Reviewed by Herb Levy
(TriKing Games/The History Channel, 2 players, less than 30 minutes; Starter packs – $12.99 each)
Going back in time and playing “what if?” history is something that has appealed to people since forever! What if great warriors from the past met in combat against each other? A tantalizing question for which there is no definitive answer. But, in an unusual partnership between a game company and a cable network, TriKing Games and The History Channel have tried to provide one in Anachronism, a collectible card game spanning the centuries.
Anachronism, designed by Michael A. Brown with a development team led by Steve McLaughlin, comes in starter sets that provide two sets of warriors for players, a large battlefield mat, two six-sided dice and a 24 page rulebook. (Booster packs allow players to add other famous warriors from a wide array of cultures to the game.)
Each player begins with a set of cards comprised of his particular hero (for example, in the box pictured here, the heroes available are Joan of Arc and William Wallace) and “Support” cards. Support cards include Inspiration, Weapon, Armor and Special. All cards carry an Initiative rating used to determine who will go first in a turn.
Warrior cards quantify the strengths and weaknesses of that particular character. Attributes include a “Life” value (which, if reaching zero, signifies that character’s defeat), Speed (the number of actions allowed each turn), Experience (used as a tie-breaker as necessary), Damage (how many Life points an enemy loses with a successful attack) and an Attack Grid (showing the attack range). Cards in play can modify attributes for better or worse.
The battlefield is a large 4 x 4 “arena grid” with “home rows” of four spaces for each warrior. The dice are rolled and the LOW roller, places his warrior in one of the four spaces on his home row with the high roller placing his warrior in his choice of one of the four starting spaces in his home row. Now, each player places four supporting cards FACE DOWN below his warrior, from left to right, in the order he wishes signifying the start of the first round.
Simultaneously, both players reveal their LEFT most card. The player whose card has the higher initiative rating goes first.
On his turn, a player may perform as many actions as his speed rating allows. Actions include moving, attacking, using a special ability (labeled with the “Action” keyword) or that player may simply pass.
Warriors may advance on the grid but two warriors may not occupy the same space. Enemies are vulnerable to attacks provided they are within the “attack grid” (the range of the weapon being used as depicted on the weapon card). Attacks are resolved by each player rolling two dice. Any modifiers (due to cards in play) are applied. If the attacker has the higher total, it’s a hit and damage (equal to the rating of that weapon) is dealt to the defender. If a tie, the attacker still hits if he has the higher initiative rating. If doubles are rolled, a critical hit is scored doubling the damage (subject to any defensive modifiers)!
Once both players have completed their actions, the round is over and the next round begins. A player wins when either his opponent’s Life value is reduced to zero OR, at the end of the fifth round, his Warrior has more Life points than his opponent.
One of the strong points of Anachronism is that the starter pack gives you all you need to get right down to the action. Booster packs, while appealing accessories, are not required for play. Taking full advantage of the spanning ages concept, the game presents disparate cultures meeting on the field of battle very well, really capturing the flavor of the different times. This can be a two-edged sword, however. Because match up possibilities are almost limitless (and the line-up of new sets and boosters to tap into these variations is large), some warriors simply don’t match up well with others and this can unbalance the game. Also, initiative is a tie-breaker that can be a game-breaker if one warrior is always getting that edge. For the game to be at its best, the sides must be relatively equal in strength and potential. For that reason, there are certain restrictions (e.g., you can’t have more than one of the same card) to mitigate against tipping the scales too much against one side.
Anachronism is an ambitious undertaking in spanning the centuries of historical figures. If history fascinates you and playing “what if?” history fascinates you even more, then Anachronism is a game that is definitely for you. – – – – – – – Herb Levy
Spring 2006 GA Report Articles
Reviewed by Herb Levy (TriKing Games/The History Channel, 2 players, less than 30 minutes; Starter packs - $12.99 each) Going back in time and playing "what if?" history is something that has appealed to people since forever! What if great warriors from the past met in combat against each other? A tantalizing question for which there is no definitive answer. But, in an unusual partnership ...
Read More
(In our quest to find fresh and intelligent voices about games, we welcome Chris Kovac, a gamer from our neighbor to the north, Canada. Chris writes: "I have been a gamer since my University Days in the 1980's. Initially a wargamer, I was converted over to Euro Games by a friend when he introduced me to Homas Tour (The Bicycle Racing Game) in about 1992 ...
