REVIEW OF Children of Fire
Blindluck Studios is a new game company whose games have unique mechanics and innovative ideas. In Caravans of Ahldarahd, these ideas don't mesh together to make a good game, but in Children of Fire (BlindLuck Studios, 2005 - Erich Wambach) a sharp, clever game emerges. Players lay down only three cards each turn, but how to utilize those cards makes for some interesting decisions. The game has a fairly dark theme, but is very cleverly put together, and is a terrific little auction game.
The theme involves four different successors to four fateful positions: the Mogul, head of the Financial District; the Archbishop, head of the Church; the Prime Minister, head of the Government; and the Crime Lord, head of the Syndicate. For some unknown reason, all four of the men currently in these positions will die, and players want to have their faction determine the leanings of the successors.
Each player controls one of five Factions (Anakim & Nephilim, the Watchers, the Sorcerers, the Children of Light, or the Children of Darkness) and take seven associated cards of that faction, as well as a reference card. Four smaller boards are placed together to form a board in the middle of the table. The board is made up of the five locations - the four controlled by the successors (Church, etc.) and the Underground in the middle. At the corner of each board, the successor token of that location is placed in the middle of a track that heads down each side of the board. The track heads towards two different alignments (for example, the Mogul can either be Greedy or Generous). There are four blank spaces on each side, followed by five colored spaces - the last with a lock symbol next to it. Four piles of stones (influence tokens) are placed near the board as well as a pile of "masses" stones. The youngest player is given the turn indicator, and each player takes a primary and secondary prophecy card.
Each primary prophecy card shows the four successors and the orientation that the player wishes each to be. For example, one primary prophecy card asks that the Prime Minister be an Isolationist, the Archbishop be Corrupt, the Crime Lord be Excessive, and the Mogul be greedy. The secondary prophecy card indicates which successor the player wants to be "locked" first, and which they want to be determined last. Each player chooses three of their cards, placing them in their discard pile, keeping the other four in their hand, and the game is ready to begin.
In each round, the player who is to the right of the starting player determines how many influence tokens to place on each of the four main locations, placing five on one, four on another, three on a third, and two on the last. Beginning with the starting player, and going clockwise around the table, each player is going to place a card from their hands face down in one of the five locations on the table, or in front of themselves. The player then has the option of turning any of their face-down cards face up, and utilizing the special text on the card, if any. If the player turned over a card in front of themselves, they may spend any influence tokens they might have to move one of the four successor pawns. It costs one token of a pawn's color to move that pawn in either direction. Alternatively, two tokens of "secondary" influence (the colors of the regions that border the region) can be used to move the pawn one space. The tokens are placed on the track, rather than moving the pawn - to show how that particular pawn can no longer move this round. A player may also, instead of moving any of the successor pawns, discard one influence marker of each type to "sway" the masses, taking a white token for their troubles. At any time, players may trade in four resource tokens of one type for one of any of their choice. Play continues around the table until each player has placed three cards.
All cards are then turned face up. The player with the highest sum (number-wise) on the Underground location determines who gets the turn indicator for the next round. The player with the highest sum in each of the four influence tokens receives all the tokens from that location. (Ties cause the tokens to be split amongst those tied.) The pawns are moved to their new positions, and all played cards are discarded, while the player adds the three cards in the discard pile to their hand. Gameplay then continues.
Whenever a token reaches the space with the lock next to it, that token is "locked" and can no longer be moved. When all three of the other successors are "resolved", meaning that they are residing on a colored space, the game ends. Each player reveals their prophecy cards. For each successor that matches the orientation on a player's primary prophecy card, they receive two points. If the first successor "locked" or the last successor determined are those on a player's secondary prophecy card, they receive two points each (five if they manage both.) Finally, each white token is worth one victory point. The player with the most victory points is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The game components are obviously from a smaller, independent publisher, as they aren't as flashy and quality as larger companies. But still, I'm impressed. The cards are thin, long cards or a good quality with evocative artwork and easy-to-read text. The tokens are glass tokens but are beautiful and look really good on the table. The only quibble is that the purple tokens don't really match the brown background; but since all other colors are the same, it's not that hard to figure out what goes with what. The pawns are simply plastic stands with stickers applied, while the boards are four pieces of cardboard that fit together to form a contrasting playing area. The artwork on the box is very well done, and I like how it adds to the mood of the game. Everything fits inside plastic bags (included) in a thin, long box.
2.) Rules: There are only four pages of rules - in full color, with an illustration of setup. They're easy to read and easy to understand with a reference guide to cards, as well as a FAQ included. A few small things were left out of the rules, such as what to do if there aren't enough tokens to place on the board, but these were problems that I saw might happen - they never actually came up in a game. The game is moderate to teach to people; usually a round of play will help make the mechanics clear.
