The Grizzled: At Your Orders (Cool Mini or Not)

It is April 4, 1916, and the war is still waging. Each day brings new difficulties and new hardships. However, you and your band of friends are still persevering. There seems to be something occurring that is different than the past two years. The higher ups keep sending you on missions, some more challenging than others. This is The Grizzled: At Your Orders. The Grizzled: At Your Orders is the much anticipated expansion to The Grizzled. It is designed for 3-5 players (with 1 and 2-player variants), ages 14+. It retails for $14.99 and takes approximately 30 minutes to play. Normally, I would tell you how to set up the game and the game play, but you can read about that in my previous review. Instead, I am just going to tell you about what's changed and what I think of the changes.

What's New in the Expansion
The first thing I noticed in the box was cardboard cutouts of every character. I like this, because it adds more theme and makes you feel like an actual soldier and not just a card. It also serves to remind your fellow soldiers when you are in a mission and when you are out.

The biggest changes are the Missions cards. There are 40 Missions cards in the box. (13 easy, 13, medium, 13 hard, and 1 Final Assault/Last Stand) Before the game, you decide your difficulty level and seed the Missions deck. The active player then draws two Missions cards, picks one, and puts the other back on the top of the deck. These cards tell you how many Trials cards each player gets, a bonus or a penalty for this mission, and how to get rid of the Mission card. I really like these Missions, because it gives you ways to tone down or amp up the difficulty. The Final Assault/Last Stand card really drips with theme, as its an optional final turn to end it all. You either win, lose, or win but die in the process.

Other nice, little changes in the game are as follows:
1. Speeches don't go away once used.
2. Support tokens always give you your Good Luck Charm back and can remove Hard Knocks.
3. The first player may perform a Strategic Withdrawal which lets him take one card from his hand and put it on top of the Trials pile.

Apart from a few things in the rule book that could have been clearer, I am finding very little to complain about with this expansion. It adds new mechanics and a little more immersive theme. There's also just enough tweaks to the rules to make a very good game even better. Lastly, you can fit both of them into one box, so you don't have to carry around both boxes. I can't imagine teaching or playing The Grizzled without this expansion.

This expansion was provided to me for free by Cool Mini or Not in exchange for an honest review.

The Grizzled (Cool Mini Or Not)

Allow yourself to travel back in time for a moment. It is August 1914. Austria-Hungary was at war with Serbia. Germany had declared war on Russia and had already entered Luxembourg, most likely to make invading France and/or Belgium easier. France and Belgium had mobilized, but like Britain they were not involved in World War I yet. This is the setting for the cooperative card game called The Grizzled. In this game, you and up to four other players will play as a group of friends, facing the grim reality of war, and trying to not only survive, but all come back alive. Let's get to the setup.

Setup
1. Each player chooses a Grizzled card (character) and places it with the Good Luck Charm side (indicated by a four-leaf clover) face up.
2. Each player gets three Support tiles - one left tile, one right tile, and one random tile (the random one could be left, right, double left, or double right.)
3. Place the Peace card (looks like a dove) and Monument card (looks like a statue) to the center of the table.
4. Shuffle all the Trials cards together. Deal 25 face down on the Peace card. This will form your Trials pile. The remaining 34 will go face down on the Monument card. This is your Morale Reserve.
5. Place the appropriate number of Speech tokens between the Peace card and Monument card (Five tokens in a 2-3 player game, four in a 4 player game, and three in a 5 player game).
6. The Mission Leader token (first player token) is given to the hairiest player, and the game begins.

