Mage Knight Board Game

If you are the type of person who can maybe if you're lucky put aside 2-3 hours at a time to play with your mates, this is not the game for you. I bought this game about 6 months ago and in that time have played it maybe 6 times each time as a 4 player game. Barring the first session in which we just played the walk through, each session took 6-7 hours and we were being pretty efficient with our turn times. This for me wasn't a bad thing cause those were easily some of the most enjoyable game sessions I've ever had.As a lot of people have noted before this game has a really steep learning curve, we still find ourselves consulting the rule book frequently, however, I have come to find that once I had a couple of games under my belt that the rules became quite intuitive, we were often able to make a fairly accurate guess in most situations and were just using the rule book as confirmation.If you're like me you'll really appreciate just how little RNG there is in this game, the only random elements being the order in which you draw your cards and the order the tiles for the randomly generated map come up. Both of these are a lot less random than you may think, the starting decks for all characters are identical except for 2-3 cards and the power level for each individual card has been well managed and the map tiles fall into 2 separate categories, all of 1 coming out first then all of the other.I would recommend playing with the PvP rules as soon as you feel comfortable doing so as these really do help to balance the game even further, if any one player pulls too far ahead they can allow the other players to contain his/her progression, it also make for a nice deterrent for anyone eyeing up a mob you have scoped.I wouldn't say this game is overly strategic as it is almost impossible to plan more than one turn ahead, but it is essential that you spend the down time between turns working out how to maximise the efficiency of the cards you have drawn as this is where the incremental advantages are gained.Easily one of the best games I have ever played, would recommend to anyone who enjoys complexity in their gaming and who can give this game the time it deserves.

While I love to game with my mates, I am always on the look out for a good, solid solitaire game. Most solitaire experiences end up falling a bit flat. Either the solitaire mode feels pasted on or. lacking the social element. the games don't give an enriching experience.Mage Knight succeeds where many other solitaire games fail.First off, this is a complex game. I mean really complex. The rulebooks are pretty good and contain a walk through but I wouldn't be anywhere near understanding this game had it not been for some very good videos at boardgamegeek and youtube.The game is a combination of deck building, card playing, exploration and stats with dice rolling. You play one of four characters (five with the Mage Knight Lost Legion Expansion expansion) and your goal is to defeat monsters in dungeons, keeps, mage towers, lairs and those that roam the land. By doing this you gain spells, skills, followers and stats. There is shockingly little luck in this game and success or failure isn't usually up to random elements.You'll need a fair bit of table space to play this and it's not a game you'll want to leave set up. You'll have a dozen stacks of counters, cards and the like as well as other bits to spread out. The map can get pretty large but is usually limited by the scenario.All in all, if you are looking for a very robust solitaire game with a fantasy theme that can also be played multiplayer and if you like fantasy then you can't go wrong with Mage Knight. Just beware that the learning curve is rather steep, even for a seasoned gamer. There are numerous resources out there to help you not only learn the game but become a better player as well. This is a highly recommended beefy game.

We bought this game with my girlfriend to play.Pros:Lots of good quality components. Cards, maps and charcters look great.Very deep game mechanic, with lots of possible combinations.Immersive gameplay. When you start a session it is 5 hours gone out of your life.Tactical gameplay. Not too much is determened by luck.Cons:Game board gets crowded while playing four player game, gets very competetive.Need a huge table to play.Very steep learning curve. Core concepts are rather simple, but there are a lot of small rules, which you need to memorise.Included game scenarios does not differ from each other alot, so replayability is questionable.

This can be played Solo, in fact to learn how to play its probably advisable before you try and teach someone else though two minds or 3 or even the full 4 player game would be good.This is a multifaceted game, there is no one path to take and everything needs consideration for example:Enemies are complex and require calculations before you know how powerful they really are, and you have changing cards to use to see of you can defeat them. If the enemie is set up in a way that the cards you ha e at that time can help you defeat it then congratulations.You will need to have both (yes both) game manuals to hand throughout play, to cross reference.It is masterfully written and play is challenging, not for the feint hearted.