Review: Lost Legacy: The Starship

Lost Legacy: The Starship

Players: 2-4 players
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Year: 2014

Microgames are games that are supposed to be, as their name indicates, small and quick. A famous example is Loveletter, which is ranked highly on BGG. So let’s see how this game plays out.

The cards

Gameplay can be summarized as locating the starship or eliminating all other players before the starship is discovered. While it sounds easy, there is a surprising amount of strategy to this game. The cards are shuffled, everyone is given a card and one card is placed aside to form the ruins. The game is divided into two phases, the playing phase, where people can be eliminated and the investigation phase. In the playing phase cards the active player draws a card and plays one of his two cards. Other players can be eliminated here by placing ambushes other players. Also the starship’s location can be moved with certain cards. If no more cards can be drawn, the investigation phase starts and players can guess where the starship is based upon the order as indicated by the number in the corner of the card that they are holding until either the starship is found or everyone guessed wrong, in which case everyone loses.

The famous starship everyone is looking for.

 What I like about this game, is how complex a game of 16 cards can be. While it may seem simple, as there are not many possibilities, the game still involves a lot of strategy and thinking. There are various choices to be made. Do you lay ambushes for other players, hoping they stumble into it? Do you search for the starship, leaving you open to attacks from other players? The previous tactic might be safer, but if you wait too long, you can’t join the search when the game moves on to the next phase. While I am not a huge fan of player elimination, in this game it’s not a problem as the game is over in less than 5 minutes. The game comes with four player cards as well and a simple rulebook.

There is not much that I don’t like about this game. To put it rather simple, it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that it is. The game light and quick. Sure, a more challenging game would be nice, but that would deviate from what it sets out to be. Perhaps a minor detraction would be the felt bag that comes with the game. While it’s not bad, it’s an interesting way of storing the game and I must admit that I have lost track of where I kept this game a few times. While there is a certain lore in this game, it could be utilized more. However, again, this could detract from the microgame-principle. Also, the game doesn’t play as well with two players as with three or four people, but that might be because the game is so small.

The extra components

I’d like to point out that this game is the first in a series. These can be mixed and shuffled to create special decks. However, since I haven’t played any of the other games, so I can’t say a lot about it.

So the verdict? The game is enjoyable and an addition to every collection, both due to size and budgetary constraints. While not every group may enjoy this game, it’s a light filler that can easily be whipped out and put away again. However, if you are looking for heavier games, you might want to continue searching.

Critical Component Comparison: Wings of War and Wings of Glory

Critical Component Comparison: Wings of War and Wings of Glory.

The boardgame Wings of War has been out for some time and proven to be extremely popular. After Nexus went out of business, Ares took over and continued to release the game, albeit with a slightly different title and a few minor tweaks. I will not go over the game again, as I have discussed it previously on this blog. So let's dive right in! 

So how does these games compare?

Wings of War: Famous Aces (WOW)

Players: 2 – 4

Publisher: Nexus

Year: 2004

Wings of Glory: Duel Pack (WOG)
Players: 2
Publisher: Ares Games
Year: 2013

I own both Wings of Glory duelpacks, but for the purpose of this review only one is used. 

The biggest difference is that Wings of Glory can only be played with two players, as there are only two planes and two movement decks. So if you want to play with more people, you need to buy more duelpacks. However, in exchange, you get two miniature planes, which were not available with the Wings of War set. 

The planes that come in one of the duelpacks

Let me start off with those, as the planes are an incredible addition to the game, compared to the cards that were used previously. Also the planes are more sturdy and less likely to shift during movement. They really add something to the game, as they are zipping around the battlefield, diving and climbing to attack one another.

The Albatros in WOW and WOG 

The  Spad in WOW and WOG 

That leads me to another comparison, the movement decks. There are only two included of course, but that aside. The WOW set had a much lighter background and a black arrow. The WOG set has a much darker background and a blue arrow. This is where WOW is simply much better than WOG and I don’t really understand why they chose for such a dark color and dark arrow.

The promoplanes

The objectives

Wings of War featured two promocards, the Ufag and the Nieuport 17. With a little bit of tweaking, these could be incorporated as their movement decks are similar to some of the ones in the Famous Aces set. WOG comes with several potential objective cards. These can be used for missions.

The playerboards

The playerboards are different. Wings of War comes with a full player board where all the cards could be placed on and everything can be neatly sorted and placed upon. The WOG set comes with a much flimsier board, where everything needs to be placed in certain brackets. However, during movement it can easily shift or cards can slide under it. It does the job, but less good than the WOW set. As you are moving across the table, this board can easily be moved with it. The WOW set was more compact.

The (damage) tokens are roughly similar and I don’t think it’s necessary to comment much on them. The same goes for the (damage) cards, which have appeared above.

The damage tokes, left WOW, right WOG

Overall, the planes are really an improvement. They really add something extra to the game. However, the movement decks are not as good as they could have been. I can understand some of the decisions that were made. Some elements needed to be cut to keep the cost down or to make one big set with four planes would have made this game tremendously expensive. On the other hand, people that want to play with the four planes now have duplicates of the damage deck, the tokens and various other stuff. Some of these materials can be used, but others cannot. Overall, the WOG set is better, because of the miniatures add so much more to the game, however, if you leave them out of the equation WOW is better. Despite that, as I said before, the planes make this game really shine and I would recommend to go with Wings of Glory over Wings of War (But that’s just my opinion). 

Review: Coup

Coup

Players: 2 – 6

Publisher: Indie Boards & Cards

Year: 2012

Revolutions are a common trope in science fiction or fantasy. One of the most famous series at the moment, Game of Thrones, is even centered around revolutions. In this game, you’re in charge of a dynasty and must secure your future in the upheavals of this universe.

The roles in coup

The front of the box

In Coup gameplay is rather simple. Everyone starts with two face-down cards, with one of the five roles, on it. These roles have various possibilities, such as allowing you to attack someone or to block specific attacks. The game features an element of bluffing, because the cards are face down and thus you can claim to have specific role, but it doesn’t have to be true. The bluffing can be called out by challenges. If you claim to have a card, but can’t show it when someone challenges you, you lose one of your two face-down cards and are left with one life. On the other hand, if you are challenged and can show the card, the challenger loses a card. The game ends when there is only one person left.

The game can easily be taught to other people and after a trial round, almost everyone understands it. Since it’s light and simple, it can easily be taken on the go.  The cards are big and sturdy, allowing multiple replays. While a science-fiction theme is present, this can easily be altered to fit another theme. 

Several custom-made sets are available, featuring other science-fiction universes or fantasy themes.

Rear of the box

While the game says that playing with two people is possible, as advertised on the rear of the box, I would personally disagree. The game just doesn’t play the same with two persons. A serious problem as it is advertised for two people. Gameplay is much better with three, four or five players. With six persons, the downtime takes too long. Another minor details is that the cards can’t be sleeved easily, due to their size.

 All ‘n’ all, the game is good. Not the best game ever, but still entertaining. I would recommend this game for people that are looking for an easy game for' a small (3-5) group of people. At smaller or bigger sizes, the gameplay doesn’t live up to the expectations. However, if you are in the sweet spot (3  – 5 players) this game can be great!