A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (2ed)
Publisher Video
Game trailer showing components.
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This game page, is for the newly released second edition
visit the first edition game page >
King Robert Baratheon is dead, and the lands of Westeros brace for battle. In the second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, three to six players take on the roles of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as they vie for control of the Iron Throne through the use of diplomacy and warfare. Based on the best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones is an epic board game in which it will take more than military might to win. Will you take power through force, use honeyed words to coerce your way onto the throne, or rally the townsfolk to your side? Through strategic planning, masterful diplomacy, and clever card play, spread your influence over Westeros!
The updated second edition
Nearly ten years ago, FFG published A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, Christian Petersen’s gripping interpretation of the intrigue, diplomacy, and warfare of George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy realm. Since then, the Iron Throne has changed hands countless times and in thousands of homes, with alliances broken on the battlefield and friendships strained by sudden treachery. At the same time, the A Game of Thrones: The Board Game experience gradually evolved with the release of two expansions, resulting in an epic experience that’s been printed in ten languages throughout the world.
Now, with the popularity of A Song of Ice and Fire at an all-time high, Fantasy Flight Games is thrilled to offer a comprehensive and improved version of this beloved board game.
The updated second edition brings a host of enhancements to your A Game of Thrones experience. It incorporates elements from previous expansions, including ports, garrisons, Wildling cards, and Siege engines, while introducing welcome new innovations. Convenient player screens will hide your underhanded dealings from prying eyes, while new Tides of Battle cards convey the uncertainty of war. This, along with updated graphics and a clarified ruleset, means the time has never been better to claim the Iron Throne.
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before starting … if you are fairly into boardgame and you are a fan of game of thrones … do yourself a favor and buy this game… it is a must….
now if you are not a game of thrones fan , it is still an amazing game and i invite you to read the rest of the review…
Easy to learn :
No… this game is not easy to learn … i often had to spend a lot of time explaining the rules to new players … and it s always taking forever… and even while playing you have to explain it back or add some other things … buuutt during the game most players will start to understand the mechanics … and by the end of a full lenght game , most players will start having a good feel of it and start thinking of their mistakes and what they can do next game to not get screwed… But you will need a good 30min to explain the rules and then a 3hours game or more to have everyone on board … in fact i think most people will not experience most of the game before playing at least 2 full games… after that my friends , it will be money ! so dont scare away ! it is still a lot of fun ! in fact , i think it might be one of the greatest game i ever played.
Who is this for ? :
So yes , it is not a game you want to play in a rush , it is a game you want to play on a good chill evening when everyone is into the game of thrones show and ready to kick some ***** … because in this game you will feel like being one of the king of westeros , a general in his tent manipulating his armies …. your decision will affect your alliances , your position of inflence your power over the land and ultimately being on the iron throne…
I find it best to play over and over with a group of friend that know the game… i often do a thematic >game of thrones> night were everyone is ready , with already some strategies in mind…. this is when the magic starts.
Replay:
it has an enormous replay value, since its a strategic game, depending on the opponent moves , the alliances created , wich house you play , the number of player on the table , the lvl of skill of the people around … makes it a very different and fun game to play each time !!! i play and i play it over an over , and still i m thinking I’m not grasping all the fullness of the opportunities i have and the richness and deepness of what an order could mean … should i be more aggressive , should i be less aggressive , try get an alliance here ? muster there ? support here cause i think he will attack or use my support somewhere else cause i think i ll be able to attack him somewhere else … anyhow …. its never enough to be brought back into this world…
you can always change your style of play , in fact a lot of the game is also reacting to the other players moves…. so the game succeed in making you feel part of this story , to be indeed the one controling armies and the future of the kingdom …
Component :
They are beautiful and well made , a lot of the stuff in it are well polished and even are on extra …
the board is a little too big , it takes a full table to set up , but its nice… you ll find well made cards and all kind of stuff, its pretty packed … the only thing is that i wished they made the box to keep that in order , cause it gets messy .. instead its basically nothing but some plastic bags … yet ! the components are amazing , oh yea the art is outstanding…all in all very thematic.
