Initial Impressions -- Swimming Against the Tide

I was dreading this. The buzz on this new game from Venatic has been nearly universal in its praise. Yes, it appears that most of this buzz is coming from circles other than true "German-style" gamers, so that has caused me to wonder a bit just who is playing and enjoying the game. Still, I've found scant few words criticizing the game. Truth-be-told, I was hoping I, too, would enjoy the game and join the chorus of those touting its merits. I fully realized that if my experience was sub-par and my opinion of the game less than favorable, I would likely suffer a barrage of criticism and counter-arguments from a host of the game's fans. That is rarely a pleasant thing, so I was really, really hoping I'd enjoy the game.

When the game arrived, I studied the rules and components carefully, making sure I understood the concepts and would be able to explain the system with reasonable clarity and brevity. I didn't want our first attempt at playing to be marred by confusion, missed rules or misunderstandings. Although far simpler than many wargames, the system is much more intricate and involved than traditional German style games.

We had our first opportunity to play last night, with six players participating. The rules explanation took about 20 minutes or so; any longer and I'd have lost the attention of several of the players. For the most part, the concepts and mechanics were understood reasonably well by the players, but the combat system still caused some confusion. Eventually, we learned that it was actually a 2-step process, which we had difficulty discerning from the rules.

We initially set a 1 ½ hour time limit for our game, but as we approached this time limit we decided to extend it to 2 hours as the game was just beginning to heat-up a bit. When the two-hour point was reached, we tallied the final scores and then discussed the merits and drawbacks of the game. What follows is our assessment and commentary. I'll save a detailed description and final assessment of the game itself until after I've had the opportunity to play it a few more times.

The mildest statement I can make concerning the game is simply that it isn't my style. If it was just me who had felt this way, then I could easily chalk-it-up to my own personal preferences and tastes. However, several of the folks who played last night tend to enjoy these types of romps, so I figured we would have a good chance of getting some positive opinions and reactions. Sadly, that was not the case. The reaction from around the table was one of unanimous disappointment and disenchantment. Let me try to explain why.

As several other folks have mentioned, the designer appears to have taken an approach to design the game so as to appeal to a very wide variety of gamers - role-players, collectible card gamers, war gamers, beer-and-pretzel gamers and German-style board gamers. As such, there is a smattering of mechanisms and systems that would be familiar to each of these genres. The consequence is that some of these mechanisms and systems may prove distasteful to folks in a different genre. As a result, you have game wherein many folks may find something they like, but also find some things they don't enjoy. The challenge is to make the "likes" outweigh the "dislikes". Sadly, for me - and everyone else at our table -- the scale tipped in the other direction.

Let me begin with the components

There is no denying that the artwork, for the most part, is top-notch. The illustrations on the most of the cards are attractive and the rulebook is liberally filled with these illustrations accompanying numerous examples of play. Everything fits easily inside a slim, square box, with ample room to house some of the myriads of expansions to the system.

Now the bad. The box lid touts the "PAKIT" technology - Platter and Key Interlocking Technology. Well, they need new technology. The cardboard used for the platters is so thin that the pieces warped horribly and would not stay "locked" together. I bent the pieces back against the warp in hopes of causing them to lay flat, but to no avail. I even rested heavy boxes on top in order to flatten them. Again, no success. Some may find this a minor irritation, but I find it unacceptable. The use of thicker cardboard would have solved this problem. Obviously, expenses were cut in this area and it shows.

Further, the small hexagon counter tokens are also cut from the same thin cardboard material. They are too small to warp, but they are so thin and poorly cut that it was a challenge getting them to separate from their frames without tearing. Further, the identifying artwork on these counters tends to blend in with the board and it makes it difficult to keep track on which counter belongs to which player.

Finally, one or two more player aid charts would have been helpful, including another copy of the chart that appears on the back cover of the rulebook.

Now, let's move on to the system itself. I've been searching for one word that would describe it best, but several words keep popping into my mind. Fiddly. Convoluted. Cumbersome. Outdated. Familiar. Unfortunately, in this instance, none of these words are favorable.

