Kickstrarting Now: Glory of the Three Kingdoms Preview

I admit, I never saw myself as a player of CCG's or even living card games.  The expense was probably the biggest drawback to me.  There's always more and it is oh so tempting to buy those new cards with new abilities and new characters.  But my defenses have broken down and I am started to see past the "must have expense" of these cards and are seeing the value and the fun factor of the games themselves.  Glory of the Three Kingdoms is definitely one of these games.  I'm very excited about this game in its last few days on Kickstarter.  So if you are reading this head on over and pledge on this wonderful new living card game.



Goal of the Game:

Glory of the Three Kingdoms (GOTK): Guandu Core Set is a two player, battle driven, Living Deck Building Game (LDBG). Each player starts with a unique starting deck of 12 cards and acquires addition cards from the province during the game to build and customize his/her deck of cards.

GOTK is battle driven card game in which players strategically deploy hero, unit and item cards into the battlefield during battle actions and engage in a confrontation. In the Guandu Core Set, the type of battle engaged in is called clash. The victor of each clash takes a glory token from the opponent and may also capture the opponent’s hero.

When a player takes all the glory tokens from his/her opponent, he/she wins the game, immediately, by a total victory. Other than achieving a total victory, when two out of four province decks are depleted, or a player acquires six or more tiger tallies, the game ends and player with the highest victory points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most tiger tallies wins. If there is still a tie, both players share the glory.

Note: Source of Victory Points:

1) Province Cards -  (such as tactics and gold cards in Guandu Core Set) that have victory points in the lower right corner.

2) Tiger Tally - the first pair of tiger tally cards is worth 2vp, two pairs are 5vp and three pairs are 10vp.

3) Unit - every 5 unit strength of a unit type is worth 1vp. For example, a total of 5 footman unit strength is 1vp, a total of 6 archer unit strength is 1vp, and a total of 12 pikemen unit strength is 2vp.

4) Glory tokens - each Glory token is worth 2vp.





Components & Set-Up

Starting sets are similar for both houses.  Both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao start with 12 cards.  There will be five hero cards, four gold cards, and 3 Unit cards.   Each player also
receives the player aid for either Cao Cao or Yuan Shao. 

There are 64 Province cards.  Included in the province cards are 8 Tactics cards, 7 Item cards, eight gold cards, eight Tiger Tally cards, and thirty three Unit cards

There are also eight six sided dice used to indicate the basic strength and extended strength of unit groups; and six glory tokens.


Setup – Player Area:

1) Each player selects a faction and takes the twelve starting cards and one player aide card of that faction. The number of starting cards may increase when playing with faction expansion cards.

2) Each player takes three glory tokens and four six-side dice.

3) Each player shuffles his/her starting cards face down to form a player deck then draws five cards from the top as his/her starting hand cards.

4) Each player rolls two dice, the player who rolls the highest number is the starting player. If it is a tie, roll again.

Setup - Province:

Shuffle the remaining cards face down and divide them into four decks of 15 cards each. Remove the remaining cards from the game.  The number of remaining cards will increase when playing with expansion province cards. The Hero Pile is not used in the Guandu Core Set.

After placing four province decks in the middle of the table, reveal one top card on each province deck, from left to right. When a card with a sorting symbol (three down arrows on the right) is revealed, immediately place it in its province pile and reveal the next top card of the province deck. In the Guandu Core Set, there are four types of province cards that have sorting symbols: footman, pikemen, cavalry and tiger tally cards.

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• If the next top card also has a sorting symbol, continue the sorting process until a card is revealed without a sorting symbol.
• Each province pile can hold up to three cards. If the pile has reached its maximum number of cards, the card with a sorting symbol must stay on top of the province deck.

When all four province decks have one face up card on top, the game begins.

Glory Begins:

The Starting player takes the first turn of the game, they are also called the active player.

There are three turn phases each turn:

1. Province
2. Actions
3. End

Turn Phase 1 – Province

(Skip this phase in the first turn of the game.)

If all top cards of the province decks are facing up, the active player must first trash one or two face up cards in the province (both province decks and province piles).

If one or more top cards of province decks are facing down, exam all province decks from left to right.

• If there are face up cards with a sorting symbol, begin the sorting process.
• If the top card is facing down, reveal the card and begin the sorting process, if necessary.

When all province decks have one face up card on top, continue to phase two.

 
Turn Phase 2 – Action

The active player may take up to four actions per turn in the following order:

1. Standard Action - optional
2. Standard Action - optional
3. Battle Action – only available AFTER first two rounds
4. Standard Action – only available if the active player completes the battle action - optional

When a player’s deck is depleted during the game, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new player deck immediately. Note: the discard pile is different from the play area.

Standard Action – When taking a standard action, players can either (1) play the standard
ability of a hand card, or (2) acquire/buy one face up card in the province, except tiger tally.

(1) When playing standard ability of a hand card, follow the instructions on the card and
place the hand card in the play area. If the card has a gold value (not the cost of the
card), it is ignored.

•  Example: The Longbow item cards standard ability is to "Draw one card" and the owner may buy one archer card. It also has a gold value of 2.

(2) When buying a face up province card from province (decks and piles), pay the exact amount or higher (of the cost in the upper right corner) with one or more hand cards gold value then place the hand cards and the target card in the play area.

• If there are two or three cards in one province pile, the player may buy any one of them.
• Extra gold spent is wasted.
• Players may purchase two or three tiger tallies per standard action.

Battle Action – In Guandu Core Set, the type of battle players engage in is called Clash. There are five phases in a clash: (1) Declaration, (2) Martial, (3) Formation, (4) Engagement, and (5) Resolution.

