Tower Siege
From: Arcane Games
Reviewed by: Marc Shayed
With the collectable card game market as glutted as it is, the traditional card games are beginning to come back in force. Games like “Grave Robbers from Outer Space”, “Munchkin”, “Illuminati”, “Gother Than Thou” and “Lunch Money”, have been growing in popularity for a while now. Perhaps it’s the appeal of the one-time purchase (or limited purchases) or the stepping away from games that have at their core the concept of “the more you spend the more you will win”. Anyway you look at it Arcane Games takes a step in the right direction with their new game Tower Siege, an expandable (non-CCG) card game.
From the back of the box:
“Tower Siege is an exciting game of strategy, luck, and ruthlessness… Players control a powerful Mage and soon find themselves immersed in a struggle for survival. The Mages battle against one another with the aid of Minions, Items, Scrolls, and Relics. These cards offer the player many strategic options as well as the use of dice to determine the outcome of combat. Players try to keep their towers intact and their Mage alive. The last Mage standing wins the game!”
Choose a Mage, choose a Tower, buy ‘stuff’, hire “Minions”… and smack the ‘bee-gee-zus’ out of the other Mages. Here we have a great new game from Arcane Games. The concept is pretty simple, all of the players are Mages in their towers waging war on each other. The Mages each have a local “Market” (their deck of cards) to pull items, spells or servants from. Things or “Minions” purchased from the market are paid for by the gold the Mage’s mines produce. They also have powers that are fueled by “Powerstones” that can be purchased in the “Market”. These powers take the form of Spells, Scrolls or powers from Relics or Magic items. Even some “Minions” have abilities that cost power that is drained from the Mage’s Powerstones.
So, Tower Siege has the components of fantasy conflict, managing resources, monsters and nifty powers. Designed as a game that contains many of the game conventions of most CCGs and thus, may greatly appeal to that crowd. The design of the game (by Nick Scott) makes it fairly easy to learn for beginners (about ˝ hour) and very easy for veteran CCG players. The art (by Colin McCulloch) ranges from good to excellent. The use of bright colors and (with what I consider to be) a classic high fantasy style really adds to the feel and overall quality of the game.
What can be termed as the basic set or “beginner set”, Tower Siege contains 2 identical decks of cards, so that even if 1 person has the game, 2 people can play. The design of the game allows for multiple sets to be played together so the game can have 3, 4, 5, 6+ Mages. But be warned, adding more players will lengthen the game (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). With the addition of the 3 expansion sets, a single player can customize their decks so that their Mage may have a deck with lots more Powerstones and fewer Minions. In any case, players should decide how many cards are to be used in each deck, so that the numbers are even. I managed to play a 3-person game using the basic set, and combining the 3 expansion packs. I picked out and divided some of the cards evenly and was able to make 3 72-card decks. This works well, but if you do this, you should allow a few extra hours to re-set your decks.
As to the game’s combat and ‘end-game’ scenario… The Mage and the Tower have “stats” for attacking and defense (as do the minions). Items, spells, scrolls, and relics can modify those “stats” and give them new defensive or offensive abilities. ‘Attacks’ and ‘defenses’ are rolled as a percentile (1-100) on 2 d10s. If a player roles under their modified ‘attack’ or ‘defense’ score then they were successful. Successful attacks either destroy minions, damage the Mage or the Tower. Once the Mage dies… he is out of the game. The last Mage standing (not necessarily his tower) wins the game.
From the back of the box:
“If you want “War games without the bored games” and “Campaigns without the commitment”, then Tower Siege is the game you’ve been looking for. Take home another copy for an epic 4 player game!”
Well perhaps a little bit of a stretch here, but I guess a certain amount of “bravado” is to be expected. Like with most games of this type… the games are only as boring or exciting as the players who play them. It’s the interaction between the players that makes them fun and exciting. However, Tower Siege does provide an excellent opportunity for good gaming and fun interactions.
Arcane Games has also produced 3 15-card expansion packs. All 3 are intended to give new options for the player’s ‘Market’. They are “Elemental Adversaries”, “Thaylen’s Rouges”, and “Fiendish Foes”. All 3 sets have new Minions, Relics, Items, Scrolls, Spells, and a few other ‘special’ cards that will help your Mage. With there being only 3 sets, and the low cost, these would be good options for players to pick up to enhance their arsenal.
So… what does Marc really think?
I think the game is fun. I sat down with a few different people and played. The general impression that I got was that people who like CCGs would warm up to this game pretty quickly. People who like games like “Illuminati”, “Lunch Money”, “Brawl”, or even “Munchkin” will find this game to be fun, and greatly enjoyable once learn the rules and play once or twice. The price of $20.00 (US) is a good value considering that it is a complete game and no other purchase is required (unless to add more players).
Recently I received and email from Nick Scott (the game designer) concerning some rules updates and options that are being posted on their website. I hadn’t had the opportunity to play test the updates before witting this review. I, however, do not know if the update was really needed. The game is fun and plays fine as it is.
The long and short of it is this… If you want to try a cool new fantasy card game, that lets you wield magical powers, command an army of minions and smite your friends all in the same stroke, and still only buying 1 game set… then Tower Siege fits the bill.
Above all I suggest you judge for yourselves. Check out Arcane Games and Tower Siege at their website http://www.arcanegames.com… And of course at all of your local game stores!
Tower Siege
From: Arcane Games
Type of game: Expandable Card Game
Game design by: Nick Scott
Art by: Colin McCulloch
Game Components: 1 box, 1rules sheet, 2 (86-card) game deck
Game Components not included: dice (10-sided), and counters/tokens (a few per player)
Retail Price: $ 20.00 (US)
Retail Price: $ 32.00 (Can)
Players: 2+ (As sold 2 player set, but multiple sets can be played together)
Ages: 13+
Play Time: variable (figure 30-45mins/per player)
Item Number: ACG1000
IBSN: 09716465-0-3
Expansions: 3 (15-card) Expansion packs $3.75 (US) / $6.00 (Can)
* “Elemental Adversaries” (ACG1002)
* “Thaylen’s Rouges” (ACG1003)
* “Fiendish Foes” (ACG1004)
Email: arcanegames@hotmail.com
Reviewed by: Marc Shayed
Review Editor
GamingReport.com