Game Play - The objective of the game is to complete a series of Missions, trying to empty the Trials pile. The game is won if the Peace card is visible and all players have no cards left in their hands.
1. Preparation - Determine the number of Trial cards each player will be dealt from the Trials pile, with a minimum of one per person. (Note: On the first turn, each player must be dealt three.)
2. The Mission - The players (starting with the Mission Leader) may take one of the four actions:
a. Play a Trials card from their hand to the center of the table known as No Man's Land. Mixed within the Trial cards are Hard Knocks cards which will go next to the player's Grizzled card.
b. Use their Good Luck Charm by flipping their Grizzled card over and removing one card that has a matching Threat symbol (Night, Rain, Snow, Mask, Shell, and Whistle).
c. Make a Speech - use a Speech token by naming one of the six Threats. Each player may discard one card with that matching symbol from their hand.
d. Withdraw from the mission and play a Support tile. Your Support tile is played in secret face down and determines which of your fellow players gains support.
The Mission will end in Success when all players have withdrawn. The Mission will end in failure if there are three matching Threat symbols. With a failure, the cards in No Man's Land are shuffled back into the Trials pile.
3. Support - At the end of the Mission, players reveal their Support tiles and give them to the appropriate player. If someone received a majority (no ties) in Support tiles, they can get rid of two Hard Knocks card or recover their Good Luck Charm (if the mission was a success) or get rid of one Hard Knocks card (if the mission was a failure).
4. Morale Drop - Count the number of cards in all the players' hands and transfer that number of cards (minimum of three) from the Morale Reserve to the Trials pile.
5. The Mission Leader then gains a Speech token and passes the Mission Leader token to their left.

Review
The first thing I noticed about this game was the artwork. It is drawn in a cartoon format, but not a silly type of cartoon, more like political cartoons. This spurred me to do a little investigating, and I learned that the artist for this game was Bernard Verlhac, also known as Tignous. Mr. Verlhac was a cartoonist for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. He was killed in the attack that took place in Paris in January 2015. As if this game wasn't depressing enough, this added another layer to it. However, just like war is ugly, sometimes, life is as well. The theme of this game is a very somber one, but it is this real theme that permeates the entire game. The biggest example being that some of the characters in the game were real people.

The mechanics of the game are deceptively simple. Play a card and try not to make a set of three on the table. This simple mechanic is complicated by the fact that cards have multiple symbols on them. Add in the Hard Knocks cards, which also add symbols or just create additional hurdles, you must overcome, and you'll find that you lose this game more than you win it. This frustrated me to no end the first couple of times I played it, because I lost every time. I eventually stopped playing just to win the game and to enjoy the experience. Once I started doing that, I finally won a game. That's not to say I've solved the game. You can make all the right moves in this game, but sometimes the cards just don't fall like they should, and you still lose. (Another true to life theme)

About the only thing I didn't like about this game was the 2-player mode. It required the use of a dummy player, and it just came off a bit clunky. Luckily, there is an expansion called The Grizzled: At Your Orders. This expansions help improve 2-player experience and also adds solo play and mission cards of varying difficulty. Ramping up the difficulty is always good for people who find themselves winning too frequently.

When I received this box in the mail, I was surprised by the size of the game. The box is approximately 5.25" x 5.25" x 2", which is quite small for board game boxes. Don't let the size of the box fool you though! It is the perfect size and contains components that are beautifully simple and simply beautiful. The game also carries some weight to it (both in strategy and emotional toll). Even though you are just laying cards down, it still transports you back in time and makes you weigh each decision you make. Will your friendship be enough to get you through the war? Or will the war claim more victims, be it physical, emotional, or psychological? If you are looking to be introduced to the world of cooperative gaming or looking for a new challenge, I strongly encourage you to spend the $20-25 and pick up a copy of The Grizzled. You won't regret it.

This game was provided to me for free by Cool Mini Or Not in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Three Kids Books on War

War is a reality that mankind has experienced since the beginning of time. Sometimes, they are small and involve two warring tribes. Other times they are massive and have a global reach and impact. No matter the size, and whether the war is just or unjust, the truth is that war is ugly. Today, I will be reviewing three children's books on war. A children's book on war is a bold undertaking and seems like a reality you wouldn't want to expose to a child, but with talks of war in the news constantly and an ever present 24 hour news cycle, it's harder to shield kids from this harsh reality. These three books, while somber in tone, help humanize the people involved in war (from both sides). Without further ado, here are my reviews.

