Near and Far (Red Raven Games)

When I first entered the world of modern board gaming, one of the first games I discovered and fell in love with was Above and Below. The art was beautiful, the components were top notch, and the game play was fun and engaging. However, what made it stand out above other games I had tried was the story element. On your turn, you could explore and read from a story book that immersed you even more in the game. The more I played this game, however, the more I realized that the stories were a little biased towards doing the right thing or choosing the moral good. You could read them and realize, if I don't make the right choice this is going to hurt my reputation and potentially cost me the game. Plus, there were only so many stories, so eventually you were going to experience them all. The additional stories (Desert Labyrinth and Underforest) offered through future Kickstarter projects helped with the story selection immensely, but I still wanted more!

In July 2016, Red Raven Games launched a Kickstarter for Near and Far (the sequel to Above and Below). The game play was a little bit different, but the heart of the game, the stories were back, so of course I backed it and waited impatiently for May 2017 to arrive so I could play it. The first big difference I loved was that there were specific characters to play with. Instead of being some generic wanderer, you could play as one of eight specific characters that range from a lizardfolk to an automaton. Each of these characters had their own stories in the story book that you could explore to flesh out their backstory, which added a personal connection to who you were playing with  and made the stories take on more meaning and not just optimizing your decision for maximum points.

Another difference big difference which was a game changer for me was the campaign mode. Instead of playing on the same map over and over again, you and your friends can play on ten different maps. Each map has specific stories related to that map with each map having more stories than ability to visit each play through. In addition to that feature, some stories branch off into their own follow-up stories which reveal a deeper and richer story. Lastly, your characters could level up from map to map, acquiring talents and creating a little bit of asymmetric powers for them in future maps.

I haven't played through every map so far, but the ones I have so far have been highly enjoyable. I love the great art as always. The metal coins that came with the deluxe version have a nice weight to them and the plastic gems have a tactile feel to them as you excavate them from the mine. I especially loved the tents you placed on the map as it give a nice 3-D look to the map as it was further explored. However, there was a lot of cardboard in the box...A LOT! Now don't get me wrong, the art on the cardboard pieces was very beautiful, but from character standees to food, banners, and even pack animals, there was tons of cardboard. I understand this is to keep costs down, but a campaign game like this that you're going to play over and over again deserves more wood in it! Enter MeepleSource!

MeepleSource creates beautiful wooden pieces to upgrade your game and make it feel more deluxe. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can get replacements for the characters, banners, food, and pack animals. I personally have the characters and pack animals currently and am debating the food and banners at the moment. They really make the game pop more and I love that when it is a game that is going to see my table regularly. It is the first game I have done this for, but I can see myself doing it for future games as well, because I was very pleased with the quality and how closely the art matches the art from the game. It was a seamless integration!

In summation, my final thoughts on this game are a bit of mixed bag, but mostly positive. I love the art, the campaign, the story, and playing experience that my family and friends receive from this game. This is a worthy sequel to Above and Below, and while it won't cause me to remove Above and Below from my collection, it is one that I will play when given my choice of the two. What I didn't like about this game were a few minor game play features. In the town, there were a few places you have to visit sometimes, but you don't really want to. If I want some coins/gems or both, I have to go to the mine. Sure, I can place a tent, but it doesn't feel that rewarding. The Mystic Hut lets me collect a treasure, but I could do that on the map as well. Lastly, the Threats dealt with on the map are nice for placing a tent and getting some end game points, but I needed a balance of short and long term as well to make me want to engage them.

Well, I must not have been the only one who felt this way, because Red Raven Games has launched a Near and Far expansion on Kickstarter called Amber Mines that addresses these issues. I don't want to call them problems or fixes, because the original game wasn't broken. Each of my above niggles have modular expansion options that you can add or subtract to the game to create a new and different experience. Looking over them, I like them all and can't see myself ever playing the game without any of them (when the expansion is finally in my hands), but I think the game should be experienced as it was originally intended, before you add more to it. That's not to say don't buy the expansion. Just don't dive in head first with the expansion before playing the original as is first. So I guess what I am saying is buy this game! Buy the expansion! And if you're like me, buy those MeepleSource upgrades too! This is a game you will be playing many times over!

This game was purchased with my own money. All opinions are strictly that.

Islebound (Red Raven Games)

Ryan Laukat is one of my favorite game designers. He creates the game, writes the stories, does the art, runs the company, and probably mops the floor and takes out the trash too! The man is a genius and his games are always beautiful and take you into a fanciful and evocative world. Today, I am reviewing his game Islebound! Islebound is a sea-faring game for 2 to 4 captains, ages 13+! It takes 60-120 minutes to play and retails for $50. Islebound takes place in an archipelago (group of islands in layman's terms) that has busy towns, ferocious sea monsters, and of course pirates! You will command a ship, sail to the different island towns, and increase your renown by use of force, diplomacy, or business. The captain with the most renown (wealth, buildings built, and reputation) at the end of the game is the winner.

Setup
1. Assemble the map by piecing together the four sea boards and four sea ports. The hexagonal sea boards will form a cross and the triangular sea ports will form the corners of the map. All the pieces should fit together, and each of the ports must be uniquely named.
2. Give each player the following items: one player aid card, one ship board, a ship token, 20 cubes matching the color of the ship token, seven coins, and three starting crew members. Then, have each member take one cube and place it below the "2" on the movement track of their ship board.
3. Choose a starting player to give the first-player card too. The last player in turn order (and proceeding in reverse order) picks a home port and places one of their cubes to the left of the red banner on the sea port. Their ship token also goes on their newly chosen home port.
4. Set the renown board next to the map. Shuffle the event cards into two roughly equal piles. Place them next to each other, face up above the wave symbols. Do the same for the reputation cards, placing them above the trumpet symbol. Then, take the crew with two skill symbols and shuffle them. Then, place the top three below the wave symbol. Shuffle the renown tokens and put them in the top right corner of the board.
5. Set up the building area by placing the three, two, and one book tokens in a row. Then, fill in a card underneath each of these tokens, and two additional cards after the single book token.
6. Finally, place the two event markers on the map in regions that match the two visible event cards from Step 4.

Game Play - Each turn a player must move at least one space and complete one action. They also may complete as many free actions as they want. Actions are as follows:
1. Move your ship token a number of spaces up to the speed on your ship board. (Note: If you end your movement where another player is, you must exhaust a crew member with the administrate skill.)
2. Visit a town and complete the action on the wooden sign. Unless the town is owned by the player, he must pay the entry cost (coin and/or administrate skill) to enter.
3. Attack a town with a red banner. Do this by choosing a number of pirates and/or sea serpents and rolling the dice to see if successful. If unable to defeat the town, you must lose one attacker and retreat. If you are successful, all attackers are lost, but you gain coins equal to the number on the red banner and places your cube next to the banner. You may also immediately perform a free visit action to this town.
4. Employ Diplomacy on a town with a blue-green banner. The number in the banner is the amount of influence needed to claim the town. The influence you will use is found on the cubes in the influence track. You then gain coins equal to the number on the blue-green banner and place your cube next to the banner. You may also immediately perform a free visit action to this town.
5. Hunt for Treasure by taking all the coins on the treasure map of the renown board.
6. Free actions consist of buying a building or completing an active event on the region where your ship is located.

The game end triggers when one player has a certain number of buildings (eight in a 2-3 player game and seven in a 4 player game). The game ends when everyone has had an equal number of turns. Add up your renown, and the most renown wins.

Review
Islebound is a game that takes place in the same world as Ryan Laukat's smash hit Above and Below. Like Above and Below, there are citizens to acquire which can give you special abilities and buildings to purchase which can provide you with endgame points. Unlike Above and Below, which is a storytelling game, this one is more about area control mixed with some pickup and deliver. The artwork in this game is stunning as always, but familiar as well if you have played any of his other games. Seeing the character tiles is like seeing old friends or at least cousins of the old friends. The game board is also modular, which adds replay value to the game, because you can put different tiles in different spots to form a completely different map. You can also flip the tiles over and make for a more challenging game as well. What I like best about this game is the many paths to victory. If you like attacking and being a pirate, you have that option. If you are not the bloodthirsty type, then diplomacy is your best option. Every option is viable and I encourage you to try them all and see which one you like best, or surprise people and go the path they didn't expect you to take.

There is currently a mini-expansion out called Metropolis Expansion. This adds 40 new buildings to the game, creating even more replay value. Lastly, there is a bonus scenario called Deep Fog, which you can download and print for free or purchase if you want it printed on something more official and pretty. In that scenario, the map shrinks significantly and when the end game is triggered, players have a chance to defeat the Deep Fog monster for a hefty sum of points. Again, this adds more replay value to the game. Another nice feature of the game is the character tiles, which are double-sided. One side is used for Islebound and the other for Above and Below, so if you are a Laukat-nut like me, you add more replay value to a different game as well.

I wasn't entirely sure what to think of this game, as I had only played Above and Below before, and this was nothing like it. I found myself having a completely different experience, but one that was equally fun. With his wide-range of talents, Ryan Laukat is a renaissance man in the board gaming industry. Playing Islebound has only confirmed my original belief in his brilliance, which I originally thought after playing Above and Below. I am now not only the proud owner of two of his games, but have since purchased some of his older games, and pledged on Kickstarter for Near and Far, the next game in his fictitious and fantastical world. If you like good game play with beautiful art, then I highly encourage you to pick up Islebound or any game in the Red Raven Games catalog. You won't regret it.

