every passage you put into play moves the adjacent 2 city district Control markers one space in your favor. So you have to strategize what passage placements are the most beneficial for your overall scoring, and most detrimental to your opponent. And since passages do not need to be played in a continuous line, your strategy can be more open-ended instead of limiting you to only certain future placements. Aside from gaining control of the city districts, you also receive points for collecting sets of item tokens. That’s just another layer of strategy added that takes this game to the next level. Not only do you have to decide what passage placements are best for you, you need to figure out what item tokens you want and if you are willing to risk letting go of certain district influence in order to complete an item set.
One thing that I love about Prowler’s Passage is that it is a game of open information. There are no hidden objectives, secret powers, or unknowns overall. Everything is laid out and plainly visible to both players. You can see exactly what your opponent is doing, and they can see what you are doing. So your strategy must be two-fold – putting yourself in a good position, while also attempting to stifle the progress of your opponent. Can you anticipate the strategy of your opponent, or will they be able to keep you off their trail? And as the game progresses and passage placement options dwindle, you really have to kick your strategy into overdrive to squeeze out as many points as you can before the end of the game!
The biggest drawback for me regarding this game is the actual scoring. Each city district is scored in a unique way unlike any of the other districts. So when I play, I find myself referring back to the rulebook during both mid-game and end-game scoring to check how to score everything. It’s not as intuitive as I would like, and it just slows the game down when tallying up scores. The other thing that can be a drawback is that since there are so many strategic options, it could lead to some serious AP in players. Every move affects several other factors, so you really have to be thinking deeply and in advance for each of your turns. Which is cool – I love trying to figure out the best strategy for success. But at the same time, it could bring the game to a screeching halt as one player must decide between so many options. It’s supposed to be a quick game, but overthinking is definitely a possibility.
The components of the game are nice and sturdy overall. The colors of some components don’t match perfectly, and that can lead to some confusion. The Purple city district has a nice Purple meeple, but the corresponding tile sections look more Pink to me. The Brown meeple is fine, but the city tiles have some pinkish hues. Just a little mismatching, but nothing that an edited printing can’t fix!
Overall, I would have to say that I really like Prowler’s Passage. There are many strategic options and ways to score points, and you must be able to adjust your strategy on the fly to answer back to your opponent. There is no single right strategy, and discovering different options is fun for me. Aside from the color matching in the components, and the possibilities for serious AP, this game is a great one. Enough strategy, scoring options, and player interaction to keep both players engaged, but not so difficult that you have to devote an entire game night to play one single game. I’m glad that I was able to get Prowler’s Passage in my collection, and it is high on my 2-player-only games list. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a sneaking 9/12.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Red Dawn (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Back in 1984 in the late stages of the Cold War, the movie named “Red Dawn” was released. It starred several young actors and actresses who went on to a variety of success including Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, and Lea Thompson. The film follows a group of high school students who fight to defend their town, families, and country after an invasion of Soviet and Cuban forces occupies mainland America.
Despite being delayed for nearly 3 years due to financial issues, the new version of “Red Dawn” has arrived and also features an impressive young cast of future stars. Chris Hemsworth has gone on to find fame as Thor while Josh Hutcherson has found fame playing Peeta in “The Hunger Games”. The fact that this movie was filmed before either of those actors appeared in their signature roles allows the studio to now benefit from the increased name recognition of the cast.
Instead of a California town, the new film is set in Spokane, Washington where thanks to news clip segments at the beginning of the film, we understand that the country is involved in numerous conflicts around the globe and some question whether or not we have enough forces to secure our borders. Enter Jed Eckert (Hemsworth), who’s just returned home on leave after serving combat duty in the Middle East. His younger brother Matt (Josh Peck), is a quarterback at the local high school team and he bears resentment toward his brother for leaving shortly after the death of their mother. Their father is a well-respected member of the force and does his best to ensure harmony between the brothers as well as their local community.
The brothers are literally shaken awake by an airborne assault as North Korea lands troops throughout their community. Unsure what is happening, Jed, Matt, and several of their friends managed to escape into the wilderness and devise a plan for survival. Further complicating matters is the fact that Matt’s girlfriend Erica (Isabel Lucas), has been taken prisoner. Jed, with his military background quickly assumes control of the group, but Matt finds himself distracted from following orders and missions whenever he sees an opportunity to pursue Erica’s freedom.
The group calls itself “The Wolverines” after the local football team, and engages in a series of hit-and-run tactics against the invading forces. The plan is to make the occupation so costly that they will eventually give up. While they do have initial success, they soon realize that they are fighting against substantial odds not the least of which is their own internal conflicts and agendas as well as diminishing supplies.
When a recon group from the military under the command of Col. Andy Tanner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), arrives and tells the Wolverines about a device that may hold the key to their victory. The two sides must team up in an all-out assault on enemy headquarters in an effort to save the day.
While the film has plenty of action, the leaps of logic and common sense it requires the audience to take are astronomical. I understand that for a film of this type you must suspend a lot of reality in order for it to work. I’m not supposed asked questions about the logistics of the enemy’s plan and their actions. Suffice it to say that I could think of at least a dozen factors that were not brought into play. While the enemy may indeed have the ability to shut down various electronics and defensive capabilities which enabled the invasion. That does not explain where the military outside of the combat zone is, why our allies and remaining military are not dropping bombs and nukes on North Korea in retaliation, and scores of other inconsistencies. It is essentially left to our imaginations as to why this is not happening and we’re just supposed to accept on blind faith that there’s a good reason for this even though the recon unit manages to infiltrate Spokane in a helicopter and makes mentions of Missouri to Arizona as being free of any enemy influence.
The best thing I can say about the film said if you are willing to overlook the abundance of plot holes and logic gaps, as well as some at times stiff acting and dialogue, there are some enjoyable action seems to be found. The young cast works well with one another and often gave a very energetic and physical performance.
