Post by masterdecoy on Aug 24, 2009 12:12:44 GMT 10
Opening thoughts:
Red November, another of fantasy flights silver line range, looks promising when you read the game description. However when you open the stupidly small box, you can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by the contents. One can’t argue however that the box is so crammed full that you can’t actually get the lid on properly, its just that it doesn’t look that impressive. Fortunately the game play is far from dull.
Game Overview:
The goal is simple, keep the submarine “Red November” in one piece long enough for the rescue boat to come and save everybody. The execution however is anything but. Each player will take control of one of the submarines gnomish sailors, and they will take turns running frantically around the submarine fixing the numerous disasters that arise.
The turn structure in Red November may seem a little odd at first glance, however, when one thinks about it for more than a second, it makes perfect sense. Players do not take their turns sequentially like in most other board games, to work out who goes next, you need to keep track of how much time has passed in a players turn and the player who has spent the least amount of time always goes next, this means that players could potentially take two or three turns in a row, depending on how much time they spend on their turn.
Time is kept track of with plastic timekeepers placed around the board indicating how much time has passed, each timekeeper (one for each player) will represent how much time that player has spent performing different actions on the submarine. The game will end when all the players timekeepers reach the end of the track (indicating that the rescue sub has come), or if at any time the submarine is destroyed for one reason or another.
When a player takes their turn, they will use a special time keeper to plan his turn placing it as far ahead on the track as it takes for their turn to complete, moving for example takes 1 minute per door opened, and 1 minute to enter a room if it is full of water.
Fixing problems that occur require time, and the more time a gnome spends trying to fix the problem, the more likely they will succeed. Of course the gnome might also have an item that will aid in fixing the particular problem, meaning the gnome will not have to spend as much time fixing it.
Problems range from fixing the oxygen pumps, putting out fires, to fixing leaks. When a gnome attempts to fix a problem, they decide how much time they would wish to spend trying to fix it, as well as what items they would like to attempt to use to aid their attempt. They then roll a d10 and if the result is equal to or under the amount of time spent, as well as any bonuses then the gnome is successful.
If a gnome has consumed any grog in their turn (it provides a very nice bonus to all actions), they must test to see if they pass out. Passed out gnomes will burn 10 minutes on the track, which could prove deadly especially if that leaves their marker way out in front as they can burn, or drown to death very easily.
After each gnome has taken their turn, the player’s time keeper is advanced to the turn timer, stopping at various symbols on the track, representing events. Each event potentially means a new problem, so spending too much time on one task might see 5 more spring up in its place. This forces the players to gamble, spend their items frequently, and above all else keeps the game exciting.
Component Overview:
The game components are almost certainly the games major weak point. Each miniature is barley 1 cm tall, and the game board is smaller than an a4 sheet of paper, it also seems to warp easily, and doesn’t sit flat very easily on the table.
The tokens and cards however are of the usual FFG high standards. I would have liked to see more flavor text on them however.
The rule book is also a little confusing, but after about 15 minutes of pawing through the rules, it finally made sense
Closing thoughts:
The game is light hearted enough to be tons of fun, yet strategically stimulating enough to keep the more hard core players interested.
Make no mistake, your gnomes will probably be lucky to survive, however through careful planning, teamwork and a lot of luck, the sub might hold together just long enough. Be assured though, there will be plenty of tension, and laughs as you make your attempt.
A nice addition to the rules is the ability to abandon your shipmates (given the right items) when there is less than 10 minutes left on any players track. The players that abandon ship will then win if the submarine sinks, but lose if it holds together.
All in all, an easy game to pick up, and the turns move along at a brisk pace so players shouldn’t get bored unless their gnome passes out from getting too drunk, but they will probably still enjoy seeing the mayhem unravel and there is plenty of reasons to keep coming back for another play.
I recommend this game for the more experience players, as although the game play is simple, and it is easy to teach, the rulebook will require a fair amount of common sense to work out, something that may frustrate players that are not used to FFG’s and their mechanics.
