We got in a four-player game of Hyperborea last night. This was my second play; first play was last weekend vs. Dylan. I lost to Dylan, so I figured last night I’d play the faction he played (Blue). I lost again. But it was a fun time. At least Steve said he’d like to play again (and he already picked his next faction: Yellow).
The game is a twist on the deck-builder game, where here you build a collection of “cubes” of various colors. You blindly pick cubes from your collected supply out of a bag; these are used on your turn to take actions. You place cubes on either your player board, or “Advanced Tech” cards in order to do actions. You continue to do actions on your turn (any order) until you have no more you can or wish to do. You then draw 3 cubes for as prep for your next turn (so you can attempt to plan during downtime) and play moves to next player. We played a “medium” length game, where the end game is triggered when 2 of 3 possible conditions met (12 gems collected, 5 adv. tech acquired, or all your minions on the board.). I hit 12 gems first, then Steve, and Steve ended the game by acquiring 5 tech.
There is some “attack” ability in the game, but isn’t very complicated: simply use an “attack” action while in the same hex as your target. Done. Unless the target placed a fort in the hex on their previous turn – the fort soaks up one attack. But forts were rarely placed this game.
Now that I have the mechanics down, and have a better idea of strategy, my next play should end more favorably. :)
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- Central hex. James ended up controlling it at end, so he got 4 points.
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- The Map. Changes every game.
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- My individual player board
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- closeup of The Map.
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- Steve reads the manual. A lot. But then he usually wins as well. He is deciding which faction to use next time…