Now, before I go further, let me state flatly that I believe there is a potentially large audience for this game. Role players should love it. Teenagers and even pre-teens - particularly boys - should love it. There might even be a smattering of folks who tend to play CCGs and even some lighter war games who will find the game alluring. As such, if marketed properly, the designer and company will likely meet with a substantial degree of success.

Unfortunately, there isn't much here to be attractive to the German-style gamer. I'd venture to say that most folks who are heavily into the "German" game scene will find that most if not all of the adjectives I used above to be applicable. I had a hard time identifying any mechanisms that could remotely be related to German-style games. The level of "fiddlyness", dice-rolling, chart consultations and power comparisons was extremely cumbersome and, well, fiddly.

Each of the 28 characters are rated in ten different categories. Quite simply, that's too many categories. Each skill category contains a small symbol which must be compared to the small symbol listed on the encounter cards (or the cards of the opponents). This becomes fairly tedious identifying the correct skills to compare.

Instead of a numerical rating, however, these skill levels are based on a 6 level color spectrum, with brighter being better. So, challenges and conflicts will usually require players to compare various skills, roll dice, consult a chart, do more skill comparisons, roll more dice and consult another chart. Some claim that the more one plays, the easier these comparisons become and the chart consultations become unnecessary. Perhaps this is true, but it certainly didn't occur in our game and it seems to me it would take numerous games before this became second-nature. I can't see myself playing the game that often and that frequently to develop such a skill.

Many of the cards tend to be overloaded with information, giving a cluttered appearance. Equipment cards in particular can succumb to this cluttering. Characters must check to see if they are eligible to utilize the equipment. This is done by checking two of the character's skills against the two skills depicted on the equipment card. Then, the card itself lists a description of the item and the benefits it grants the wielder. Weapons will also depict various symbols explaining what skills must be compared when using the weapon, as well as how often it can be fired, the range, the type of target and the potential damage it can do. Your eyes and brain get a work-out trying to keep all these statistics in order. "Fiddly" is putting it mild.

As mentioned, encounters, particularly conflicts, are a series of comparisons, dice rolling and chart consultations. Let me explain a typical conflict involving the use of a weapon.

Typical Conflict

John is part of the "black" team and moves his character Spartacus across a field. Keith is controlling Siennya, the Queen's daughter, who is hiding in a clump of trees, preparing an ambush on Spartacus. After John completes his move, Keith declares his right for "Opportunity Fire" (sound familiar, Squad Leader fans?) and marks a space in the field across which Spartacus was moved. When the Opportunity Fire phase arrives, the process begins to see if Keith can, indeed, fire and, if so, what are the results.

First, Keith declares which weapon he is using. He must reveal the weapon and then check to see if his character has the necessary skill levels in which to wield the weapon. Siennya is opting to use a Remington .31, which has low level skill requirements in both "strength" (black) and "wits" (maroon). Fortunately, Siennya is rather bright (blue) and strong (blue), so she easily meets these requirements. Remember, brighter colors are better. So, it is established that Siennya can wield the Remington.

Next, Keith must check to make sure Spartacus is within range of the weapon. The Remington has a range of '4' and the location marked for opportunity fire is 3 spaces away. So far, so good.

Next, it must be determined if Siennya can actually see Spartacus in the space marked. This requires a "Line-of-Sight" check (Hello, Squad Leader!) The line of sight travels over one hex containing fire, which amazingly does NOT block line of sight, but does cause a -1 modifier to the 'Hit' roll. All other hexes are clear terrain, so do not effect the approaching dice roll.

Now, Siennya fires. The Remington card requires a comparison o Siennya's"point" skill (depicted by a little hand) against Spartacus' 'stealth" ability (depicted by a little dude wearing a hood). Siennya's “point" skill is green, while Spartacus' "stealth" skill is also green. Consulting the "Challenge Chart" reveals that the required "to hit" number is a seven. However, due to the fact that the line of sight crosses a fire hex, this number is reduced by '1', meaning that the new 'Hit' number is a '6'. Keith must roll a '6' or less in order to hit Spartacus.

