The agony of the grail
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We're all such losers.
The real heroes set out long ago to save the island of Avalon and its desperate inhabitants.
They didn't take us away because - well - unfortunately we weren't competent enough.
But now things are really going wrong, the heroes are gone and we have to take over: a wounded blacksmith, a healer trainee, a farmer with a dark past and a mediocre druid.
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"Tainted Grail" is a cooperative storytelling game by Krzysztof Piskorski and Marcin Świerkot with a thick adventure book that leads through the ramified, gloomy story of the decline of Avalon.
Only together can the loser troop manage to meet their challenges.
Spoiler: Often she doesn't make it because she overestimates herself, can't find anything to eat, trusts the wrong people or - whack - gets hit and just doesn't get anywhere.
Nevertheless, it is great fun to explore the island that is gradually becoming visible from the hidden cards - and to solve the logistical problem of how to recharge the menhirs without the cards disappearing after a few rounds.
Ever new decision options, often of a moral nature, make every game individual.
In encounters with monsters and humans, tactical skills are required - a sophisticated map mechanic makes each one a challenge, whether diplomatic or combative. The game runs over 15 chapters, expansions are already in the works (they already existed on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter).
There are plus points for the very beautiful and opulent material with fine character boards.
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Krzysztof Piskorski, Marcin Marcin Świerkot
Tainted Grail
Publisher: Pegasus Games
Players: 1-4
Age recommendation: from 12 years
Publisher: Pegasus Games
Players: 1-4
Age recommendation: from 12 years
From € 110.76
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09/20/2020 6:21 p.m.
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As with most fantasy games, women are underrepresented: Of the four heroes in the base game, only one is female and, of course, scantily clad.
You'd like to hand her a sweater: Come on, girl, put something on yourself, otherwise you'll catch a cold. And then we'll go out there and show them.
For whom:
One to four players, ages twelve and up, playing time per chapter: between two and three hours
Hand on it:
Friends of fantasy epics, team players with planning skills
Hands off:
people with low tolerance for frustration, logistically less gifted people
Merlin: Six laps around the round table
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For those who prefer it colorful rather than gloomy and don't want to spend at least 15 evenings fighting for survival, Merlin is the right choice: The game by Stefan Feld and Michael Rieneck lets the knights of the round table vie for the favor of King Arthur.
He is looking for an heir to the throne - and will not choose the noblest, but the one with the most victory points (as it is in life).
I admit: I bought Merlin at a games fair only because it looked so pretty - I only looked up later how and what it's all about.
But the circular, colorful game board with its many wooden stones and small tiles, flags, coats of arms and cubes has what educators call "a highly haptic challenge": you want to touch it and play with it right away.
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Stefan Feld, Michael Rieneck
Merlin
Editor: Queen Games
Players: 2-4
Age recommendation: from 14 years
Editor: Queen Games
Players: 2-4
Age recommendation: from 14 years
From € 39.39
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The players move their knight and the neutral Merlin over this rondel, place followers and influence markers, try to fend off traitors and expand their manors in the surrounding area (and also grab the Grail and the Excalibur sword).
There is no shortage of options, and many different strategies can bring success - but a little luck with the dice doesn't hurt either.
Three times in the game are scored, after six rounds with four moves each the player is over.
If that's too fast for you (and if you want to manage even more game factors), you should get the Arthur expansion - it makes the rondel even more opulent and brings a few more interesting mechanisms into play.
For whom:
Two to four players, ages 14+ (from my point of view, this is much too high), duration: a good hour (faster with practice, significantly longer with expansion)
Hand on it:
relaxed family and friend players
Hands off:
those chronically disadvantaged by the luck of the dice
Stonehenge: A hands-on anthology
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Maren Hoffmann / DER SPIEGEL
The round table, the sword, the Grail - and Stonehenge: when it comes to the Arthurian legend, the millennia-old stone circle in southern England should not be missing.
The game Stonehenge transfers the literary principle of the anthology to the board game world: In the box there are five games by extremely well-known game authors (Richard Garfield, Bruno Faidutti, Richard Borg, Mike Selinker and James Ernest), all of which are based on the same theme and make do with the same material .
There is bluffing, bets are run, auctions are held;
with "Arthur's Spirit Knights", guards are strategically placed on the stone circle.
The game explicitly invites you to add your own developments and rules.
A round game board, accessories in five player colors, cards and five handsome triliths are available.
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Richard Borg, James Ernest, Bruno Faidutti, Richard Garfield, Mike Selinker
Stonehenge - A board game anthology
Editor: Playtime!
Players: 3-5
Age recommendation: from 10 years
Editor: Playtime!
Players: 3-5
Age recommendation: from 10 years
From € 24.99
Price query time
09/20/2020 6:21 p.m.
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Unfortunately, the ambitious idea has largely disappeared after its appearance 13 years ago.
The variability with which earlier generations of players developed games as diverse as Skat, Mau-Mau and Patience from a simple sheet of cards has given way to ever more specialization: Opulent material battles with special dice, miniatures, stacks of cards, secondary boards and clever card mechanisms condense the game atmosphere.
However, it also has its own charm to see how many different ideas can be derived from a topic idea and relatively simple material - and maybe to try it yourself.
For whom:
Three to five players, ages 10+, duration: 15 to 60 minutes (depending on the game)
Hand on it:
those who like to experiment, puzzlers, rule optimizers
Hands off:
board game gourmets with high expectations of story and equipment
