Post by Gilvan Blight on Mar 27, 2009 9:42:55 GMT -5
Quickly: not nearly as simple as it sounds, good two player game.
[glow=blue,2,300]Summary:[/glow] This is a pretty abstract non-collectible card/board game for two players. I say Card/Board as there is a small board used between the two players in a style similar to Lost Cities. The main gameplay is card based though. This is one of those games where the 'story' is just tacked onto what is really an abstract game. The theme is that you are ancient tribes trying to build the most impressive temples to the gods (or God).
As I had a hard time describing this one (tried three times), I'm going to borrow a description of play from Boardgamegeek user Voynix:
Game play
A player's turn is divided into 3 steps:
1. Draw 3 Tribe cards
2. Take as many Actions as you want/can (see below)
3. Draw 2 Temple cards and queue them with previously drawn temple cards on your side of the board (lowest number first).
The Actions1. Move
Basically to do anything at a temple building site, your stone figure has to be at that site. Each of these sites color-corresponds to a tribe card color (5 sites, 5 different tribes). Therefore, to move your stone figure to the blue site, discard a blue (Assyrians) card from your hand.
2. Settle
Play any of your tribe cards from your hand onto the building site where your stone figure resides. These cards are queued and staggered, and their order cannot be changed once played.
3. Temple Building
Take temple cards from either player's temple card queue (top cards first) and place them into the temple space at the site your stone figure is located. Temples are built in order (level 1, then 2 etc). A player must have at least the number of tribe cards at this site as the temple level being built.
4. Migration
Once per turn, a player may move the top 3 tribe cards from any temple site to another temple site, regardless of the stone figure location.
5. Use Tribe skills
If 3 tribe cards are grouped together in a queue, a player may discard one of them to use that tribe's special power (as long as his stone figure is at that site).
-Assyrians: destroy opponent's temple in this territory
-Hitties: rob opponent's highest temple level at this site. May skip levels when doing this.
-Medes: Discard all opponent's cards of a single tribe at this temple site.
-Sumerians: All like tribe cards at the top of the opponent's queue swap sides
-Persians: May skip a temple level when building
So after phase 3 (drawing temple cards), the turn is over and the next player goes. The game ends when a player has 15 points of temple levels unless the opponent has at least 10 points. If this is the case the game ends when one player has 20 points or when one player has less than 10 points (that player loses).
[glow=green,2,300]The Good:[/glow]A rather good two player game that sounds simple until you play it. This one is a real thinker and extremely cut-throat. Having 5 different choices of actions to do can mean the game changes around completely in just one turn. The components are pretty top notch and look great (though I was disappointed that my Quarry Stones were Wood).
[glow=yellow,2,300]The Bad:[/glow]The luck factor in this is a little stronger then I would like. The tribe drawing seems to work fine, it's the way temples are drawn that is annoying. When we played we each went through multiple turns where we couldn't build anything due to the Temple draw piles not having the tiles we needed. This is not the light hearted game it appears to be. Due to that I doubt I will play it much since at the times I feel like playing a two player game I usually want something quick and fun, not a strategic battle against my opponent. Also for those times I want a strategic battle I would much rather play something like Twilight Struggle or Command and Colours.
[glow=red,2,300]The Ugly[/glow]I would have liked a summary of what each Tribe's 'power' is on the cards instead of just a note about it. I found it hard to remember what each did. The cutthroat nature of this game can be nasty with the wrong people playing. If you don't like games where your opponent can totally ruin your winning plan you have been working on for three turns in just one move, then I suggest you leave this game alone.
[glow=blue,2,300]Overall:[/glow] A rather good two player game that isn't nearly as simple as it looks. This is a cutthroat game that requires quite a bit of thinking where the tide can shift in just one turn. I liked it but for two player thinking games I would much rather play a game like Battlelore or Twilight Struggle. I still recommend this one for anyone looking for more games to play with only two people.
[glow=blue,2,300]Summary:[/glow] This is a pretty abstract non-collectible card/board game for two players. I say Card/Board as there is a small board used between the two players in a style similar to Lost Cities. The main gameplay is card based though. This is one of those games where the 'story' is just tacked onto what is really an abstract game. The theme is that you are ancient tribes trying to build the most impressive temples to the gods (or God).
As I had a hard time describing this one (tried three times), I'm going to borrow a description of play from Boardgamegeek user Voynix:
Game play
A player's turn is divided into 3 steps:
1. Draw 3 Tribe cards
2. Take as many Actions as you want/can (see below)
3. Draw 2 Temple cards and queue them with previously drawn temple cards on your side of the board (lowest number first).
The Actions1. Move
Basically to do anything at a temple building site, your stone figure has to be at that site. Each of these sites color-corresponds to a tribe card color (5 sites, 5 different tribes). Therefore, to move your stone figure to the blue site, discard a blue (Assyrians) card from your hand.
2. Settle
Play any of your tribe cards from your hand onto the building site where your stone figure resides. These cards are queued and staggered, and their order cannot be changed once played.
3. Temple Building
Take temple cards from either player's temple card queue (top cards first) and place them into the temple space at the site your stone figure is located. Temples are built in order (level 1, then 2 etc). A player must have at least the number of tribe cards at this site as the temple level being built.
4. Migration
Once per turn, a player may move the top 3 tribe cards from any temple site to another temple site, regardless of the stone figure location.
5. Use Tribe skills
If 3 tribe cards are grouped together in a queue, a player may discard one of them to use that tribe's special power (as long as his stone figure is at that site).
-Assyrians: destroy opponent's temple in this territory
-Hitties: rob opponent's highest temple level at this site. May skip levels when doing this.
-Medes: Discard all opponent's cards of a single tribe at this temple site.
-Sumerians: All like tribe cards at the top of the opponent's queue swap sides
-Persians: May skip a temple level when building
So after phase 3 (drawing temple cards), the turn is over and the next player goes. The game ends when a player has 15 points of temple levels unless the opponent has at least 10 points. If this is the case the game ends when one player has 20 points or when one player has less than 10 points (that player loses).
[glow=green,2,300]The Good:[/glow]A rather good two player game that sounds simple until you play it. This one is a real thinker and extremely cut-throat. Having 5 different choices of actions to do can mean the game changes around completely in just one turn. The components are pretty top notch and look great (though I was disappointed that my Quarry Stones were Wood).
[glow=yellow,2,300]The Bad:[/glow]The luck factor in this is a little stronger then I would like. The tribe drawing seems to work fine, it's the way temples are drawn that is annoying. When we played we each went through multiple turns where we couldn't build anything due to the Temple draw piles not having the tiles we needed. This is not the light hearted game it appears to be. Due to that I doubt I will play it much since at the times I feel like playing a two player game I usually want something quick and fun, not a strategic battle against my opponent. Also for those times I want a strategic battle I would much rather play something like Twilight Struggle or Command and Colours.
[glow=red,2,300]The Ugly[/glow]I would have liked a summary of what each Tribe's 'power' is on the cards instead of just a note about it. I found it hard to remember what each did. The cutthroat nature of this game can be nasty with the wrong people playing. If you don't like games where your opponent can totally ruin your winning plan you have been working on for three turns in just one move, then I suggest you leave this game alone.
[glow=blue,2,300]Overall:[/glow] A rather good two player game that isn't nearly as simple as it looks. This is a cutthroat game that requires quite a bit of thinking where the tide can shift in just one turn. I liked it but for two player thinking games I would much rather play a game like Battlelore or Twilight Struggle. I still recommend this one for anyone looking for more games to play with only two people.