Crosader kings The video game is a huge, unintentional adventure that might be stuck in a 2-3 hour game situation. But the Free League developers, bless them, have certainly given it a go.
Crosader kings the board game tries to capture all the key elements of Paradox's grand strategy series — dynastic characters, complex diplomacy, instability, chaos and a general sense of cruelty and fear — and turn it into a tabletop experience for 2-5 players.
It is a great job, but after a few games of it I came to the conclusion that it might have been better to try and be more flexible perfect video game, they just focus on the fists that work best in the flesh, sitting in front of the table.
Crosader kings you played not as a nation but as a family of middle rulers. Players choose from one of five broad regions – English, French, Spanish, Italian and German – and then spend three times earning their royal place in history by taking over, continuing the war, securing the alliance and securing the future of your throne by producing heirs, and all game characters with personalities. variants are described by different symbols.
That last bit is often the most important (and most rewarding) part of the video game, as it aligns officials and princesses from all over Europe with the right partners, and it works well here. Very laid back, the Kings have four personality traits and everyone is one. The new birth of your family, as well as other citizens of the game (there are areas outside of one's player control) are face-to-face drawn on card slots, given flawless features in a large bag of tokens that mean things like "weak" and "believer"
So all competing masters have their own unique family that develops over time, and is always different when you play. And when that family gets old and eventually dies (the game mimics the passage of time), he takes them out of the board, slips their children into the hierarchy and the cycle begins again.
Features are not just for fun, they serve a number of important purposes. First, they are directly related to the many actions and actions that occur in the game; Deceitful kings are more likely to pull off a treacherous journey. But they also bring back the dice, and solving most of the game's checks will have to go into a bag containing all your family's worth instead of just riding a beat.
You usually start with two "good" and two "bad" features, and as the game progresses, things happen and your list grows, you'll add even more features to the feel-good fund coming Crosader kings. When you do a check you usually pass when you draw a green model, and then you fail when you issue a red one.
Cultivating your family's qualities, therefore, is just as important here as it is in the video game, and can add a layer of multiple game options that seem straightforward. While it is easy to marry one of your children to the nearest independent state governor, if your future spouse develops a “bad” habit, it will be added to your wallet later in the game, increasing your chances of failing the test.
Crusader Kings & # 39; gameplay is powered by action card stairs, each of which deals with the availability of the game going through each turn, such as continuing the war, fighting wars with neighbors, improving your empire and collecting taxes. He draws eight cards in a row, but they only play six, which gives him a little handshake in case you're lucky. Each card is divided into two sections: the top is a direct action, whether to build a fortress or to mobilize your forces, while below is a consequence, which can be profitable in some cases, sometimes explicit and sometimes completely dangerous.
Dynasties play two cards in rotation, there are three chances per round, then three rounds each season, or three. I'm a little confused, I know, but that's the way the game has developed over time, as at the end of each tournament each player must seal their King or Queen, and when they hit five, they die of old (they can die, before, through event cards, go to war or be killed by others players).
Crusader Kings & # 39; the goals are very simple. You gain victory points everywhere on the map you control, you gain a victory point to grab one of the few tokens to achieve success (given things such as being the first player to build three towers) when you tie the winning wall solved by anyone going on to battle more. That's all. Everything in this game is cold, especially, for who owns the most land.
And this is where things start to turn out a bit. Crosader kings the video game isn't about "mapping" your state at all. Of course, it is, but it is a game about political bias and mathematical subtlety above all else, and it is as fun to play as the Welsh Dukedom, to intervene in matters of local authority, as it ruled Europe as the Holy Roman Emperor.
The board game does not give that grade. It is a win or not, which makes many of the game's best features – such as building a family tree and connecting rivals – feeling futile. If increasing your sovereignty is the only right way to succeed, most game systems allow anxiety and management to fall by the wayside.
What makes matters worse is that Crusader Kings & # 39; the composition is rooted in battle and other players think its creators have been deliberately trying to keep things peaceful, working to resist a summary of victory conditions. Although the game board looks full of military units ready to invade neighboring areas by notice, it goes to war Crosader kings it is a slow and abusive process that does not qualify you for suffering.
Before you can attack another kingdom first you need to assemble an army, which calls you a card. You also need to create chaos in that area, which also costs you a card. After that attack you actually need to play the card. Oh, and before you can do any of that, you need Casus Belli first. Also is the person you are attacking may have their own rivals, because marrying your children among your rivals is a necessary part of the game.
This is similar to the tedious process involved in battle in a video game, but it's designed to be played for hours. The Crosader kings The board game tries to keep things in 2 for 2-3 hours, which makes your average turnaround value. Beating a lot of cards in preparation and going into battle does not only mean that you are not good enough when you can only hold eight positions, and there are many independent areas to overcome.
War is not the end of the universe Crusader Kings & # 39; time constraints work against a different exciting system. Construction and management of your family tree it's cool. It's probably the best part of the whole game, and to see sons and daughters being sold across the board, finding relationships and possibly the future of your dynasty, is so exciting. But the way time works Crosader kings it means that most games will see you go through a few Kings, beating a lot of their system.
There is so much to love about it Crosader kings. I love that it is competitive without being overly hostile, and it has the right amount of horse-trading to keep everyone busy in everyone's business, making it a great experience for the community.
But in the end I'm disappointed and disappointed about it. While I appreciate the efforts to turn the digital experience into something that is easily accessible (and readable to mainstream players, as opposed to the Paradox game), the Free League may bite more than what has been chewed here.