This game was provided to me for free by Red Raven Games in exchange for an honest review.

Above and Below (Red Raven Games)

Every once and a while someone comes along in a field that raises the bar for everyone else. In the tabletop game industry, I believe Ryan Laukat is that person. He is not only a board game designer, but he is also the artist for his games as well, and if you haven't seen his art, you are missing out! Today, I am reviewing his game Above and Below. Above and Below is a story-telling game for 2-4 players ages 13+. It takes anywhere from 90 to 120 minutes to play and retails for $50, but can be found for about $40 on Amazon.

In this game, you take on the role of a survivor whose village was destroyed by a horde of barbarians. You journeyed across many foreign lands searching for a new place to call your home, until one you finally found the perfect spot. After building your first hut, you discovered there was more to this place than met the eye. There was a series of underground caverns full of treasures, resources, and adventure! You organized your new village to not only expand above ground, but below it as well! Let's set up the game for 2 players.

Setup
1. Give each player a Player Board, seven coins for Player One and eight coins for Player Two, one Starting House, and one of each of the three types of Starting Villager. The Starting Villager will start in the large grass area on the left side of the Player Board.
2. Place the Reputation Board in the center of the playing area. Populate it with the Round Marker, one Cider token, five Villagers, and a Cube matching the color of each player on the reputation track. Place the remaining Villagers and Special Villagers in separate face down piles near the Reputation Board along with any Goods, Coins, Potions, or Cider tokens.
3. Place 4 random Key House cards face up on the table.
4. Place all 6 of the Star House cards face up on the table.
5. Shuffle the House cards and Outpost cards and place them face down in two different piles. Deal the top four from each pile and put them face up next to their respective decks.
6. Place the Encounter Book, Cave Cards, and Dice near the playing area.

Game Play
Above and Below is played in a series of seven rounds. In these rounds, you can perform five different actions:

1, Explore - Draw a Cave Card. Place at least two of your Villagers on the Cave Card. Roll a die to determine which Encounter another player will read to you from the Encounter Book. Resolve the Encounter by making a choice from the options presented to you and rolling dice to determine if you were successful or failed.
2. Harvest - Use a Villager to harvest a Good from one of your House or Outpost cards.
3. Build - Use a Villager with the hammer icon and the required number of coins to purchase/build a House or Outpost card.
4. Train - Use a Villager with the quill icon and the required number of coins to purchase/recruit a new Villager. (This new Villager will start in the exhausted area on your Player Board.)
5. Labor - Use any Villager to work and earn one coin. (The first person to perform this action will also receive a Cider token which can be used to move a Villager from exhausted to active, if enough beds are not available for all your Villagers.)

After the first player performs one of the above actions, the next player may then take an action. Play continues this way until both players have no more Villagers to perform actions or pass. A new round is then started with a different starting player, new Villagers, Cider token, and Goods refreshed if necessary. Players then rest their Villagers and receive their Income.

Review
My wife and I don't always agree on the games we play. She generally likes a lighter, quicker game, whereas I like the heavier European games with lots of thinking involved. However, this is a game we both thoroughly enjoyed. For starters, the game is just aesthetically pleasing to look at. The more I look at the artwork in this game, the more I love this game. Secondly, I like that there are multiple ways to win the game. This isn't a game where if you do X and Y, you will automatically win. You can collect Goods for points. You can build Houses or Outposts, which give you both points and goals to give you more points. You can also earn or lose reputation. Since different cards and Villagers present themselves in different order game to game, you'll have to adapt and choose which path you wish to follow for that specific game.

What my wife and I really love about this game is the Encounter Book. There are hundreds of different scenarios which you will be faced with. In this scenario, you can choose different paths to go down and that will dictate both your reputation and your reward. My wife and I found ourselves exploring more than any of the other four actions, just because it was so much fun. It is like Ryan Laukat took those old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and adapted it to a board game. This game play mechanism is what made this game a huge hit with my family, friends, and everyone else I have introduced this game to. It is also why I believe this game should be the top game of 2015. Our only complaint is that the game was over in seven rounds. We felt like we were just getting started and then the game ended. You can extend the number of rounds if you so choose, but they test these things for a reason.

I would like to conclude with some additional fun facts about this game. Another one of Ryan Laukat's game, Islebound is said to have player tokens that can be used with Above and Below. Also, there is supposed to be an expansion for Above and Below, which is called Near and Far and will be an instant buy for any fan of this game. I know I can't wait for it to come out, and I have already found myself buying several of Ryan Laukat's other games, because this man is a genius with games!

This game was provided to me for free by Red Raven Games in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!