mechanics:
the mechanics are all simple on their own , but it feels like a lot of mechanics are in place in the game wich make it a little complex at first … but with a little time it becomes very easy…This game has almost NO LUCK …and NO DICE ..
most of it is ,mind reading, planning, area control, alliances, ressource management and ofcourse a lot of bluff.. when you battle you use cards from your house (like ned stark, or the redviper and such) , each house is played a little different because of those cards , and because of their starting location wich will influence a lot on how you will do your Area control …. but , you can always see other players cards , the only thing you dont know is what the other player will decide to play .. in this a lot of bluff ! and with experience , you will kind of know wich card they will use depending on the situation… well you will be able to plan ur strategies in consequence.. , for example, you might want to lose a battle on purpose , just to make him use a card you dont want him to have on another attack you plan to do next turn somewhere else and such … you plan your move in the “planing phase” wich is Simultaneous Action Selection time, then you have Auction/Bidding for some other things , player elimination etc.. i mean there is a lot of mechanics , but they work very well together , again , once mastered…
all of this make it so the game can be long if played with slow player … indeed the game often take about 3-4hours…***note : be assured, it is very rare that a player is totaly killed … most of the time , a player might be losing big time , but still has alittle area of resistance, just so he can continue to hope to make a comeback(wich does happen), continue being interesting to be allied with and/or change a battle outcome/or the winner of the game ..
-Some issues exist in term of balance , especially when its not a 6 player game… i leave that to you to make some house rule that works best for your setting , but it can be fixed fairly well ( i find the lannister/greyjoy constant war a little annoying so i make house rule to calm the place there….in other hand i totaly take of some areas when less than 6 since its too easy to get your castle for free if not)
Conclusions:
This game is great .. i dont play it often cause it takes a lot of time , and aslo need some experience players … but it is one of the most interesting and complete game… it is rich , it is mindblowing , and at the end of the day , it really feels like you are moving armies around , like you would on a RTS but on a real table.. it is one of those games that can be a lot of fun , it is the kind of game you will want to play often in spring (during the game of thrones season) but it is not a game for kids or casual gamers ( unless they are GOT fan…?? ). still i would recommend having it in ur shelf for those time , when you want to kick your friend s *ss.
“the north will remember.”
I’ll start right off with the sentence I tell everybody when I talk about this game – “Game of Thrones is one of those heavy games that are really worth the 30-40 minutes you put to wrap your head around the rules.”
This game is heavy for a reason – it knows what it is and it does its thing well.
What is A Game of Thrones: The Board Game?
This is a heavy area control political game about conquest in George R. R. Martin’s beloved setting “A song of ice and fire.” Players take control of one of the Great Houses of Westeros in their quest to destroy their enemies and gain control of the land while fighting the constant wildling attacks in the North.
Goal
The first to conquer 7 castles or fortresses is the winner. Alternatively, if the time runs out a winner is determined by other criteria.
Rules
The rules are kind of complicated and the rulebook isn’t great. Fantasy Flight Games have an online video on their YouTube channel that doesn’t do the job either. You really need an experienced player to explain things in 20 minutes, otherwise, expect some headache. It’s worth it, though.
Gameplay
This game has a lot going on – you command armies, issue orders, attack, support other players, manage the food for your armies, build ships and siege weapons, etc. Diplomacy and co-operating with different players at different times is a must. You will betray them at the first opportunity, though.
Keep in mind, that this is a ruthless game. You will betray and get betrayed. I’ve seen people stop talking to each other for days over this game. And that’s the beauty of it – indeed “you win or you die”.
Theme
The game recreates Westeros very faithfully. The map is great and the character art is brilliant. When they announced the 2 edition a few years back I trambled in fear that they’ll tie the game to the tv show and worst-case scenario – they’ll use stock footage from the show on the cards. My fears were in vain – all the art is interesting and original – it shows a different interpretation of the characters and I just love them.
