Summon Me Some Coffee!

On this segment of Boards & Brews we returned to Noble Coffee & Tea to play Summoner Wars.  Essentially, Summoner Wars is Dungeons & Dragons meets Chess.  There are a number of mechanics that are different, but there are also multiple methods and approaches that are similar during gameplay.  The end goal of the game is to destroy the other opponents summoner.  There are six phases per turn, and during these phases the players will draw cards, summon more units, play event cards, move their factions to the desired locations on the board, attack, and then build up their magic piles for the next round.
 Claire and I have had multiple rounds playing this together and we both really enjoy it.  It provides a well-balanced portion of strategy while still maintaining straight forward mechanics that are easy to learn.

One of the really cool aspects of Summoner Wars is that there are multiple factions that you can purchase fairly inexpensively in addition to the standalone versions or even the master set.  The master set does not include any of the original standalone factions so you won't have to worry about overlap when purchasing the different games.  The phoenix elves vs tundra orcs has been said to be one of the most well-balanced set of factions that you can purchase, and after playing this a few times, I'm really glad this is the first set that we own.  Today's game went on for a little over an hour and a half.  My opponent was the tundra orcs while I was the phoenix elves.  If you're a semi-serious gamer who really enjoys the fantasy genre with dice rolling and hand management mechanics, you should consider this one.  I know Claire and I are going to purchase the master set for sure.

Summoner Wars
Overall Meeple Rating: 7.5/10



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