If you are a fan of the original, you may enjoy this film from a nostalgia standpoint, otherwise leave your common sense behind, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Despite being delayed for nearly 3 years due to financial issues, the new version of “Red Dawn” has arrived and also features an impressive young cast of future stars. Chris Hemsworth has gone on to find fame as Thor while Josh Hutcherson has found fame playing Peeta in “The Hunger Games”. The fact that this movie was filmed before either of those actors appeared in their signature roles allows the studio to now benefit from the increased name recognition of the cast.
Instead of a California town, the new film is set in Spokane, Washington where thanks to news clip segments at the beginning of the film, we understand that the country is involved in numerous conflicts around the globe and some question whether or not we have enough forces to secure our borders. Enter Jed Eckert (Hemsworth), who’s just returned home on leave after serving combat duty in the Middle East. His younger brother Matt (Josh Peck), is a quarterback at the local high school team and he bears resentment toward his brother for leaving shortly after the death of their mother. Their father is a well-respected member of the force and does his best to ensure harmony between the brothers as well as their local community.
The brothers are literally shaken awake by an airborne assault as North Korea lands troops throughout their community. Unsure what is happening, Jed, Matt, and several of their friends managed to escape into the wilderness and devise a plan for survival. Further complicating matters is the fact that Matt’s girlfriend Erica (Isabel Lucas), has been taken prisoner. Jed, with his military background quickly assumes control of the group, but Matt finds himself distracted from following orders and missions whenever he sees an opportunity to pursue Erica’s freedom.
The group calls itself “The Wolverines” after the local football team, and engages in a series of hit-and-run tactics against the invading forces. The plan is to make the occupation so costly that they will eventually give up. While they do have initial success, they soon realize that they are fighting against substantial odds not the least of which is their own internal conflicts and agendas as well as diminishing supplies.
When a recon group from the military under the command of Col. Andy Tanner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), arrives and tells the Wolverines about a device that may hold the key to their victory. The two sides must team up in an all-out assault on enemy headquarters in an effort to save the day.
While the film has plenty of action, the leaps of logic and common sense it requires the audience to take are astronomical. I understand that for a film of this type you must suspend a lot of reality in order for it to work. I’m not supposed asked questions about the logistics of the enemy’s plan and their actions. Suffice it to say that I could think of at least a dozen factors that were not brought into play. While the enemy may indeed have the ability to shut down various electronics and defensive capabilities which enabled the invasion. That does not explain where the military outside of the combat zone is, why our allies and remaining military are not dropping bombs and nukes on North Korea in retaliation, and scores of other inconsistencies. It is essentially left to our imaginations as to why this is not happening and we’re just supposed to accept on blind faith that there’s a good reason for this even though the recon unit manages to infiltrate Spokane in a helicopter and makes mentions of Missouri to Arizona as being free of any enemy influence.
The best thing I can say about the film said if you are willing to overlook the abundance of plot holes and logic gaps, as well as some at times stiff acting and dialogue, there are some enjoyable action seems to be found. The young cast works well with one another and often gave a very energetic and physical performance.
If you are a fan of the original, you may enjoy this film from a nostalgia standpoint, otherwise leave your common sense behind, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire in Tabletop Games
Feb 22, 2021
Excellent Work Placement Game
The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire- is a excellent work placement game. I love work placement games and this one is one of them. Lets talk more about the game.
Players sit in the roles of countries trying to develop industry and energy production over a period of time roughly from the end of World War II to the present day. Throughout the game, players will construct buildings, power plants as dice, and manage the pollution in their environment with the aim of scoring the most points.
To begin play, the main board for Energy Empire is seeded with starting Building cards. These are divided into three different sectors: Government spaces, Industry spaces, and Commerce spaces. A set of pollution tokens, depending on the number of players, is also stacked on a track as the game timer.
Once the game begins, it flows continuously without rounds. Each player chooses, on their turn, to take a Work Turn or a Generate Turn.
Work Turn- During this type of turn, players must place a single worker on the main board on one of the spaces which represent activities and resources to collect. For example, this may be gaining science, steel, or purchasing oil. Afterwards, depending on which sector the player placed their worker, they can activate any previously purchased buildings, assuming they have enough workers and/or energy. Players can also activate their nation card and move up on the United Nations track, which is a pure competition for end game points. Energy is also used if a player wishes to place a worker on a space occupied by another worker. The player must place additional energy under the worker until their placement stack is larger than any other already placed.
Generate Turn: This type of turn represents the player resetting their work potential for a new set of placing workers. They do this by first potentially collecting an achievement which represents end game points for a variety of goals. They then recall any workers to their Player Mat and discard all Energy tokens. Players can also spend any oil resources to gain oil power plant dice. Finally the player rolls any or all power plant dice they have. This might include Solar/Wind (green dice), Hydro Power (blue dice, limited to one per player), Coal (black dice), and Nuclear (yellow dice). The resulting number of lightning bolts on the dice are delivered as energy tokens to the player. If a clean energy source rolled the highest cardinal number, the player does not collect pollution. If coal, oil, or nuclear dice resulted in the highest number, then the player places a single pollution token into their environment. Players continue this process one after another until a predesignated number of pollution tokens are removed from the game. Players get one final turn and then points are tallied. Players receive points for keeping their player mat free of pollution, building power plants, the United Nations track, and various points for each building constructed.
The most engaging part of the game and the main reason to seek it out, comes from the theme of global power intrigue. The building cards show off the exceptional art in the game.
Manhattan Project: Energy Empire Cards
The global impact cards for the first half of the game are green with a milder impact. Once they go red, prepare for some serious negative events. On top of this theme, the actions associated with everything in the game fit just right. The concept in game actions connect directly to the theme concept. In addition, the country actions to move up on the United Nations track also represent the tone and success formulas for those countries. The mechanism for rolling dice to gain energy and how much pollution is delivered feels just perfect given the competing goals of clean environments and high energy production.
The worker placement mechanism itself (largest stack among existing workers) is not new, but it is just the right mechanism to promote the overall feeling of energy competition. Choosing the space on which to place a worker is highly engaging and the choices tense to maximize efficiency. It is easy to connect with both strategy and tactics in this game.