Each player may play no more than one tactic card from their hand per phase. If both players want to play a tactics card at the same time, the active player must play it first. Once the defending player reveals his/her tactic card, the active player cannot play a tactics card in that phase.

(1) Declaration. The active player places a hero hand card in the battlefield and chooses an opponent to declare a Clash. If the target player surrenders, the active player takes one glory token from the opponent and the turn ends immediately. If target player chooses to defend, continue to phase 2.

• If active player does not have a hero card on hand, he/she cannot take the battle action.

(2) Martial – Attacker (active player) draws three cards from his/her deck. If defender (target player) does not have hero and unit card on hand, he/she reveals their hand cards, then draws until they have at least one hero and one unit card. The defending player takes all card(s) drawn and places them in his/her hand.

(3) Formation – There are four steps in formation phase and both players take these four steps simultaneously.

1. Each player deploys a number of hand cards face down into the battlefield.

• The attacker may play one item card and two unit cards. If one or more of the unit cards can be classified as a veteran unit, the player may play another unit card of the same unit type. The attacker’s hero card is kept facing up.
• The defender may also play one item card and two unit cards. If one of the unit cards can be classified as a veteran unit, the player may play another unit card of same unit type. The defender must also play one hero card face down.  Each hero has one or more veteran unit status. For example, Cao Cao has veteran footman and cavalry unit status.

2.  After deployment, both players reveal all cards deployed.

• If a player doesn’t have any unit cards in the battlefield, he/she loses the clash immediately and follows the instruction in the resolution phase.
• If both players don’t have a unit card in the battlefield, Clash ends immediately in a tie, and the turn ends immediately.

3.  Players group all of their units by unit type.

4.  Players then use a die to indicate the basic strength of each unit group then use another die to indicate the extended strength of the group.

• 1. Basic Strength – Basic strength is the sum of the strength of all unit cards within the group. If the number is higher than the hero’s leadership value, then use the hero’s leadership value as the basic strength.

• 2. Extended Strength – Extended strength is a sum total of the value accumulated from hero, unit, item and tactic cards’ battle abilities. 

• 3. For Example, the attacking player declared a clash by playing Cao Cao hero card.

• a) During the formation phase, the player placed Footman 2 and Cavalry 2 face down in the battlefield.  Because all footman and cavalry lead by Cao Cao become veteran units, the player placed another unit card (Footman 3) face down in the battlefield. The defender also deployed his/her cards.

• b) Both players revealed all face down cards on the battlefield.

• c) Both players grouped his/her units by unit type. From the following cards in the example, Cao Cao is leading two groups, one cavalry group of one unit card and one footman group of two unit cards.

• d) Both players Indicated basic and extended strength of each unit group. From the above cards in the example:
• Cavalry group has a basic strength of 2 and no extended strength. Cavalry’s total strength is 2.
• The sum of footman’s strength in the footman group is 5. However, the footman group only has a basic strength of 4 because Cao Cao has a leadership value of 4 (value in the diamond). The footman group also has an extended strength of 1 because Cao Cao has a battle ability of Footman str +1. Therefore, the footman’s total strength is 5.

(4) Engagement – The attacker chooses one of his/her group to engage.

• If attacker chooses archer, they also choose which one of the defending group to receive the attack. 
• If attacker doesn’t choose a defending group, the defender chooses which one of his/her groups to defend.  If attacker chooses cavalry, they also choose a defending footman or cavalry to receive the attack. 
• If attacker doesn’t, or cannot choose a defending group, the defender chooses which one of their groups to defend.
• If attacker chooses footman or pikeman, the defender chooses which one of his/her groups to defend.
• After engaged groups, one attacking group and one defending group, are determined, continue to phase 5.
• If tactic card is played, adjust the strength accordingly.
• If both players do not have any unit cards at end of the engagement (due to tactics card’s battle ability), the clash ends immediately in a tie, and the round ends immediately.

  
(5) Resolution

• Compare the total strength (corrected basic + extended strength) of engaged groups.
• If the total strength of the attacking group is equal or higher than the defending group, the attacker wins. Otherwise, the defender wins.
• The victor takes a glory token from his/her opponent. If the attacker wins, they also take any one face up card from the province (deck and pile) and place it in the play area, as an extra bonus.
• The attacker moves their cards in the battlefield to the play area and continues to take the fourth action. 
• At the same time, the defender moves their cards in both the battlefield and play area to the discard pile and then draws 6 cards into their hand.
• If there is a  tie the active player’s turn ends immediately.  The defending player moves his/her cards in both battlefield and play area to the discard pile then draws until 6 cards are in hand.

Turn Phase – End:

The active player takes the following actions in exact order:

1. Play Area – Place Tiger Tally under player aid card and remaining cards in the discard pile.
2. End Game - If any player has six glory tokens, the game ends immediately, or if the active player has six or more Tiger Tally or two center decks are depleted, the game ends when the last player finishes his/her turn.
3. Refill – If the game does not end, draw up to five cards to your hand from your player deck.
4. After phase 3, the opponent player continues with a new turn.

Game End and Winning the Game

When a player takes all the glory tokens from their opponent, that player wins the game immediately.

However, if game ends under one of the following two conditions, the game continues until the last player finishes their turn. In either case, the player with the highest victory points wins the game.

1. When two center decks are depleted, or
2. When a player acquires six or more tiger tallies.

In case of a tie, the player with most tiger tally wins the game. If there is still a tie, both players share the glory.
 
Scoring

Each Player accumulates victory points from the following cards in his/her hand, player deck and discard pile.