Componrnts
Though mostly everything is great (this is an FFG game), some things are really weird – like the board. It folds in a non-intuitive zig-zag fashion that makes it super easy to break. I’ve seen a lot of torn GoT boards. Not sure why this is.
Tokens are also on the cheap side – they are made of plastic that imitates mother of pearl. I’d really prefer wooden pieces, but this is a really minor complaint.
Other than that, components are great.
Player Interraction
This game is all about interaction. You fight each other, you help each other, you betray each other. There is an interesting bidding mechanic that could buy you the right to break ties, be better in combat, or switch up one of your orders. Needless to say, you can only get one or two of those, but most of the time you’ll get none.
Final thoughts
How much fun you could have with this game is very dependant on the people you play with. Westeros fans, area control fans, power players – they will love it. A group of good friends comfortable with the idea of screwing each other bad will love it. However, avoid playing it with whiners and people who hate to lose. It might end ugly for them. I’ve seen a couple break up for a day after a GoT. Yes, it is that engaging and people are that passionate about it. This should say enough about the quality of the game. Highly recommended.
“Storms come and go, the big fish eat the little fish, and I keep on paddling.”
― Lord Varys
First thing is first, this is a beautiful and seriously impressive looking game. We have played this twice in our league so far and here is what I have come to realize. All players must be sober to play this one! There are a lot of moving parts and the strategy is deep in it.
First time we played it I drew the Starks, who start in the North of the map, they are isolated and left alone for a good portion of the game, I enjoyed but lost to the Baratheons as they took seven castles. I admit my loss was due to the fact that I was enjoying the game so much and planning my moves without watching the other players. I wizened up for the second game and was dealt the Ironborn, the Grey joys and realized immediately that I had to play differently. I was right beside the Lannisters who were quite powerful and had to make an immediate alliance so I could build my self up. I was also strong in the Naval department so this changed decisions I made. I lost due to the fact that I got wedged between the Starks, who were trying to spread past me and the Lannisters. The Lannisters took the win by holding everyone in the middle of the map and spreading south to the other castles. They won on the final turn of the game. I came second.
The reason I tell you this brief play through is to show you that I have realized that this game forces different play styles onto the players depending who gets which family. May not suit everyone, but I find it refreshing to know I am going to play a game that will keep me on my toes from the start.
Replay Value: You will want to play again but set up takes a while, (20 minutes on the second night and the game will play for around 3 hours) so you will want to dedicate the guts of your game night to it and know that everyone will be exhausted by the end, from strategising and arguing all night.
Components: As per usual Fantasy Flight games have outdone themselves. The art is beautiful for the board and cards. The playing pieces are done up in a beautiful Marble texture. A work of art.
Easy to Learn: Hah hah, yeah right. Best way to approach this is to dive in. If someone sits and starts explaining the game to you, you’ll be dizzy within 5 minutes and they won’t nearly be done. The best way is play and you will be nearly there by turn 3. It is worth sticking with it though as it is a really great game.
Another thing I like is the way the orders are given, everybody has to play there orders onto the board on tokens, they place face down at the same time. Once everyone is done all tokens are flipped over and the orders are cemented, no changing. If you ordered someone to march they march, if you forgot to order someone to defend, they won’t against the incoming attack. This really gives the feeling of being a lord sending out orders that may take a day to get to the men and it can’t be reversed as it would take too long to send a different order.
Overall excellent, but not for everybody as some people do not like games that rely too heavily on strategy and will be turned off by the amount of rules, for others there is a lot to love here, particularly if you love a game with depth!
…And its me! Off with yer heads.
Game of Thrones: The Board Game was the board game that launched me in world of board gaming. This game is strategy game (3-6 players) with all that comes with the genre, from troop movement to supply management.
Whaddya want?