3.) Theme: Children of Fire is based of an RPG with the same name. I went and read some of the thematic background online (www.minigames.com/cof/) and was impressed by the sheer amount of background of the game. It's incredibly dark - doesn't seem to be much good in the world - and that darkness does seep into the board game to some degree; I'm not sure that it will be everyone's cup of tea. Angels and demons battle amongst plains littered by hideous monsters, and it's fairly hard to tell who the "good guys" are. You can ignore the theme, thinking of it more as a slight area control / blind bidding game, which is how I often play it.
4.) Cards: Knowing where to place your cards is a hard choice each turn. The way a player uses only three of their seven cards each round limits what they can do. Players certainly want to get as many influence tokens as they can, but where should they place them? And players also agonize whether they should place a card in the underground, as whoever goes last has a large advantage - not only in placing the cards, but also in deciding where the influence tokens are placed. Players must of necessity place cards in front of them if they want to move a successor pawn, but by doing so they give up getting more influence on the table. Players have three cards, and canny placement as well as watching what the other players do will help them get maximum. Sometimes a player can win two or more locations, netting them a lot of influence tokens; because the other players were fighting over one location.
5.) Factions: Each faction has a different set of seven cards. The Watchers have the most powerful cards but very few special abilities. On the other hand, the Sorcerers have many special abilities but the lowest set of numbers on their card. I found the Sorcerers the most fun - I'd rather have special abilities, like "Immediately take one influence tokens from this location", more than brute force. I think that all factions are equally balanced - I haven' t seen much differentia in the games I've played.
6.) Successors: The game doesn't take as long as one might think. Since each successor can be moved only once each round, you don't see as much see-sawing as might be expected. It's possible for three players to want a certain successor to get to the same alignment, but they won't match up on anything else - thanks to a good card distribution. Each player also can discard their highest numbered card to "lock" a successor into position, as long as they are on a colored space. This happens a LOT in games, as players will gladly discard a card to get someone locked. I've even locked a successor into a position that I was against, just to have him be the first person locked, per my secondary prophecy card.
7.) Fun Factor: There's a lot of interaction in the game, as players are jockeying to move the successor pawns, fighting for the tokens in the middle, and using their special abilities to annoy each other. With the game only taking about an hour, and there being little to no downtime, Children of Fire packs a lot of punch. It reminds me of Aladdin's Dragons to some degree but is a much different game, and the mechanics fit together well.
Children of Fire is an excellent game. It has a theme that fits well and unique mechanics. It's fast and fun, and offers players several choices each turn without overwhelming them. Every year, I play games that will often miss the accolades, because they aren't produced by a big company. Yet sometimes these games are a jewel, with interesting play and high replayability. Children of Fire is one of these gems.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games."
www.tomvasel.com
The theme involves four different successors to four fateful positions: the Mogul, head of the Financial District; the Archbishop, head of the Church; the Prime Minister, head of the Government; and the Crime Lord, head of the Syndicate. For some unknown reason, all four of the men currently in these positions will die, and players want to have their faction determine the leanings of the successors.
Each player controls one of five Factions (Anakim & Nephilim, the Watchers, the Sorcerers, the Children of Light, or the Children of Darkness) and take seven associated cards of that faction, as well as a reference card. Four smaller boards are placed together to form a board in the middle of the table. The board is made up of the five locations - the four controlled by the successors (Church, etc.) and the Underground in the middle. At the corner of each board, the successor token of that location is placed in the middle of a track that heads down each side of the board. The track heads towards two different alignments (for example, the Mogul can either be Greedy or Generous). There are four blank spaces on each side, followed by five colored spaces - the last with a lock symbol next to it. Four piles of stones (influence tokens) are placed near the board as well as a pile of "masses" stones. The youngest player is given the turn indicator, and each player takes a primary and secondary prophecy card.
Each primary prophecy card shows the four successors and the orientation that the player wishes each to be. For example, one primary prophecy card asks that the Prime Minister be an Isolationist, the Archbishop be Corrupt, the Crime Lord be Excessive, and the Mogul be greedy. The secondary prophecy card indicates which successor the player wants to be "locked" first, and which they want to be determined last. Each player chooses three of their cards, placing them in their discard pile, keeping the other four in their hand, and the game is ready to begin.
In each round, the player who is to the right of the starting player determines how many influence tokens to place on each of the four main locations, placing five on one, four on another, three on a third, and two on the last. Beginning with the starting player, and going clockwise around the table, each player is going to place a card from their hands face down in one of the five locations on the table, or in front of themselves. The player then has the option of turning any of their face-down cards face up, and utilizing the special text on the card, if any. If the player turned over a card in front of themselves, they may spend any influence tokens they might have to move one of the four successor pawns. It costs one token of a pawn's color to move that pawn in either direction. Alternatively, two tokens of "secondary" influence (the colors of the regions that border the region) can be used to move the pawn one space. The tokens are placed on the track, rather than moving the pawn - to show how that particular pawn can no longer move this round. A player may also, instead of moving any of the successor pawns, discard one influence marker of each type to "sway" the masses, taking a white token for their troubles. At any time, players may trade in four resource tokens of one type for one of any of their choice. Play continues around the table until each player has placed three cards.