• Province cards (such as tactic and gold cards in Guandu Core Set) that have a victory point value in the lower right corner.
• Tiger Tally - First pair of tiger tally cards are worth 2vp, two pairs are 5vp and three pairs are 10vp.
• Units -  Every 5 unit strength of a unit type is worth 1vp. For example, a total of 5 footman unit strength is 1vp, a total of 6 archer unit strength is 1vp, and a total of 12 pikeman unit strength is 2vp.
• Glory tokens - Each glory token worth 2vp.

Video Overview

There is a wonderful overview of game play that the designer Ta-Te Wu has posted.  You can see Part 1 here:

Part 2: 

Kickstarter Bonuses
There are a lot of Kickstarter stretch rewards with one already being met.  Here are the Kickstarter rewards:

My Thoughts

I was really excited when I received the prototype for Glory of the Three Kingdoms.  I've enjoyed many of Ta-Te's games but this was completely different from his other games I have come to love and enjoy. 

I first love the artwork and theme of the game.  The pictures we have been shown so far are outstanding.  I'm very excited about the three new player mat choices because I absolutely love the one you see here.  I also like the theme.  I've been learning more the story of the Three Kingdoms and enjoy the connection between this history and the game.  The cards nicely reflect the history, technology and fighting style of the Three Kingdoms and Cao Cao. 

Their historical strengths and weakness are reflected.  For example, the Yuan Shao faction was known for its strong military and great wealth.  So, Shao’s starting units have a higher strength value than Cao Cao’s and many of their faction’s abilities have to do with gold.

Cao Cao was known as a clever tactician.  Winning with Cao Cao depends on the player having a good combination of units and tactics.  The player needs to know when to attack and defend.  Because of this the designer has said Shao is the easier unit to play, as a new player, but anyone will enjoy the challenge of Cao Cao's tactics. 
 
Factions coming in later expansions will add others strengths and abilities based on their history.  I'm excited for the possible combinations with all the factions.  I'm not sure who my favorite will be but I have enjoyed playing as Cao Cao so far, even if I usually lose.

Set up and game play is fast and fun.  I like the mix of deck building and battle.  Because of the way cards are drawn the same cards are never available to the players.  This means players must play a tactical game; and be aware what cards the other player is buying.  Some of the cards available for the province decks are pretty powerful.  You also must be aware of your hero's strengths and weakness when battling and purchasing cards.  If your hero gets a bonus with cavalry you may want to focus on that.  Otherwise it may be difficult to attack and even defend. 

Battle can be confusing when you first play, but watching Ta-Te's overview will really help you understand.  It also gets more intuitive the more games you play. 

This learning curve is another plus for the game.  You get better the more you play and that keeps the game interesting.  As you get to know the cards, as you get to know the strengths and weakness of your faction you will gain a deeper understanding of the game.  This does mean newer players are at a disadvantage.  Letting them play with an easier faction will allow them to gain confidence and a chance to learn the game without crushing them. 

I'm excited for Glory of the Three Kingdoms and can't wait to see what else will come out for this game.



Quick Stats:

Designers: Jerry Gu, Monica Liang, Ta-Te Wu

Artist:  Foresight Design
Publishers: Sunrise Tornado Game Studio
Players: 2
Game Length: 30-60 minutes
Ages: 12 and up
Mechanics: Deck / Pool Building, Hand Management

Photo Credits: Martijn Althuizen (Martinus), mazout mazout (mazout), Ta-Te Wu (tatewu)

Seasons: A Review

I have always felt privileged to live in a place that experiences all four seasons.  I love the falling leaves in autumn, the crisp white snows of winter, the refreshing newness of spring, and the lazy days of summer.

Seasons takes the ideas of the passing of the days and the abundance or scarcity of resources  to create a beautiful new game.



Intro

The legendary tournament of the 12 Seasons is taking place.  At the end of this 12 year competition the new Archmage of the kingdom of Xidit will be chosen.  You are a wizard competing in the tournament using familiars, magical items, and spells to win the challenge and become the Archmage.

Components

All of the component for Seasons are beautiful.  I love the playful brightly colored artwork, the big chunky dice, and high quality cards, and the nice player boards.  I also love the player colors.  It isn't just red, blue, black and green you get lime green, purple, orange, and gray!  Gray can be a bit boring but it's nice to see something besides the standard in the Seasons.

The first component is the Crystal Track.  This shows the number of crystals possessed by each player.  Crystals are not only the prestige points (victory points) in the game but also you activate some Power Cards.

The game board is nice, but small.  It is divided into three zones.  The first zone is the year track.   A black cube is used to indicate which year is being played (1st, 2nd, or 3rd year).  The game ends at the end of the third year.  The season wheel is the second zone.  Another black cube is used to indicate the season of the current round (three blue for winter, three green for spring, three yellow for summer, and finally three red for fall).  The third zone is the energy transmutation chart.  This shows how many crystals each energy type can be transmuted into with the appropriate action, depending on the season.

Each player receives four Sorcerer Tokens in their player color.  These are used to show the number of crystals each player owns, on the crystal track, the level of summoning gauge of each player on their player boards, and the number of bonuses used by each player on their player boards. 

I love the artwork and the functionality of the individual player boards.  Each player's board has three different zones.  The first zone is he energy reserve.  This is where players keep the energy they have acquired during the game.  You may store a maximum of seven energy.  The second zone is the numbers from 0 to 15.

This is the summoning gauge that indicates the maximum number of power cards a player can have in play.  The last zone is the bonus track.  The bonus track allows a player to gain an advantage during the game.  However, the player will lose prestige points at the end of the game.  The circle under the dragon is where you can keep the dice you are using during your turn.  You do not need to keep the punched out circle.