You assume command of one great Westerosi families (Starks, Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrell and Martell) and one not so great one (Greyjoy) in hopes to place your dynasty on Iron Throne to rule the 7 kingdoms.
Your goal is to capture territory, that is unoccupied or occupied by other player, until you have 7 castles and you win (or as it is more likely time runs out after 10th round). Castles and Strongholds give you more troops, which is what you want and need to win. However its not that simple, you also need supplies to feed your troops and you need influence to get ahead of your peers in court. All this you can find from territories you might have. Controlling your area and occupying more at same time is tricky in this game and it makes it great, you can’t prepare for everything. Great example was when I backstabbed my ally in very final turn so I wouldn’t have to share victory, for I will not share what I can rule alone. This game does bring the world of Westeros as we love it from books and the HBO series.
However please note this is not something for everybody, if your friend/family gets easily angry and hurt… Get this game, but don’t play with them.
Where’s my army?
Gameplay is about expanding your domain by military force, but your armies are limited by amount of supply you have available currently and your plans might go down the drain because somebody gets to play their orders before you. This game is stone foot where phrase “Plan that can’t be adjusted is no plan” stands proudly.
Turns start by pulling up three Westeros cards, which determine events of the land, like recruiting more troops or bidding for your position in court (I come back to different court standings later) or might be Wildlings decide the North is too cold for them and attack the wall.
When Westeros cards have been resolved and limitations brought by them have been acknowledged starts the planning phase. This phase is the core of the game, you place orders for all your armies, troops and navies. Orders follow, marching (or attack), support, defend, raid and consolidate power. Marching and defend are self-explanatory, but other need a bit opening up: support gives troops assigned this order right to join to battle (doesn’t have to be your own battle) as defending or attacking support for main force. Consolidate power gives you extra influence you can use to bid on various different situations or control the land without occupying it with troops. Raiding units can remove adjacent location orders from enemy player (not marching or defending order). All the orders have special versions that require certain standing on the right court track, higher you’re more you can play special orders and these are important.
Orders are placed face down on board where there are troops and turned around all the same time when everybody has placed the orders. Then orders are resolved by doing Raid first and then marching, leaving consolidate power as last.
Fighting in game comes down very simple: amount of the troops and their type (4 kinds: footmen, knights, siege tower and ship), supporting troops and their type, possible modifiers in orders and house card (representing the General his/her abilities), lastly Valyrian steel blade (which you gain by standing top on Fief court track). Then counting the results and as I advice adding for both player the fortunes or war-card to make it more interesting. Lost player retreats and casualties are counted. Simple but its fun. Turn ends and new begins.
Now, occasionally there comes a card that tells you to bid on three court tracks. These represent intrigue in the game and each one gives benefits of different value. First is Iron Throne track which determines turn order of players, this is pivotal for your plans to come together, first player gets to decide stalemates (except in combat). Second if Fiefdom track which determines military prowess and winning order in combat stalemates, first player on this track gains once per turn +1 to combat as Valyrian steel blade. Third is King’s court which determines how many special orders you can play, first on this track gains right to chance one of his orders after revealing orders or look at top of Wildling deck.
Bidding on these three tracks happens in order and every track requires own bid. For bidding influence tokens are used, which is the games currency.
Summary
This game requires some learning, but nothing that you can’t handle. However it requires more so attention to details and ability to keep all the strings firmly in your hand, losing the initiative in this game is devastating. If you like playing Total War style computer games, this is board game for you. GoT board game has potentiality of being every bit cruel as the source it draws its inspiration.
