Review based on the 2nd Edition of the game.
Style: Strategy Board Game.
Players: 3-6.
Length of Game: 2 hours.
The Gameplay: This is a strategy game in the sense that A Song of Ice and Fire is a simple fantasy story. From a distance it looks like a themed version of Risk with each player taking on the leadership of one of six Houses. But in addition to military manoeuvres there are supplies to manage, forces to muster, power to attain and influence to build. Even with the military strategy requires more thought than a typical game with different types of orders to be deployed.
The goal is to control seven strongholds or castles first and by extension the Seven Kingdoms or Westeros, or hold the most at the end of the ten rounds of gameplay. Each round sees random events unfold before everyone places their orders face down on the table, affecting what orders can be played or who holds the most power. Once all the orders are placed they are put into action. When combat rears its head each house plays one of their key characters to sway the battle in their favour.
Troops on the march.
The Review: Sounds complicated? It is on paper, but tight design allows the game to flow smoothly and the management of tokens and orders doesn’t get in the way of the excitement. The greatest strength of the game is getting you into the Song of Ice and Fire mindset – especially characters like Littlefinger. Some of the rules are in place to allow, if not encourage, manipulation and backstabbing. You can tell other players what orders you’re putting down, but you can’t show them – paving the way for deception. The map is well designed and you will rarely get through a game without having to form tentative alliances that often result in some backstabbing. With only a total of only ten potential rounds you need a plan of what moves you’re going to make how you’re going to play the other houses to fulfill your need.
If you’re the Starks or Greyjoys, you’re going to fight over this patch of land. Often.
When planning your military strategy you can give Raid, March, Defend, Support or Consolidate orders. March provides movement and attacking while Raiding reduces enemy resources, Support allows yourself or other players to enter into nearby combat and Consolidate builds your power and number of units. Military is the blunt weapon of the game, dealing damage and expanding control, but without political influence and power it will only get you so far.
There are three influence tracks, and your ranking on each track will play a huge role in shaping the game. For example, the Iron Throne track determines the order of play during combat and the player controlling the Throne breaks ties between players. At random intervals players can bid their power tokens against each other to gain more influence on each track with additional combat strength and foresight in giving orders. Power tokens are not to be used lightly though, as they come into play when defending against the Wildlings who occasionally try and breach the Wall. When this occurs all players have to pitch in to assist the Night Watch, with potential consequences for those unwilling to pull their weight.
Playing as either the Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, Greyjoys, Tyrells or Martells each House begins with a small portion of the map under their control and set places on the influence tracks. For this reason we usually pick Houses at random, otherwise no-one wants to be the Greyjoys (although I played them last time and did quite respectably – Balon Greyjoy can flip a battle in an instant). For fans of the series it’s added fun to slip into the persona of your House, but the non-fans have enjoyed the game just as much. Areas of Westeros that are highly contested in the stories remain so here. This means that the ‘Neck’ and the Twins can be the only path open to the Starks, and whilst King’s Landing is difficult to seize it provides the players with a strong resource center.
Chronologically the game is set shortly after the death of King Robert Baratheon, just as the continent falls into chaos. This means that all the cool characters are still among the living and the Starks can send Eddard into battle. The flipside is that other major players, such as the Targeryens, don’t feature. Further expansion packs include events and characters from later books, most notably the Arryns along with Littlefinger, but the game already feels extraordinarily well balanced.
The best recommendation for The Game of Thrones table top board game is the feeling that you’re pulling the strings on the events and characters of this world. Getting into the diabolical mindset behind these characters is a blast, even if some friendships need to be suspended during the course of play. A couple of hours need to be put aside for a match so it can chew into a table top day schedule. If you have a good group of players (4 or 5 working best) you’ll find that it’s worth it.