However, just prior to Keith rolling, John reveals a 'Camouflage' card. Spartacus looks rather nice in modern camouflage, and this also gives him the added benefit of reducing the "hit" number by one more. Now, Keith must roll a '5' or less in order to hit Spartacus.

Keith rolls two dice and gets a "5" - the highest number he could have rolled and still scored a "hit". This is known for some strange reason as a "squeak" in game parlance.

Now it's time to watch Spartacus scream in pain, right? Not quite. We're not done with the skill comparisons, dice rolling and chart consultations just yet. Now, the damage level of the weapon must be compared against the armor level of the target. The Remington 'damage' level is green, while Spartacus' armor level is blue. Consulting the 'Challenge Chart', this yields a 'hit' number of 8. But wait! Spartacus reveals a weapon card showing that he is wearing a Riot Helmet. This gives him a +1 armor bonus. So, the hit number is now a '7'.

Fine. Keith rolls the dice yet again but rolls an '8'. Arrghh! Yep -another chart to consult. This time, he consults the "Challenge Results" chart. '7' was the 'hit' number, so that number is located along the left side of the chart. An '8' was rolled, so that number is found along the top of the chart. These are cross-referenced indicating that the shot failed. This has caused any damage inflicted to be reduced by '2'. Keith checks the damage number on the weapon card and discovers that the damage caused by the Remington is '2'. 2 - 2 = 0. After all this, Spartacus emerges unscathed.

If you are the sort of gamer who enjoys this constant series of skill comparisons, dice rolling and chart consultations, then you'll be in heaven with this game. If you are like me, however, and find this seemingly endless series of checks, rolls, consultations and cross-checks to be tedious, then you'll likely not find this game to your liking.

The tediousness does continue with the labyrinth adventures. Four labyrinths are present in the land, one from each time period. Characters enter these labyrinths and attempt to challenge the guardians there. To do this, they must move to the guardian location, which begins at the very rear of the labyrinth. During the adventure phase, if a character occupies the same space as the guardian marker, a card from the appropriate labyrinth is revealed. The card gives a brief, usually silly story which reveals the object of the challenge. It also indicates which skill must compared by the character against the level listed on the card. The 'squeak' number is determined (consult the old chart again!), dice are rolled and the outcome determined. If you roll low, you will usually be rewarded with equipment cards and the guardian token is moved one space forward. However, you will be dismissed, appearing at a randomly determined location somewhere on the board. Fail, and you will be banished, which means your opponents get some choice in where your character will be sent. In either case, it is usually a long, tedious journey back to the labyrinth. This became very repetitive and, frankly, very unexciting.

So why bother going into a labyrinth at all? Two reasons, really. One, successful challenges of guardians is the main way to acquire equipment. Second, when the game ends (usually with a pre-determined time limit), the team whose guardian marker is furthest along in a labyrinth receives one point. The only other way to earn a victory point is by having more surviving characters than the opposing team, so visiting labyrinths is a critical element of the game system. Sadly, it also isn't very exciting.

Now, to be fair, some folks tend to get really excited by the "atmosphere" of a game. The idea of Spartacus wearing camouflage, donning a riot helmet and tossing Thorine grenades is exciting and humorous. My feeling is one of ambivalence. I fail to see much humor in such fantasy occurrences. This falls squarely into the role-playing genre. If a game relies to heavily on such acting and visualization in order to generate fun and excitement, I'll usually find it sorely lacking in both.

There's more to say, but that should give you a good picture . at least from my viewpoint (and the viewpoint of the folks who played with me last night). The game really bogs down into a series of movement and long, tedious, fiddly conflicts and challenges. Yes, there was some laughter and shouting when the right numbers were rolled on the dice, but that fun can also come from simply rolling dice against the wall. The brief moments of jubilation experienced by good dice rolls was not enough to overcome the overall tedious experience of the game . at least for our group.

Will I play again?

Most certainly. I feel I have an obligation to play it at least a few more times in order to gain further insights into the system and hopefully discover facets that will improve upon or confirm my initial impressions. Still, I can state that the game just doesn't seem to be my type. Nor do I think it will appeal to most German-style gamers. I say this even though I have had extensive experience in the past playing and enjoying war games and role-playing games, so I am not foreign to those genres.