Age of War

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. :)

Actually, I bought this because it was cheap and seemed to afford me the comfort of playing a15 minute, no maintenance game while killing time. Whether sitting up in bed or on the couch, I can roll a quick game to challenge myself (and my memory; I'm getting old. LOL). I use a solitaire system I found here in the Q&A section of this listing -- and it is great. I still haven't beaten it yet, but I know I can (or will!) someday. LOL. The object is to capture other samurai castles until you have the most (I guess, I only play solo), and it is done by rolling specially designed dice. Instead of numbers, the dice faces represent cavalry, archers, infantry and so on. You use what you roll to conquer an opponent's castle(s). But you must delegate wisely. One castle might require two cavalry and two archers to conquer, while others require different combinations to be taken. The game is meant for two players, and I imagine it will work well that way, too. Probably better than solo. But I found this other buyer's solo system so intriguing that I haven't looked back. Just a great way to kill time, challenge yourself a little, and exercise the old noodle before bed. Great little box of fun if you don't want too great a challenge.

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.

Brilliant! Fun, easy to learn, and fast that can be played with up to six players. Reiner Knizia's well designed game involves rolling seven special dice and matching the symbols on the dice to capture fortresses. Once all the fortresses are captured, each player totals the value of their captures, and the highest score is the winner. You could easily scale the length of the game by removing some of the harder to get fortresses. You could play this with kids down to 5-6 years old with some adult interaction. Well done!

This game is perfect for what I intended: a fun way to bring my 5 and 4-yr olds to the table to have fun with me. For me, the game is fun, but it is a simple game with little strategic depth, so not five stars. What's great about the game is that my boys absolutely LOVE it. They get real excited to play and ask to do so every day. The 5-yr old understands most of the game, although a complete understanding of odds of dice rolls is a bit beyond his level. The 4-yr old understands the concepts a bit less, but he still gets very excited. With some coaching and help, both can get through the game in a way that the really, really enjoy (the rules are tough, so I give them mulligans often). This ends up being quality, engaged time that I wouldn't trade for anything (of course, I balance this time with sports and outdoor time together too!). The components are top-notch, and my boys really enjoy the dice-rolling part. So a few notes and answers to possible questions: - Whom do I recommend this for? Gamers who want to bring young children or perhaps significant others into the strategy game hobby in an easy, fun, and light way. - Whom do I NOT recommend this for? Gamers looking for a satisfying quick-fix between more hardcore games, or while waiting for other players (game is too strategically shallow to satisfy). - What are the key strategic decisions confronting players? Based on the initial roll, a player's biggest decision is which castle to go for, and this requires an understanding of odds. I am completely satisfied that this game delivered the exact type of interactive experience I was hoping for with my kids. 4-stars for that, but not 5 because I myself would not consider this to be an amazing game to play with other people who really enjoye strategy games.

El juego me llamo la atención por su precio y su temática del Japón feudal. De antemano sabía que era un "Filler" , es decir un juego simple y rápido para "calentar motores" antes de otro más grande o solo para cuando se dispone de poco tiempo. Me gustó su mecánica, es sencilla y fácil de aprender. Para hasta 6 jugadores de prácticamente cualquier edad. Debes capturar la mayor cantidad de castillos y de preferencia del mismo clan, tirando dados para igualar los símbolos de la tarjeta que deseas capturar y presionando la suerte. Gana quien sume más puntos. El arte es bueno y las 14 cartas son de 75x75 mm (por si deseas enfundarlas). Muy recomendable para tenerlo en tu librería de juegos.

We love this dice game !!! Easy and fun. For small or bigger groups. Definitely recommended.

I thought this was a FABULOUS game, but sadly my partner didn’t like it... He did not care for all the dice rolling, but I love all dice games, and the more dice involved - the more I like it! But more importantly, I LOVED the strategy element of this game; like ‘stealing’ castles from other players – and not necessarily going for complete ‘Clans’ which may seem the obvious thing for some to do, but going for ‘oddments’ thus at times splitting up clans so that no-ne can ever get a set. There is SO much tactic to this game - though it is so simple and I should imagine almost anyone could play! My only gripe with many of these types of games, is the extortionate prices they retail at; I mean for around the same money paid, as a games collector, I do know that one can get many much bigger games with LOADS more components using many other more expensive materials (perhaps not so good a game granted) yet at much cheaper... Just doesn’t make sense... But NO gripes with the gameplay – and I should imagine there is much scope in this game for ‘solo’ play. (surprised they did not include a variant in the rules!) Highly recommended!

Gioco semplice e divertente. Giocato in due (con mio figlio di 8 anni) bello ma la tattica serve poco, da 3 giocatori in su occorre un po’ più di strategia. Essendo ovviamente molto basato sui dadi anche la componente “gufata” la fa da padrone. Si può portare in giro in un piccolo sacchetto (noi dentro uno per dadi) o nella sua scatola e questo è un grosso punto a suo favore.

Another gem from Reiner Knizia. This is the 4th game I have played,designed by Knizia. Initially when I opened the box, I was taken aback to see just a bunch of cards and 7 dice, but when I played it- Whoa. This game turned out to be so much fun. And it is a hit in our group as a good filler,keeping everyone engrossed to a different level. It is luck based, yet having a strategic tinge to it.