Gingerbread for Liberty! tells the story of Christopher Ludwick, a German-born American baker. The story begins by telling of the generosity of Mr. Ludwick, especially as it related to feeding hungry children. The book then quickly shifts to talk of the Revolutionary War. Ludwick is determined to fight in this war, but his wife reminds him that he is too "old and fat" to fight in the war, so he volunteered with the only skill he possessed, baking. He went to George Washington and offered his services. General Washington was so impressed with him that Ludwick became baker for the whole Continental Army. He even used his skills to persuade troops that the British hired to switch sides and fight with the Revolutionaries. The war ends and as a parting gift, Washington orders Ludwick to bake bread for the wounded enemies.

Overall, this was an interesting story, which was outshone by its illustrations. All of the images in the book, appropriately, are in gingerbread format. Other nice touches include a recipe for gingerbread cookies on the inside cover, and an author's note which sheds more details on the man who was Christopher Ludwick. The war was unkind to him, in that he lost his vision and went home poorer, because the British ransacked his home and shop. However, he kept doing what he loved (baking and feeding hungry people), and is said to have quietly paid for the education of at least 50 children. These are great facts that you wish would have been included in the story. Nevertheless, the overall message that anyone, no matter their talents, can make a difference shone through in this story. Four stars.

Shooting at the Stars begins by setting the scenes for World War I; giving facts on who was fighting who; and expectations of young men that it would be a short war. The story itself revolves around a young English soldier writing to his mother. He begins by telling her about the hardships of war, which isn't just the fighting but the conditions, such as rain, three feet of mud, and rats! He then proceeds to tell her about something remarkable, On Christmas Eve, there was snow and he heard Germans singing Christmas carols. The Germans had also put up tiny Christmas trees, which is a bad strategic move as it gives away your position. Then, on Christmas morning, the Germans called out to the English asking them where their Christmas trees were. For one day, Christmas Day, there was a truce. Germans and English shook hands, buried their dead, traded gifts, and played soccer. The major was furious, called them traitors, and ordered them to fire on the Germans. The young protagonist says he thinks for that night, the English aimed high and were shooting at the stars, hence the title of the book.

This was a phenomenal story that honestly caused me to well up while reading it. It showed a side of war that you never think of, and a special day that you wonder/doubt could ever happen again. Enemies were humanized, and you see that they are people just like us who had families and loved Christmas just like we do. The illustrations perfectly matched the book, as they were rich in color, striking in detail, and placed you perfectly in the scene for a full reading experience. There is also a helpful glossary at the end for those tricky terms that kids won't recognize. I highly recommend this book for Christmas or anytime! Five stars.

Once a Shepherd tells the story of Tom Shepherd, a young shepherd without a care in the world. It is a time of peace. He gets married and his wife becomes pregnant. However, his world is quickly turned upside down with the arrival of World War I. He must go off and fight in the war and unfortunately does not come back. In fact, the enemy soldier who kills Tom is so grief-stricken, he feels he must personally go and tell Tom's wife about his death.

My wife warned me not to get this book, and she was right. It is a very sobering tale, which I'm unsure how you read this to a child without depressing them for a week, if not longer. The writing style and illustrations also left a bit to be desired. Every page starts with the words "Once a..." and while I get that repetition is good for children, it grew tedious. The illustrations themselves aren't bad, but are what I would describe as watercolor. The dust jacket/cover of the book has a look of stitching, and if the whole book would have been illustrated this way, I would rate this book higher as that would at least be clever and on theme. Unfortunately. I can only give this book three stars, as the story is depressing and the illustrations weren't what I'd look for in a children's book.

These books were provided to me for free by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Abrams Books, and Candlewick Press respectively. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here, here, and or here and hit Yes!