The Power Cards are the heart of the game.  There are 50 different power cards, with two copies of each.  These cards allow players to win prestige points at the end of the game and change the course of the game with their effects.  These are divided into two categories: magical items and familiars.  Magical items have purple top and bottom boarders.  Their effects only benefit their owners.  Familiars have orange top and bottom boarders, and their affects apply to multiple players. 

A Power Card is also divided into six zones.  The first zone is the name of the card, such as Titus Deepgaze.  The second zone is under the picture and this shows the summoning cost in energy / and or crystals


When there is a symbol that looks like a person, these indicate the cost of the card depending on the number of players.  The third zone shows the effect of the card, once it enters play.

The fourth zone shows the number of prestige points the card is worth at the end of the game.  The fifth zone is the game symbol and the card number.  The cards numbered 1 to 30 are the basic cards, which are ideals for playing games with beginners; the cards numbered 31 to 50 are more complex cards.  The last zone is the type of effect of the card, indicating when its effect is applied.

One of my favorite components are the big, chunky season dice.  There are a total of 20 season dice, divided among the four colors.  The blue dice are for winter, the green for spring, the yellow for summer, and the red for fall.  At the beginning of each round, the dice corresponding to the current season are rolled.  Each face of the die offers players one or more actions they can perform.  They also allow player to determine how many spaces the season marker moves on the season wheel at the end of the round.  The dice are nicely etched and easy to read.

There are also energy tokens in four different types:  air, water, fire, and earth.  These are more or less rare depending on the season.  These tokens allow players to summon and activate some power cards and earn crystals through transmutation. 

The last components are the library tokens.  These are round disks showing Roman Numerals II and III.  The library tokens indicate the power cards that refill a player's hand during the second and third year of the game.

Set-Up

Set-up is pretty fast.  You first put the game board in the middle of the table.  The black year token is placed on the numbered "1" of the year track and the season token is placed on the space numbered "1" of the season wheel, as shown.  The number of dice placed depends on the number of players.  With two players place three dice of each color (chosen randomly) in the corresponding spaces.  With three players, place four dice of each color, chosen randomly.  With four players, place all five dice of each color.

Next, place the crystal track next to the game board and place the energy tokens next to the crystal track on the energy stockpile.

Next players need to choose the game's difficulty level.  If you are just learning the game you may want to start out at the "Apprentice Wizard" or beginner level.

Because choosing the nine cards you will use during the game can be difficult when you are learning the game there are sour pre-constructed sets of power card.

Instead of taking step 1 of the game phase, each player gets one of the predefined cards. The cards numbered 31 to 50 are returned to the box.  Then each player begins the game at the "Constructing Your Deck" step of the prelude.  The rest of the rules remain unchanged.

Players will more experience may want to try the "Magician Level" or the intermediate level.  In this level players will first choose their nine power cards during the prelude from the cards numbered 1 to 31.  Cards numbered 31 to 50 are not used.

Players with lots of experience will want to play at the "Archmage Level" or the advanced level.  Players at this level will use all 50 power cards.  Cards 31 to 50 have more complex effects than the basic cards.

After deciding on the difficulty of the game player will choose their individual boards and place them in from of them.

They will take the four sorcerer tokens in their color and place one token on the zero space at the bottom of the crystal track.  One token is placed on the second zero space at the top of the crystal track.  This token is to indicate hundreds when a player goes over 100 crystals.  One token is placed on the zero space of the bonus track of the individual board.  The last token is placed on the zero space of the summoning gauge on their board. 

Each player then takes a Library I and Library II token.  All the power cards are shuffled and nine are dealt face-down to each player.  The remaining cards are placed next to the game board.  These form the draw pile.  If at any point the draw pile is empty, reshuffle all the cards in the discard pile.  This cards form the new draw pile.  The youngest player goes first.

Game Overview

Seasons takes place over two distinct game phases.  In the first phase, called the prelude, the players choose nine power cards.  These will determine their strategy for the second game phase.  In the second phase, called the tournament, the players have three years to acquire as many prestige points as they can in order to claim the title of Archmage of the Kingdom of Xidit. 

First Game Phase - The Prelude

1.  Choose your nine power cards

Each player looks at the nine power cards which were handed to them.  From these cards, they choose one and place it face-down in front of them.  The remaining cards are placed between them and the player to their left.  Once all players have done this, each player picks up eight cards given to them by the player to their right.  Once again, they choose one, which is placed face-down in front of them, with the first card selected.  Players repeat these steps until no more cards are left to be chosen.  At the end of the phase, each player will have nice face-down power cards in front of them.

2.  Constructing your deck

From the nine power cards chosen, each player should assemble three sets of three cards each.  The first set forms the player's hand, as it corresponds to the cards with which the player will begin their tournament. 

The second set is placed under the Library I and Library II tokens and will be added to the player's hand during the second and third year of the tournament.  At any point during the game, the player may look at the cards. 

Second Game Phase - The Tournament

The tournament takes place over multiple successive rounds, at the end of which the winner of the game is chosen.

1.  Beginning of the round

A.  Roll the Season Dice

The first player of the round takes the season dice corresponding to the current round's season, as indicated by the season token, and rolls them.

B.  Choosing your Season Dice

Each face of the dice is made up f one or more symbols.  Each symbol corresponds to an action that the player will be able to take during their turn.  From among the dice rolled, the first player chooses one and places it in front of them.  Then, the player to their left does the same while taking one of the remaining dice.  This is repeated until each player has chosen a die.  There will be one remaining die on the table.

Because there's always a number of die present equal to the number of players plus one, the last player of the round always has a choice between two season dice.

2.  Players' turns

Once each player has chosen their season die, each player takes their turn in order, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise.  A player may take as many actions as desired during his or her turn:  perform the action(s) of their season die, summon / activate one or more of their power cards, and use one or more of their bonuses from their individual board.

