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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Tiny Epic Tactics in Tabletop Games
Jul 8, 2021
One of the neatest things about the Tiny Epic game series is how they manage to fit so much game into such a small box. But alas, boxes are not always just mere storage devices – in Tiny Epic Tactics, they are components of the game! These nesting boxes will create a 3D terrain on which players will be moving across, over, and through on their way to victory! But how does this game fit into the Tiny Epic series overall? Keep reading to find out!
Disclaimer: There are 5 different modes of play in Tiny Epic Tactics. In this review, I will be focusing on the 2-4 Player Competitive mode. There are also expansions for this game, but this review will not cover those materials. I also do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook, but rather provide a general overview of the rules and gameplay. For a more in-depth look at the rules, pick up a copy of the game from the publisher or at your FLGS. -L
Tiny Epic Tactics is a game of strategy and combat in which players will lead their teams of 4 heroes to fight opponents and attempt to gain control of a number of areas in the realm. To setup the game, unroll the map scroll and place the boxes onto their corresponding spaces. Randomly deal each player 1 Unit card from each class (Fighters, Wizards, Rogues, and Beasts), and give them 4 Unit tokens (meeples) in their chosen color, as well as tracker tokens for Health, Ammo, and Mana. Players will select their 4-space starting location, and will place all 4 of their Units on the map. Shuffle the deck of Tactic cards, and deal 2 to each player. Players will look at the cards and select one to keep in hand, discarding the other. Place the Tactic card deck in reach of all players, and place the Control Card nearby, with the 3 Flag tokens on the Start space. The game is ready to begin!
Over a series of rounds, players will take turns performing actions until either one player has had all of their Units captured or one player has captured the final Flag token (based on player count). The remaining players will take one final turn, and then the game ends, VPs are tallied, and the player with the most VPs is the winner! A game turn is made up of four steps, the first of which being to check for Majority Control. To see if you hold a Majority Control over any of the Control Areas on the map, count the number of Units in each triggered Control Area – if your Units make up the majority of Units in that area, advance the corresponding Flag token on the Control card, and if you do not hold the majority, then nothing happens. Once a Flag has been advanced to the final space, it is given to the player who holds Majority Control.
The next step of your turn is to take up to 3 actions with your Units. Possible actions are: Movement, Melee Attack, Missile Attack, and Cast a Spell. All Units have a printed value on their cards for Movement, as well as either Melee Attack, Missile Attack, or Spell Attack value, based on the Unit’s class. All of these actions are pretty self-explanatory, with a couple of extra components – use of Ammo/Mana, rolling dice, advantages/penalties based on Elevation, etc. – that make the gameplay strategic and challenging. The third turn step is to remove Weakened tokens (more on this later), and the final step is to draw a Tactic Card. Look at the card, and either keep it in hand or discard it – you may only ever have 2 Tactic Cards in hand. Play continues in this fashion until the end of the game is triggered, either when a single player has had all 4 of their Units captured or a player has taken the final Flag token. All other players take one more turn and then VPs are tallied for final scoring.
Ok so first thing I want to talk about is the use of boxes to create a 3D map. It is SO COOL. It’s such a unique idea, and one that I honestly haven’t seen before. The added aspect of Elevation in regards to movement and range for attacks really ups the strategic gameplay for me. Want to climb to a higher peak? Ok, that costs +1 movement. Don’t have enough movement to climb up this turn? Then you’re outta luck. Your strategy must always be changing based on where Units are located on the map.
Speaking of strategy, there are several different game elements that you can base your gameplay on – there is no ‘right’ way to play! Maybe you really want to focus on getting Flag tokens, so you try to protect that area and maintain majority at all costs. Maybe you don’t care about the Flags and it’s all about combat to you – you’re on the hunt for enemy Units and Area Control means nothing to you. Or maybe your aim is to complete your Tactic Cards, which will then allow you to perform a special/bonus action upon completion. There are different ways to play this game, and that makes it engaging and entertaining as you must constantly adapt your strategy while trying to figure out how your opponents are playing too!
Another neat element of Tiny Epic Tactics is that on each turn you only have 3 actions – and a single Unit may only perform one action per turn! So you can’t just spend all 3 actions moving and attacking with the same Unit, they must be spread across all of your heroes. That adds to the strategy because you have to set your Units up in advance for certain actions, but must quickly adapt based on the movements of your opponents. You can have a Unit perform a second, different, action on the same turn, but it will then become Weakened. When Weakened, a Unit cannot perform any actions on the next turn, and will have the Weakened condition removed at the end of said turn. Or, on your next turn, you may choose to pay 2 Health to remove the Weakened token and be able to act in that same turn. It’s kind of a gamble – how far are you willing to push your Units, and are you able to sacrifice their abilities for an entire turn in order to removed the Weakened token?