“Winter is Coming” – House Stark
With the Game of Thrones TV show at an all time high, I thought this would be a great time to introduce the A Game of Thrones The Board Game 2nd Ed. to those fans who many not know about it or who or not savvy with the latest rage of board games. A Game of Thrones The Board Game 2nd Ed. is put out by the board game publishing juggernaut Fantasy Flight Games located in Roseville, MN and is based on George R.R. Martins bestselling book series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”
A Game of Thrones The Board Game 2nd Ed. is set up to play three to six players. With rules to adjust for the amount of players in the game. The game itself is not for the casual gamer per sey. It’s a long game of strategy that can easily go over four hours but oh what a four hours it is! All the theme and feel you could ever want in a strategy game is locked in this incarnation. All the houses: Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrell, Greyjoy and Martell, are in this game as you battle for territory in Westeros with political intrigue, back stabbing and hard fought war campaigns.
First off let me tell you about the quality of the game itself. The components are outstanding. The board and artwork are top notch and to me really provide a rich, warm gaming experience which I love. I think it’s important to feel like you are a “part” of the game in the sense of actually being their and the new version does this a bit better than the original version released 10 years ago. The map is large and easy to grasp and gorgeous in imagery and laid out so no matter where you sit, everything is easy to reach and understand.
The rule book is pretty well laid out so that even though there is a lot in it, it is not real hard to understand. If you read it a couple times you should be able to get a good handle on the basic operation of the game and only need to refer for special situations hopefully. Also included in the game are two quick reference sheets help shorten the game by not needing to dig in the rule book. Each player gets a screen to hide their tokens with more quick reference tidbits which is another great help to keep gameplay time down.
You vie for control of the Iron Throne while trying to be the first to acquire a total of seven castles and strongholds before the 10th round ends. If no one has acquired seven castles by the end of the 10th round, then whomever has the most wins.
During the game you have phases that you go through that the player order is determined by who controls the Iron Throne and the order of players that follow down the influence track (which is bid upon during “The Clash of Kings”.) You have the Westeros Phase” (skipped in round one), the Planning Phase and the Action Phase.
The Westeros Phase concludes advancing the game round maker, drawing Westeros cards which may have to be resolved and advancing the Wildlings track. You may have to deal with the Wildlings in which the players secretly bid an amount of power tokens to stop them. There is a consequence to the players who bid the least if the threat is not beaten.
The Planning Phase is where you assign orders (in secret by placing them upside down on the board) such as raids, marches, defense, consolidate power or support tokens. Raid tokens allow you to possibly interrupt another players token, hence messing up their plans and causing a bit of frustration. Always a fun tactic in a game like this. March tokens allow to advance on another players position or empty position for combat and taking over that territory if successful. Defense tokens are self-explanatory and help bolster your defense from attack from opposing players. Consolidate Power tokens allow you to gain power tokens for bidding later in the game or to muster units (armies) into an assigned area.
The Action Phase begins with resolving raid orders based on the order of players on the Iron Throne Track. All moves in this phase are based on this order. Note this means that if you have a five player game, then the first player resolves one order, then the second player etc… in order and comes back around to the first player if any tokens are left to be resolved. March orders are next, again one battle at a time per player and finally Consolidate Power tokens. Then you clean up the board making sure armies and tokens are removed from the board.
Combat is resolved by first a call for support. Here you may ask for a players support and they may or may not help you. They may decide to help the other player instead. This gives said player a bonus based on the support played. You then calculate strength of both sides and include the “Valyrian Steel Blade” token (explained later). Then you choose a “House Card” from your hand to help you with a strength bonus and hopefully a text that will hurt the opponent. This is then calculated as the Final Combat Strength. Combat resolution is: Determine the victor, casualties, retreating and routing and clean up.
During the game you will have the opportunity to silent bid on the three tracks when the “Clash of Kings” card appears during the Westeros phase. The first track is the Iron Throne Track which determines the order players go in and allows who ever holds this token the ability to break ties outside of combat. The Fiefdoms Track allows whomever holds the “Valyrian Steel Blade” to win all combat times and add +1 to their combat strength. This may only be used once per turn. The King’s Court Track determines the amount of special order tokens available to each player. It also allows the holder of the “Messenger Raven” token to change on of his or her orders that was placed before the action phase begins and the order tokens are revealed.