All cards are then turned face up. The player with the highest sum (number-wise) on the Underground location determines who gets the turn indicator for the next round. The player with the highest sum in each of the four influence tokens receives all the tokens from that location. (Ties cause the tokens to be split amongst those tied.) The pawns are moved to their new positions, and all played cards are discarded, while the player adds the three cards in the discard pile to their hand. Gameplay then continues.
Whenever a token reaches the space with the lock next to it, that token is "locked" and can no longer be moved. When all three of the other successors are "resolved", meaning that they are residing on a colored space, the game ends. Each player reveals their prophecy cards. For each successor that matches the orientation on a player's primary prophecy card, they receive two points. If the first successor "locked" or the last successor determined are those on a player's secondary prophecy card, they receive two points each (five if they manage both.) Finally, each white token is worth one victory point. The player with the most victory points is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The game components are obviously from a smaller, independent publisher, as they aren't as flashy and quality as larger companies. But still, I'm impressed. The cards are thin, long cards or a good quality with evocative artwork and easy-to-read text. The tokens are glass tokens but are beautiful and look really good on the table. The only quibble is that the purple tokens don't really match the brown background; but since all other colors are the same, it's not that hard to figure out what goes with what. The pawns are simply plastic stands with stickers applied, while the boards are four pieces of cardboard that fit together to form a contrasting playing area. The artwork on the box is very well done, and I like how it adds to the mood of the game. Everything fits inside plastic bags (included) in a thin, long box.
2.) Rules: There are only four pages of rules - in full color, with an illustration of setup. They're easy to read and easy to understand with a reference guide to cards, as well as a FAQ included. A few small things were left out of the rules, such as what to do if there aren't enough tokens to place on the board, but these were problems that I saw might happen - they never actually came up in a game. The game is moderate to teach to people; usually a round of play will help make the mechanics clear.
3.) Theme: Children of Fire is based of an RPG with the same name. I went and read some of the thematic background online (www.minigames.com/cof/) and was impressed by the sheer amount of background of the game. It's incredibly dark - doesn't seem to be much good in the world - and that darkness does seep into the board game to some degree; I'm not sure that it will be everyone's cup of tea. Angels and demons battle amongst plains littered by hideous monsters, and it's fairly hard to tell who the "good guys" are. You can ignore the theme, thinking of it more as a slight area control / blind bidding game, which is how I often play it.
4.) Cards: Knowing where to place your cards is a hard choice each turn. The way a player uses only three of their seven cards each round limits what they can do. Players certainly want to get as many influence tokens as they can, but where should they place them? And players also agonize whether they should place a card in the underground, as whoever goes last has a large advantage - not only in placing the cards, but also in deciding where the influence tokens are placed. Players must of necessity place cards in front of them if they want to move a successor pawn, but by doing so they give up getting more influence on the table. Players have three cards, and canny placement as well as watching what the other players do will help them get maximum. Sometimes a player can win two or more locations, netting them a lot of influence tokens; because the other players were fighting over one location.
5.) Factions: Each faction has a different set of seven cards. The Watchers have the most powerful cards but very few special abilities. On the other hand, the Sorcerers have many special abilities but the lowest set of numbers on their card. I found the Sorcerers the most fun - I'd rather have special abilities, like "Immediately take one influence tokens from this location", more than brute force. I think that all factions are equally balanced - I haven' t seen much differentia in the games I've played.
6.) Successors: The game doesn't take as long as one might think. Since each successor can be moved only once each round, you don't see as much see-sawing as might be expected. It's possible for three players to want a certain successor to get to the same alignment, but they won't match up on anything else - thanks to a good card distribution. Each player also can discard their highest numbered card to "lock" a successor into position, as long as they are on a colored space. This happens a LOT in games, as players will gladly discard a card to get someone locked. I've even locked a successor into a position that I was against, just to have him be the first person locked, per my secondary prophecy card.
7.) Fun Factor: There's a lot of interaction in the game, as players are jockeying to move the successor pawns, fighting for the tokens in the middle, and using their special abilities to annoy each other. With the game only taking about an hour, and there being little to no downtime, Children of Fire packs a lot of punch. It reminds me of Aladdin's Dragons to some degree but is a much different game, and the mechanics fit together well.
Children of Fire is an excellent game. It has a theme that fits well and unique mechanics. It's fast and fun, and offers players several choices each turn without overwhelming them. Every year, I play games that will often miss the accolades, because they aren't produced by a big company. Yet sometimes these games are a jewel, with interesting play and high replayability. Children of Fire is one of these gems.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games."
www.tomvasel.com
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