The Opinionated Gamers

Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done

• Designer: Seth Jaffee
• Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games
• Players: 2-4
• Ages: 14+
• Time: about an hour
• Times played: 4, with review copy provided by Tasty Minstrel Games

Crusaders is a game where players vie to have the most powerful religious Order (think the Knights Templar for instance) by moving your forces around Europe, building buildings, winning battles and increasing the overall influence of your order.  The designer is clear to say that this game is not meant to be historically accurate nor a history lesson. I know that religious wars are probably not the “safest” sort of theme in these politically correct times, but I think that Mr. Jaffee makes it clear that this game is not about the actual Crusades but rather the struggle between different Orders.  

Talisman: Legendary Tales

• Designers: Michael Palm and Lukas Zach
• Publisher: Pegasus Spiele
• Players: 1-6
• Ages: 14+
• Time: 20-40 minutes per game
• Times played: 2 sessions with review copy provided by Pegasus Spiele

Talisman: Legendary Tales is a new cooperative game set in the fantasy world of the 1983 classic Talisman.  As the story goes, different characters in the kingdom are vying for the Crown of Command – the wearer of which holds power over the entire land.  Your group in a band of good characters who are trying to retrieve the 5 Talismans which act as portals to reach the Crown. There are five different scenarios in this game, and in each one, the band of adventurers will try to obtain one of the five lost Talismans.  If you can get through the entire series, your group will succeed!

Design by David Short & Matthew Dunstan
Published by AEG
2 – 4 Players, 90 minutes
Review by Greg J. Schloesser

Rondels in space.  Well, that isn’t the entire picture, but it is a large part.

Set in a galaxy far, far away, Scorpius Freighter by designers David Short and Matthew Dunstan has players fomenting a revolution in a planetary system that is experiencing heavy-handed control by an oppressive government.  Players attempt to skirt the law by fostering and participating in a growing black market. While they share a common goal of ultimately overthrowing the government, each is also looking out for number one: themselves.

Each smuggler receives a board representing their freighter, which has 16 spaces for various upgrades, cargo holds and equipment.  Three of these are filled to start the game, with the remainder being slowly but steadily constructed as the game progresses. There is also space for the four officers of the crew, with each player receiving a unique set.  These officers give the players special powers and will earn victory points if they are upgraded.

The linear game board depicts three planetary systems around which players will move motherships (one per system) to determine the action available to them each turn.  Each planet is surrounded by six or seven spaces, each of which allows a specific action. Players generally may only move a ship one or two spaces per turn, which does limit their choices.  Fortunately, each turn a player has a choice of three different motherships to move (one per planetary system), so there is usually—but not always—a viable and useful action to perform.

Scorpius Freighter

• By Matthew Dunstan and David Short
• Art by Víctor Pérez Corbella, Jay Epperson, and Matt Paquette
• Published by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG)
• Players: 2-4
• Time: 45-75 minutes

2018 was a year of fine-to-good games, but few great ones.  Scorpius Freighter arrived in December from AEG because I requested a copy, something I have generally stopped doing.

Why did I request it?  I like space themes, modularity, and games with multiple interlocking systems.  Scorpius Freighter ticked all those boxes and after reading the rules, it looked like a solid design with some new ideas.