Age of War

Great mini filler type game that packs a lot of replay value, fun, strategy, and interaction between players. It's likely the most fun i've ever had w/ 7 dice and 14 cards. Albeit, it's the only game i've ever played with 7 dice and 14 cards.The game plays quickly, but is fun from the start to the finish, most games play very close so you really do not know the winner until the end when your scores are calculated. This lends to a game that includes everyone from the start til the finish. The ability for players to steal cards from the other players lends to a fun mechanic that it's not just about rolling dice and grabbing cards, but also about taking the correct path & making the determination of playing offense or defense. It also makes for more social interaction, so you're not just sitting there waiting for people to roll the dice but wishing against them when they're trying to steal your card or a card from your clan.While the game does pack small, it does take up quite a lot of table space when you lay all the cards out for to allow you to see them all.The overall game play is easy to learn and quick to teach. Setup takes 30-60 seconds, tear down about the same. The game states it's for 2-6 players, but I imagine you could play with more. The game plays in 15-30 minutes, the more players you have the longer it takes. In addition, if you play w/ your two younger daughters, it goes faster because they refuse to be "mean" and "steal" from other players. The game states it's for ages 14+, but my 9 year old claims it to be one of her favorite games. The art work is enjoyable, as is the story. The only gripe I have against the game is not really a gripe. I just can't count how many times i've rolled an entire card in my first roll and it slays me that I can't just take the card & that I have to do one "battle line" at a time, only to fail to meet the requirements on the subsequent rolls. Also, I feel like even though every die has 6 sides and thus I have a 1 in 6 chance of getting them that the archers and cavalry are impossible to get when I need them.The game consists of 7 - six sided dice. 1 side each for the following - 1 sword (1 infantry point), 2 swords (2 infantry), 3 swords (3 infantry), 1 archer, 1 cavalry, 1 samurai face (Daimyo). The only other component is the set of cards. There are 14 different cards, each scores a different amount of points and some are grouped together in "clans".The main concept of the game is to roll the dice to take the most points, doing so by completing combinations of dice rolls as required by a card. For instance, Takahashi castle card is worth 2 points on it's own. If you combine it w/ the related castle from the same Mori clan, which is another 2 point card, the castle Gassantoda. If a single player obtains both cards, rather than being worth 4 points, because the have taken the entire clan group, they obtain 5 points and even more importantly, they are able to close that clan, preventing other players from stealing the card(s) from them.In order to take these cards, players need to satiate the required "force" to take the castle. For Takahashi you need 3 sets of force, called battle lines. A roll (or series of rolls) of 2 cavalry, 5 infantry points (requires say two dice (3 swords and 2 swords) or five dice (5 single sword dice) etc.), and then 2 infantry points. The player can roll as many times as they desire, each roll must either 1 - satiate a battle line (for instance 2 cavalry), or 2 - force the player to drop a die from play and re-roll. This can be repeated until the player either meets the required battle lines or is physically unable to do so (not enough dice to attain the remaining requirements, for instance the need to score 5 infantry points, when you only have 1 die left to roll).Each turn the player is able to take a castle card from the table or from another player that possesses a castle card from a clan that has not been closed. The decision to steal a castle card from another player requires you to complete all the necessary battle lines for the card, but in addition, also field one Daimyo. Once all the castle cards are taken from the table the game ends and all points are tallied up, the player with the most points wins.The game is relatively simple to play and still lots of fun to play with kids and adults alike.

This is a deceptively great little game. A handful of cards and some dice. The production quality is lovely, the dice are plastic and nicely weighted. The imprints are engraved not just printed on the dice. The artwork is pretty and the entire thing is aesthetically pleasing.The mechanic is similar to Pickomino but better in that you can eventually block any stealing of your castles. You roll the dice, choose those you wish to keep for ONE line on a card, roll again. If you can't choose a line to fill on the same card, you take a die out of your rollers and go again. Until you can't. When you have collected a set of similar colored cards (all the castles from a clan) you can flip the cards and they cannot be stolen. That's about it. You have to plan, you get to roll dice, you can steal castles. It's a little more fun with 3 than with two because the take-that is spread out a bit more.This would be a great stocking stuffer for your favorite game nerd. It's very light, but really a pleasant filler game. And as much as I adore Pickomino (honestly), this is much easier to find. If you still need Pickomino, check The Book Depository in Germany.There's really nothing about this I don't like. You could probably take the cards and dice out of the box and store them in a mint tin or small cardboard jewelry box and carry it around. I'd like to rate it 4.5 because I like it so much that I'd like a tiny bit more meat on it. But I'm not sure what could be added. It's simple enough that you could replace zombie dice with this if you prefer the theme and you have so many games you are at the one-in one-out stage. :)

My wife and I really enjoy this game, this is a must in every game night just between us or with friends. It's simple enough that we can quickly explain it to non-gamers and have a quick round with the extended family.The quality of the dice is very good, the cards are pretty good and since they don't need to be shuffled they don't need sleeves.The design of the cards and the dice is very good.The game play is quick for each player, and there is not much downtime for the players waiting their turn even in a 6 player game.It's a good filler game to ease the mind and relax for the next mind teaser.

This is an excellent, simple little game for the family. My wife and I actually play this head-to-head sometimes but having more than 2 parties, admittedly, makes the game a bit more dynamic and you feel the “power struggle” more - the core theme of the game is the clashing of various tribes and clans in Japan and everyone is wrestling for more control over the others.Very replayable. Very easy to learn. Very portable!Very satisfied with the purchase to add to my collection. I would say that I’m a board game enthusiast ... though my wife keeps my collecting to a healthier level than I’d set for myself...