Ben

I regret backing this game not only because of the long production delays, but because it’s not really a game. All you’re doing is matching alibis to motives and methods that are very randomly assigned. There’s some great artwork and the components are high quality, but the game mechanics just aren’t there – very luck based, no interesting decisions, no meaningful interaction with other players, no story arc.

A good game to buy if you’re just looking for some interesting playing cards. Otherwise, you’re better off just playing war.

I really wanted to like this one, given how much it raised on Kickstarter, but it really didn’t do it for me.

The box it comes in has some cool art, and it’s neat having a treasure chest, but the “hinge” is just paper and makes it feel cheap. The chest in Merchants and Marauders gives a much better feeling albeit a different function. The cards and dice are nice quality.

The game is played essentially by matching your adventurer dice that form your party against the monsters rolled for the dungeon. Certain adventurer dice can defeat entire groups of the same monsters are rolled. The adventurer dice that you use are sent to a graveyard when used.

It’s usually pretty obvious which dice should be used for the encounter so really the only decision worth making is whether you press on to the next level once your party is somewhat dwindled.

In a multiplayer game, only one player is actually doing anything and there’s no way to interact with other players. It makes for a decent solo game, but that’s about it.

There was a misprint in the rules (which was caught and now you can get the revision on boardgamegeek). In the original rules, there was also a minimum of three dungeon dice rolled on each level. They took that away for some reason and now it’s even easier. Overall, not much tension… not too interesting for me.

Think Sid Meier’s Pirates! This game has interesting story elements, multiple ways to win, and high risk-high reward mechanics. It does a great job of immersing you in a classic genre and constantly changing conditions that give players lots of decisions and room to operate.

Don’t give up if your captain “dies”. The game is built to allow you to make big plays and gives you lots of opportunities to get back in the running even when you’re down. Just make sure you stash away some gold whenever you have the chance!

It works on its own. It works with the base set. It’s balanced and introduces new ways of thinking about how to build your deck offering a variety of new and different strategies. Where the base set looks at the size and quality of your deck, Intrigue introduces new cards that let you bypass these considerations to some degree (like the Scout).

The fact that it can be played on its own is a big plus. A must for any Dominion player.

There’s a reason why the rules recommend having at least three of these cards in the supply if you play with them at all. These cards are powerful additions to the game, but they almost force you to commit to them early and hard. Having to buy a potion means it’s impossible to get any of these cards on the first cycle through your deck.

While fun if it’s the only expansion you play, I feel this set does not have the same synergy that you get from the base and Intrigue decks.

This is definitely one of the easiest games I have to just pick up and play. Great for times when you’re not looking for a whole lot of thinking or strategy. Knowing all the cards in the deck offers a mild advantage in knowing what goals are available to achieve, but it’s not enough to offer a significant advantage so everyone has a reasonable chance of winning.

Most of the fun comes from Talking Like a Pirate, passing around the Scurvy and getting the Captain’s Hat.

This game is difficult to win even if there isn’t a traitor. The board provides an ample challenge, but the fun is in trying to figure out if and who the traitor is in the game. With a pivotal white sword hanging in the balance for a correct accusation, it makes for a fun added element. To win, the loyal knights also need to fill the round table with swords, even if some are black, making interesting discussions on which quests to attempt and how hard to try… And whether those decisions are made with the wellbeing of the group in mind.

This was one of my first card games and I really like it. It’s great for larger groups, various ages, excellent value for money. Trading is made more interesting with the forced planting. The highly sociable, very simple gameplay has us calling for “the bean game” time and again.

Good for beginners because everyone can see the tile as it’s being played and players can always ask for advice. I find it a little random as you have to rely on certain tiles getting drawn but I suppose you could say that’s a result of certain strategic decisions.

I enjoy playing this game, but it doesn’t compare with its digital counterpart. I found it very difficult to win with a cultural victory – after about four or five games, I still hadn’t seen it done. It’s a decent imitation of the video game, but why would you play a knock-off of the game, when you can just play the game?

Great for introducing people to board games. The cooperative play allows the table to talk openly about strategy and tactics. Rates high on the social scale and can be a welcoming experience for new or non-gamers. So many ways to lose, only one way to win. But that just makes the joint victory that much sweeter when it happens.

I think they translated these rules four different times before they got to the English version. It took a lot of puzzling over before we actually got the gist of what we were supposed to do. Once you figure it out though, it becomes a lot more interesting and worth the pain and suffering of the rules. Would recommend you play a game with someone who knows it before going out and buying it.

When we play this game, my wife refuses to sit on my left. Since each player’s turn influences everyone else, you’re always involved in the action. I find that oftentimes, you are making decisions that don’t necessarily help you the most, but what helps your opponents the least.

This is an excellent deckbuilding game that’s easy to teach and easy to learn. Players have to choose between quality and quantity as they build up their decks to maximize their chances of winning. Players also need to decide on when they start going for the victory points and stop trying to build their decks.

The variety of cards and available expansions give this game solid replay value and puts every player on an equal playing field.