Let’s touch on components for a minute. These components are great, as is to be expected of the Tiny Epic series. The art is colorful and unique, the boxes are sturdy, the cards are nice and thick, and the wooden components are quality. No real gripes from me regarding production quality of this game! The gripe I do have is about the gameplay – specifically a 2-player game. When playing a 2-player game in competitive mode, the game end is triggered after 1 Flag token has been secured. This really can negate any need for strategy or player interaction, because each player starts near a Control Area, and can simply just move there and camp out to take the Flag. In my first games at a 2-player count, I found the gameplay to be kind of bland and not engaging because of this. At higher player counts, you have to interact with opponents on the map as you try to capture Control Areas. If at a 2-player count, you were required to secure 2 Flag tokens, or maybe just mandate that the secured Flag must be the one located in the center of the map, it would encourage more interactions between the players, and thereby elevate the strategy and gameplay in my opinion. Just something to consider.
Overall, I think that Tiny Epic Tactics is a solid game in this series. It is not my favorite by any means, but the gameplay and mechanics fill a gap left by the other Tiny Epics. The strategy required can be high-level, but the simplicity of the physical gameplay makes it feel accessible and inviting to all types of gamers. If you’re looking for a great 2-player Tiny Epic, maybe keep looking, but for a 3-4 player game, Tiny Epic Tactics hits the spot. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a tactical 8 / 12.
Disclaimer: There are 5 different modes of play in Tiny Epic Tactics. In this review, I will be focusing on the 2-4 Player Competitive mode. There are also expansions for this game, but this review will not cover those materials. I also do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook, but rather provide a general overview of the rules and gameplay. For a more in-depth look at the rules, pick up a copy of the game from the publisher or at your FLGS. -L
Tiny Epic Tactics is a game of strategy and combat in which players will lead their teams of 4 heroes to fight opponents and attempt to gain control of a number of areas in the realm. To setup the game, unroll the map scroll and place the boxes onto their corresponding spaces. Randomly deal each player 1 Unit card from each class (Fighters, Wizards, Rogues, and Beasts), and give them 4 Unit tokens (meeples) in their chosen color, as well as tracker tokens for Health, Ammo, and Mana. Players will select their 4-space starting location, and will place all 4 of their Units on the map. Shuffle the deck of Tactic cards, and deal 2 to each player. Players will look at the cards and select one to keep in hand, discarding the other. Place the Tactic card deck in reach of all players, and place the Control Card nearby, with the 3 Flag tokens on the Start space. The game is ready to begin!
Over a series of rounds, players will take turns performing actions until either one player has had all of their Units captured or one player has captured the final Flag token (based on player count). The remaining players will take one final turn, and then the game ends, VPs are tallied, and the player with the most VPs is the winner! A game turn is made up of four steps, the first of which being to check for Majority Control. To see if you hold a Majority Control over any of the Control Areas on the map, count the number of Units in each triggered Control Area – if your Units make up the majority of Units in that area, advance the corresponding Flag token on the Control card, and if you do not hold the majority, then nothing happens. Once a Flag has been advanced to the final space, it is given to the player who holds Majority Control.
The next step of your turn is to take up to 3 actions with your Units. Possible actions are: Movement, Melee Attack, Missile Attack, and Cast a Spell. All Units have a printed value on their cards for Movement, as well as either Melee Attack, Missile Attack, or Spell Attack value, based on the Unit’s class. All of these actions are pretty self-explanatory, with a couple of extra components – use of Ammo/Mana, rolling dice, advantages/penalties based on Elevation, etc. – that make the gameplay strategic and challenging. The third turn step is to remove Weakened tokens (more on this later), and the final step is to draw a Tactic Card. Look at the card, and either keep it in hand or discard it – you may only ever have 2 Tactic Cards in hand. Play continues in this fashion until the end of the game is triggered, either when a single player has had all 4 of their Units captured or a player has taken the final Flag token. All other players take one more turn and then VPs are tallied for final scoring.
Ok so first thing I want to talk about is the use of boxes to create a 3D map. It is SO COOL. It’s such a unique idea, and one that I honestly haven’t seen before. The added aspect of Elevation in regards to movement and range for attacks really ups the strategic gameplay for me. Want to climb to a higher peak? Ok, that costs +1 movement. Don’t have enough movement to climb up this turn? Then you’re outta luck. Your strategy must always be changing based on where Units are located on the map.
Speaking of strategy, there are several different game elements that you can base your gameplay on – there is no ‘right’ way to play! Maybe you really want to focus on getting Flag tokens, so you try to protect that area and maintain majority at all costs. Maybe you don’t care about the Flags and it’s all about combat to you – you’re on the hunt for enemy Units and Area Control means nothing to you. Or maybe your aim is to complete your Tactic Cards, which will then allow you to perform a special/bonus action upon completion. There are different ways to play this game, and that makes it engaging and entertaining as you must constantly adapt your strategy while trying to figure out how your opponents are playing too!