A.  Actions Linked to Seasons Dice

On their turn, a player may take the action(s) offered by the season die they've previously chosen.

Energy Symbol - If an energy symbol is present on the die chosen, the player gains the type of energy shown.  The player takes from the stockpile, the number and type of energy shown on the die and places it (them) in their reserve.  Depending on the season of the current round, some energy types will be more or less abundant.  At no point can a player have more than seven energy tokens in their reserve.

If the player already has seven in their reserve and a new action would grant them new ones, they may keep only seven from among their tokens, and the decision must be made before taking new actions.


Number - Gain Crystals - When a number is present on the die chosen, the player gets as many crystals as the number on the die.  That player moves their sorcerer token along the crystal track a number of spaces equal to the number of crystals earned.  A player with the "gain crystals" action on their die cannot refuse to take them. 

Star - Increase their summoning gauge - when the star symbol is present on the die chosen by a player that player increases their summoning gauge by one.  this gauge indicates the maximum number of power cards a player may have in play.

Card - Draw a Card - When the card symbol is present on the die chosen the player draws a Power Card.  The player can keep it in their hand or discard it.  There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.

Transmute Energy - When the transmute energy symbol is on the die chosen by he player they can transform one or more of their energy token in their reserve into crystals.  They have until the end of their turn to do this.

In order to determine how many crystals each energy type can be transmuted into, the player checks he transmutation chart present on the game board.  This shows, depending on the season, how many crystals each energy type can be transmuted into  

The transmutation energy rate depends on the season and is thus separated into four zones.  One ring corresponds to each season.  The energy symbols present on the outer circle always transmute into a single crystal, the energy symbols present on the central circle into two crystals, and those present on the inner circle into three crystals. 

A player who is using transmutation chooses the energy tokens they wish to transmute from their reserve.  They then refer to the transmutation chart of the turn's season, in order to decide how many crystals of each energy is transmuted.  The player then moves their sorcerer token on the crystal track as many spaces as crystals earned.  The transmuted energy token are discarded.

Remember, the transmutation action is valid until the end of your turn.  You may transmute energy tokens from your reserve, take another action, and then preform another transmutation.

B. The Actions Linked to Power Cards: Summoning and Effects

1.  Summoning a Power Card

The Power Cards have many effects on the proceeding of the game.  In order to use their powers, they must be summoned, meaning brought into play.  To do this, a number of criteria must be fulfilled:

•  their summoning costs must be paid, meaning the player must discard the type and amount of energy and/or crystals required by a power card's summoning cost.
• have an summoning gauge full enough to summon them.  Thus, to summon a second power card, a player's summoning gauge must be at least two

Once all these criteria have been met, the power card is summoned and is considered to be in play.  This card is placed face-up in front of the player's individual board.  The player who has just summoned it then reads the effects to his or her opponents, so that all players are aware of its effects.  

Important Notes:

• multiple cards can be summoned during a turn, as long as the prerequisites are met
• a player can have the same power card in play twice the card's effect is cumulative
• there is no limit to the number of power cards a player can have in hand
• if the effect of a power card breaks one of the game's rules, the card's effects take precedence

2.  The types of effects of Power Cards

The types and effect of Power Cards determine at what time the effect of the card which has just been summoned must be resolved.  There are three different options.

The "when entering play" effects - the cards effect trigger only when the card has just been summoned.

Permanent Effects - the effects of this card last for the remainder of the game, unless it is removed from play.

Activation Effects - the effects of the power card can only trigger when the card is activated by the player who owns it.  It can activate at most once per round, as soon as it is summoned.  To use the activation effect of one of their card a player must:

• turn the power card 90 degrees.  The card so turned is straightened only at the beginning of the next round.  A card already turned cannot be turned a second time in a given turn.
• pay the activation cost of the card.  In order to be activated, some power cards require a prerequisite, such as sacrifice of a card.  If you cannot pay the activation cost, you cannot use the effect, either.

Once these two prerequisites are met, the player can apply the card's effects.

C. The Actions Linked to Bonuses

During the game, a player can use up to three bonuses.  These actions offer extra advantages to the player.   On the other hand, the player loses prestige points at the end of the game.

There are four types of bonuses.

Trade Energy - by using this bonus, you may trade two energy tokens, of your choice, from your reserve for two energy tokens from the stockpile.

+1 Transmute - By using this bonus, you can transmute energy tokens from your reserve.  Refer to the season's transmutation rate and add an additional crystal for each token transmuted.  Thus, an earth energy token which would normally turn into three crystals during winter would transmute into four crystals with this bonus.

Summoning Gauge - by using this bonus, you can increase your summoning gauge by one.

Draw Two Cards - by using this bonus, instead of the "draw a card action from your season die, draw two power cards.  Put one in your hand and discard the other.

A player can only use a maximum of three bonuses during the game.  They can use the same bonus three times or use different bonuses each time.  They can use all three during the same round or during different rounds. 

Resolution order of actions of the player's round

The "gain energy" and "gain crystals" actions on the seasons dice must be resolved before taking any other action.  Once these actions are resolved, the players may perform the other actions in order of their choosing. 

3.  End of Round

When all of the players have finished their turns, it's the end of the round. 

Moving Forward on the season wheel and changing seasons

At the end of the round, the number of pips shown by the die that wasn't selected by any of the players should be noted.  The season token will move that many spaces forward.  The distribution of all the game's dice is identical: two faces with a one, two faces with a two, and finally two faces with a three.  Thus, the speed of the game varies depending on the die that hasn't been picked by the players. 

At the end of the round, when the season token crosses the 3, 6, 9 and 12 spaces, a change in seasons occurs.  The change of season may trigger the effects of some power cards.

