I won't explain the rules, as this has been done before in other reviews, and I'll assume at least you read them

After having bought and extensively played Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, I really got into 2 player games. I began doing research on some other 2 player games for me and my wife to play on "school nights".

It had to be a fast game, with high replayability, lots of room for strategy, tactics, and perhaps a little bit of bluffing (we found out we really liked bluffing games playing Liar's Dice and Lord of the Rings: Confrontation although bluffing was NOT my primary selection criteria for this particular purchase).

I read a lot about Hera and Zeus, Rosenköenig, and similar games.

However, the fact that Rosenköenig was more of an abstract game kept me away, and I finally decided to buy Hera and Zeus, because it fully met all my requirements, and had a really great price tag attached to it that allowed me to not just buy one, but two games

What a great surprise! The first time we played, we played multiple games over 3 hours of really fast, extremely exciting game. Bursts of laughter filled the afternoon, as one of us walked into the other one's carefully constructed trap, or as a long held bluff was discovered.

I never liked card games before, but this little game totally changed my perspective! I really think this game is an unknown jewel, hidden amongst the thousands of games here at BGG.

The bluffing element is ever present and very strong throughout the game. You lay your cards face down, and therefore, your opponent doesn't have a clue what lies before him.

To attack, on not to attack? Or perhaps to scout?

The game is very confrontational (but in a good way, my wife dislikes cut-throat games such as Tigris and Euphrates, but she loved this one). A sure way to get killed right away is trying to build your game without trying to mess with your opponents game at the same time. And the only way to mess with your opponent is to attack him!

A pretty good objective is to try to eliminate your opponent's columns, as this reduces his action points on his next turn, and his ability to react, or mount a strong attack, and improves your chances of winning.

However, blindly attacking your opponent is another sure way of losing, as some of the cards (as Medusa, or Pandora) will immediately destroy the attacker (in the case of pandora, also destroying that column of cards for the attacker as well as for the defender), and you don't want to lose your strongest cards this way.

So by carefully probing your opponents line (if you have the means to probe -mainly pegasus cards-), as well as trying to read how they place their cards as well as their overall strategy, you'll have to take some decisions, and assume whether or not the card is or isn't worth attacking.

Another thing I loved about the game are the different powers of the mythological cards. They are very similar to the special powers of the Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation characters. This cards can be played directly from your hand, and give the game much of its flexibility, and quite a few variables to make it highly replayable. Some of the coolest moves come from the smart use of 2 or 3 cards in sequence.

However, some of these powerful cards also allow for a lucky player to be able to win it all in just one improbable, although possible move, attacking the other player's hand. This happened once, bringing the game to a sudden finish, to my dismay (I was on the receiving side of the attack).

Also, some cards like Pandora are really powerful and have the potential to change who has the upper hand in a game, if triggered in the right place.

The game has elements reminiscent of Lord of the Rings: Confrontation, but in no way the two games are redundant, or even similar. In some ways I like Hera and Zeus even Better than Lotr:C, and after this, I think I might give other card games a chance!

This is a truly great game, full of surprises, and highly recommended! Go out there and get it, it's truly a treasure waiting to be discovered!