You also have ports and ships in the game. This allow for unit movements over large areas and ship to ship battles as well. An extremely important part of the game and critical to winning in my opinion if done right. Obviously House Greyjoy starts off strong in this type of unit.
The units in this game are Footman (1 unit each), Knights (2 units each), Ships (1 unit each) and Seige Engines (2 points each.) Based on your Supply Track on the board determines how many units and the size of each army allowed per house. Taking over territories with barrels in them and holding them when a “Mustering” card comes up will allow you to increase your army of force you to decrease in the case of having more units than you can support with food.
Strongholds are the larger castles that allow of two points of mustering and castles allow for 1 point of mustering. Again this happens when the “Mustering” card appears during the Westeros Phase. If you control enough territories with barrels then new units will appear at these places.
The alliances you form in this game are a major part of the game play. You can try and align with a player but beware as there are no rules to the players actually doing what is agreed to. They may be secretly plotting with someone else at the same time. While you may align with someone, you are never allowed to show hidden order tokens or silent bids. You also may not bribe anyone with power tokens, dominance tokens, cards or any other type of piece of the game. This part is all about trust and not for the weak of heat.
“I did warn you not to trust me.” – Littlefinger
There are other parts of the game that come into play such as Neutral Force or Garrison tokens. This stops you from just walking in someplace to take it over. You have to actually commit units to a battle to grab that territory.
In my opinion this is my favorite game of all time. The amount of political backstabbing, tension from the placing of orders and whether or not you just made a mistake based on alliances with other players provides so much atmosphere and incredible game play that is hard not to love. You don’t find that a lot in games these days.
Although there is a lot to it, the game is pretty easy to grasp after a couple of rounds. Don’t let the length of time dissuade you from trying it. It is well worth the time and money it costs ($59.95 retail). The theme is excellent, the game itself is well done in terms of art, components and rules.
I give it a 10 out 10 stars and highly recommend it to any board game fan and especially to Game of Thrones fans. [rating=10]
The second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game incorporates the first edition and all expansions that were released over the years. This edition streamlines the rules and tweaks the game in a very pleasing way. First of all the Westeros cards are redone in a less random way. In the first edition you sometimes had to wait ages for a muster or a supply readjustment card to come up. In the second edition those cards come up more often and they are tied in with possession of the Iron Throne – thus you might not get a muster because the person holding the Iron Throne doesn’t want that. This reduces the randomness and gives even more incentive to bid for the Iron Throne. Even then, you can muster with a special order token to slowly increase your army.
The addition of ports is nice. In the first edition you had a big problem when you lost the sea adjacent to your home territory – you couldn’t build new ships in that sea area anymore. The addition of ports makes it possible to attack from that port, so you have a chance to break naval blockades.
Also there is a new unit: the siege engine. It is useless in the fields (strength 0) or when attacked, but when you attack a castle with siege engines in your army, each siege engine has strength 4(!). This gives sieges a better chance than in the first edition.
Also this edition has six possible players (playing House Stark, House Greyjoy, House Lannister, House Baratheon, House Tyrell and House Martell). The last house is an addition, in the first edition the far south contained only neutral castles.
The rest of the game is left unchanged, so you still have to use diplomacy to get what you want and you have to out-think your opponent at every turn. I am still impressed by the design of the game board itself, which offers you a lot of possibilities to get castles just shy of the last one you need. For that last castle you always have to fight. Winning is thus never easy and that it how it should be.
For when you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die…
Amazing competitive gameplay! Work with you neighbors, make alliances, push forward unto the breach, and ultimately betray your friends in the end as you push towards victory! In the end only one can claim the Iron Throne, so win…. or die. There are several mechanics to this game which can make it seem a little overwhelming to first time players, but any group of gamers who enjoy a cutthroat game will love GoT. So muster your armies, develop a superior supply chain, conquer some castles, vie for favor of the people. Do these better than the others and you can claim your place in Westeros history!