Change of Year

When the season token moves from space 12 to space 1 on the season wheel, a change of year occurs.   The year token in the middle of the board is moved forward one space.  As the players enter the second or third year, they add to their hand the power cards stored under the corresponding library token.  If a player still has power cards in their hand from the previous year, they keep those cards in hand and add the new cards that they have just gained.

Choosing a New First Player

The player to the left of the first player becomes the new first player.  That player rolls the dice corresponding to the season indicated by the season token on the season wheel.  A new round begins. 

4.  End of Game

The game ends immediately when the season token crosses the 12th space on the season wheel during the game's third year.  The players then total up:

• the total of their crystals.  Each crystal is worth one prestige point
• the prestige points present on their power cards in play

From this point total the players subtract:

• five prestige points for each power card remaining in their hand
• any penalties present on their bonus track

 Any unused energy at the end of the game are worth no prestige points.



The player with the most prestige points is name the new Archmage of the kingdom of Xidit.  In case of a tie, the player who has summoned the most power cards wins the game.

My Thoughts

Seasons is a beautiful game; the artwork is bright and whimsical, the components are of high quality, and set up on the table the game just looks inviting.  Beyond the cuteness of the cards, you find a game that is both deep and fulfilling.  I know some people really don't like the Crystal Chart.  Personally I like it; of course my hands are a lot smaller so they don't knock the little cubes around.  If it really bothers you I suggest using an alternative like stones or the crystals from Ascension with different sizes and values. 

The rulebook is very well done.  The pictures and text combined make for an easy read.  Questions are clarified and there is even a quick reference at the end to help refresh your memory after you haven't played the game for awhile.  Every card in the game is also described.  This is very helpful when you want to clarify the wording or just want more information on a certain card.  Because they are all numbered it is easy to quickly find the card you want. 

Another thing I like about the rulebook was the three difficulty levels.  When we first played the game and didn't know the cards, having the pre-constructed decks was useful. We didn't have to spend a lot of time reading and rereading trying to decide which cards to take, we just needed to put them into three sets and play.  As we became more familiar with the game we started drafting the cards.  I really did enjoy the card draft.  The game is more enjoyable with it.  So when you are more familiar make sure you add this to the game.

The Theme of Seasons is Sorcerers gathered together to compete to become the Archmage.  Truthfully, I'm not feeling it.  It's there as you play magic items and familiars but it still isn't the most immersive theme I've ever played.  This certainly doesn't take away from the fun of the game. 

The real fun of Seasons is the blending of different mechanisms to create a solid and elegant game.  You have card drafting, resource management, hand management and a little bit of press you luck.  With all these different mechanics you could end up with a mechanic heavy game that just feels like work.  That doesn't happen with seasons.  All the mechanics works so flawlessly together you don't even think about them as you play.

But you do need to pay attention to maximize your gameplay.  You really can't min-max in Seasons you need to do a little bit of everything or you will find yourself way behind. Finding a balance that works for you, the dice you choose, the cards you have, and of course what your opponents are doing is the key to becoming the Archmage.

Finding those card combinations that work well together is a lot of fun and it's great to see when you plans fall into place.  The game does favor experience and knowing the cards.  So experienced player will want to make sure they are kind to new comers because you are at an advantage once you have played a few times.

Because there are dice involved there is luck involved in Seasons.  I like that, I like rolling the dice and then using what comes up the best I can.  No matter what die you choose, there is always something good you can do, it may not be exactly what you were hoping for, but there is still something positive.

 
I love that the dice are all unique.  Because I play mostly two players this means that we can use the same cards but different dice and have a unique game every time.  I enjoy this variability in games.  It makes the game new every time.

While it hasn't happened yet, I do worry that there could be a runaway leader in Seasons.  There are times that I feel there is no way I can win because I am so far behind on the crystal track.  But at the end of the game when I add up my points from my cards I get very close to the winner and have even won a few games.  But I think the possibility of someone getting so far ahead of the other players is there.

There is a little bit of player interaction in cards 1-30, but you could play an entire game without affecting your opponents in any way.  Cards 31-50 are definitely more complex and offer a lot more player interaction.  So people who enjoy that will want to use a few of the higher cards in their game.

Overall I have really enjoyed getting to know and play Seasons.  The game is beautiful, the game play elegant, and the dice rolling a lot of fun.  Finding a balance and using card combinations is important to victory. 

Quick Stats:

Designers: Régis Bonnessée
Artists: Xavier Gueniffey Durin
Publishers: Asmodee, Asterion Press, Libellud,  Rebel.pl
Players: 2-4
Game Length: 60 minutes
Ages: 14 and up

Photo Credits: from www.boardgamegeek.com:  Régis Bonnessée (Siegfried)(2),Oceluna (jueguetistorias) (Oceluna), James Brooks (whitet), Rafal Szczepkowski (cnidius)(2), Daniel Danzer (duchamp), Régis Bonnessée (Siegfried), Antony Hemme (Toynan), Henk Rolleman (henk.rolleman), James Brooks (whitet), Daniel Danzer (duchamp), James Brooks (whitet)(2), Bob Rob (Najak) (2), Henk Rolleman (henk.rolleman), Doug Adams (dougadamsau), Régis  Bonnessée (Siegfried), Rafal Szczepkowski (cnidius), Antony Hemme (Toynan), Régis Bonnessée (Siegfried), Daniel Danzer (duchamp)

For Sale

With the problems the real estate market has had over the past few years, it surprising that a real estate themed game can be so amusing.  But this quick, simple, money grabbing game, makes people laugh every time.

Overview

For Sale is a game of bidding in bluffing to get the highest ranking properties and then sell them for the most profit.

