Wednesday, April 20, 2022

#21: Res Arcana (Mark's Top 100 2022)


Res Arcana
    BoardGameGeek 
    • rank: 125
    • rating: 7.7
    • published: 2019 
    Print Status
    • in print
    Why It's On The List
    • You'd think that a game with an eight card individual player deck would feel claustrophobic - instead, it's the entry point to a brilliant Tom Lehmann design that challenges each player to build a victory point engine while defending themselves against the direct and indirect challenges of the other players.
    Tips & Tricks:
    • Proper assessment of your deck at the beginning of the game is vital.
    • Like many of Tom's designs, the speed curve is slow for the first couple of turns and then accelerates rapidly toward the end of the game. 
    • You can win without taking a Place of Power - but it's not easy to do.
    • You don't have to "crank" every card in your tableau - sometimes it's smarter to pass and grab the magic item you need.
    Extras
    • The first expansion - Lux et Tennebrae - adds some nice variety to the system and a couple of new mechanics that don't overwhelm game play. (Note: my son noted that there's a lot more Tennebrae and not very much Lux in the expansion.)
    • I haven't had a chance to play with the newest expansion - Perlae Imperii. (It's held up with my pre-order for Tom's Dice Realms!)
    • The production of this game is gorgeous - and the box is appropriately sized for the components.
    • This is the fourth of five Tom Lehmann game designs on my list. 

    No comments: