Review: Xenoshyft: Dreadmire

Xenoshyft: Dreadmire

Players:  1 - 4

Publisher: Cool Mini Or Not

Year: 2017

Some games are about deception, subtleness and stealth. Some games are not. This game clearly falls into the latter category, with all it’s blood, guts and glory. Xenoshyft: Dreadmire puts you (and other players) in the position of a CEO in a mining colony and above all else you need to make sure the operation is completed, so you can harvest the profits.

The box

Xenoshyft: Dreadmire is the second game in the Xeonshyft series. It’s a cooperative defense game, where you and other players work together to defend your base against an ongoing horde of monsters. These can vary from nasty vermin to giant insects. Over the course of nine rounds, divided into three waves, the players have to defend the base. If the base takes too much damage, the operation is abandoned and the players lost. To defend the base, players get Xenosathem, the fuel that is mined and which is also used to pay for new, and better troops. Every third round, the difficulty advances, as tougher enemies appear and stronger troops can be bought. As soon as the third wave is over, if the base is still standing, the players have won the game!

The goal of this game is to create a suitable deck, by getting rid of your old cards and buying new ones. This is done by distributing Xenosathem every turn, as well as any other you might have. These go towards the troops or the equipment that you have available every turn. While certain troops might be useful for a few rounds, as soon as the wave goes up, they are outclassed and easily decimated. As soon as they have been bought, the troops are placed in your personal lane. Next the monsters are placed and the resolution start. As you don’t know what monsters appear, it could be that the troops which you needed are in the wrong position or that the troops that you wished to protect, are suddenly attacked. If the monsters kill all your troops, any remaining damage is dealt to the base. If your troops get rid of all the monsters, good job and prepare for the next round.

Influencing this all is the weather ability, unique in the Xenoshyft: Dreadmire. This can help your troops, but also the enemy. It might just be the buff you need to pull of the defense or it could be that the timid horror changes into a rampaging nightmare.

The monsters in Xenoshyft: Dreadmire

The troops in Xenoshyft: Dreadmire

What’s great about this game is that it’s a co-op deck builder. It’s not just that different people sit in their respective corners and the only time they meet is when damage is dealt to the base, people need to work together to survive. Different players might have different bonuses or discounts, which are vital to survive. This can be achieved by having players play in other people’s lanes, rather than just their own, although it impacts down-time as well. Other than that, the artwork is amazing as well!

While there is a ton of replay-ability in this game, it sometimes feels a bit similar. It’s like the same, but different. The cards are minor variations of each other, but not totally different. Perhaps it could be just my personal preference, but we had a certain feeling of similarity between various games.

Most outstanding feature

The artwork is amazing! The art is gorgeous and every card is amazing to look at. They really blend in with the theme as well. There’s a distinctive Horror/Science-Fiction vibe. At times it feels like the world of Predator. It’s the artwork that carries the game and every enemy looks frightening/amazing.

Some more artwork!

Overall, the game is solid and it’s a great co-op deckbuilder. Every wave the game gets more difficult and new troops need to rise to the challenge. The question is, can you scale with it?

Review: The Resistance

The Resistance
Players: 5 – 10

Publisher: Indie Boards & Cards

Year:  2009

Before we start, I must confess something. This is my favorite party game. Having said that, in this review I’ll explain why. Of course opinions can differ and reviews are subjective.

In this game, people take on various roles, playing either as a member of the Resistance, colored blue, or the Spies, colored red. The Resistance is working together to overthrow the evil government, however, the government has infiltrated their ranks with Spies and both sides are trying to sabotage the other one side. Over the course of the game, five missions need to be carried out. As soon as one side has achieved three victories, they win. These victories don’t even need to be in a row, but can be throughout the game. The groups that carry out these missions, as well as the requirements for a success or a fail, depend on the amount of players.

A leader is chosen and that person assigns people to send out on the mission. Depending on previous missions they can estimate what combination of people will bring about their preferred outcome. A Spy might try to include the other Spy or him-/herself in order to sabotage the mission, while the Resistance members will try to pick other Resistance members. There can be a vote about the chosen combination of people and this can create lively discussion as people will need to argue over who they chose and for what reason. If the team is rejected, because too many people voted against it, a new leader creates a new team. If the team is accepted, two cards marked ‘success’ (in blue) or ‘fail’ (in red) are given to each person in the team. They secretly decide which card they want to play, which influences the outcome of the mission. Afterwards the cards that they wish to play are taken together and revealed. As stated before, if there are enough ‘successes’, the Resistance has completed the mission. If there are too many ‘fails’ (usually one or two are enough) the Spies win the mission. 

 

Double-sided gameboards that give all the information you need.

In this game, the Resistance don’t know who to trust, because they are unaware of the affiliation of the other players. For the Spies it’s easier, as they might know who are on which team. Every mission is assigned a group to carry out the assignment. The number required is determined by how many players there are. The mission is successful if enough successes are played. Usually a single fail is enough to fail the mission, although there are exceptions. In order to sabotage the mission, the spies need to be on the team, however, they can’t be too obvious about it, because then they risk exposure.

Tokens that are handed out to people that are selected for the mission.

