A Game of Thrones Boardgame Second Edition

Simply put, this is one of the best board games ever made. I've been a boardgame geek now for about ten years, and I've played well over a hundred different board and/or card games (mainly European) from every existing genre. I also own several games, and A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition (GoT) is one of the only games I would never even consider trading or selling.The Facts:The game plays three to six players. The rule set is actually considered simple for a war-strategy game (less complex than Axis and Allies yet slightly more complex than Risk), and anyone can learn the basics in under half an hour of instruction. Otherwise, the rules manual is very well organized and easy to follow if a newbie would rather just read it. A typical six-player game (recommended) can last anywhere between four and six hours, depending on the players' experience. The game does have a finite clock set to ten rounds, so even heavy "analysis paralysis" amongst players won't make the game last forever. Fans of the HBO series and/or books who have not completed the story need not fear of spoilers as the game does not deal with any actual events from the books (it does reveal the names and associated Houses of characters and places through book three, but nothing that's going to spoil anything for you). An optional card deck called "Tides of Battle" is also included, allowing for a more Risk-like element of luck to be utilized when playing (actually quite fun). The 2nd edition of the game includes the Southern Expansion as part of the main board, as well as those updated rules and corresponding House cards. This edition does NOT include the most recent expansion.The Pros:For the most part, GoT has a very taught rule set, minimizing loopholes and/or contradictory rules that plague many lesser war strategy games. After a couple play-throughs, I also found most of the rules to be quite intuitive and easy to remember. This is a HUGE plus for a game with so much going on, and because there is so much going on at any given time, GoT is incredibly engaging. Hours really do seem like minutes when playing. I've had six-hour sessions only to be frothing at the mouth to play again. one of the more fun scenarios of the game is when every player must bid against one another on the influence tracks. Sometimes the bidding wars are more fun than the actual combat! Another plus to this game is its beautiful design and artwork. No expense was spared on what you receive out of the box, making it intrinsically worth every penny.The Cons:After about ten play-throughs so far, I've really only found one potential gripe, and many may not even consider it to be a negative. Basically, the game can be so much fun at times that an easy trap for a player (especially a newcomer) to fall into is to lose sight of the object of the game, which is to acquire the most castles and/or strongholds by the end of round ten (acquiring seven makes for an immediate win). If that is not your ultimate goal, then you're not really playing the game. Often times players will spend most of the game either backing an alliance that they've struck or carrying out personal vendettas, forgetting that they themselves must have the most castles to win! Though that can be frustrating for competitive players, it also just points to the game's extreme fun factor. You really can lose yourself in it.So if you're a fan of the books/series and you appreciate an accessible war strategy game, then GoT is a must-have for your game closet. My friends and I now dedicate entire days (or nights) to convening for a session or two, and never have we walked away without grins on our faces. The board game that put Fantasy Flight on the map is still one of the best games of the last decade.

Only have played it a few times, with 3, 4 and 5 players.I find it quite enjoyable.The system is not complicated, there is just a lot to do each round. That's the complexity of it, not that any one rule is all that complicated. It took a 3rd time to really get into the strategy. So your first few games should be to learn the game. And even in learn game mode you start seeing strategies you will definitely use in future game plays.Gotta love the huge board. Great artwork on the cards. Units are decent enough, not detailed, but don't need to be.There is a lot you have to watch as you control and build and sustain your armies when trying to conquer 7 Castles or Strongholds. Lean in any one direction too far, and you will open yourself to weaknesses. This adds some great layers to the game. Do you spend a token to control an area you just left? Of do you keep it to get a better ranking on the 3 Command Tracks? Or do you keep it and use it in case a Wilding Attack occurs?Maintaining supply lines are also important. Do you use your token from above to keep that piece of land that give you an extra supply barrel? Cause if you don't your army might have to reduce it's numbers to fit the supply track, which give you less tokens for the command track and wilding attacks. (I love the fact that when wildings attack, all the players have to participate in defending Westeros...or else.)Interactions and alliances between players are highly recommended. With the use of text messages to send 'ravens' to other players in hope for support the angles this game can go can be quite generous and will add a lot of variety to each play session. Though at the time of this review, we have yet to really do much allying and backstabbing with each other.There is a lot to like about this game. With many options and ways to play each house. There is much you have to watch to keep your Family strong.Cons: Not quite simple enough to pick up and play. There are videos on youtube that have helped greatly learning this deep board game. So watch those before you play. But to call this a 'con' is kind of taking the fun out of learning a new game, which I very much enjoyed doing with this game.Don't know if it will ever happen, but more expansions would be great. I do have the expansion for this, but it needs 6 players, and I haven't rounded up enough people for that type of game yet.Overall, this is a great game, taking place in a great universe, with loads of variety.