In this blog I will try to give a short summary of board games that I enjoy and give my opinion on why I like them using the rating system in the table below:
Topic
Subtopics
Weight (%)
Overview
- Publisher - Author(s) - Number of players - What's the game about? - Pictures
Total score:
Gameplay
At the end of the day, the most important thing about a game is how fun it is - Fun - Game length - Downtime - Implemention of theme - Player interaction
50
Flexibility
- Replayability - Weight of the game (good for the die hard and/or family gamer?) - Amount of players
30
Rules
- How well are the rules written - Language dependency - How clear are the used icons?
10
Components
- Value for money - Quality of components - Artwork/ eye candy
-
Publisher: Matagot
- Author(s): Jacques Bariot, Guillaume Montiage
- Number of players: 2 - 5 - Year: 2012 - Description:
In Kemet, players each deploy the troops of
an Egyptian tribe and use the mystical powers of the gods of ancient
Egypt along with their powerful armies to score points in glorious
battles or through invasion of rich territories. A game is typically
played to 8 or 10 victory points, which may be accrued through winning
attacks, controlling temples, controlling fully-developed pyramids,
sacrificing to the gods, and wielding particular magical powers.
The conquest for the land of Kemet takes place over two phases: Day
and Night. During the day, choose an action amongst the nine possible
choices provided by your player mat and perform it immediately. Once
every player has taken five actions, night falls, with players gathering
Prayer Points from their temples, drawing Divine Intervention cards,
and determining the turn order before the start of the new day.
As the game progresses, they can use Prayer Points to acquire power
tiles. Some of these enroll magical creatures and have them join their
troops. In addition to intimidating enemies, these creatures provide
special powers!
Detailed miniature components represent the combat units and the
supernatural creatures that are summoned to enhance them. Combat is
resolved through cards chosen from a diminishing six-card hand and
enhanced by bonuses.
Total score:
78% A highly agressive area control and development game
Gameplay
- During their turn, players can upgrade their empire, buy new abilities, recruit troops and heroes and move them to attack other regions to score points. The game is heavily slanted in the attacker's favor, which mean you need to be agressive to win
40
Flexibility
- Players who love strategic area control and wargames with a minimal amount of luck (cards, not dice, are used for combat) will likely like this game for its agressive nature. - For the same reason, the game is not for everyone. Players who dislike these types of games will likely not enjoy this. As most of these games, I doubt it would make a good 2-player game (but I could be wrong as I havn't tried it yet) - The map is always the same, but the large amount of buildings/upgrades allows for a large variation of possible strategies
20
Rules
-
Language independant game, multiple languages are included in the rules - Quite overwhelming at first because of the many buildings and upgrades that are available to buy. Thankfully comes with a handy reference sheet.
8
Components
- The game has amazing components: thick cardboard, detailed plastic minatures and beautiful custom dice
-
Offers deep game play in just 30 minutes of time
- High interaction thanks to the clever drafting mechanism. Taking a card
that the other player needs might reveal an even better card for your competitor.
Timing has a large impact on your decisions.
- Three ways to win/end the game. Although
you can focus on one specific strategy it's also very risky, which allows
for some tense games.
45
Flexibility
-
It can only be played as a 2-player game. However, as a 2-player game it's
excellent
- High randomisation during the game setup
allows for a high replay value.
- Could be easily expended with future
expansions.
25
Rules
-
Rules are explained in a clear manner with plenty of examples. A nice overview
of the cards, game setup and summary of the rules is also included
- Language independent although some of the used icons are not always clear
in the beginning. Thankfully a handy reference sheet is included in the
box
9
Components
-
The small box is filled to the brim with quality components
- Like the original 7 Wonders, it has fantastic artwork
During the medieval goings-on around Orléans, you must assemble a
following of farmers, merchants, knights, monks, etc. to gain supremacy
through trade, construction and science in medieval France.
Box description:
In the city of Orléans and the area of the Loire, you can take trade
trips to other cities to acquire coveted goods and build trading posts.
You need followers and their abilities to expand your dominance by
putting them to work as traders, builders, and scientists. Knights
expand your scope of action and secure your mercantile expeditions.
Craftsmen build trading stations and tools to facilitate work. Scholars
make progress in science, and last but not least it cannot hurt to get
active in monasteries since with monks on your side you are much less
likely to fall prey to fate.
In Orléans, you will always want to take
more actions than possible, and there are many paths to victory. The
challenge is to combine all elements as best as possible with regard to
your strategy.
Total score:
90%
A highly enjoyable point salad using bag building and worker placement as its main mechanism
Gameplay
I find this game highly enjoyable to play. - There are many possible strategies and combo's you can try during your turn. - You always want to do more actions than possible (which I find a good thing) - The bag building mechanism works really well - Little downtime. Players simultaniously assign their workers after which actions are taken in turn
45
Flexibility
- Many ways to victory - Plays well with any amount of players - Although this game is quite complex I've found it easy to teach and learn
30
Rules
- Well written rules - The game is completely language independent. - Everything is shown with very clear icons
10
Components
While the overall components are good, the worker disks are made of thin cardboard. These are very light which makes them not easy to grab. I also noticed some wear of the paint on the worker tokens after a few plays Because these are major components to the game I could not give a high score to this segment For the fans I recommend the Orléans Fan Kit, which offers a component upgrade to the game