The biggest reason I like this game is that there’s no player elimination. So everyone that starts the game, continues until the end. This is unlike Mafia or Werewolf, where people are killed and thus out of the game. They will need to wait until the game is finished, before they can do something again. However, in the Resistance plays until the game is over, even when people are exposed as being a Resistance member or a Spy. Everyone can still discuss or try to influence the outcome. There’s no downtime as everyone is always capable of contributing the game. This makes it much better than Mafia or Werewolf, where people have to wait out the game, before they can participate again. Another aspect, that contributes to why I like this game, is that it’s capable of handling large amounts of players. The game can be played with five to ten people, so everyone can join. 

As a few minor drawbacks, I would say that the expansions are great, but they are rarely used. People first need to understand the basegame, before they can proceed to the more complicated modules or set-ups. Also the science-fiction theme might not appeal to everyone, but it’s a matter of personal taste. There’s Arthurian-themed one also available for those that prefer it.

Overall, the best parts of the game are the lack of player elimination and the fact it handles large numbers of players well.

Review: 1500: The New World

1500: The New World

Players: 2 – 6

Publisher: Dan Verssen Games

Year: 2017

A copy of this game was supplied by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

1500: The New World is published by DVG and features the settling of America by European colonists during a timespan of almost 200 years. The goal of this game is not to establish the most colonies or to acquire the most profitable trade-route, but to acquire as many points as possible as fast as possible. Players compete for the limited resources and there are historical expansions that allow players to play as different nations (or allow an AI to play as such a nation). The game ends after 6 rounds and the person with the most victory points is declared the winner.

The game is easy to learn and quick to play. Set-up is easy, as players need to pick an appropriate color and determine the first player. While this may seem like a benefit, it might be better to hang back and go later in the round. The first player may sometimes draw less cards than other players and it can take longer to advance on the royal support track. The appropriate number of cards are drawn. The goal is to gather as much points as possible. Victory points are awarded for the following:

+1 point for struggling a colony from another player.

+1 point for every successful colony at the end of your turn.

+2 points for each regional or export monopoly.

-1 point for every struggling colony at the beginning of your turn.

Scoring is done at several moments, as some points are calculated at the beginning of your turn, while others are calculated at the end of your turn. It helps to have monopolies or lots of colonies. Having a monopoly can be done in two ways: on a certain type of export, which can be lumber, gold, fruit, jewels or spice; or by controlling an entire region. The first works by looking at the appropriate symbols on the maps, the latter works by controlling a colored region. Successful colonies grant 1 victory point at the end of your turn, while struggling colonies cost you 1 point at the beginning of your turn. The map is small, which means a lot of time people are interacting with each other.

The map with bottom-left the Royal Support track and upper-right the score track and the turn counter.

At the start of your turn you lose points for struggling colonies. Then you can use your cards. During your turn, you can use your cards in a few ways. For their intended effect, where you use it for the effect that is stated on the card itself. However, you can also use it to build or reduce a colony. Colonies are placed on the map and exist in several states. These can be successful, or struggling and cards are used to change their states. A card is discarded to change a colony from struggling to successful or vice-versa. Other cards can be used to influence the Royal Support track, which determines how many cards a player draws and may have in their hand. A single card thus has several ways in which it can be used, but it can only be played for one of the previously mentioned effects. Once you are finished with playing your cards, the next person starts their turn and so on. After everyone’s had their turn, the game advances to the next round. After six rounds the game is over.

Reactions are good, as it gives players a choice to do during when it’s another person’s turn. This is also where a choice needs to be made. You can keep back several cards to anticipate the other person’s turn. However, if you keep many of them, you might need to discard cards later on to the appropriate hand size. Reaction cards are noted as such and do indeed provide something extra to the game.

A sample of cards. The cards on the right are reaction cards.

Another good thing is that the game plays fast. One of our players compared it to ‘Settlers of Catan, but on steroids’. Colonies are built fast and lost rapidly. While it might be a shame it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. After all, struggling colonies detract from your score, while lost colonies don’t count towards your total.  Regarding the actions of other people, you have to make a decision about this involving the cards in your hands. They can be used in your opponent’s turn under certain circumstances, but if the situation doesn’t present itself, the player is left at a disadvantage.

The amount of cards also contributes to another point. Hand size is essential to success, because the more cards you draw, the more things you can do during your turn. While this is good, it can also result in situations where a specific player gets picked on. If several people work together to keep a player small, it’s really hard to make a comeback, as you are limited in your options every turn. Someone on the top of the Royal Support track has 7 or 8 cards to spend per turn, while someone at the bottom has ‘just’ 4 cards per turn. The difference is that the top player has almost double the amount of actions than the unlucky player. The top players can then consistently use a few cards to limit the hand size of their opponents, while they can continue to grow. With a larger number of players, or an AI, this situation won’t take place, but in lower player numbers it could occur more often. Although the situation is not likely to present itself, I wanted to mention it.

The aim of the game is to acquire as much points as possible and it offers an area-control game where the players scramble for points. It’s a brutal conquest, which involves a lot of betrayal and destruction as the players fight over the Royal Support and/or the Victory Point track. While other DVG do a better job of blending theme and mechanics, the game is still good. Overall, the game is easy to learn and fun to play and provides good entertainment for a light evening.