Game of Thrones (2nd Ed.) is an excellent game that provides my gaming group hours of fun. The game is great to play with 3 to 6 people, but in many cases works best with four. The Feast for Crows expansion is the perfect example. The expansion is for four players and it changes the base game to a very different type of game. The FFC expansion is based off of the timeline in the Game of Thrones novels. The expansion adds a seventh house the game in House Arryn.
Building upon the same rules used for the game, the FFC expansion adds various objective cards which give the players goals to accomplish to earn victory points. For example, an objective card may give you one to three victory points for taking and holding certain territories.
If you like A Game of Throne but haven’t played the Feast for Crows expansion I highly recommend it as a new,fresh way to play an already great game.
This game is superb,
for this year I think this is the best politic , back stabbing, and negotiaton game ..
I like this game,
the rule is simple,
the play is not that complicated
just the negotiation is …
the pro:
the components are good, the game suit the theme of game of throne itself,
at the first time, I thought the flow of the games and how the player do battle will be complicated, in fact it isn’t
If you wonder why the game is taking so long time to play with, it is because of the negotiation and interaction between players which is the main part of this game.
the con is:
Because the components are so many,they will easy to scattered and get lost
and setting up taking long time..
sorry for my english, I am still practicing to write a good review with good grammar.. 🙂
This board game works great as a game as a whole. Although plotting to take over land and defeat your opponents, you must all work together to defeat the wildlings who will attack every so often. This aspect adds a level of comfort as you all have external forces to think about.
That being said, the game isn’t overly complicated to understand (definitely watch the 20 minute youtube video which explains most things) however like with most games the finer details must be sought after in the rule book or online.
We played a three-player variant which meant that half of the board wasn’t actually able to be used (which we didn’t know until half-way through; please be aware!) and it only took us a couple of hours to set up and finish an entire game!
For those who have played the card game, you might be disappointed in the lack of characters however the detail of the map and locations should tickle that part of your fancy.
In conclusion this is my favourite of all the Game of Thrones games because of the Risk elements plus the external force of the wildlings.
I had a great time playing with my group that gets together every week! First, I’ll start off with the board itself and all the cards, tokens, etc. The board is truly a piece of art, same with the cards of the game! It’s really nice to get a board game that looks amazing instead of looking like a it was just thrown together! Really love the quality of every piece included in the game!
There is a pretty steep learning curve at first that is very time consuming. The play isn’t difficult once learned but it’s definitely a lot to get through before you can start playing. I like that there isn’t any dice thus, this game is more about strategy then luck!
In the game you choose a house (certain houses aren’t used depending on how many players) and then try to obtain 7 victory points or have the most victory points by the end of the game (10 rounds). I won’t go into complete detail cause that would take a lot of space up. Basically you take over areas on the map and depending on what you take over helps you in different ways. I like that they incorporated sea and ships that way it aids you in traveling far distances pretty easily if you control multiple connected sea areas.
To me it seems the replay value will be down a little because the event deck sizes are so small, you’ll see the same cards every game. I’m not too worried about that but I know that could be a concern to others.
Overall I really like this game and would recommend it to any GOT fans that also enjoys strategy games!
But she hated this game. Too many times we had to stop to check rules, explain concepts and undo or redo actions. I’m not joking when I say the first turn in our 4 player game took 45 mins.
The steep learning curve is not for the faint hearted, but once you get into a really deep game, with players who know the rules, there’s few better games for atmosphere, theme and mechanics. The opportunities to really screw over your fellow man are almost limitless.
Brilliant game everyone should try once. Just get over that learning hump.
This game captures the feel of George Martin´s world perfectly!! You can make alliances, treats and promisses, but they are all feable and when you least expect some one is going to put a knife in your back, or the dagger will be in your hands!!
Besides the backstabbing, this is a wonderfull game if you don´t take this actions personaly…
The mechanic of this game is very well rounded, and is very coherent… you must control lands that provide you with resources to feed your army or you simply will not muster more units, you need to control lands that provide you with political power or you will not sit in the throne!!