Even with this engagement, it is also easy to see optimal routes for gaining points assuming opponents follow their strategies. It’s not “easy”, but it is possible to not even worry about opponents blocking a particular path to victory with low numbers of players.
Its a excellent work placement game. One i highly recordmend getting and play.
Players sit in the roles of countries trying to develop industry and energy production over a period of time roughly from the end of World War II to the present day. Throughout the game, players will construct buildings, power plants as dice, and manage the pollution in their environment with the aim of scoring the most points.
To begin play, the main board for Energy Empire is seeded with starting Building cards. These are divided into three different sectors: Government spaces, Industry spaces, and Commerce spaces. A set of pollution tokens, depending on the number of players, is also stacked on a track as the game timer.
Once the game begins, it flows continuously without rounds. Each player chooses, on their turn, to take a Work Turn or a Generate Turn.
Work Turn- During this type of turn, players must place a single worker on the main board on one of the spaces which represent activities and resources to collect. For example, this may be gaining science, steel, or purchasing oil. Afterwards, depending on which sector the player placed their worker, they can activate any previously purchased buildings, assuming they have enough workers and/or energy. Players can also activate their nation card and move up on the United Nations track, which is a pure competition for end game points. Energy is also used if a player wishes to place a worker on a space occupied by another worker. The player must place additional energy under the worker until their placement stack is larger than any other already placed.
Generate Turn: This type of turn represents the player resetting their work potential for a new set of placing workers. They do this by first potentially collecting an achievement which represents end game points for a variety of goals. They then recall any workers to their Player Mat and discard all Energy tokens. Players can also spend any oil resources to gain oil power plant dice. Finally the player rolls any or all power plant dice they have. This might include Solar/Wind (green dice), Hydro Power (blue dice, limited to one per player), Coal (black dice), and Nuclear (yellow dice). The resulting number of lightning bolts on the dice are delivered as energy tokens to the player. If a clean energy source rolled the highest cardinal number, the player does not collect pollution. If coal, oil, or nuclear dice resulted in the highest number, then the player places a single pollution token into their environment. Players continue this process one after another until a predesignated number of pollution tokens are removed from the game. Players get one final turn and then points are tallied. Players receive points for keeping their player mat free of pollution, building power plants, the United Nations track, and various points for each building constructed.
The most engaging part of the game and the main reason to seek it out, comes from the theme of global power intrigue. The building cards show off the exceptional art in the game.
Manhattan Project: Energy Empire Cards
The global impact cards for the first half of the game are green with a milder impact. Once they go red, prepare for some serious negative events. On top of this theme, the actions associated with everything in the game fit just right. The concept in game actions connect directly to the theme concept. In addition, the country actions to move up on the United Nations track also represent the tone and success formulas for those countries. The mechanism for rolling dice to gain energy and how much pollution is delivered feels just perfect given the competing goals of clean environments and high energy production.
The worker placement mechanism itself (largest stack among existing workers) is not new, but it is just the right mechanism to promote the overall feeling of energy competition. Choosing the space on which to place a worker is highly engaging and the choices tense to maximize efficiency. It is easy to connect with both strategy and tactics in this game.
Even with this engagement, it is also easy to see optimal routes for gaining points assuming opponents follow their strategies. It’s not “easy”, but it is possible to not even worry about opponents blocking a particular path to victory with low numbers of players.
Its a excellent work placement game. One i highly recordmend getting and play.
Mothergamer (1511 KP) rated the PC version of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I love the Assassin's Creed series as past Mother Gamer blogs have shown. While there were a couple I wasn't so thrilled with, I have always enjoyed the stories and exploration the games have offered. The recent Origins definitely captured my heart with all the incredible ancient Egypt history and lore. When Odyssey was announced I was pretty excited because it was going to be set in ancient Greece and I could not wait to play it.
Odyssey is a bit different from its predecessors. The story is set at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war; an ongoing struggle between Sparta and Athens for dominion over Greece. This opens up a lot of interesting places to explore and dialogue options. At the beginning of the game you can choose which Misthios (mercenary) you want to play as; Alexios or his sister Kassandra. It really doesn't matter who you choose because the story is essentially the same for both so it's just a matter of whether or not you prefer to play as a man or a woman. For my first playthrough I went with Kassandra.
Kassandra starts her adventure.
Right from the start, Odyssey hooks you in with an action filled introduction and sets the scene for the story. After that you meet the character you chose; in my case Kassandra and you get a brief tutorial on how the gaming controls work. You also get a mount with this and those controls are pretty easy to navigate. Once you have the hang of it, you can get started on your journey with the main story and the vast amount of side quests.
This is where Odyssey differs a bit. There is more of a role playing aspect to the game with you being able to select different dialogue options while talking to people. You can choose to be cutthroat, a mercenary with a conscience, or ridiculously flirty. Yes, with some of the NPC characters be they men or women Kassandra could have flings with them. Don't worry, nothing overly graphic is shown, but it is definitely heavily implied. Your weapons are different as well. There is no assassin's blade here. You have a precursor artifact weapon in the form of a spear and the options of daggers and swords. You also have a bow and arrows which are quite useful for fighting at a distance.
Have a horse for your travels!
As you level up, you gain ability points which you can use to unlock certain skills to enhance your fighting and stealth from the following three categories in the skills menu: Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin. It is beneficial to unlock these because they are incredibly useful in battles against your enemies. There are also ship battles which bring back memories of Black Flag. The ship battles are challenging, but they are so much fun. You can upgrade your ship to make it a force to be reckoned with. Upgrading the hull is definitely a must so you can ram the heck out of other ships and take little to no damage. You need a crew also of course and Odyssey has an ability where rather than assassinating targets, you can knock them out and recruit them to join your crew.
Unlock abilities in the skills menu.
