Stonemaier Games Scythe: Invaders from Afar Board Game Expansion Ages 14+, 1-7 Players, 90-115 Minutes Playing Time

I already own Wingspan so was super eager to invest in more Stonemaier games, and this was on my wish list for a while. It was an excellent purchase. The artwork is stunning, the board and all the cards are exceptional quality/feel. You are paying for the brand and the quality. It’s not easy to learn- had to watch a couple of YouTube videos along the way as sometimes the instructions were heavy going/hard to visualise or understand what was meant to occur. But after the 2nd play through it suddenly clicked and became more enjoyable rather than a scramble of un-knowingness. The turn structure is similar to wingspan so if you have already played this- it will be easier to pick up and learn. I love the character variations and different abilities and the ways in which you can play the game. Looking forward to purchasing some expansions to add more depth to the game. Also: don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of items/cards/meeples you have to set up the game. It looks a lot but it is easy to pick up and learn what goes where.

First of all, I'm a 58 year old Modeller/Wargamer, in the past playing 20mm WW2, D&D and later Warhammer fantasy when the kids got older (I also had Steve Jackson's original edition of OGRE, long lost during house moves). In the last 10 or so years I have gotten back into gaming, Axis and Allies Naval and Air Miniatures, X-Wing Miniatures. Also Munchkin, which my wife loves! So what made me buy this game? Well, obviously the production is superb, Jakub Rozalski's artwork is stunning. I like the 'alternative' history style of setting for the game, and the fact it had a set of rules for solo play. It is worth looking at 'Lines42' Automa tutorial on YouTube, as well as his tutorial for the game itself. First thing you notice is the box is hefty, full to the brim of quality components. Unwrapping all the card and unpunching all the counters takes a while. The playing Board is good quality and warp free, always a good sign. This game at first seems very complicated, but it's not, just very involved, with a lot of aspects to the play. It takes a while to set up, even in 'Solo mode', but once you pick through the various rules it plays fairly quickly, but it does take time to remember EVERYTHING you have to resolve and be aware of, whilst playing. I won't go into the gameplay because there are a wealth of videos online. I'm just going to say that, once you pick up the movement rules for the 'Automa' player (that is, your game driven opponent) this is a satisfying game, even though I haven't beaten it yet, and that's on the easy setting! Tactics and strategy is the key here, something I have yet to master, but this game will entertain those who only play once in a while and appreciate quality. Buy it.

A brilliant game, providing hours of enjoyment for anyone who enjoys strategy and/or resource management games. This game is filled with mechanics which, on there own, are quite simple. However, together they form a complex system, which must be considered carefully to maximise your efficacy on the board. direct player interaction is limited but meaningful, with each encounter playing an important role in the game as a whole. Although the rules may seem labyrinthine to begin with, I found that after one playthrough and a little guidance, most of my friends and family members have been able to work out how to play, and have needed no/little help in subsequent games. The look and feel of the game is excellent, with amazing artwork, miniatures and resources. The cards are all appropriately sized, and the cardboard tokens are robust. The amount of coins in higher denominations seems unnecessarily large for regular gameplay, however if you like to use them to keep track of score at the end then they are very useful. If I had one criticism, it would be that there are too many different game mechanics and one or two could be removed to make a more streamlined game. On the whole, this is an excellent board game, providing a strategic challenge with the minimum (but very enjoyable) amount of randomness.

On first appearance the game may appear quite complicated but this is where YouTube is your best friend! You can watch an hour long tutorial how to play the game and it is very informative and you pick it up well! Definitely good for single player and the cards which the notes the opponent are very unforgiving and make it a challenge! Very enjoyable, the pieces are all wooden and the cards and coins are cardboard, good quality as well so very environmental considerate! Picked it up on sale for about £50 and is well worth it, the attention to detail is great

*Disclaimer: I have only played this once so far* Initial impressions are that this is a great game, we played as 3 people, all keen board gamers and found it really engaging. A bit like Mah Jong the set-up and rules took a while to sort out first time around but once you get started the complex looking set-up is actually nicely intuitive and follows a logical order. The design of the board feels like an amalgamation of Catan, 7 Wonders and Risk; all pretty strong games! The pieces of my (standard) version are plastic but feel substantial enough not to detract from the fact it isn't the metal collectors edition (these more specialist pieces can be bought separately). There are piece for up to 5 players, with 7 factions actually allowed on the board, this will presumably allow for expansion in the future if needed. Each faction has their own special ability, with a randomly assigned second player board giving even more replayability. I feel with more games under our belts we'll really get into the different strategies you can employ to get the most out of the design (and win of course). Overall I'm looking forward to playing this again as it feels like there are so many ways to play and different iterations with the different factions.

