Merchants & Marauders Review

Greetings Troops,

I have been looking at this game for some time now.  It has been receiving great reviews from numerous blogs and podcasts.  So here is a brief summary of the game ...

• Published in 2010
• For 2 to 4 players
• Approximately 2 hours for game play
• 5 different ships types for a total of 26 ship pieces
• 230 game cards
• 16 captain types

The other night I was able to join Steve and his friend Luke to set sail into the Age of Piracy. This was the first time I actually set hands on the game and its board pieces.  I was happy to see the pieces were well made, durable and look fabulous !

We all took our seats with our adult beverages (grog, if you wish to pretend) and picked our Captains.To make it interesting we drew our captain cards randomly without looking.  Once we had the Captain, we chose one of the two starting ships, a sloop or a flute.  Each Captain has a "home" port where you can call home and stash gold during your adventure.

Board Setup for 3 Players

Various ship pieces

My first Captain ...

My first Captain Felipe De Los Reyes was my first random Captain I chose.  He had decent stats and being my first Captain I was not sure whether to turn to piracy or trade on the high seas.  He would find out how cruel the seas would be soon enough.

My first ship, a sloop. In port ...

As you enter port you are allowed numerous options.  The first is buying and/or selling cargo.  The tile shown above is "favored" trade of the port, meaning if you sell this cargo you earn more gold than selling other cargo types.  This is a major advantage to playing the merchant class but also helps pirates figure out what cargo to keep after capturing ships.

You are also able to upgrade your ship with special items.  It could upgrade weapons, crews or other items that add bonus to your ship.  Ships can be bought or sold as well in port.

Rumors and Missions can also be picked up at port.  These gain your crew a bounty of wealth or glory points if completed.  Our games had some of these cards in play.  One of which I sent naval ships after Luke for revenge of taking out Captain Los Reyes. 

The board in action ...

My second ship after the glorious demise of my sloop

My flute in the port of Trinidad

My first Captain, and the cost of his demise ... by the hands of Luke the Pirate

Stat board for your ship

My second Captain of the first game.

Luke and Steve battle in the high seas

Battles between ships are fast and furious.  The rules are not hard to understand and most pick them up with ease after a couple of battles.  Luke was the bloodthirsty pirate and had the evil honor of attacking the most player Captains.  Not only can player Captains attack but NPC pirate ships and naval ships will actively hunt once on the board.

My Captain of the second game ... a merchant favored Captain

The beauty of randomly picking Captains is the challenge.  Stats definitely play a part in the game.  For example, my Captain of the second game didn't have the stats to attack at a whim. Although his Spotting stat and Influence helped with other missions.  I played him as a merchant, scoring 9 glory points. 

The board in action of the second game

The feel and mechanics of this game are on spot.  The board and pieces are well made and make the game work.  I had a blast.  It is definitely a game that should be on any gamers bookshelf. I can't wait to get more games in at the WWPD war room. Thanks again to Steve and Luke for an awesome game night !

5 out of 5 grog barrels !

Be safe ... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling !!!

Joe ... aka Mezz

Game Review: Wrath of Ashardalon

Greetings troops,

This evening I was able to meet with Steve and Dirty Jon of the WWPD cast; along with wives Lydia and Stephanie to get some game time in with D&D's Wrath of Ashardalon.

Wrath of Ashardalon is a board game produced by Wizards of the Coast.  It was released in February of 2011.  The game contains 42 plastic heroes and monsters, 13 dungeon tiles, 200 encounter and treasure cards, rulebook, scenario book and a 20 sided die.

The figures are molded in different colors.  The heroes are molded in a dark blue while monsters and bosses are either red or gray.  I will say that the molds are clean and look great.  They look good unpainted and will be excellent looking on the game board once painted.

The dungeon tiles are of heavy cardboard and well made to last during numerous game plays.  You have your various long hallways, t sections and corners.  The set also has 5 (correct number may be 4 or 6 as well) chamber tiles for the final boss or event for the adventures to find.

Encounter cards produce nasty little events for either one or all in the party depending on locations or other bonuses or effects.  It adds a sense of "What else can happen" during the adventure.  It ranges from traps, magic or unseen attacks that can take place.  Treasure cards are received by the adventure whom takes out a monster.  It can range from protective items, bonuses on attacks or armor class or movement bonuses.  Some are able to be used all game while other treasures must be discarded after use.

The rules are fairly simple and one can grasp the basics after a couple of rounds.  There is also a scenario book to allow for campaigns of your brave party or single run missions.

I was able to get two games in one sitting.  The first was 5 people playing and total game time was approximately 2 hours.  Steve and I played another game with 2 characters and ran a game in just short of 1 hour.

I am sure you will see some AARs out of this board game in the future.  The tiles allow for you to use D&D minis or other after market minis with no issues.  The replay value is high.  I give this game 4.5 treasure cards out of 5 !

Be safe .... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling ....

Mezz

Zombies !!!

Greetings troops,

Recently, during the holiday season I was able to venture off and grab a new board game called Zombies !!

The game is made by Twilight Creations.  Currently there is 9 expansions to this game along with numerous other great games.  You can see for your self all the game goodies at Twilight Creations

The game (in its 2nd edition) comes with the following:

• Humans with shotguns (of course)
• Event cards
• Game tiles (city tiles with streets and buildings)
• Zombies (male and female)
• Bullet tokens and life tokens
• 2 - 6 sided dice

I was able to get a game in with my friend Ian the other day.  Although I didn't get any game shots we had a great time.  The mechanics were easy to grasp after a couple of rounds and our first game went smooth.  We were only playing with 2 players but the game is able to have up to six.  To make the game interesting, when it came time to move zombies I rolled and moved them on Ian's turn and vice versa.

In true gaming fashion, I lost.  Ian was able to make it to the helipad and lift off. 

Two thumbs up.  I recommend it to all.  It is great for the younger gamers in the family due to the simple game mechanics.

Keep an eye out ... I have some FOW pics coming this week of some bail out markers.  We are also getting WWPD: Episode 11 in production for the end of the week. A nice gaming week !

Keep the Dice rolling and the Paint flowing ....

Joe .... aka Mezz