Players must manage their money during the bidding and property acquisition please.  They want to purchase the most valuable properties with the least amount of money.

Then players then try to outsmart, out guess and outsell the other players during the selling phase.  They want to sell the properties for the highest-valued Currency Cards.  The richest player at the end of the game wins!

Components /Set Up

The game comes with 30 property cards numbered 1-30 and 30 Currency Cards valued ($0 to $15,000 skipping $1,000--two of each.)  These cards should be separated by type and shuffled into separate piles.  The Currency Cards should be set aside for use in the second half of the game.  The property cards are placed face down as a deck.  

The game also comes with 60 silver $1,000 coins and 12 gold $2,000 coins.  In a 3 to four player game each person gets two $2,000 coins and fourteen $1,000 coins.  In a 5-6 player game, each player gets two $2,000 coins and ten $1,000 coins. 

With three players, remove six properties and six currency cards from the game without looking at them.  With four players remove two properties and two currency cards.  These cards are discarded and placed back in the box.

How to Play

There are two phases to the game.  During Phase One, players will be buying properties and then selling them during phase two.

Phase One:  Buying Properties 

Setup:  Turn face up the number of property cards equal to the number of players.  For example, three cards for three players.  All the face-up properties will now be auctioned so that no player goes empty handed.  Each player may bid or pass.  

Bidding:  The player who lives in the largest house begins and lays down any number of his coins onto the table. Play then continues clockwise around the table. The next player must decide whether he will bid or pass.  If they bid, the bid amount must be more than the previous bid.  Bidding continues around the table for as many times as necessary until all players have passed.  

Passing:  If a player passes, he takes the property that remains on the table with the lowest value.  He also takes back half his bid (rounded down).  For example if a player had previously bid $3,000, but decides to pass, they take back $1,000 into their hand. The rest of the money is returned to the bank and is placed out of the game.  After all players but one have passed, the remaining bidding player takes the highest valued property, but pays the full amount of their bid to the bank.  It is not necessary to bid anything to gain a property.  You can pass, pay nothing and secure the least valuable property at no charge. 

Tip:   Keep your money secret. 

Purchased properties are placed face down in front of the player who purchased them.  The player who took the most valuable property turns over the next set of Property Cards for auction and continues to p0lay by bidding or passing.  This continues until all of the Property Cards have been sold.  When this occurs Phase 1 is finished.  Unused coins are kept by the players.  They will be worth their face value at the end of the game. 

Phase Two:  Selling Properties

Now players are going to sell their property cards and earn some money.  In this phase, the Property Cards will be sold for Currency Cards.  As in Phase 1, the same number of Currency Cards will be turned face up as there are players.  Each player takes his Property Cards into their hand and places one Property Card face down in front of them.  Once all players have a face-down property card, they turn over the cards simultaneously.  The player who has played the most valuable Property Card takes the highest-valued Currency Card.  The player who has played the second highest valued Property Card takes the second highest-valued currency card, and so on.  Property Cards are then discarded from the game.

Game End

The game ends when all players have sold all of their properties.  Players add up their Currency Cards and remaining Coins.  The richest player wins.  Ties are resolved in favor of the player with the most remaining coins. 

My Thoughts

Most of my friends are gamers and it can be very difficult to entice them into playing a game.  One game that has been a hit is For Sale.  Now, it helps that the theme of buying is selling appeals to them, but the simple and fast game play may be the bigger selling point.

For Sale is definitely easy to teach to new comers.  The two phases can be broken up and explained separately so players can start Phase One, after a few minutes of rules explanation.  As the properties are placed on the table there are usually a few good chuckles as players view the artwork.  I must admit the outhouse card is pretty funny and the idea of selling a space station is also rather amusing.  I like the cartoon artwork of the cards.  It really goes along with the fun light-hearted nature of the game.

Because it is a card game there is definitely luck involved in the game.  All the highest priced cards may come out at once and players might end up paying very little for a really good card.   The strategy of Phase One comes in as players decide when and how much to bid.  Managing your money and knowing when to bid high or low is very important during this phase. 

And, like in the real world, players just might drive up the bidding price to encourage their opponents to bid just a little bit more.


As players gloat over their acquisitions from Phase One the fun begins again as the Currency Cards show up to the table.  That element of poker, not showing your hand, pushing your luck, and hoping you have the best strategy kicks into high gear in Phase Two.  Now players must read their opponents, remember the properties they acquired, and make the best choice of property to put down.  Being able to bluff would be a bonus in this round.  In the end, this phase always brings more laughs as players realize that the manhole just sold for $7,000. 

No matter the outcome, players are smiling at the end of For Sale and of course asking to play another round.  Non-gamers, hobby gamers, families and so forth could get a lot of enjoyment of this simple game.  It a light filler that will remain on my shelf for years, not only because I enjoy it,  but my friends do, as well.

Quick Stats

Designers: Stefan Dorra
Artists:Alvin Madden, Klaus Wilinski
Publishers: F.X. Schmid, Gabinete Lúdico, Gryphon Games, Ravensburger, Überplay, Wargames Club Publishing, Взрослые дети
Players: 3-6
Game Length: 20 minutes
Ages: 8 and up

Picture Credits: Penny (kittyangel), Gábor Iványosi-Szabó (Artax), Jed Hastwell (nnjed), Ender Wiggins (EndersGame), Michael Jordal (Jormi_Boced)(2), Ender Wiggins (EndersGame),  Fred CS (Gryphon Eagle), Agnis Skuskovniks (Biku-Beku), Ender Wiggins (EndersGame)

 

Thanks for sharing your great pictures!

