Renaissance Intrigue and Battle

This week we stopped in again at Sure Shot Coffee in Fishers to battle it out with Condottiere.  The premise of Condottiere is that during the Renaissance period, Italy was divided into numerous independent city-states, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile.  This is the era in which the Condottieri appear as leaders of mercenary armies who offered their services to the most powerful cities.  In Condottiere, you relive this incredible age, and represent a Condottiere trying to conquer the most famous cities in Italy.  However, you are not alone!  You must take into account the ambitions of the other Condottieri.  The strength of your army alone will not suffice.  You must use diplomacy if you want a chance at victory.  The goal in Condottiere is to conquer city-states, unite them, and create the most powerful kingdom in Italy.

Since this is yet again another game that we own that takes place during the middle ages/renaissance, it's already won me over.  I love games that take place during these earlier periods in history!  One player takes the Condottiere marker (black), while the other takes the favor of the Pope token (white) and places them based on areas that they want to mark a point for battle (black), or protecting it for peace (white).  Each player draws up to ten cards and plays them face up in front of them in a row declaring their battle line.  You will add or take away points based on the cards you play in front of you.  Whoever has the highest number in a row, wins the battle and takes control over the marked city where the condottiere token was placed.  The cubes will mark the areas that you have won battles against your opponent.  The first player to control a certain number of regions wins the game.  An even faster way of ending the game is which ever player controls three adjacent regions first, automatically wins the game. 

This game is certainly a nice addition especially if you like games based on earlier historical, battle settings.  The game plays 2 - 6 players which is a very well rounded number.  The artwork is very nice, and really gives you that immersive feeling of being in the Renaissance period.  The game is very straight forward, but it also provides several areas for strategy against your opponent.  The game can be taught quickly, it's portable, well packaged and carries a great theme.  It's not a mind-blowing game, but it's definitely a game that we've enjoyed and will continue to play it and keep it in our collection for a long time.    

Condottiere
Overall Meeple Rating: 6/10


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