The first thing that Fantasy Flight does which makes sense and is yet disappointing is that it keeps the focus on Houses Stark and Lannister. This is only disappointing because the lands of George R. R. Martin’s world are fantastic and I relish every chance to explore them. Sanity check. This is a two player card game and that’s why Fantasy Flight are exactly right to home in on two of the favourite Westeros names.
One player acts as House Stark and the other as House Lannister. The first to reach 15 power tokens wins.
The game begins with 14 of the 32 plot cards. It’s with these cards that the rivals prepare their forces and nasty surprises for each other.
There are then different ways to win. As you might expect the Stark deck tends to be better at the direct approach while Lannister cards are sneakier. It seems obvious at first but took me a while to really appreciate the difference.
There are different types of challenges too; Military challenges, Intrigue challenges and Power challenges. Military success means the death of a rival character, intrigue success means a random, but unrestricted, removal of a foe’s hand but it’s the Power challenges that take power tokens from opponents and contribute most directly to success.
As it’s a two player game there’s no beating about the bush. Players play directly at one another. This is very much a game for those nights you’ve a friend visiting and you’re not in the mood for a player versus player computer game.
The round sequence is fairly long but easy to remember; Plot, Draw, Marshalling, Challenges, Dominance, Standing and then Taxation.
As the names of those phases suggest there is a degree of resource management here. You have gold to consider and your characters too.
The art of the game is taken directly from the HBO series. This is a huge plus if you’re a fan of the series and a chance to revisit some of your favourite characters. It may be a little weird if you’ve read the books but, somehow, haven’t seen the actors in their roles.
Overall? Recommended. It’s very much a struggle between two powers, ideal for gamers with friends who don’t get upset with direct PvP and, of course, for Game of Thrones fans.
Disclaimer: Review copy of the game provided.
