Terrene Odyssey Review

Terrene Odyssey

Designed by Chris Solis

Self Published (Terrene Odyssey)

2 Players (with 2 versus 2 variant)

30 Minutes

Strategic Party-Based Card Combat, Deck Creation

(8/10 Stars)

Hi everyone! Back in February of 2014 I interviewed the game designer Chris Solis about an upcoming Kickstarter for his game Terrene Odyssey (see interview here) and it was a Featured Kickstarter on the blog. Now, a little over a year later, here is my review of the final product!

First, the game components are very well done. The box is a good size box that isn't too small and isn't too large - fits the Goldilocks principle well - it is just right. The box has a nice feel to it and is very sturdy. When you open the box you will find lots of good stuff. 324 cards (3 copies of 108 unique cards), The game also includes lots of other cardboard tokens to help keep track of damage and modifiers. The tokens are good quality and double sided. I'm very glad these are included in the game, it is a must for the game play used. Very nice. There are player reference sheets which are glossy paper, also double sided with starting party suggestions (and strategy ideas).  The rule book is pretty well done, but it feels incomplete and I found myself with many questions as I played the game for at least the first game or two. Check out the Terrene Odyssey page on Board Game Geek for some clarifications provided in the forums. And lastly, but certainly not least - Terrene Odyssey has fantastic artwork! Love it. The card layout is also very nice.

One of the other great things about the game, is that the game comes with 6 different pre-constructed decks (along with starting party suggestions for each). This is very important because there is a lot of different cards and card types, and these pre-constructed decks are really well done and helps for quick games (especially with new players). Playing with these decks also allows players to see the different strategies available to use in future custom decks. My favorite is a spellcaster type deck so far, but I would love to make a good Engineer type deck. There is just so many different combinations to explore and that makes the game have great replay ability.

The game play at it's heart really is simple. You have a set number of actions determined by your current location card, and you utilize those actions to recruit new characters, make attacks, or use the various different abilities, items, or commands. Defeat your opponent by taking his hit points down to 0 from 50 or defeat all your opponents characters. It is a tight game with lots of strategy. You really have to plan out what you are doing to be successful because actions and cards in your hand are limited. You usually won't be able to do all that you want on one turn, so that requires you to make interesting choices on what you want to do this turn, and what actions you may want to save to react to your opponent etc. The gameplay is rich and seems to be done very well.

The game has felt a little long for me up until this point, but honestly this is probably due to the fact that I'm still new to the game and figuring it all out. This is a very enjoyable 2 player strategic card game. It is very well done from game play to artwork to quality of components. Currently on sale on Amazon for $39.99, it retails for $60. This seems a little high, but considering the amount of cards, tokens, and quality of components along with the fact that it is self published - I can see the reason behind it. If you can get passed the price point and/or you enjoy card strategic battle card games like this, I would highly recommend you check out Terrene Odyssey and that is How Lou Sees It!

(I was provided a free review copy of this game from Chris Solis.  There is a more detailed video review below.  If you liked this video review, please like and follow me!)

Branding Longhorn a Top Two Player Game

Longhorn

Designed by Bruno Cathala

Published by Blue Orange Games

2 Players

10 - 15 Minutes

Variable Movement, Set Collecting

(8/10 Stars)

I am a huge fan of great two player board games.  With a full-time job and kids at home, there just isn't as much time for getting a group together for games.  Often it is just my wife and I who will pull out a game.  Some other 2 player games we enjoy are Jaipur and Pagoda.  Longhorn published by Blue Orange Games and designed by Bruno Cathala (also designer of Five Tribes) is now another favorite 2 player game of ours.

Longhorn is a quick (10 to 15 minutes) strategy game for 2 players in which each player takes on the role of a cattle thief.  The game mechanics and components are really great.  The theme works well in the game and the action tiles fit that theme well.  That being said, the game still feels pretty abstract to me.

The game's mechanics are what really make this game a winner.  Simple to teach and play, and yet providing some strategic depth.  The game plays off of a somewhat similar idea from Bruno's other game, Five Tribes, although still very different.  Both games have an aspect that to me seems like a bit of a tip-o-the-hat to Mancala, which works out nicely because the game mechanic while fresh has a similar well developed feel to it.

Pick up all the cattle of one color and move the player token a number of spaces equal to how many cows you took.  The game ends if someone is caught by the Sheriff, a player is able to get all the cattle of 1 color (9), or what happens usually - the player token doesn't have any legal moves.

The other interesting thing about this game is that as you take cattle of one color, you are getting more points, but you are also degrading the value of that cattle too!  Cattle are only worth $100 times the number of that cattle color left on the board - so if all the cattle are taken, you may have 6 cattle in that color, but they would all be worth $0.00!  Players also need to be careful with placement of the player token to think ahead of possible future moves for your opponent.

The game is just the right length for this type of game and the box is perfect size for the components and for travel.  The cattle meeple are fun and if you like 2 player strategy games, I highly recommend Longhorn and that is How Lou Sees It!

(I was provided a free review copy of this game from Blue Orange Games.  There is a more detailed video review below.  If you liked this video review, please like and follow me!)