Tom "Snicker Daddy" Pancoast
|
Camelot Legends Review
When Magic the Gathering came out, I thought it was a really cool idea, and bought a few packs. Because Magic was only a two player game, and because I wasn’t willing to invest that kind of either money or time in a game, I quickly lost interest. Then I ran into Lunch Money and a succession of other non-collectable card games, which led to board games, and to my first gaming con: Origins 2004. That’s where I demoed and purchased Camelot Legends.
I'm still fairly new to board games, and was looking to try new games, but when I was offered a demo of the game, I had a moment of hesitation. My gaming attention was being drawn to either strongly themed adventure games or to the simplicity and depth of many recent board games. Card games, while still fun, typically had neither. Fortunately, I sat down anyway.
This isn’t quite your typical card game. In fact, if St Petersburg can be called a board game, then this can be too. There are three Location boards at the center of this game: Camelot, Cornwall, and the Perilous Forest. Your hand contains Character cards, which are drawn from books and legends about Camelot. Each character has unique strengths and weaknesses in each of 6 attributes: Combat, Diplomacy, Adventure, Cunning, Chivalry, and Psyche. Each character has unique abilities as well, such as special bonuses when in the company of certain friends, or the ability to affect, influence or even attack other characters in their own unique way.
There is also a deck of Event cards, one of which is turned over at the start of each player’s turn. The event might be a Special or Heraldic event, which takes effect immediately, it might be a Bidding event where you bid character cards for quick victory points, or it might be Location event and be placed on one of the Location boards. A Location event provides a task or quest that your characters work together to perform, and here lies the meat of the game. Completing events gains you victory points, and each event provides a special bonus upon completion.
Lets see, we have Plot, Characters, Setting, and Conflict; many of the basic elements of a story. I guess you could say that about most games, but this one has a much stronger adventure feel than I expected from a card game. In my last game, a recently elevated High King was getting too powerful, so he was eliminated by the treachery of Sir Mordred. Author was not high king at that moment, but it did feel a little like reliving the legend.
Don’t worry. The Camelot theme is strong, but this isn’t just an adventure game. Your objective is to gain the most victory points, and the basic flow of the game is quite simple. You hold a hand of up to five character cards. You start your turn by taking the top Event card and looking at it. Event cards are good because they are the primary source of Victory Points, but trust me, special events do not always go your way. If it is a Location event, you put it on the appropriate location board, otherwise you follow the instructions on the card. Next, you have a chance to activate the special ability of one or more characters that are already in play. Next, if you meet the conditions for a Location event, you can collect that event for victory points. Finally, you can play two card actions. Card actions consist of drawing a new card, playing a card from your hand to a location, or moving one or two characters between locations (with two actions, you can move 4 characters in a turn). A reference card is included for each player that summarizes the turn sequence.
Location Events have goals, and companies of characters form at each location to achieve those goals. Each location has four sides, one for each player, and six characters can be in a company on your side of each location. A typical event goal might be 12 combat and 12 chivalry. If the combined character attributes at a location meet or exceed the location event's goal, then that event's value and special ability will probably be yours. There is a subtle twist to the turn sequence, and the chance to complete and collect events comes before your chance to play character cards. When you put down a new character that meets the goal an event, your opponents have a chance to mess with you before you can claim the victory points. Fortunately, the turn sequence also prevents this from becoming a free-for-all, since other players have the same restriction. Still, the special abilities of existing characters can be a danger. There is a certain subtlety to these simple rules, which provide some real depth to the play.
A lot of care went into this game. For a start, the art in this game is outstanding. No cheese, no cartoons, just some beautiful work. Check it out for yourself at . That care extends to the research behind the game. Each character card I recognize has a personality that seems to fit what I know, but there are a lot of characters I don’t recognize. The manual has a little information about each person, and I get the impression that someone spent a lot of time reading and thinking about them. They didn’t just pull this stuff out of thin air, and there is a bibliography to prove it.
I cannot say that this game is a revolution, but it copied from some of the best, and provides a gaming experience which feels both familiar and new. I am not the most experienced gamer, but if there is another non-collectable game that has a similar feel, but does it better, please let me know about it.
Having said all that, I feel obligated to point out some faults. Most elements of the game fit smoothly in the theme, but the bidding events feel a little tacked on. While they add a significant element to the game, they feel out of place in this theme. The instructions are basically very clear, but I think the organization could have been a little better. For example the standard rules are the heart of the game, but they refer you back to the beginner's rules unnecessarily. The quality of the cards is decent, but the Location boards are pretty thin and about the same stock as the cards. It would have been nice if the reference cards were two sided and had setup and allegiance information on the back (check out the reference sheet I uploaded). Ultimately, the game is a card game, and as such there is a significant luck factor. If this bothers you, let me say that when luck turns against you, you will still have meaningful choices to make and will not be completely at its mercy. I have yet to play a game where a card or event was so powerful that it could not be countered. Finally, since each card has individual values and advantages, the game can bog down a bit when you have to stop and remind yourself what the heck is in play.
Ultimately, this is one of the meatiest and best card games I’ve tried. It plays well, has some depth, and doesn’t have to use humor to make the game work. I rated it an 8 on the BGG scale, and that might go up with additional plays. That’s pretty high for me, since my highest BGG rating is a 9, and there’s only one of those.
|
Posted Thu Jul 15, 2004 4:37 pm
