This was a hotly anticipated game. Once students got a
look at the figures, they couldn’t wait to get this on the table. Blood
Rage is an area control game that we felt had some similarities to Mission:
Red Planet. The players control one of five Viking clans (normally four,
but I bought the five player expansion). Each clan is represented by a
number of figures, including a Viking ship. There are also a number of
gorgeous monster figures that can be recruited by each clan. The fire
giant and sea serpent are especially stunning. The game is played over a
series of rounds called “Ages”. In each Age, players draft cards to give
them the ability to fight, go on quests, and recruit monsters. They then
attempt to gain control of territories, pillage and compete for glory, and gain
certain stats to help them in the next Age. At the end of each Age, a
portion of the world is destroyed, and troops head to Valhalla. There are
multiple strategies people can use to win. Some players are hungry for
territory (fulfilling the conditions of Quest cards), while others can gain
points for losing battles and dying, because a glorious death and trip to
Valhalla will nab them a victory.
The students really enjoyed this game. The models are
great to look at, and the students picked up on the mechanics and strategies
very quickly, however, the players were struck with heavy doses of “analysis
paralysis”, so each game took much longer than was indicated on the box
(60-90 minutes). The game length would become more manageable as players
get familiar with the rules. My big issue, the thing that may have
changed my mind as to whether or not I purchased the game to begin with, is the
figures themselves. Even though I mentioned earlier that I love the
figures, I take issue with the Snake Clan.
 |
| Lagertha |
The Snake Clan is an army of
female warriors, and even though they are heading into battle, they don’t wear
much clothing. They are revealing a tremendous amount of breast in the
“underboob” style. As a game club for teenagers in a public school, I
shouldn’t have to have conversations about sexism and objectification of women
while I’m simultaneously trying to explain the mechanics of
card-drafting. Considering that the majority of this year’s game club are
female, I didn’t feel 100% comfortable with the faction being used, and yet I
wanted the maximum amount of students to get a chance to play. If the
game’s developer, Cool Mini or Not, wanted to include female Viking warriors in
the game, they could have modeled them after the shield-maiden Lagertha from
the show Vikings. Notice how she’s dressed for battle and the
weather. I don’t consider myself a prude, but I’m running a club for
young people in a public school. Again, had I known about the nature of
the art design, I may have not selected this game for the club, and yet my
students had tremendous fun playing it. We played it for both sessions that week.
For our final gaming session of the year, we played Avalon. Avalon is essentially a re-skinning of The Resistance, a game we played quite early in the year. There are some interesting variants, but there's no reason to own both games unless you want to adjust the themes. I won't go into great details about how the game is played, because I covered the mechanics when I discussed The Resistance. From our final game of the year, I learned a couple things about the game I hadn't realised before; it's a tough game to play when you're tired, and I suck at bluffing.
This late in the year, fatigue was starting to set in, and I couldn't get in to the game. At their hearts, The Resistance and Avalon are improv exercises for those who draw a traitor card. I kept drawing a traitor, but I was so tired I couldn't muster the energy to meticulously swerve the other players into believing I'm loyal. I realised that every time I've played and enjoyed the game, I was loyal, so I didn't have to break out any acting skills. Still, the students had fun, and that was the point after all.
Thus concludes the end of my Table Top Game Club for the 2015-2016 School Year. Come September, the club will pick up, and I'm anxious to see how many new Grade 9s will join. I've been researching and acquiring new games to inject into the club, so I'm looking forward to trying The Grizzled, Lost in R'lyeh, Thunderstone Numenera, and Zombicide: Black Plague.
Thanks to one and all for the support and readership. I'll be back to regular posting come September.
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