Ethnos

GaGarfieldstar3,0

#AreaControl #SetCollection #PressYourLuck I wanted to like this game. I like area control, I like fantasy. But what I don't like is too much luck. And this game is 80-90% luck. For example, the centaur card lets you play another card, it's like you get another turn. If you're not lucky, you never get one and have several turns less than others. This game is just about drawing cards, luck, luck, luck, yuck! There's no interaction, you can't kick someone out of an area. [c] Theme: :nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Abstract --> Gameplay: :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Drawing cards, drawing more cards, drawing another card --> Interaction: :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]You can't harm others --> Artwork: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Really not my taste of fantasy artwork --> Luck: :star::star::star::star::star: <!-- size 7]Luck is your best friend in this game --> Strategy: :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Depends on your card drawing luck --> Components: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]ok, nothing special --> Play duration: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Would be ok if half of the time --> Easy to teach: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Easy, but you have to teach every faction --> Setup time: :star::star::star::star::nostar: <!-- size 7]Fast --> No downtime: :star::star::star::star::nostar: <!-- size 7]Plays very fast --> Replay value: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Different factions --> [/c]

EvEvanstar4,6

This is an area majorities flip luck heavy game that genuinely manages to be compelling, which is an unusual thing for me to encounter. The idea is this; the central board has different regions that do a majority scoring each round. On your turn you draw one card from either the faceup display or the top of the facedown deck, or you play one or more cards that either all have the same color, or have the same fantasy race, and then you discard the rest of your unplayed hand to the display for other players to pick over. If the cards you played were greater than the number of tokens you have in the region of matching color, you get to add one new token. You also get to use the special power of the top card in the set played, and this is where the game gets really interesting. Despite how luck of the draw it is, you actually wind up with interesting puzzles in your hand as you have to choose what you want to go for, faction ability, color, and which province you are aiming for. Then you also have an aspect of pushing your luck, knowing that each time you blind draw to improve your set, you're running the risk of improving other player's draws. The rounds can end suddenly, as three dragon cards get seeded in the bottom half of the deck. This can often create some frustration as players might have been lining up a great move right before the round suddenly ends, and they're forced to discard their hands. It's an interesting tension, that I perhaps would like a lot less in a longer game, but in this format it seems fine. The faction powers are all really interesting, and they interact with each other in compelling ways depending on the setup, as you don't see every power every game. Another compelling aspect of this game is that there's also the option to ignore the board state, and focus on getting larger sets of cards, which can score big points at the end of the round. I don't see this game becoming a favorite, but it's a really nice light ride. :star: Art, Iconography and components functional :star: Clever or interesting mechanisms :star: Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players :star: Multiple plays stay interesting :nostar: Low or mitigatable luck elements :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: Raw enjoyment

Javostar7,0

La nueva edición el diseño es impresionante. No obstante, no conecto con el juego. Prefiero otro tipo de juegos de mayorías. Hay facciones muy poderosas que si van a ellas de forma constante hacen que sea imposible pillarlos luego.