go to Gold Games
by Reiner Knizia
Rating: 9/10 after 10+ plays
by Reiner Knizia
art various
publish Kosmos/Fantasy Flight
Players: 2
Duration: 30-40 mins.
Type: Medium card game; action cards
Important FAQ for game (card questions etc.)
PACE: QUICK. The first couple games might slow down as players read lots of text on cards, but becomes very intuitive very quickly. Turns are very structured and players simply decide whether or not to play each type of card.
COMPLEXITY: MEDIUM. If it were just the base game, it's not too heavy. Players fight in two different elements (basically suits), and most cards have values for both suits. Where it gets tricky is all the various combinations of action cards. Then on top of that, you have 6 more 'races' (decks) that can be purchased, and every matchup of each of the races brings out a different style of play from both players. Fascinating.
LUCK: MEDIUM. A good player should win fairly consistantly, but like any card game, card draw is important and lucky.
TENSION: MEDIUM. Trying to find clever ways to stay afloat while you opponent is taking dragon after dragon; trying to decide when to pull out of a fight or go all in and try and win a double dragon -- these are tricky decisions and will have you scrambling.
VICIOUS: HIGH. It is a two player game with battling.
SOCIAL: LOW. You will be reading powers to each other, but players will be very focused on their hand of cards.
VISUALS: EXCELLENT. The artwork is done by vairous artists (a different artist for each deck) and is mindblowing. But my only problem with this game comes back to the artwork as the Amazonesque "Mimix" expansion deck consists of a deck of women, most of whom are half naked, some of whom are naked (of course with strategically placed accessories). I complained to the company about this and they replaced the offending cards.
THEME: MEDIUM. The setting works very well, but is less thematic than one might expect. But the 'feel' (think playing style) of each deck seems to match the artistic depiction of each race.
GAMER APPEAL: PROBABLY. A bit CCG-ish in nature, but tricky and everchanging.
NON-GAMER APPEAL: PROBABLY. See 'Visuals' for my only complaint about the game. The rules can be a bit intimidating since every deck is different and there sometimes seem to be different ways to interpret the cards.
2 PLAYERS: ONLY.
REPLAY: EXCELLENT. Even withOUT the expansion decks, this game is great, but with even just one or two, the game is everchanging and very chellenging.
I've played 10+ times.
Good with 2 players.
Best with 2 players.