The running theme for your protagonist is all about family. This is where you are introduced to the mysterious villains, The Cult Of Kosmos who have a hand in much of the conflict in Greece all for power. You have to travel all over the world map to find clues about each cult member in order to reveal their true identity and the location of their main hideout. Once you have those, you can find them and take them out. Be wary however, some cult members are heavily guarded and quite the challenge to fight. This is where Odyssey's notoriety system comes in. The more crimes you commit i.e. murder (come on, you know that's what assassination is), the more likely it is that someone will put a bounty on your head. Then you find yourself relentlessly hunted by bounty hunters with very colorful names. The bounty hunters are no joke and if you do not plan out your strategy and tactics, they will end you. There were some who had lions and they would tag team the crap out of me which could be more than a little frustrating, but that's part of the challenge. Two ways around this are offing the person who put the bounty on your head or paying off the bounty. If you have the coin, you can pay the money and the bounty will go away.
Besides the main story, there are a ton of side quests and conquest missions to do. Sneaking around and taking out guards in a fort can be difficult, but rewarding as you take everyone out and diminish that nation's power. Looting the treasures, burning the supplies, and taking out the captains completes that area and will show you a meter with their power depleting. Once you have completely drained their influence, you get a conquest battle option. You get an epic battle between Spartans and Athenians and you have to take out all the captains during this battle in order to win the conquest. There were times where I totally screwed up and a guard saw me and then I had to brawl my way out among five or six of them. That was a whole other adventure in itself. It definitely raises the stakes when that happens and makes Odyssey feel like a whole new game.
Getting caught by guards sucks. Time to brawl my way out!
My favorite thing to do in Odyssey was exploring. I loved discovering new areas and hanging out in ancient Greece. Climbing up to the tops of high buildings, cliffs, and statues just to synchronize the map and see the view from a high vantage point was pretty fantastic. No two areas were alike and there was always something new to see. Some of the small side quests were hit or miss at times, but I was never bored at all. There was always something to see or do.
An eagle's eye view of ancient Greece.
There are a variety of armor and weapons choices in Odyssey. As you progress, you can upgrade to better armor, weapons, and crafting materials. If you have a favorite armor set, when you upgrade you can glamour the armor to look like the favorite set. Again, this adds a role playing aspect where you can actually gather materials and craft weapons and armor in the game. This is also true for your ship. You can choose a variety of sails, ship designs, and even tailor your crew with characters from past Assassin's Creed games as your lieutenants.
If you're looking for more challenge with your challenge, there are legendary beast and mythological monster fights you can do. The locations of each legendary beast is marked on your world map. With the monsters, you happen upon some of them doing certain quests. This was how I accidentally discovered the fight with Medusa. These fights are insanely hard and Medusa seemed to be the hardest one of all. I got my ass handed to me quite a few times before I finally won. It is vindicating when you do win because they are so difficult and you have to be constantly thinking about your tactics and theirs. The fights absolutely keep you on your toes, but man what a thrill!
Medusa fight is crazy!
When you see the world map, it can be a little overwhelming with how vast it is. Areas you have already explored will be highlighted and areas that are not unlocked are grayed out. The map will also show you what level each area is so you can level grind and plan accordingly. I had fun unlocking the areas and receiving contract quests and bounties which offered lots of drachmae and sometimes item rewards such as armor.
The world map is huge. Get out there and explore!
While I loved Odyssey, there were issues with the game. One of the big things was I was one of the unlucky people who got the game breaking bug of the game dropping frames and freezing completely in enemy fort areas. I had wondered if it was just me so I looked up the issue and found that many others had this issue with the game also. The solution Ubisoft offered was to close the game completely and restart the game. That's more than a little irritating. While the voice acting is good, there were strange audio issues with the voices being off sync and delaying at times. In spite of those issues, I still had fun with Odyssey and loved the game. Even after the main crux of the story is finished, there's still so much left to do with legendary hunts and searching for precursor relics and the upcoming DLC. Odyssey is slightly different from the games before it, but it is lots of fun. Now, I'm going to get out there and do more exploring. See you at the next adventure!
Odyssey is a bit different from its predecessors. The story is set at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war; an ongoing struggle between Sparta and Athens for dominion over Greece. This opens up a lot of interesting places to explore and dialogue options. At the beginning of the game you can choose which Misthios (mercenary) you want to play as; Alexios or his sister Kassandra. It really doesn't matter who you choose because the story is essentially the same for both so it's just a matter of whether or not you prefer to play as a man or a woman. For my first playthrough I went with Kassandra.
Kassandra starts her adventure.
Right from the start, Odyssey hooks you in with an action filled introduction and sets the scene for the story. After that you meet the character you chose; in my case Kassandra and you get a brief tutorial on how the gaming controls work. You also get a mount with this and those controls are pretty easy to navigate. Once you have the hang of it, you can get started on your journey with the main story and the vast amount of side quests.
This is where Odyssey differs a bit. There is more of a role playing aspect to the game with you being able to select different dialogue options while talking to people. You can choose to be cutthroat, a mercenary with a conscience, or ridiculously flirty. Yes, with some of the NPC characters be they men or women Kassandra could have flings with them. Don't worry, nothing overly graphic is shown, but it is definitely heavily implied. Your weapons are different as well. There is no assassin's blade here. You have a precursor artifact weapon in the form of a spear and the options of daggers and swords. You also have a bow and arrows which are quite useful for fighting at a distance.
Have a horse for your travels!
As you level up, you gain ability points which you can use to unlock certain skills to enhance your fighting and stealth from the following three categories in the skills menu: Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin. It is beneficial to unlock these because they are incredibly useful in battles against your enemies. There are also ship battles which bring back memories of Black Flag. The ship battles are challenging, but they are so much fun. You can upgrade your ship to make it a force to be reckoned with. Upgrading the hull is definitely a must so you can ram the heck out of other ships and take little to no damage. You need a crew also of course and Odyssey has an ability where rather than assassinating targets, you can knock them out and recruit them to join your crew.
Unlock abilities in the skills menu.
