Reviews

  • Review: The Oracle of Delphi

    ByiMisut Hours
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    For once, Zeus, the Greek god of thunder and the sky, is in a good mood and has decided to offer a gift to the most worthy mortal: entry into Mount Olympus. To select the ideal candidate, Zeus has organized a competition in which daring mortals must attempt to fulfill 12 legendary tasks: erecting statues, building shrines, making offerings, and facing mythological monsters. The first to successfully complete all 12 tasks will earn the favor of the father of the gods.

    This is the premise behind The Oracle of Delphi, a game by the Eurogame God Stefan Feld, designer of celebrated titles such as The Castles of Burgundy, In the Year of the Dragon, Bora Bora, Aquasphere, and Trajan. The game was published in 2016 by Hall Games in its English edition, which, as usual, was also distributed by Pegasus Spiele in an English/German edition. The illustrations are by Dennis Lohausen, who had previously illustrated titles such as Terra Mystica, A Feast for Odin, and Qin.

  • Review: Dale of Merchants

    ByiMisut Hours
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    It is an age of great discoveries. New and wonderful items are displayed by the greatest merchants. If there is one place these traders revere, it is the city of Dale. Within the city lies a magnificent guild founded by the most renowned merchants. To gain entrance, one must win the annual competition. Numerous traders from all corners of the globe have gathered in Dale to take part in the event, driven by a clear goal: to be crowned champion and become the newest member of the legendary guild.

    This is how Dale of Merchants is presented, the debut design by Sami Laakso. The game’s release was funded through a Kickstarter campaign in 2015, with copies reaching backers in early 2016 under the Snowdale Games imprint. Recently, a second standalone and fully compatible box has also been published. The artwork was handled by Sami Laakso himself.

  • Review: A Feast for Odin

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    A Feast for Odin is a saga in the form of a game. You will relive the cultural achievements, trading expeditions, and pillages of those tribes we know today as “Vikings”—a term that had a somewhat different meaning at the end of the first millennium. When the Norsemen embarked on a raid, they said they were going “a-viking”. However, these Northmen were more than just pirates. They were also explorers, merchants, and settlers. It is said that Leif Erikson was the first European to reach America, long before Columbus. The reason these peoples became great seafarers was harsh farming conditions, as a poor harvest could mean great hardship. In this game, you can undertake raids and explore new territories. You will also simulate daily living conditions, securing goods that guarantee you a comfortable position in society. At the end of the game, the player with the most valuable possessions will be the winner.

    This is how A Feast for Odin is presented to us—the latest big game from Uwe Rosenberg, in a box even larger than Fields of Arle or Caverna. The game was published in 2016 by Feuerland Spiele in German, alongside several parallel international editions, such as Z-Man Games in English, White Goblin Games in Dutch, Cranio Creations in Italian, or Filosofia Éditions in French. As is customary with this publisher, the artwork is handled by Dennis Lohausen, as seen previously in Fields of Arle or Glass Road.

  • Review: Scythe

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    The ashes of the Great War still darken the snow of 1920s Europa. The capitalistic city-state known simply as “The Factory,” which fueled the war with heavily armored mechs, has closed its doors, drawing the attention of several nearby countries. With characters from five different factions converging on a small but highly coveted piece of land, who will achieve fame and fortune and establish their empire as the leader of Eastern Europe?

    This is the premise of Scythe, the latest design from Jamey Stegmaier, the man behind Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia and Viticulture. The game was published in 2016 under the usual Stonemaier Games label following a highly successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The illustrations are provided by Jakub Rozalski, who had already proven his skills in games like Hero Brigade or Legacy: The Card Game.

  • Review: Through the Ages – A New Story of Civilization

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    Here is your chance to make history! You will start with a small tribe with the goal of building a great civilization. Expand your farms and mines to gain resources, progress technologically, advance your forms of government, and erect impressive wonders that will endure through the centuries. Choose wisely the leaders who will leave a legacy that allows your people to achieve greatness. A strong economy, technological advancements, a happy population, and a powerful military will be what your civilization needs to progress properly in every aspect. You may excel in one, but you should try not to neglect the rest. Adjust your strategy to the opportunities that come your way. Your rivals will seek to outmaneuver you through various tricks. But do not neglect the most important thing, as the civilization with the most cultural influence will be proclaimed the winner.

    This is how we are presented with Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization, by the great Vlaada Chvátil. This is a revision of one of his greatest works, Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization (the use of the word “New” is key). This new version was published in 2015 by Czech Games Edition (CGE), to great public and critical acclaim. The illustrations are handled by Jakub Politzer (Adrenaline) and Milan Vavroň (Space Alert, Prophecy, or Shipyard).

  • Review: Twilight Struggle

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    In 1945, the Allies defeated the German war machine with great difficulty, while the most devastating weapons created by humanity forced Japan to surrender under a rain of fire. Where many powerful nations once stood, only two remained standing. The world barely had a second to breathe before a new conflict began. But unlike the great conflicts that preceded it, this one was not going to be fought with soldiers or tanks, but with spies and politicians, scientists and intellectuals, artists and traitors. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game that simulates the 45 years of intrigue, prestige struggles, and occasional military conflicts between the Soviet Union and the United States. The entire world is the stage on which the two colossi fight to keep their ideologies and ways of life safe. The game begins among the ruins of a devastated Europe, as the two “superpowers” compete over the debris of World War II, and ends in 1989, when only the United States remains standing.

    This is how Twilight Struggle is presented to us, a design by Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews (1960: The Making of the President, Founding Fathers, or 1989: Dawn of Freedom). The game was first published in 2005 by GMT Games, receiving numerous reprints and localizations into other languages. The illustrations across the various editions have been handled by the following artists: Rodger B. MacGowan (Commands & Colors: Ancients, Paths of Glory, Here I Stand), Mark Simonitch (Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, Commands & Colors: Napoleonics), Chechu Nieto (Dominant Species, Cuba Libre), and Viktor Csete (The Manhattan Project, Dark Moon, The Thing).