Timeline: Inventions

As you pop open that can of soda or erase that stray pencil marks from your paper do you ever wonder when these things were invented or which was invented first?  Was the ball point pen invented before or after the rubber band?  Was penicillin discovered before the rabies vaccine?  They are all important inventions and discoveries, but do you know the answers?

Timeline provides those answers in a novel little game.  It that takes something very educational, a timeline, and makes it into a fun, fast paced trivia game. 

Components / Set - UP

There aren't many components that come with Timeline, but the ones that do are very nice.  There are 109 small cards with the name of the invention and its image on one side and the same information plus the inventions or discovery date on the other side.  These cards are very small.   I would prefer larger cards, but the size works for the game.  The artwork is lovely and the cards are all easy to read.  The different themes of the cards (Inventions, Discoveries, Historical Events, Monuments, Arts & Literature, Music) are color coded on the date side of the cards.  Those who are color blind don't need to worry, the colors are not critical to the game.

The other great component of the game is the nice tin that the game comes in.   It is small but all the cards fit nicely in the insert. The tin is very eye catching sitting on the self.

To set up the game you first shuffle all the cards and deal a certain number to each player.  For 2 to 3 players each player receives 6; for 4 to 5 players 5, and 6 to 8 players 4.  Experienced players are free to agree at the start of the game if they wish to start with a different amount of cards.  These cards are placed "date side" down in front of each player.  The rest of the cards are placed in the middle of the table.

The first card from this pile is placed "date side" visible in the center of the table.  This will be the first card in the timeline.

Goal of the Game

To be the first player to place all your cards correctly in the time line and be the only player with no cards remaining in front of you at the end of a round.

Game Play

The game is played over a number of rounds.  In each round, the players take turns clockwise.  A round is complete after all players have taken a turn.  To begin the game, the first player must play one of his or her cards next to the starting card.

If the start player thinks that the invention or discovery on the card was made before the starting card, he or she places the card to the left of the starting card.  If they think the invention or discovery was after the starting card, they place it to the right of the starting card.

After a card is played, turn it over so the "date side" is showing, and check that the card has been placed correctly in chronological order.

If the card was placed properly, it is left there, "date side" up, and the player's turn is over.  If the card was not placed properly, it is returned to the box.  The player must draw the first card from the card pile and place it in front of him or her "date side" down, next to their other cards.

Now the next player begins their turn.  If the first player has played his or her card properly, the second player can now choose between three spaces in which to place their card: to the left of the two cards already player, to the right, or in between them.

If the first player hasn't player their card properly, the second player has two options (to the right or to the left of the starting card.)  If the second player is able to play their card properly, it remains on the table with the "date side" visible.   The timeline is simply rearranged so that the a space is left between each card.  

Players continue taking turns this way until one or more players has successfully added all their cards to the Timeline. 

Special Rules

During the game, it is possible that a player will play a card with the same date a a card that has already been played.  In this case, he or she must play the two cards adjacent to each other.  the order of these two cards does not matter.  

End of the Game

At the end of each round, check to see if any player have no cards in front of them.  If no one was able to play their last card correctly, start a new game round.  If one player correctly player this last card they win the game.

If more than one player correctly played their last card in the same game round, the game continues.  All players who played their last card remain in the game and the other players are eliminated.  The remaining players each draw one card from the card pile, and they continue playing until there is only one player in the game round who plays his or her last card correctly.  The player who does this wins the game.

In Short

When it is your turn, you must play one of your cards in the correct "point in time."  If you play the card correctly, you will have one less card in front of you.  If you play incorrectly your card is returned to the box and you must draw a new card.  If you are the only player in a game round to correctly play your last card, you are the winner.

 
My Thoughts

Timeline is an incredibly simple game.  The rules can be taught in five minutes are less.  Games usually last less than 15 minutes and are surprisingly fun.  There are usually some tense moments as players debate where do place their inventions.  That tension increases as the game progresses and the timeline grows longer.  Table discussions and laughter abound as players' thoughts are confirmed or they are devastated to learn they were incorrect.

Of course people who are good at trivia, history, or science may have an advantage over the rest of us.   Yet, I've seen even the best trivia people, stumped by a few of the cards.  Also a good guess is sometimes just as successful as knowing the right answer; and it can elicit an even greater celebration when the player gets it right.

Timelines are great learning tools.  Seeing the linear development of our history puts events, discoveries and progress of human knowledge into perspective.  Families can use Timeline as both a fun game, and a learning exercise for their children.  

Younger children may struggle with the dates and unfamiliar inventions so 8 seems light a good starting point for this game.  Parents probably would also have the advantage of age and prior knowledge over their children, but you might be surprised on knowledge and thought process of your children.

There are certainly some concerns will players eventually learning and remembering the dates on the cards.  There can also be some debate about whether some dates are correct.  The new versions of the game, Historic Events and Discoveries, should add some re-playability as cards can be mixed in or removed.   I haven't been able to pick up these but I they are on my want list.  I love the novel, simple, and elegant game play of Timeline.  It great to play with family and a fun filler for hobby gamers.  If you end up memorizing some of the dates should you really be upset at the game, or thank it for teaching you something.  Either way, Timeline is yet another game that makes learning fun!

Quick Stats:

Designers: Frédéric Henry
Artist:  Xavier Collette, Nicolas Fructus
Publishers: Asmodee, Hazgaard Editions, Kaissa Chess & Games, REXhry
Players: 2 -8
Game Length: 15 minutes
Ages: 8 and up


Picture Credits:  Rob Robinson (zombiegod), Rafal Szczepkowski (cnidius)(2), Rob Robinson (zombiegod), Rafal Szczepkowski (cnidius), Rob Robinson (zombiegod),  Dashiell Pinar (Chuke95)

Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures!