Image Courtesy of mixmaster
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type - Card Game
Play Time: 30-50 minutes
Number of Players: 2-6 (Best 3+)
Mechanics - Hand Management, Set Collection, 'Take That'
Difficulty - Pick-up & Play (Can be learned in under 10 minutes)
Components - Very Good
Release - 2006
Designer - <PERSON> ( <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>,Die <PERSON>)
Overview and Theme
Welcome to the tales of Greek Mythology and the Siege of Troy. It is a time of Greek Heroes, War Machines and the valiant Hoplites.
By commanding the many units of the day each player is trying to lay siege to Troy in order to win cards representing their great victories. But victory is never certain in such times and the victory conditions can often change.
All that is certain is that the players will need to carefully deploy their forces and know when to push for victory and when to hold some of their forces in reserve to fight another day.
The name <PERSON> not a familiar one to me when I began writing this review. His most famous other design for me is Condottiere, and both games are likely to share a similar feel, that of a card-driven combat game that utilises different units and abilities.
For others it is likely to be Sylla, a Ystarigame that I have not yet played. For me 2014 has been something of an exploration of French designs and this is another one, purely by chance.
I look forward to checking this one out and in the coming months I will review Condottiere and compare the two in more detail.
For now though grab that feathered helmet and join me in the ranks as we take a look at what Iliad...the art of war...has to offer.
The Components
In all there are 110 cars offered up in Iliad.
Army Cards - The cards used to drive the play are the army cards. In all there are 75 and they represent 8 different unit types. The cards feature a black border and the design layout is excellent.
Really nice illustrations fill each card to depict the various war machines, war elephants and foot units. 470
At the bottom of each card a unit symbol can be found and these are important as each card that can attack lists the unit symbols that it can target in red. Unlike some games it is quite simple to match these symbols up to help learn what unit can do what. After a play these symbols are hardly needed as it is easy to remember.
Some units can carry other units (the elephant and the Trojan horse), so these units feature symbols at the top of the card to reflect the units they can carry.
The final feature of the Army Cards are the combat strengths of the units that are used to physically win a siege, which range from 1-4.
All in all the cards are designed expertly and look great as they do it. Why oh why the game didn't use a matte/linen finish in this production is beyond me because everything else is great.
Image Courtesy of cvandyk
Oracle Cards - In all there are eight Oracle Cards with 6 of these being Thanatos Cards and 2 being Gorgon Cards.
These feature full-card artwork and depict either the mythical Gorgon or the head of a warrior...presumably <PERSON>. That is all these cards require to function although the Thanatos Cards do feature a value of -1 or -2.
More on these later in the review.
Images Courtesy of onedayyou
Hero Cards - The game features 6 Hero Cards that include the likes of <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON> and the like. Again lovely artwork is used to evoke the theme of the game as the heroes stand in a range of combat poses. Each hero offers a value ranging from 1 to 6, which reflects their combat strength.
Image Courtesy of zombiegod
Victory Cards - The Victory Cards represent the spoils of a successful siege and come in one of two forms. All but one of the Victory Cards are either City or Trireme Cards that feature nice artwork. These cards are worth 1, 2 or 3 Victory Points each.
The final card features the infamous <PERSON> of Troy and is worth a whopping 5 Victory Points and depicts a gorgeous <PERSON> lazing around. 755