As I have played games throughout my life, I always sought to justify them to my girlfriend/wife. She tolerated the games I played, but never really understood why I spent so much time with them. The only game I ever played with her was checkers. But the Kosmos two-player line has changed all that. Now I can pull a game off the shelf that my wife doesn't have to pretend to like - and one that we can both have a good time playing. Lost Cities is my wife's favorite, and it's a good, good game. But my favorite of the series is Odin's Ravens. Odin's Ravens, designed by Thorsten Gimmler and produced (in America) by Rio Grande Games, is quickly becoming one of our most-played games.

So is Odin's Ravens worth playing? The short answer is that without a doubt, it's one of the best two player games I've ever played. And now for the longer answer…

First, a short description of game play

Each player gets a wooden raven - brown or gray- and a deck of 33 cards, made up of 8 special action cards - "Odin" cards, and 25 land cards. Each land card shows a picture of five different types of terrain (forest, mountain, plains, snow, and water). A deck of forty bridge-sized cards is shuffled and placed face down on the table. This is known as the land card deck. Nine of these cards are dealt down in a row (with some restrictions), forming the flight paths for each player's raven. Each card has two terrain pictures on it; one facing each player. The ravens are placed on the table in front of the first card. Six cards known as the "Magic Way" are shuffled and one is flipped face up, showing two pictures on it- terrain, or a picture of Odin. Each player then draws five of the cards from their deck, and the first round starts.

On each turn, the player can play three cards from their hand. They can…

1). Play a card face down in their "auxiliary" stack. These cards are saved to play later.

2). Play a card from their hand that matches the terrain card in front of their raven. They can then move their raven onto that card. If there is more than one of that terrain card in a row, the raven can move to the last terrain card of that type. (i.e. If there are 3 mountain cards in a row, I can play one mountain card from my hand, and move my raven three spaces.)

3). Play an Odin card, doing one of the two special actions printed on it. These might include switching cards on the table, rotating cards, removing cards, moving ravens, or placing the Odin marker.

4). Play a card that matches one of the pictures on the Magic way,placing it near the Magic way.

5). Discard a card.

A player may also play up to three cards from their auxiliary stack, in the order that they are placed. These cards are played the same way as they are from a player's hand. If a player does not have a card that matches the terrain in front of their raven, they may play two of the same terrain card as a "wild" card, and move their raven accordingly. After a player has played their cards, they draw to refill their hand back to five cards. Play then switches to the opponent.

The Odin marker, a little round wooden disc, can be played with some Odin cards. If this marker is on the track in front of your raven, you must play an additional terrain card of that type to move through it. (Or move the Odin marker with an Odin card of your own.)

When one player reaches the end of the flight path, the race is over, and points are tallied. Whoever has more cards at the Magic Way gets 3 points. Ties produce no points. The player who's raven finished first counts how many spaces behind the other raven is, and receives that many points. Another round is started, until one player has twelve or more points, in which case they are declared the winner!

Some comments on the game

1). Components: The box is like all Cosmos two-player boxes - small, sturdy, and very nice looking. It has slots for all the cards, and holds the three wooden pieces in well. All the cards are absolutely beautiful, and have very easily distinguished backings on each. I wish that the different cards were different sizes, but I know how annoying that would be to produce, and it's only a minor quibble. When the game is laid out, it looks fantastic on the table. For the price of the game, the components are very well done.

2). Rules: Again, as with all Cosmos games, the rules are quite easy to understand. There are six pages of high quality stock with very clear rules printed on them. There are pictures of the contents- a major plus in my book, and pictures of illustrations throughout the rules. The watermark backgrounds were also incredibly beautiful. Anyone could pick up the rules and understand how to play the game. This also makes the game extremely easy to teach. There is one problem with the Rio Grande version, and that is that there is a mistake in the rules concerning the Magic Way cards. A sheet of paper is included with the game containing proper errata. When I compared the two, I had a hard time telling the difference. So we played it wrong until I read a better explanation on the internet. And the rule change does make a HUGE difference in game play. When we finally fixed the way we were playing, the game went much better. So don't ignore the errata!

3). Randomness and Strategy: There is a lot of random factors in the game: what cards you draw into your hands, what cards are laid out on the table, and what card is showing in the magic way. And there are rounds where you will get completely smashed by your opponent, when they are able to line up the cards just so, and move their raven, giving them a huge lead. However, since the game is played to 12 points, the luck balances out, and strategy comes into play. There are a lot of decisions to make each turn: How many cards should you put into the auxiliary pile, and which ones? Should you concentrate on the Magic Way, or winning the race? Should you hinder your opponent, or help yourself? The amount of choices is good, but not mind-boggling, and that helps make the game fun.

4). Time: The game plays quickly, and can be finished in less than 30 minutes.

5). Players: I like the game because it is a good one to play with my wife, yet I can play some of my "hardened" gamer friends, and they enjoy it too. Like Lost Cities, it has almost universal appeal.

6). Fun Factor: And why do so many people like the game? It's because it's fun to play. When you play with such beautiful cards, simple yet engrossing rules, and a slight "hurt-your-opponent" factor - a game can be quite fun. I really enjoy winning this game, and hate losing it but have fun either way.

So, if you're looking for a two-player game, I highly recommend this one. It's fun, has great replayability, is inexpensive, is easy to store and carry, and can be played with many different kinds of people. There aren't many better two-player games than this one, and it is my current favorite of non-war type two-player games.

For more Vasel reviews, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/koreaboardgames