Muito bem embalado. Caixa chegou em perfeito estado no Brasil e em um prazo muito rápido. Recomendo

Behold!! Gaze in amazement, as you have stumbled upon the greatest board game, in all the ages! Prepare yourself to be immersed in a glorious steam-punk reality of endless wonder! You my friend, are about to embark on the intrepid journey that is.... Scythe!! With the expansion pack, choose from 7 different factions, and 7 different game boards to set forth on your quest of glory! Boost your defenses, conquer your surrounding land, and take no prisoners from your enemies! I've currently played well over 100 games of scythe, which probably clocks in close to 150 hours of total game time. I can honestly say it is THE most fun board game I've played, and I'm still not tired of it. Many other board games I will vouch for as being amazing, and I've played them several times over, but at some point, even those games become a little stale, and the gameplay itself becomes boiled down to a science. Such is not the case with scythe. It's got just enough random elements to keep it fresh and new every time you play it, without making it so random that you have no control over the outcome. It's the perfect blend. And now with its most recent expansion "Wind Gambits" the game has evolved anymore. But for newcomers, don't let the expansion intimidate you. I highly recommend playing the base game of Scythe for all it's worth (which is a TON) before worrying about playing with the expansion. I am an avid board gamer, and this is truly a one of a kind game that I have yet to become bored with, and I have yet to dice up into a science. Every single game will have you attempting new strategies, and exploring new options to declare yourself the victor. One of the most exciting parts of Scythe is that when the game ends, rarely will there ever be a distinct winner before the final points have been carefully calculated. There is a Scythe app on iOS and Android that I highly recommend downloading for deciding factions at the beginning of the game, and tallying score at the end. Without going into game play detail (I'll leave that to the rulebook) What I can say is that Scythe is, on the surface, a very complex game, but once you get your feet wet and play it, it really isn't too terrifying to learn. There's only so much you can do per turn, and once you run through it a few times, you begin to see the gears of the game click and turn, and you'll have a well running engine of a faction in no time! If you're just starting out with a group of people who are also new to the game, you're going to have your questions and missteps along the way where you might find you weren't playing certain rules down to their very exact intent, but this is perfectly fine. A lot of the fun in Scythe is discovering all the things you missed, or even may have been doing incorrectly, and changing up your game for the next time. For the most part, Scythe is an incredibly balanced game. If you get into a rhythm of playing with a core group of people, you'll start to realize the few imbalances it has *cough* Industrial Rusviet *cough* and learn to play around them. Again, figuring out what each faction is good at, how to make it work with your unique play mat, and formulate the best plan of attack, are just a few of the things that make Scythe such an immersive and brilliant game that will have you wanting to re-rack the game again and again. Hour and half to two-hour sessions seem like mere minutes when you really start grasp how fun the game is. If I had one gripe about the game, it would be the amount of players that can play. It's nice that Scythe can include 7 players, especially if you have a lot of board-game savvy friends who all want to be included. But be warned! 6 or 7-player games of Scythe tend to drag on, and when that happens, more often than not, one if not more people will lose interest, and thus become unenthused with the game. And nothing kills the fun of a game, like some one who is currently playing the game and not giving a crap about it. So if you have 6 or 7 brave souls willing to stick it out, it's best that all parties involved have a vast knowledge of the game, and indeed the actually WANT to play, knowing full well what they are signing up for. The sweet spot for Scythe, seems to be around the 4-5 player mark. The games are long enough that you don't feel cheated out of an epic board game experience, but short enough that the ADD in your friends doesn't start to show itself, and manifest into playing candy crush on their phones in between turns. Scythe is a massively wonderful game of strategy that I would absolutely suggest to any board game enthusiast looking to play one of the greatest games of all time. If new to board games, I would suggest watching several Scythe tutorials on the internet or playing with some one who has played before and has a good concept of the game. Again, it's complex, but not so much that I would say anyone wanting to learn the game, wouldn't be able to, regardless of their prior knowledge of board games. If you're willing to invest a little time to learn this game, you won't be disappointed!!

Cool addition

What a great game. Yes it takes some time to understand it, and even more to master it, and sometimes even more to explain it to someone who wants to play with you, but man is it amazing. Every playthrough is like a new book. Fully emerges you in the world of Scythe. Big win for me is you don't need dice to play. It is turn based. My only wish is that the pieces were more than basic wooden shapes. Would have added a lot of character.

Although it is not really recommended to play 7 players, it is good to have more factions (this expansion adds two new interesting factions) so that you would have more options to choose from, and this expansion comes with two more player-boards (militant and innovative) which are the great addition to the five player-boards in the base game (industrial, engineering, patriotic, mechanical, agricultural); adding more varieties even to the core five factions. Having said that, this expansion doesn't introduce a new mechanic which is applicable to all factions, but the two new factions come with two new (but rather similar) mechanics that are specific to their own factions. If you prefer the new mechanic or new type of unit which can be added to your core factions, I would rather advise you to go for The Wind Gambit expansions. Having said that, this is the first expansion (released in 2016) which would probably go out of print sooner or later.