The running theme for your protagonist is all about family. This is where you are introduced to the mysterious villains, The Cult Of Kosmos who have a hand in much of the conflict in Greece all for power. You have to travel all over the world map to find clues about each cult member in order to reveal their true identity and the location of their main hideout. Once you have those, you can find them and take them out. Be wary however, some cult members are heavily guarded and quite the challenge to fight. This is where Odyssey's notoriety system comes in. The more crimes you commit i.e. murder (come on, you know that's what assassination is), the more likely it is that someone will put a bounty on your head. Then you find yourself relentlessly hunted by bounty hunters with very colorful names. The bounty hunters are no joke and if you do not plan out your strategy and tactics, they will end you. There were some who had lions and they would tag team the crap out of me which could be more than a little frustrating, but that's part of the challenge. Two ways around this are offing the person who put the bounty on your head or paying off the bounty. If you have the coin, you can pay the money and the bounty will go away.
Besides the main story, there are a ton of side quests and conquest missions to do. Sneaking around and taking out guards in a fort can be difficult, but rewarding as you take everyone out and diminish that nation's power. Looting the treasures, burning the supplies, and taking out the captains completes that area and will show you a meter with their power depleting. Once you have completely drained their influence, you get a conquest battle option. You get an epic battle between Spartans and Athenians and you have to take out all the captains during this battle in order to win the conquest. There were times where I totally screwed up and a guard saw me and then I had to brawl my way out among five or six of them. That was a whole other adventure in itself. It definitely raises the stakes when that happens and makes Odyssey feel like a whole new game.
Getting caught by guards sucks. Time to brawl my way out!
My favorite thing to do in Odyssey was exploring. I loved discovering new areas and hanging out in ancient Greece. Climbing up to the tops of high buildings, cliffs, and statues just to synchronize the map and see the view from a high vantage point was pretty fantastic. No two areas were alike and there was always something new to see. Some of the small side quests were hit or miss at times, but I was never bored at all. There was always something to see or do.
An eagle's eye view of ancient Greece.
There are a variety of armor and weapons choices in Odyssey. As you progress, you can upgrade to better armor, weapons, and crafting materials. If you have a favorite armor set, when you upgrade you can glamour the armor to look like the favorite set. Again, this adds a role playing aspect where you can actually gather materials and craft weapons and armor in the game. This is also true for your ship. You can choose a variety of sails, ship designs, and even tailor your crew with characters from past Assassin's Creed games as your lieutenants.
If you're looking for more challenge with your challenge, there are legendary beast and mythological monster fights you can do. The locations of each legendary beast is marked on your world map. With the monsters, you happen upon some of them doing certain quests. This was how I accidentally discovered the fight with Medusa. These fights are insanely hard and Medusa seemed to be the hardest one of all. I got my ass handed to me quite a few times before I finally won. It is vindicating when you do win because they are so difficult and you have to be constantly thinking about your tactics and theirs. The fights absolutely keep you on your toes, but man what a thrill!
Medusa fight is crazy!
When you see the world map, it can be a little overwhelming with how vast it is. Areas you have already explored will be highlighted and areas that are not unlocked are grayed out. The map will also show you what level each area is so you can level grind and plan accordingly. I had fun unlocking the areas and receiving contract quests and bounties which offered lots of drachmae and sometimes item rewards such as armor.
The world map is huge. Get out there and explore!
While I loved Odyssey, there were issues with the game. One of the big things was I was one of the unlucky people who got the game breaking bug of the game dropping frames and freezing completely in enemy fort areas. I had wondered if it was just me so I looked up the issue and found that many others had this issue with the game also. The solution Ubisoft offered was to close the game completely and restart the game. That's more than a little irritating. While the voice acting is good, there were strange audio issues with the voices being off sync and delaying at times. In spite of those issues, I still had fun with Odyssey and loved the game. Even after the main crux of the story is finished, there's still so much left to do with legendary hunts and searching for precursor relics and the upcoming DLC. Odyssey is slightly different from the games before it, but it is lots of fun. Now, I'm going to get out there and do more exploring. See you at the next adventure!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Asator in Tabletop Games
Oct 20, 2020
Vikings. Raiding and pillaging and dragon riding. That’s about the extent of my knowledge of the ancient(?) civilization that so many people go bonkers romanticizing. Okay, so they didn’t REALLY ride dragons, but How To Train Your Dragon is great and the game I am previewing today also includes dragons, so I’m rolling with it. But how does this Viking game play and compare to its inspirations?
Asator is a head to head (or teams) game of troop maneuvering and attacking using 30 identical miniatures on each side. Each mini acts as a platoon of three different kinds of armies, plus a Chieftan, Master, Wizard, and Dragon that all have different special abilities. The winner of Asator is the player who can eliminate their opponent’s leadership (Chieftan, Master, and Wizard).
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I know that the final components will be slightly different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the battle mat on the table, and then players will place groups of minis on the field within the closest three rows of hexes in alternating turn fashion. Players will also take the two large Battle Sheets and a dry-erase marker to keep track of every one of their minis’ stats throughout the game. Each player will also choose five of the given 10 Wizard spell cards to use for the game, and each spell may only be used once during the game. Once all army minis are placed, the first player will move up to 20 units on the battlefield and attack opponent armies if possible. The game is now on and decimation is the goal.
Each mini type corresponds to a different group of armies, plus the dragon and three leader pieces. All armies of the same type have the same stats for movement, hit points (HP), armor rating (AR), and attack weapons. Also each mini is labeled on the bottom so keeping track of each unit is made a little easier. Obviously the leader pieces are more powerful and each has a special style of combat. The Master wields an axe and shield (which is broken after one hit) to increase AR and dole out the damage. The Chieftan wields a spear, twin axes, a bow, and a shield. Similar to the Master, the Chieftan’s shield is broken after an attack against him, and his spear is broken after a missed attack. The Wizard is not at all strong in melee, but has powerful spells at his disposal to be used for the disposal of enemy units.
Besides the leadership trio each side also brings a Dragon to the battle. Dragons can move slowly by land, but quite quickly by air. Once in the air he or she may deliver a Fire Blast that causes huge damage, but then the Dragon must ground themselves to regain stamina for flight. In addition, each player will have access to Cavalry, Infantry, and Bowmen, each with their own stat blocks and abilities.