Components: 2/5
Game play: 4/5
Replay Potential: 5/5
Theme: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
PM me if you would like to arrange a demo game
Red November, another of fantasy flights silver line range, looks promising when you read the game description. However when you open the stupidly small box, you can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by the contents. One can’t argue however that the box is so crammed full that you can’t actually get the lid on properly, its just that it doesn’t look that impressive. Fortunately the game play is far from dull.
Game Overview:
The goal is simple, keep the submarine “Red November” in one piece long enough for the rescue boat to come and save everybody. The execution however is anything but. Each player will take control of one of the submarines gnomish sailors, and they will take turns running frantically around the submarine fixing the numerous disasters that arise.
The turn structure in Red November may seem a little odd at first glance, however, when one thinks about it for more than a second, it makes perfect sense. Players do not take their turns sequentially like in most other board games, to work out who goes next, you need to keep track of how much time has passed in a players turn and the player who has spent the least amount of time always goes next, this means that players could potentially take two or three turns in a row, depending on how much time they spend on their turn.
Time is kept track of with plastic timekeepers placed around the board indicating how much time has passed, each timekeeper (one for each player) will represent how much time that player has spent performing different actions on the submarine. The game will end when all the players timekeepers reach the end of the track (indicating that the rescue sub has come), or if at any time the submarine is destroyed for one reason or another.
When a player takes their turn, they will use a special time keeper to plan his turn placing it as far ahead on the track as it takes for their turn to complete, moving for example takes 1 minute per door opened, and 1 minute to enter a room if it is full of water.
Fixing problems that occur require time, and the more time a gnome spends trying to fix the problem, the more likely they will succeed. Of course the gnome might also have an item that will aid in fixing the particular problem, meaning the gnome will not have to spend as much time fixing it.
Problems range from fixing the oxygen pumps, putting out fires, to fixing leaks. When a gnome attempts to fix a problem, they decide how much time they would wish to spend trying to fix it, as well as what items they would like to attempt to use to aid their attempt. They then roll a d10 and if the result is equal to or under the amount of time spent, as well as any bonuses then the gnome is successful.
If a gnome has consumed any grog in their turn (it provides a very nice bonus to all actions), they must test to see if they pass out. Passed out gnomes will burn 10 minutes on the track, which could prove deadly especially if that leaves their marker way out in front as they can burn, or drown to death very easily.
After each gnome has taken their turn, the player’s time keeper is advanced to the turn timer, stopping at various symbols on the track, representing events. Each event potentially means a new problem, so spending too much time on one task might see 5 more spring up in its place. This forces the players to gamble, spend their items frequently, and above all else keeps the game exciting.
Component Overview:
The game components are almost certainly the games major weak point. Each miniature is barley 1 cm tall, and the game board is smaller than an a4 sheet of paper, it also seems to warp easily, and doesn’t sit flat very easily on the table.
The tokens and cards however are of the usual FFG high standards. I would have liked to see more flavor text on them however.
The rule book is also a little confusing, but after about 15 minutes of pawing through the rules, it finally made sense
Closing thoughts:
The game is light hearted enough to be tons of fun, yet strategically stimulating enough to keep the more hard core players interested.
Make no mistake, your gnomes will probably be lucky to survive, however through careful planning, teamwork and a lot of luck, the sub might hold together just long enough. Be assured though, there will be plenty of tension, and laughs as you make your attempt.
A nice addition to the rules is the ability to abandon your shipmates (given the right items) when there is less than 10 minutes left on any players track. The players that abandon ship will then win if the submarine sinks, but lose if it holds together.
All in all, an easy game to pick up, and the turns move along at a brisk pace so players shouldn’t get bored unless their gnome passes out from getting too drunk, but they will probably still enjoy seeing the mayhem unravel and there is plenty of reasons to keep coming back for another play.
I recommend this game for the more experience players, as although the game play is simple, and it is easy to teach, the rulebook will require a fair amount of common sense to work out, something that may frustrate players that are not used to FFG’s and their mechanics.
Components: 2/5
Game play: 4/5
Replay Potential: 5/5
Theme: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
PM me if you would like to arrange a demo game
