I haven't had time or inclination to do much in the way of gaming this past week, mostly because of some work commitments. However one of these did take me up to Sydney and whilst there I popped into a games shop and came out with a copy of 'The Grizzled: Armistice Edition'.
'The Grizzled' is a card game that is set in WW1. That said, it is not a wargame, but rather a game set during a war. The players take the roles of one of a group of friends who have joined the French army. It is about friendship and survival during the trials and traumas of war.
As you might expect, it is a co-operative game; the players are working together to see the group through to the end of the war. It's designed for 1-5 players, but looks like it's best with 3-5; playing solo or with 2 players requires special rules, and does change the dynamics of the game, as you'd expect.
I played a couple of games with Catherine on Saturday to get used to the mechanisms, but yesterday evening I had a go at the solo mode, and that's what the pictures show
The game has amazing artwork, and a miniature for each of the six available characters. In fact the miniatures almost have no purpose in the game; they simply mark whether a character is currently active in a mission or has withdrawn from it.
The theme and execution of this game works very well. Maybe not one for regular outings, but certainly one to get out from time to time. The Armistice Edition basically covers the same ground as the original, plus its expansion, but adds some new stuff of its own (Helping Hands and Recruits, which we've not tried yet), plus it has a campaign mode, where each game is a chapter in the story of the whole war; the players take their squad from the first mobilisation in August 1914 to the Armistice in 1918. The campaign introduces the rules as you play, and adds little quirks and wrinkles at each stage.
There's an extra poignancy to this game; the art was done by one of the cartoonists killed in the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.
That sounds interesting. It may not be a game I’d play (as I mostly game solo), but the artwork is lovely as are the miniatures. I wonder which was done first?
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
The artwork predates teh miniatures. The original edition of the game just had the cards. The expansion added stand-up card figures. Then this edition added the miniatures.
DeleteThere are some useful home made additional playing aids on the Boardgamegeek site
ReplyDelete