Another neat element of Tiny Epic Tactics is that on each turn you only have 3 actions – and a single Unit may only perform one action per turn! So you can’t just spend all 3 actions moving and attacking with the same Unit, they must be spread across all of your heroes. That adds to the strategy because you have to set your Units up in advance for certain actions, but must quickly adapt based on the movements of your opponents. You can have a Unit perform a second, different, action on the same turn, but it will then become Weakened. When Weakened, a Unit cannot perform any actions on the next turn, and will have the Weakened condition removed at the end of said turn. Or, on your next turn, you may choose to pay 2 Health to remove the Weakened token and be able to act in that same turn. It’s kind of a gamble – how far are you willing to push your Units, and are you able to sacrifice their abilities for an entire turn in order to removed the Weakened token?
Let’s touch on components for a minute. These components are great, as is to be expected of the Tiny Epic series. The art is colorful and unique, the boxes are sturdy, the cards are nice and thick, and the wooden components are quality. No real gripes from me regarding production quality of this game! The gripe I do have is about the gameplay – specifically a 2-player game. When playing a 2-player game in competitive mode, the game end is triggered after 1 Flag token has been secured. This really can negate any need for strategy or player interaction, because each player starts near a Control Area, and can simply just move there and camp out to take the Flag. In my first games at a 2-player count, I found the gameplay to be kind of bland and not engaging because of this. At higher player counts, you have to interact with opponents on the map as you try to capture Control Areas. If at a 2-player count, you were required to secure 2 Flag tokens, or maybe just mandate that the secured Flag must be the one located in the center of the map, it would encourage more interactions between the players, and thereby elevate the strategy and gameplay in my opinion. Just something to consider.
Overall, I think that Tiny Epic Tactics is a solid game in this series. It is not my favorite by any means, but the gameplay and mechanics fill a gap left by the other Tiny Epics. The strategy required can be high-level, but the simplicity of the physical gameplay makes it feel accessible and inviting to all types of gamers. If you’re looking for a great 2-player Tiny Epic, maybe keep looking, but for a 3-4 player game, Tiny Epic Tactics hits the spot. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a tactical 8 / 12.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Bear and the Nightingale in Books
Oct 29, 2017
A dark epic fairytale
This captivating fantasy is set in the frozen north of Russia in the 13th century, and used Russian myths and fairy tales as inspiration.
At the centre of the novel is the family of a local Lord, in particular the headstrong youngest daughter Vasya who is gifted with 'second sight'. The existence of the community is threatened when a dark power in the forests begins to wake up, just as the villagers start to turn away from the household spirits who've protected them, in favour of a charismatic new priest.
The Russian setting adds interest and mystique and the protagonist Vasya is fantastically outspoken and scrappy. The plot is easy to follow despite the odd Russian word. It truly is a compelling read.
At the centre of the novel is the family of a local Lord, in particular the headstrong youngest daughter Vasya who is gifted with 'second sight'. The existence of the community is threatened when a dark power in the forests begins to wake up, just as the villagers start to turn away from the household spirits who've protected them, in favour of a charismatic new priest.
The Russian setting adds interest and mystique and the protagonist Vasya is fantastically outspoken and scrappy. The plot is easy to follow despite the odd Russian word. It truly is a compelling read.
Kimberly Pullen (1 KP) rated Brotherhood in Death in Books
Nov 8, 2017 (Updated Nov 8, 2017)
JD Robb
This book was great
I just love all the attention devoted to the characters in this book I just go away feeling conectded to them.
All the books in this series have captured my mind and my emotions.
The main character Eve is a hard cop from New York and likes being who she is now, her reluctant love for and loalty to the people in her life tuch you as you read her adventures.this book is very good at griping you and expanding your own loyalty to this series.
I just love all the attention devoted to the characters in this book I just go away feeling conectded to them.
All the books in this series have captured my mind and my emotions.
The main character Eve is a hard cop from New York and likes being who she is now, her reluctant love for and loalty to the people in her life tuch you as you read her adventures.this book is very good at griping you and expanding your own loyalty to this series.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Thrawn (Star Wars: Thrawn #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2017
Great character (1 more)
Loved reading about his rise to power, attitude tactics
I have to say I am not a reader. Not by a long-shot. Since high school, I can probably count the number of books I have read on one hand. I know there are a lot of book reviewers out there, and I wish I was like you, but I chose movies as a passion instead.
Having said all that, I really couldn't put this one down. It was captivating in the Star Wars universe. I find Thrawn to be extremely interesting, multi-faceted, and treacherous. His scheming and manipulations are epic.
It probably took me a lot longer to finish than most voracious readers, but it was well worth my time.
