Tag: Mage Knight

1178: Mage Knight Night

We played Mage Knight again this evening and actually managed to successfully get all the way through the introductory scenario, which allows the opportunity to explore the basic rules and get a feel for how the game as a whole works, but which is also (theoretically) significantly shorter than the other scenarios. It still took us about three hours altogether.

I have mixed feelings about long games like this. On the one hand, I really like the experience — the depth and complexity inherent in long games means that they tend to remain consistently interesting throughout, even in something like Mage Knight where there’s a fair amount of downtime. Mage Knight is designed in such a way that while other people are taking their turns, you can easily be planning what you’re going to do next, so in actual fact you can keep turns fairly snappy if you take the time to think ahead. There are still a lot of turns to take, however.

On the other hand, games that take a long time tend not to hit the table all that often, and we tend to end up playing something we’re all familiar with like Agricola, which still frustrates me inordinately because I suck at it. (I do at least have my own copy with which I can practice now, however.)

Despite the apparent complexity of the game that the “walkthrough” game guide appears to imply it has by explaining everything in exhaustive detail, Mage Knight’s mechanics are actually relatively simple. It’s basically what you get if you combine a deck-building game like Dominion or Ascension with a turn-based strategy RPG-type thing. There are random elements, but for the most part the game is a matter of setting yourself up for success, and then being able to make the best use of the resources you have to hand at any one time.

The basic mechanic involves playing cards to gain values in various abilities. Move cards allow you to, err, move; Influence cards allow you to purchase items and perform special actions in populated locations such as villages and forts; Siege and Ranged Attack cards allow you to deal damage before the enemy attacks; Block cards let you fend off enemy attacks; Attack cards let you attack the enemy after they’ve had a pop at you; Attack and Block cards with elemental affinities are more or less effective depending on the capabilities of the enemy you’re going toe-to-toe with. These “value” cards are then supplemented with cards that allow the use of various special abilities, and most cards have both a weak and a strong effect, with the stronger effect requiring the expenditure of “mana,” which can either be collected (and possibly stockpiled) through special actions or drawn from a common pool that changes every so often.

The introductory scenario is basically a case of trying to collect as much shit as possible before the game is over. Bonus points are scored for all the “extra” things you acquire over and above your starting deck — spells, special abilities, mana crystals, treasures, supporting units — and lost for any damage you’re still suffering from at the end of the game. In retrospect, triggering the end of the game when I did tonight was a silly move — I should have moved away and simply continued to try and rack up points. (Yes, I lost. Except at being wounded, which I was the best at. Yay negative bonuses!)

My trouble with strategy games like this is that I often lack the confidence to try certain more adventurous things. I’ll give you an example: in Mage Knight, when you uncover a “Mage Tower” structure on a new map tile, you can conquer it if you can defeat its guardians, who are typically quite strong and resistant to certain types of damage. The rewards are great — particularly when you take end-game bonuses into account — but it’s a bit of a risk, especially if you have a crap hand of cards at the time. This is where the “planning ahead” bit comes into it, I guess — something I clearly need to work on, since I spent most of my time earning points from exploring the map and defeating the “rampaging” enemies on the map rather than the more difficult opponents that would have earned me both more points immediately as well as the potential for bigger bonuses at the end of the game.

Anyway. I’m pleased we got through a whole game, and I’m keen to try it again — perhaps just the introductory scenario again, making some different decisions along the way — and see if I can do any better. I’m also quite tempted to get my own copy, since there are full rules for playing it solo, which I think will be quite an interesting experience. It has the feel of an old-school computer role-playing game — moving a bit at a time over a sprawling map, interacting with people through abstract systems and gradually growing in power. It works well — it’s just very time-consuming!

1172: Mage Knight

It was a board games evening tonight, and since we were down one member from our usual troupe to play Descent: Second Edition we decided to crack open a new acquisition and give it a shot: Mage Knight.

None of us really knew anything about Mage Knight prior to going in save for the fact it was supposed to be good, so it was always going to be something of a learning experience. Due to the relative complexity of the rules — or at least, the relative complexity of introducing the rules to everyone — we didn’t manage to finish a complete game, but at least now we have a good understanding of the basic mechanics and will probably be able to romp through the introductory scenario without too much difficulty.

Mage Knight, if you’re unfamiliar, is a rather interesting game with elements of role-playing, strategy and deck-building card games. You play a single character who begins with a deck of basic abilities — one of which is unique to each character, the rest of which are the same for everyone — and then work your way towards the objective of the scenario you’re playing. Scenarios vary from cooperative ones where you work together as a group to competitive ones, where whoever gets the most points after the end condition is fulfilled wins, to “very competitive” ones, where whoever fulfils the victory condition first wins.

Play is split into rounds, which represent either day or night-time, and each round can and will go on for several circuits of the table. On each turn within a round, you can play some cards from your hand, some of which award you with movement, combat or influence points, and can then use those points to do various things. For example, moving requires a particular number of points according to the type of terrain you’re moving over, and influence is used in settlements and other friendly locations to do things like make use of services or acquire troops. Some cards have special abilities, too, and most have two possible functions — one simple one that can be used for “free”, and a more powerful one that generally requires a specific colour of mana to activate. Mana can be acquired through cards, through crystals you’ve stocked up on through various means, or most frequently through the dice that represent the “Source” — the mana naturally flowing through the world.

Through moving and attacking, you’ll reveal more and more areas of the map, each of which include various things to do. In villages, you can recruit new troops, get healing or pillage them. Come across a fortress and you can assault it in an attempt to take it over for yourself. Discover a wizard’s tower and you’ll have the opportunity to get some powerful spells. Most actions affect your “fame” level — which acts as a combined score and “experience” system, allowing the player to grow stronger in various ways every so often — and your reputation in the area, which provides bonuses or penalties to the amount of influence points required to do “friendly” actions. Defeating marauding monsters improves your reputation; attacking fortresses unprovoked has a negative impact. There’s a nice feeling of “consequence” to your actions.

We didn’t play far enough to finish the first scenario, but we learned enough to be able to make it through the next time we try it. We learned about the simple but elegant combat system, which requires you to make careful use of your cards to defeat your enemies, and about the various ways you can acquire the more powerful abilities and items. There’s clearly a lot to this game, and the really nice thing about it is that it’s one of those games that, like Descent, scratches both the strategic Eurogame and theme-heavy Ameritrash itches simultaneously. Consequently, I can see it hitting the table reasonably often — though the only downside for our group is that it only supports up to four players, whereas our full complement is typically five people.

I’m looking forward to trying it again, anyway. It looks like a great game and the components are gorgeous — lovely linen-backed cards, pre-painted miniatures and high-quality tokens and other bits and pieces. It takes a while to set up but once you’re up and running it’s a game that continues to look good in the middle of a session rather than devolving into a chaotic mess. Combine that with the host of scenarios and variants provided in the rulebook and here’s a game with the potential to be pretty different each time you play it. I can see why it’s so well-regarded.