This is all well and good, and is somewhat similar to the strategy one would use in Chess. Combat, however, is much more involved than that of simply moving into an enemy’s space and automatically overtaking it. In Asator combat victory is decided via a VERY pared down version of D&D combat. It uses a simplified d20-based attack versus the enemy Armor Rating (AR). Rolls over the AR of the enemy is a success and damage is dealt. Done. Some attacks require a roll of 2d6 for damage amount, like spells and Dragon attacks. That said, combat is decided using 1d20 and 2d6. That’s it.
The game continues in turns where the first player will move their pieces and attack, and then the next player will do the same until one player has defeated all three enemy leaders and earned the title of Asator – Master of War.
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of the game, but most of the components are what will be received when the game is backed or purchased. That said, the game utilizes a cloth battle mat that folds into the box, four dry-erase Battle Sheets, two dry-erase markers, dice for both players, Wizard spell cards for both players, and 60 miniatures. The battle mat is great fabric quality with minimal art that doesn’t get in the way of play (much appreciated). The dry-erase components are good. The card quality is fine. The dice are black and white dice to correspond with players using the black or white minis, and are of normal quality. The minis are great and I enjoyed playing with them.
Now for the negatives of what is included in the box. First, the art. Now, there is very minimal art used throughout the game. It’s just not a focal point, and it shows in the game’s production. I found the sketch on the cover of the rule book (which is the same as the watermark on the Battle Mat) to be very cool, but the box cover art leaves some to be desired. Similarly, the Wizard spell cards use very generic-looking art icons with text for explanation. I am most certainly being hyper-critical here because flashy art on these components are certainly not needed to play or highly enjoy the game. For my tastes, though, I would like to see more polished art on these pieces as the art is so sparse throughout.
But how does the game feel? It’s truly quite good. I don’t play many wargames or 1v1 skirmish style games, so to present me with something like this and for me to enjoy it as much as I have has to be a sign of something good. Again, I am no strategic war general, but being able to employ different strategies every game is exciting. Testing out the different combinations of Wizard spell cards is fun for a tinkerer. And, of course, playing with a bunch of minis is always good fun.
There is a good game here, and I absolutely love the combination of Chess maneuverability with the simplified RPG d20 battle system. It works well in a game like this where each piece owns a stat block of which players will need to be mindful. I didn’t quite mention my favorite part of the rules yet either: natural 20 on a combat roll equals insta-death. Yes, even to the Dragon, which happened in my very first game. THAT is a cool rule that tripped up tactics quite often in my plays.
All in all this game is a great example of combining a couple sets of mechanics that wouldn’t be expected and creating a great gaming experience from them. I invite you to back the game on Kickstarter when it goes live if you are looking for that special game that is unlike many others you currently own. If the art were spruced up a bit I would be fawning all over it, but even without impressive art I still find I have the twitch in my brain to play it again and again. I wonder how many natural 20s I can roll in a game. Great, now I want to set it up and see…
Asator is a head to head (or teams) game of troop maneuvering and attacking using 30 identical miniatures on each side. Each mini acts as a platoon of three different kinds of armies, plus a Chieftan, Master, Wizard, and Dragon that all have different special abilities. The winner of Asator is the player who can eliminate their opponent’s leadership (Chieftan, Master, and Wizard).
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I know that the final components will be slightly different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the battle mat on the table, and then players will place groups of minis on the field within the closest three rows of hexes in alternating turn fashion. Players will also take the two large Battle Sheets and a dry-erase marker to keep track of every one of their minis’ stats throughout the game. Each player will also choose five of the given 10 Wizard spell cards to use for the game, and each spell may only be used once during the game. Once all army minis are placed, the first player will move up to 20 units on the battlefield and attack opponent armies if possible. The game is now on and decimation is the goal.
Each mini type corresponds to a different group of armies, plus the dragon and three leader pieces. All armies of the same type have the same stats for movement, hit points (HP), armor rating (AR), and attack weapons. Also each mini is labeled on the bottom so keeping track of each unit is made a little easier. Obviously the leader pieces are more powerful and each has a special style of combat. The Master wields an axe and shield (which is broken after one hit) to increase AR and dole out the damage. The Chieftan wields a spear, twin axes, a bow, and a shield. Similar to the Master, the Chieftan’s shield is broken after an attack against him, and his spear is broken after a missed attack. The Wizard is not at all strong in melee, but has powerful spells at his disposal to be used for the disposal of enemy units.
Besides the leadership trio each side also brings a Dragon to the battle. Dragons can move slowly by land, but quite quickly by air. Once in the air he or she may deliver a Fire Blast that causes huge damage, but then the Dragon must ground themselves to regain stamina for flight. In addition, each player will have access to Cavalry, Infantry, and Bowmen, each with their own stat blocks and abilities.
This is all well and good, and is somewhat similar to the strategy one would use in Chess. Combat, however, is much more involved than that of simply moving into an enemy’s space and automatically overtaking it. In Asator combat victory is decided via a VERY pared down version of D&D combat. It uses a simplified d20-based attack versus the enemy Armor Rating (AR). Rolls over the AR of the enemy is a success and damage is dealt. Done. Some attacks require a roll of 2d6 for damage amount, like spells and Dragon attacks. That said, combat is decided using 1d20 and 2d6. That’s it.
The game continues in turns where the first player will move their pieces and attack, and then the next player will do the same until one player has defeated all three enemy leaders and earned the title of Asator – Master of War.
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of the game, but most of the components are what will be received when the game is backed or purchased. That said, the game utilizes a cloth battle mat that folds into the box, four dry-erase Battle Sheets, two dry-erase markers, dice for both players, Wizard spell cards for both players, and 60 miniatures. The battle mat is great fabric quality with minimal art that doesn’t get in the way of play (much appreciated). The dry-erase components are good. The card quality is fine. The dice are black and white dice to correspond with players using the black or white minis, and are of normal quality. The minis are great and I enjoyed playing with them.
Now for the negatives of what is included in the box. First, the art. Now, there is very minimal art used throughout the game. It’s just not a focal point, and it shows in the game’s production. I found the sketch on the cover of the rule book (which is the same as the watermark on the Battle Mat) to be very cool, but the box cover art leaves some to be desired. Similarly, the Wizard spell cards use very generic-looking art icons with text for explanation. I am most certainly being hyper-critical here because flashy art on these components are certainly not needed to play or highly enjoy the game. For my tastes, though, I would like to see more polished art on these pieces as the art is so sparse throughout.
But how does the game feel? It’s truly quite good. I don’t play many wargames or 1v1 skirmish style games, so to present me with something like this and for me to enjoy it as much as I have has to be a sign of something good. Again, I am no strategic war general, but being able to employ different strategies every game is exciting. Testing out the different combinations of Wizard spell cards is fun for a tinkerer. And, of course, playing with a bunch of minis is always good fun.
There is a good game here, and I absolutely love the combination of Chess maneuverability with the simplified RPG d20 battle system. It works well in a game like this where each piece owns a stat block of which players will need to be mindful. I didn’t quite mention my favorite part of the rules yet either: natural 20 on a combat roll equals insta-death. Yes, even to the Dragon, which happened in my very first game. THAT is a cool rule that tripped up tactics quite often in my plays.
All in all this game is a great example of combining a couple sets of mechanics that wouldn’t be expected and creating a great gaming experience from them. I invite you to back the game on Kickstarter when it goes live if you are looking for that special game that is unlike many others you currently own. If the art were spruced up a bit I would be fawning all over it, but even without impressive art I still find I have the twitch in my brain to play it again and again. I wonder how many natural 20s I can roll in a game. Great, now I want to set it up and see…
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Labyrinthos in Tabletop Games
Feb 10, 2021
Greek mythology has always fascinated me. The adventures are awesome, the heroes are mighty, and the creatures are awe-inspiring. I often wonder what it would have been like to live in those ancient times, hearing those stories firsthand, and experiencing the excitement associated with such feats. Well, I may not have a time machine. But I do have a board game table. And on it is Labyrinthos.
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, but rather provide an overview of the rules and game flow. -L
Labyrinthos is a game of action and adventure in which players are exploring the famed Labyrinth of Daedalus, searching for the 4 secret keys that will let them escape! All this while avoiding traps, their competitors, and the deadly Minotaur who seemingly lurks around every corner. To setup for a game, create the Labyrinth as described in the rules – in the end it will be a 7×7 tile grid. Each player receives a Player Board, Standee, 4 Desperation cards, 7 Action tokens (3 Hand tokens and 4 Feet tokens for the first turn). The remaining Desperation cards and tokens are placed to the side of the play area, along with the Key tokens. Select a starting player, and the game is ready to begin!
Over a series of rounds, players will take turns performing various actions, exploring the Labyrinth, searching for Keys, and avoiding the Minotaur. On your turn, you will be spending Action tokens to perform various actions, like: Move (to an adjacent tile), Explore (flip over an adjacent face-down tile and move to it), Discover Key (gain the corresponding Key token to your Player board), Desperate Action (play a Desperation card), and a handful of other actions. Each action has a token cost associated with it, and you must pay it in order to perform the action. Each different Player Board also has a unique Special Ability that is active during the game. Once you have taken as many actions as you can/want to take, you will return any unused Action tokens to the supply, and then choose a combination of 7 new Action tokens to be used on your next turn. Then, you will refresh your hand – drawing or discarding Desperation cards so your hand limit is 4 minus the number of Key tokens you possess.
The final step of your turn is to roll the Minotaur die and resolve his movement/actions. The movement of the Minotaur is similar to the movement rules of players, and some results on the Minotaur die activate special abilities. If the Minotaur ever enters a tile occupied by a player, he immediately Attacks! The controlling player rolls the Blood die, and the attacked hero gains that number of Wounds to their Player Board. A Wound on your Player Board will cover one of your turn actions, prohibiting you from performing that action until you spend Action tokens to Heal. Certain tiles of the Maze have special symbols that will immediately affect the gameplay. For example, any time a player moves onto a Trap tile, they immediately take a Wound. When a player is on a Hide tile, they cannot be Attacked by the Minotaur. Play continues in this fashion, alternating turns, until a player has collected all 4 Key tokens and made their way back to the starting Door tile. That player has successfully escaped, and all others remain trapped in the Labyrinth!
I know that may seem like a lot, but the gameplay itself is actually pretty streamlined and intuitive. The action descriptions on the Player Boards are clear and concise, acting as a player reference sheet in a way. I appreciate the Player Boards SO much because it keeps me from having to continually refer to the rulebook for any action questions. The action options themselves are simple to understand and perform, but the strategy required for overall success is trickier to master. This truly is an exploration game – the 7×7 grid is created anew every game, and chances are you will never play with the same grid layout twice. The Key tiles could be anywhere, and you have to try to get to them before your opponents. The different tile symbols offer some risk/reward decisions. Do you risk turning over an undiscovered tile in hopes that it gets you across this gap? It could be a Trap! Or it could be a Secret Passage that allows you to move elsewhere. You’ll never know if you don’t try it!
I also really like the mechanic of the Minotaur in this game. At the end of your turn, you roll the Minotaur die and resolve it. That means the Minotaur is essentially controlled by all players. It becomes a sort of tug-of-war, if you will, as players try to get the Minotaur to attack opponents, while hopefully also staying out of his range for the next player’s turn. Another neat thing about Labyrinthos is that when you collect a Key token, it actually provides you with an action and is added to your Player Board, covering an existing action. Through the use of actions and Desperation cards, you could be able to move Keys around on your Player Board too. Maybe its initial placement doesn’t fit the situation anymore, and you need that covered power back! The opportunities to strategize with your actions are endless, and that keeps the gameplay engaging. One last cool thing I want to mention is the selection of new Action tokens at the end of each turn. Certain actions require Hand, Feet, or both types of tokens, and having the ability to choose the combination of those for yourself feels pretty powerful. It could also quickly backfire, if suddenly you find yourself needing Feet tokens, but you only have Hands left! It’s another layer to the strategy, and it helps up the excitement of play.