Read More
Reviewed by Ben Baldanza (Abacus, 2-5 players, ages 10 and up, 60 minutes; about $30) Ah, to live in a mansion in sunny California! Everyone gets their shot at this dream in California, this new game from Michael Schacht. But the bad news is that the mansion needs a lot of work. Rooms must be renovated and furniture acquired and, of course, this means spending ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (Hangman Games, 3-5 players, ages 12 and up, 90-120 minutes; $30) Alan Ernstein has presented us with several well received games over the last few years including Tahuantinsuyu (Summer 2004 GA REPORT) and Ars Mysteriorum (Summer 2005 GA REPORT). This time, Ernstein dips into his bag of tricks to bring out a "sparkling" game combining crystals and deal making in Crystal ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (Warren, 2-6 players, adult, 30-60 minutes; $24.99) Whenever an intellectual property strikes a massively responsive chord in popular culture, you can be sure games based on that property will appear in its wake. We've seen this before with comic characters, TV shows and, certainly, with books turned to films (e.g. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings). So it should be ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (Lookout Games; 2-3 players, ages 12 and up, 60-90 minutes; about $50) Ancient Rome in general and the quest to become ruler of the Roman Empire in particular, have long been popular themes for games. In Das Ende des Triumvirats, designed by Johannes Ackva and Max Gabrian, that theme is tackled once again with some unique and challenging twists. Das Ende ...
Read More
Weather? Whether or Not? In the aftermath of the 2006 New York International Toy Fair, I found myself faced with two questions: Whether? and Whether or Not? As the Fair opened this year, there was a lot of uncertainty as to its future. Some Fair participants had voiced a wish to move the Fair, which called New York City home for over 100 years, to ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (Hans im Glück/Rio Grande Games; 2-4 players, ages 12 and up, about 45 minutes; $24.95) One of the most popular and respected creations of the prolific Reiner Knizia is Euphrat & Tigris, a true gamer's game that challenges the most hardened Euro style game player (and featured in the Spring 1998 GA REPORT). Euphrates & Tigris: Contest of Kings is Knizia's ...
Read More
(With the Euphrat & Tigris: Contest of Kings card game getting feature treatment this issue, we though it would be a good idea to see how its parent game, Euphrat & Tigris, was received back when Kban gave it a good look in the Spring 1998 GA REPORT) EUPHRAT & TIGRIS (Hans im Glück, 3-4 players, 60-90 minutes) Reiner Knizia has been one of Germany's ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (MindtwisterUSA, 2 players, ages 6 and up, 3-30 minutes; $24.95) Some game conventions encourage you to sit down and play games. But the New York International Toy Fair doesn't quite work like that. While there are miles of aisles of displays and no shortage of people who will tell you how a game plays and demonstrate it for you, it's ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (Otero Games, 2-4 players, ages 10 to adult, about 30 minutes; $19.95) Abstract games are a genre of play that attracts devoted fans. One of the better new entries in this field is called Roundabout. As you might suspect from the name, the goal is to get your pieces around and about the board. Roundabout comes with four sets of game ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy SHEAR PANIC (Fragor Games, 3-4 players, ages 10 and up, about 45 minutes; about $50) I've written literally hundreds of reviews of games over the years consisting of a couple of million words. But I'm about to use a word that I have NEVER used in all those reviews over all that time. Adorable. The pieces used in Shear Panic are ...
Read More
Reviewed by Herb Levy (Days of Wonder, 2-5 players, ages 8 and up, 30-60 minutes; $39.95) Some companies have been fortunate in finding a game with the strength and popular acceptance to not only create a loyal following but serve as a springboard for variations on that game's popular theme. Mayfair has The Settlers of Catan (Fall 1996 GA REPORT), Rio Grande has Carcassonne (Summer ...
Read More
Reviewed by Jon Waddington (GMT Games, 2 players, about 3 hours; $57) Nominally, Twilight Struggle is a wargame about the Cold War. For those too young or too distracted to remember, the Cold War was the conflict following World War II between the forces of capitalism (with the United States taking the lead for the West) and communism (with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ...
Read More