Having said all that, I really couldn't put this one down. It was captivating in the Star Wars universe. I find Thrawn to be extremely interesting, multi-faceted, and treacherous. His scheming and manipulations are epic.
It probably took me a lot longer to finish than most voracious readers, but it was well worth my time.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Poisonwood Bible in Books
Jul 24, 2017
Detailed look into colonialism in Congo
Barbara Kingsolver's epic novel about missionaries and colonialism in the Congo through the eyes of the women in a Christian American family is decadent and detailed. While many will complain about the hard hitting truths of complicity of western nations in destroying the country, it is extremely important and brings to light many historically overlooked issues.
Keeping in mind that this is fictional, the various narratives are well researched to the point where at times it seems plausible and factual. The four main voices are completely different from one another and sometimes the anti-communist voice seemed like a mockery of that type of rhetoric. Leah's voice seemed more realistic than the others. Overall, a well written piece of literary fiction.
Keeping in mind that this is fictional, the various narratives are well researched to the point where at times it seems plausible and factual. The four main voices are completely different from one another and sometimes the anti-communist voice seemed like a mockery of that type of rhetoric. Leah's voice seemed more realistic than the others. Overall, a well written piece of literary fiction.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Game Of Thrones in TV
Jul 25, 2017
Possibly the best TV show ever created
It isn't a small claim to say something is the best show ever created, but I reckon Game of Thrones is the only show to really deserve that title.
It's epic in every respect. The effects, the characters, the plot in general real. It keeps you watching every episode and with the constant twists and shocks, you never can be sure what will happen, even to your favourite characters.
I've even managed to forgive the show for slightly deviating from the books, it's that good. The only negative is that one day the show will end, although we can guarantee there it will be a spectacular ending.
If you're into fantasy or anything similar, you have to watch this show.
It's epic in every respect. The effects, the characters, the plot in general real. It keeps you watching every episode and with the constant twists and shocks, you never can be sure what will happen, even to your favourite characters.
I've even managed to forgive the show for slightly deviating from the books, it's that good. The only negative is that one day the show will end, although we can guarantee there it will be a spectacular ending.
If you're into fantasy or anything similar, you have to watch this show.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated A Feast for Crows in Books
Jan 15, 2018
More drama in this installment. Queens injured, imprisoned, on the run, brought back from the dead. A dwarf on the run. To where? Good question. This book tells only 1/2 the story of Westeros. The other half is in the next book. Sweet agony!
This book tells the journeys of the King's Landing people. There is little news of the North or those who are running from Cersei & the Boy King.
A friend gave the advice to not get too attached to any of the characters. I must say that I wished I had known that piece of wisdom before I had plunged so headlong into the epic tale! That does not take away from the story in the least though so, don't get me wrong.
This book tells the journeys of the King's Landing people. There is little news of the North or those who are running from Cersei & the Boy King.
A friend gave the advice to not get too attached to any of the characters. I must say that I wished I had known that piece of wisdom before I had plunged so headlong into the epic tale! That does not take away from the story in the least though so, don't get me wrong.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Mountain Can Wait in Books
Apr 27, 2018
I felt like this book was going to be an epic journey of self discovery and redeeming family and resolving past mistakes, but it was more like reading the journal of a boring person. A person with an interesting life, mind you, but the person himself was boring. I can’t even remember the main character’s name. It felt disconnected and random, jumping around and telling snapshots and things that happened, but no real plot. A bunch of things does not equal plot.
I felt this way the first time I tried listening to it, and so I put it down. Then one Saturday I was bored so I tried again and I got the same vibe, so I quit. I got about 6 or 8 chapters in.
I felt this way the first time I tried listening to it, and so I put it down. Then one Saturday I was bored so I tried again and I got the same vibe, so I quit. I got about 6 or 8 chapters in.
Auburn (57 KP) rated The Dragon's Curse (Transference, #2) in Books
Apr 10, 2019
I love these books. And the second one does not disappoint! The story continues with Sorrowlynn learning to fight so she can go after Golmarr, her love who now hates her.
After some mishaps Sorrow learns that her life has been predicted and she must choose to follow the path. Gaining new friends and enemies this book continues the epic quest.
I adore both Sorrow and Golmarr. They have a love that is tested again and again. Yet they have to learn to get past obsicales together. The story does a great job of keeping you on your toes while making you read super fast to find out what will happen.
highly recommend to anyone who loves dragons, fantasy, and really good plots.
After some mishaps Sorrow learns that her life has been predicted and she must choose to follow the path. Gaining new friends and enemies this book continues the epic quest.
I adore both Sorrow and Golmarr. They have a love that is tested again and again. Yet they have to learn to get past obsicales together. The story does a great job of keeping you on your toes while making you read super fast to find out what will happen.
highly recommend to anyone who loves dragons, fantasy, and really good plots.