FIRST THINGS FIRST

I really wanted to try this game out because it is rated so highly on the BGG

Gaming at Don's (Hugh G Rection) makes trying out new games pretty balanced and fun. Between Don's game facilitating, the humor and laugh of the twins (Phil & Pat), and the overall gaming experience of the group (Dogzard-player #5) it makes for a great venue for all sorts of games. Oh and Izzy's cooking and other concoctions are total icing on the cake (or as in tonight Margaritas in the cup)...yum!!!

Out of five players I ended up next to last on this first time play. It was a slow and painful death, made even more painful by Phil's long, slow deliberation about each move. It was so bad that I really couldn't complain that much when Don stepped in to help him make plays against me...at least Don speeded up the game play! Ahh! Alliances. Its a love/hate thing!

I actually liked this game. Someone once asked on the BGG if we only like games we win at...I actually like games that play well and have interesting mechanics. This one played pretty well and did have some interesting mechanics that deepened the more we played into the game.


This is all on a Five Scale

THEME
The premise here is to contest against other barons and houses for the throne of the kingdom. As Dogzard commented...Kind of a scaled up version of SAGA. Each house has different starting locations and different abilities in the card hands. While I have never read the book our gaming group members who had, brought it up a couple of times during the game. It seems that the game represents the book fairly well though it is not a strong tie. The objective is to be the first player with 7 strongholds/cities or the most strongholds/cities at the end of the game.

COMPONENTS

You have got to hand it to Fantasy Flight Games. They consistently deliver quality components.

Counters: Heavy Cardstock, elegant but simple graphics, and highly functional. There were not an unwieldy number of different counters to keep track of and they were not hard to read as in Starcraft.

Cards: Nice texture finish to the cards (this really should be an industry standard as it makes them easier to handle). The artwork was good though not great, and the coloring on the card artwork was a bit dull, negatively contrasting with the other colorful components.

Map Board: The map board was nicely illustrated and easy to decipher. The artwork and coloring was also functional and well done. It was printed on a heavy board and folded from six large squares to form a rectangle.

MECHANICS

Area Control Each area on the map can produce something. It will either be a supply, a power token, and/or a stronghold/city. The more areas you control with these options the more flexible your game plan.

Bidding Players use Power Tokens to bid for the Throne, the Sword, or the Raven, and in the case of the Wildling Horde, to battle.

Figures Placement There are three different types of figures. Footmen (1 pt), Knights (2 pts), and Ships (1 pt). These figures are used to gain and hold territories and to spread a network of influence for movement and support.

Card Play Cards are used to influence the outcome of battles. There are no dice and game rules allow opponents to see which cards are in an opponents hand, not necessarily which card they will choose to play. This, IMHO, is perhaps one of the weakest elements of the game.

GAME PLAY
The game play is elegantly straightforward. It consist of three phases.

Westeros Phase
There are three decks (I, II, III). In this phase the top card of each deck is turned over and players follow the instructions on the cards. These represent events during the game that include, re-evaluating supply, mustering troops, dealing with the Wildling Horde, and bidding for the Throne, Sword, or Raven Markers , by using Power Tokens.

The Throne (determines order of play and resolution of bidding ties)

The Sword (adds +1 to one battle and resolves battle ties)

The Raven (allows a player to switch out a planning marker, as well as allows players to play "starred" planning markers that give bonuses)

Planning Phase
This is the game phase where you can issue orders to your standing troops. Where you are on the game turn track will have a lot to do with the strategy and orders you will execute.

RAID: Allows players to cancel another raid order (Throne Influence Track - game order is important here!), a support order, or consolidate power order in an adjacent territory.

MARCH: Allows movement into adjacent territories, and battle.

DEFEND: If you believe you will be attacked this gives you +1, or +2 bonuses to defend.

SUPPORT: If you are next to a territory being contested either through an attack or defend, this allows units in an adjacent territory (ships included) to add their strength to any battles.

CONSOLIDATE POWER: This will allow a player to get more power tokens through claiming territory that they can then use for bidding on the influence tracks.

Action Phase
In this phase players execute orders one at a time (remember the Throne Influence Track?!). Raids are resolved first. After raids players then execute march orders, and resolve any battles that ensue. Finally players execute the Consolidate order. After all this the round is over and the round marker is moved. Game play ends after ten rounds or after one player controls seven strongholds/cities.

Sweet Spots

The bidding for Throne, Sword, or Raven gets a thumbs up. It is perhaps the most tension generating aspect of the game because it will heavily influence the planning and action phases. If you are player four or five here...it is an occassion to GROAN!

The planning phase is also tense. You have to consider where you are on the Throne Influence Track, and what your opponent is likely to do. Should you March into other territories? Should you attack? Should you Consolidate? Should you Raid? This is a place where you do want to deliberate...but too much can result in Analysis Paralysis and throw your gaming buddies to GROAN!

The action phase is where it all comes together. Kind of reminds you of that scene in the Indiana Jones movie of the search for the Grail. There will be a GROAN or two if you planned poorly! I found myself wishing I would have attacked earlier.

For not having to battle in order to move yourself closer to victory. Don spent most of the game expanding his influence in the southern territories, and when he finally did have to battle, enjoyed a full and option filled hand! Hhhhhmmmm!

For being able to plan and play movement action tokens in a sequence to move across two, or maybe even three territories in order to attack. This came up in game play (way to go Don) and blindsided me (GROAN), but it is a sweet option to exercise!

For being one of the rare games that take logistics into account. You are limited in the size of armies you can field by the amount of supplies that can sustain them. Really sweeeeeeet mechanic!

Groan Spots

The battle system is rather lackluster. If my opponent can know the cards I have in my hand, then battles are a pretty done deal. Why wouldn't I want to play my highest card? Very few reasons here not to do the obvious with 100% intelligence on my oponents options. This is one part of the game that needs to be reworked.

For not empowering the losing player with a spoiler option. What I mean here is that once a player starts to lose, it is a pretty done deal for the remainder of the game and unless there is an option they have that no one else has, one is just prolonging the inevitable. I would suggest that since most players cannot renew their battle hand until all their cards are used...the losing player for each round would be allowed to discard a card from their hand without having to do so through a battle. This would allow them to reconstitute their hand and get back into the game quicker.

OVERALL
This is a good game that I would like to get back to. On the BGG I would give it a 7 or 8. If I play it more I may move that up. The one big Groan Spot for me is the Battle system. Still, when considering the other mechanics and game play I can see why so many people rate this game highly on the BGG. Heck! If I lost and still liked playing it that has to count for something!