Components. The components of this game are great. The maze tiles are nice and sturdy, the symbolism clean and clear. The Desperation cards have some cool flavor text, and their actions are straightforward. All of the Standees, tokens, and dice are good quality that will hold up to lots of handling. All in all, great production quality!
I am extremely happy that I decided to back Labyrinthos on Kickstarter. For being a seemingly simple game of maze exploration and movement, there is definitely a lot more to it than meets the eye. Players have to manage resources and plan ahead for what they need in subsequent turns. Desperation cards can affect the gameplay, and can sometimes even be used during an opponent’s turn. The ability of Key tokens to cover existing abilities really makes players think about what their strategy is moving forward. All of these aspects put into one game make for a fun and immersive experience. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an a-maze-ing 10 / 12. Also, special shout-out to the all-female team behind this great game!! It is really cool to see how women are moving up in the gaming industry, and becoming prominent players across game design, art, production, and media content realms within this hobby. Kudos to you ladies! I am very much looking forward to supporting your games in the future!
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, but rather provide an overview of the rules and game flow. -L
Labyrinthos is a game of action and adventure in which players are exploring the famed Labyrinth of Daedalus, searching for the 4 secret keys that will let them escape! All this while avoiding traps, their competitors, and the deadly Minotaur who seemingly lurks around every corner. To setup for a game, create the Labyrinth as described in the rules – in the end it will be a 7×7 tile grid. Each player receives a Player Board, Standee, 4 Desperation cards, 7 Action tokens (3 Hand tokens and 4 Feet tokens for the first turn). The remaining Desperation cards and tokens are placed to the side of the play area, along with the Key tokens. Select a starting player, and the game is ready to begin!
Over a series of rounds, players will take turns performing various actions, exploring the Labyrinth, searching for Keys, and avoiding the Minotaur. On your turn, you will be spending Action tokens to perform various actions, like: Move (to an adjacent tile), Explore (flip over an adjacent face-down tile and move to it), Discover Key (gain the corresponding Key token to your Player board), Desperate Action (play a Desperation card), and a handful of other actions. Each action has a token cost associated with it, and you must pay it in order to perform the action. Each different Player Board also has a unique Special Ability that is active during the game. Once you have taken as many actions as you can/want to take, you will return any unused Action tokens to the supply, and then choose a combination of 7 new Action tokens to be used on your next turn. Then, you will refresh your hand – drawing or discarding Desperation cards so your hand limit is 4 minus the number of Key tokens you possess.
The final step of your turn is to roll the Minotaur die and resolve his movement/actions. The movement of the Minotaur is similar to the movement rules of players, and some results on the Minotaur die activate special abilities. If the Minotaur ever enters a tile occupied by a player, he immediately Attacks! The controlling player rolls the Blood die, and the attacked hero gains that number of Wounds to their Player Board. A Wound on your Player Board will cover one of your turn actions, prohibiting you from performing that action until you spend Action tokens to Heal. Certain tiles of the Maze have special symbols that will immediately affect the gameplay. For example, any time a player moves onto a Trap tile, they immediately take a Wound. When a player is on a Hide tile, they cannot be Attacked by the Minotaur. Play continues in this fashion, alternating turns, until a player has collected all 4 Key tokens and made their way back to the starting Door tile. That player has successfully escaped, and all others remain trapped in the Labyrinth!
I know that may seem like a lot, but the gameplay itself is actually pretty streamlined and intuitive. The action descriptions on the Player Boards are clear and concise, acting as a player reference sheet in a way. I appreciate the Player Boards SO much because it keeps me from having to continually refer to the rulebook for any action questions. The action options themselves are simple to understand and perform, but the strategy required for overall success is trickier to master. This truly is an exploration game – the 7×7 grid is created anew every game, and chances are you will never play with the same grid layout twice. The Key tiles could be anywhere, and you have to try to get to them before your opponents. The different tile symbols offer some risk/reward decisions. Do you risk turning over an undiscovered tile in hopes that it gets you across this gap? It could be a Trap! Or it could be a Secret Passage that allows you to move elsewhere. You’ll never know if you don’t try it!
I also really like the mechanic of the Minotaur in this game. At the end of your turn, you roll the Minotaur die and resolve it. That means the Minotaur is essentially controlled by all players. It becomes a sort of tug-of-war, if you will, as players try to get the Minotaur to attack opponents, while hopefully also staying out of his range for the next player’s turn. Another neat thing about Labyrinthos is that when you collect a Key token, it actually provides you with an action and is added to your Player Board, covering an existing action. Through the use of actions and Desperation cards, you could be able to move Keys around on your Player Board too. Maybe its initial placement doesn’t fit the situation anymore, and you need that covered power back! The opportunities to strategize with your actions are endless, and that keeps the gameplay engaging. One last cool thing I want to mention is the selection of new Action tokens at the end of each turn. Certain actions require Hand, Feet, or both types of tokens, and having the ability to choose the combination of those for yourself feels pretty powerful. It could also quickly backfire, if suddenly you find yourself needing Feet tokens, but you only have Hands left! It’s another layer to the strategy, and it helps up the excitement of play.
Components. The components of this game are great. The maze tiles are nice and sturdy, the symbolism clean and clear. The Desperation cards have some cool flavor text, and their actions are straightforward. All of the Standees, tokens, and dice are good quality that will hold up to lots of handling. All in all, great production quality!
I am extremely happy that I decided to back Labyrinthos on Kickstarter. For being a seemingly simple game of maze exploration and movement, there is definitely a lot more to it than meets the eye. Players have to manage resources and plan ahead for what they need in subsequent turns. Desperation cards can affect the gameplay, and can sometimes even be used during an opponent’s turn. The ability of Key tokens to cover existing abilities really makes players think about what their strategy is moving forward. All of these aspects put into one game make for a fun and immersive experience. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an a-maze-ing 10 / 12. Also, special shout-out to the all-female team behind this great game!! It is really cool to see how women are moving up in the gaming industry, and becoming prominent players across game design, art, production, and media content realms within this hobby. Kudos to you ladies! I am very much looking forward to supporting your games in the future!
