A card game set in the world of Neuroshima.
"The United States has fallen to ruin. Bled out by years of ruthless conflict over resources, terrorized by rebellious machines, and burnt to the ground by weapons of mass destruction it has eventually turned into a boundless, barren wasteland.
Numerous centres of new order are becoming increasingly bold in their claims for dominion over the whole country. However, while the 50 old states are now nothing more than borderlines on old pre-war maps, then again, the idea of a new 51 state - a beacon of hope for human civilization - fires the imagination of Leaders and simple people alike.
Four factions will struggle for domination: New York, which relentlessly tries to uphold the myth of the old United States; The Appalachian Federation - a feudal union of mining barons, which draws its strength from the extraction of natural resources and constant expansion; The Merchant's Guild, which has risen to power thanks to its vast network of contacts and trade in scarce pre-war goods; Finally, the Mutant's Union - a warlike group comprised of the new human race, or - as others perceive it - a terribly degenerated and bloodthirsty horde."
-Intro from Rulebook-
The game is played over a series of 5-phase turns, with 2-4 players, and (according to the box) 40-90 minutes.
Each faction contains one (1) base card, three (3) basic action cards, and four (4) faction tokens; each player is also dealt four (4) cards as starting hands.
The players will be building a tableau of cards representing their own empires.
Each turn starts with:
The "Lookout" Phase
First: Five (5) cards laid out and the first player selects one (1) card of the five (5); each other player selects one (1) card from four (4) cards replenishing up to four (4) as needed.
Second: The first players selects one (1) card from the remaining three (3); each other player selects one (1) card from three (3) cards replenishing up to three (3) as needed, except the last player who selects from the remaining two (2) cards. The final card is discarded without effect.
Lastly, each player is dealt a random card.
Each player has a hand limit of 10 cards during this phase (discard accordingly)
Should the draw deck ever empty, reshuffle the discard pile.
Next is the "Production" Phase
Various cards you play during the game will give you resources to use during your "Actions" phase. Your base (leader card) also provides resources.
This phase is when the players collect all available resources as provided by their tableau.
Yay! The "Actions" Phase
This is where the game gets interesting.
This is the phase where players can conquer, establish, incorporate, or redevelop locations; swap leaders with new ones; send workers out to work and collect points and resources; and should you leader have a special action (only "Baby Swift"), then you may use it.
Each player in turn order resolves one (1) action at a time until all players pass.
The "Count Victory Points" Phase
Tally up your victory points. Victory points accumulate each turn, so do not discard them during the "Clean-up" phase.
During the "Clean-up" phase all players will discard all unused resources, workers, and other tokens (not victory points). There are a few locations that provide an exemption, but do not count on them.
The game will end when one player has accrued 30 victory points during Phase 4: "Count Victory Points".
What do I think about it:
It is a game that I enjoy playing once in a while. There are clearly other games I would rather play most of the time, but this game is fun with the right people.
It is definitely a fun game to teach, but learning the game is a bit overwhelming. Sure the game sounds simple above, but I'm not getting into the 7 pages of clarifications and symbol description, including that each card has 3 different functions.
Needless to say, this game takes longer than 90 minutes for your first game, with certainty. I don't know that I've ever played a 40 minute game, even with 2 players who are familiar with the game.
What this game lacks in luster and loses in complexity, I find it makes up for in plot and story. I mean come on, you're rebuilding a country. Whether you conquer the Barracks, incorporate Assembly Plants, redevelop Storehouses, or establish negotiations with the Rubble Trader you are making a story. Sure you're trying to make a better story than your opponents, but there is interaction between the factions and the stories begin intertwining.
I wouldn't say this game is for everyone, not many have an imagination and though this game can be played strictly with strategy and logic, I have my best wins when I see the story and "write" it to my favour.
I will start adding comments about the age suggestion on the box as I think some games are hit or miss for the age.
The age on the box says 10+. I believe this is fair. With the complexity in the details of this game, I could not imagine a 6 year old picking it up; I mean sure, their story may be elaborate and making no sense to critical thinkers, but the error in the details, well, just don't tell them they lost until they can grasp it.
I'll just throw it in here for "1812: The Invasion of Canada"
Age 10+. Makes sense for all the little pieces, but with the game being done well historically, I can imagine a 6-7 year old picking up the basic game play; some reading skill will be necessary if they want to play without help, but i do not see a problem in understanding the game play.