Some times you and your enemys will have to join forces to fight back the dangers behind the great wall, but doing so might left you with little power to fight for the throne..
And the more information you control, more the scales of power can bend to your will….
But alway look to your back… for there is someone just waiting for you to make a mistake!!
Fantastic pieces, fantastic art, fantastic game… a must have no doubt!!!
Pros:
– The combat mechanic is luck-free, but still unpredictable thanks to House Cards and Support options.
– Surprisingly little downtime.
– Facilitates lots of heated player interaction.
– Captures the theme perfectly. Not by bombarding you with flavor text, but by setting up the map and factions in a way that encourages games to play out much how they did in the source material.
– One of the most balanced games I’ve ever played.
Cons:
– If you don’t have exactly 6 people to play, don’t even bother. It becomes unbalanced and broken with less.
Overall Impression:
This is a completely engrossing gaming experience. This is a LONG game, but you feel engaged for every minute of it. You really do need 6 players to get the full experience, but if you can get that number you’ll find, what I consider to be, the perfect strategy gaming experience.
I just love this game. I wish I could convince my more casual gaming friends to play- it always seems to be the one that they feel “sort of” excited about, but when I start unpacking the box, I can see their eyes just sort of glaze over.
There’s just so much to keep track of. I love it. If you enjoy games that require you to keep a lot of plates spinning simultaneously, please check this one out. It could use a bit more variety in the event decks, but there are just a ton of different game-play experiences to be had here, playing as different families and with different setups.
I recommend it highly.
This iteration of the Game of Thrones combines the major elements of multiple expansions from the first version. The game combines bidding, tactical battle, and a significant amount of player politicking.
Houses (factions players control) are very balanced, but a combination of board placement and cards give them a flavor clearly tying them to their book counterparts.
A fun, well put together game. Complicated and delightful to play.
Play with the expansion, it does take a bit of pain out of getting the right moves made immediately.
It’s not my favorite, though I’ve upgraded my opinion to neutral.
I say this, though I’m in the minority. Everyone else in my group loves this game.
The key here, is to playing a faction that best represents your playing style or it’s a quick uphill battle to remain the least bit relevant.
You have commanders that represent your action.
You have units you move.
There are three other meters to track, all of which are also important. Everything has to be perfectly managed. If one is off or mismanaged at all, you’re in trouble.
I would enjoy this game more, if there were more armies to use.
I don’t generally play that aggressive in a wartime game, but in this one I would if I had any armies.
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Pro’s –
I don’t follow the series, the group does and they seem to say it’s accurate.
Easy enough to setup.
Quicker end of gameplay I would estimate.
Artwork is nice.
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Con’s –
You have to manage everything. If one is off or mismanaged slightly, you’re in a world of hurt.
Can’t do much with combat, due to limited armies.
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A lot of people I talk to enjoy this game, so I’m sure I’m in the minority here. If you are on the fence, talk to someone who owns it already or play it at the game shop a couple of times.
This is a solid game. The largest rub I have with this title is that battles, with a bit of math, can be forecast pretty accurately.
Do the hidden order markers help mitigate this? Partially, but on any given turn for each player, there are clear “best option” moves. This is especially true once the first shot is fired and the blood starts flowing.
Do the house cards add a bit of the unknown to a battle? They do, mostly in the vein of an “after battle is resolved” venue. The swing any given card will give to a battle number wise is (if memory serves) 5. So the basic equation is your units vs my units + or minus potential support tokens + or – 5 will give you a pretty close estimate of best and worst case scenario you will be facing. Also, knowing which house cards each player has spent adds to the predictability of battle outcomes.
Again, good game, great components, fantastic flavor but for me the battle system is a bit too predictable.
Fantastic game if you are playing with the right people. My friends who I play quite a few war games with loved it, but my wife did not and became very frustrated as the game progressed.
Not much of a fan of versus games but I liked this one.