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Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!
First: We build our army one card at a time in Battle Line: Medieval
Next: We traverse a noir world hoping to tell friend from foe in Mantis Falls
And lastly: We wheel, deal, and camel herd our way to the Maharajas court in Jaipur
Battle Line: Medieval
Designed by: Reiner Knizia
Published by: GMT Games (2019)
Players: 2
Ages: 12 & up
Playing time: 30 minutes
Battle Line Medieval is a two-player strategy card game built around the theme of medieval warfare. To win, you must create powerful formations along your side of the line of battle that are superior to those of your enemy.
There are 60 warrior cards, numbers 1 through 10 with six different suits. There are a total of nine fields of battle that lay on the table between the players. The rules are simple: Play a card. Resolve any battles. Then draw a card.
A battle occurs once both players have each played three cards on their side of the same field. The way you score the battle is not unlike poker scoring. Straight beats garbage, Flush beats a straight, 3 of a kind beats a flush, and a straight flush beats 3 of a kind. That’s the standard method of scoring.
There are 10 unique Tactics cards which will introduce special victory conditions which supersede the regular means of scoring.
And there is an optional setup where each of the nine fields have special conditions for victory.
The player who wins five of the nine battle flags (an envelopment) or three adjacent flags (a breakthrough) is the winner, and wins the right to rule the kingdom under a reign of tyranny … I mean prosperity.
Mantis Falls
Designed by: Adrian Kerrihard
Published by: Distant Rabbit Games (2021)
Players: 2 – 3
Ages: 14 & up
Playing time: 60 – 90 min
Mantis Falls is a “sometimes cooperative” game of hidden roles, strategy and deduction for 2-3 players.
As a witness to something not meant to be seen, you must escape the dark mob-ruled town of Mantis Falls alive. You are told another witness will join you, and together you must use cooperation to survive the increasingly dangerous roads of the night. Your ability to work with another could be your greatest strength, but what if they are not who they claim to be?
By the deal of hidden roles, each game could have only witnesses, meaning you must all survive together to win. Or there could secretly be an assassin hidden among you, subtly manipulating the situation and waiting for the right moment to strike.
Win conditions depend on the hidden roles. If all witnesses make it to the end of the road alive, they win. If there is an assassin in one of the hidden roles, then the assassin wins if they defeat all witnesses before they reach the end.
Players move, they play event cards, they find allies, and they use tools and weapons to help them survive the long walk in the darkened streets.
Hand management and facedown card play combine with opportunities for betrayal to create a detailed blend of strategy, player interaction and suspicion. At every turn, players make concealed moves and develop hidden plans, but will also have thorough conversations as they discuss tactics, defend choices and bluff to protect carefully guarded secrets.
Mantis Falls is sometimes a game of competition balanced with indecision and sacrifice, and sometimes it is a game of cooperation challenged by doubts and distrust. Who knows you may learn something new about your most trusted gaming buddies.
Jaipur
Designed by: Sébastien Pauchon
Published by: Gameworks, Space Cowboys (2009)
Players: 2
Ages: 12 & up
Playing time: 30 minutes
Jaipur is a fast-paced card game, a blend of tactics, risk and luck. Players are one of the two most powerful traders in the city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan,
On your turn, you can either take or sell cards. If you take cards, you have to choose between taking all the camels, taking one card from the market, or swapping 2-5 cards between the market and your cards.
If you sell cards, you get to sell only one type of good, and you receive as many chips for that good as the number of cards you sold. The chips’ values decrease as the game progresses, so you’d better hurry! On the other hand, you receive increasingly high rewards for selling three, four, or five cards of the same good at a time, so you’d better wait!
You can’t sell camels, but they’re paramount for trading and they’re also worth a little something at the end of the round, enough sometimes to secure the win, so you have to use them smartly.
To win, become the merchant with two “seals of excellence” … and you shall earn the privilege of being invited to the Maharaja’s court.