Red Raven Games RVM015 Near and Far Board Game

Product Information

Popular Mechanics, Inverse, and Stuff each cited Near and Far as one of the best board games of 2017, with Matt Thrower of Stuff describing it as "a rare game that can satisfy the desire for both story and strategy at once." [8] [4] [12] Expansion [ edit ] All this means is that you lose the rest of your go. There is no negative aspect to being the defender except you cannot spend your Hearts to modify you die roll. a b Morgenegg, Ryan (August 30, 2017). "Game review: Near and Far is storytelling board gaming at its finest". Deseret News . Retrieved September 5, 2017.

Alongside the Atlas you have a Town Board which is double-sided with one as dusk and one as day. Here you farm, mine, trade, recruit adventurers and gain treasure to aide you. The Town Board is the only place that player interaction really takes place. This is because usually no two players can occupy the same town location without duelling first (except for the Saloon, everyone is friendly there). It’s as simple as that. With questing if you beat the target by +2 there will usually be a bonus as well. To find out more about the play modes go to chapter three. Otherwise go to chapter four. Chapter Three Four wanderers search for the Last Ruin, a city that legends say holds an artifact that will grant the greatest desires of the heart. A lost love, redemption, acceptance, a family rejoined-- these are the fires that fuel the wanderers' journeys, but can they overcome their own inner demons and greed along the way? Both the Campaign mode and the Character mode have their own set of rules on how to play, and their own set of quests to read from the book. The quest book is big, clearly laid out and intelligently they have spiral bound it. Making it easy to read. The Arcade mode has adventure cardsinstead of using the quest book. This helps stop you accidentally learning spoilers to the main through arcade play.Near and Far is a sequel to Above and Below and includes a book of encounters. This time players read over ten game sessions to reach the end of the story. Each chapter is played on a completely new map with unique art and adventures. Near and Far is a board game for 2 to 4 players designed by Ryan Laukat and published by Red Raven Games in 2017. In this map based storytelling board game, [1] players seek fame and fortune and the eventual discovery of a mysterious last ruin. [2] The gameplay blends resource management with a storybook, with players controlling heroes that equip and provision themselves in a town, and then set out to explore the map, setting up camps and completing quests. [3] The game is a sequel to Laukat's Above and Below, which is set in the same fictional universe (Arzium). [4]

Near and Far requires 2-4 players. While it plays best with 3 players, it offers a little more openness in play at 2. For a single game, it takes about 30 minutes per player. However, to get the best experience, multiple games should be played in one of the game’s overarching story modes. Gameplay Overview: Ryan Lukat and Red Raven Games have in fact provided you with a book of maps called the Atlas. This is again Spiral bound, meaning that it opens out into a full sized game board for each map. Each one is distinct and different. Again adding to the story immersion aspect. Krause, Daniel (April 26, 2016). "Was ist „Near and Far" von Red Raven Games für ein Spiel?". Brettspiel News . Retrieved September 21, 2017. Depending on how gamers approach Near and Far, this amount of storytelling could be just enough, or not nearly enough. The game offers four play modes. Players can just play the introductory or random map as a one-off evening affair. There’s also an option for “Arcade Mode” where the stories are replaced with simple decisions and resulting bonuses. However, by far the most enjoyable way to play is with “Campaign Mode” or “Character Mode”. Parker, Shea (September 12, 2017). "3 Games That Bring Choose Your Own Adventure Stories To The Tabletop". Nerdist . Retrieved September 15, 2017.

Overview:

You stumble through the undergrowth into a clearing. You spot a child crying on a tree stump. There appears to be a faint glow around him” Near and Far: Amber Mines is the first expansion to Near and Far. It includes modules that you can add or remove according to your preferences. The modules are detailed below. You roll a D6, add to this the total number of swords you have in your adventure party and on Treasure or Artefact cards for combat, or hands for skills and hey presto if your total is higher than that of the target you win. There are four play modes to the game. There is a tutorial scenario, an arcade mode which eliminates the stories from play, a character mode which has different stories for eight unique characters attempting to find a lost ruin which holds an artifact that will fulfill their heart's desire, [11] and a full campaign mode with far reaching story elements which uses 10 of the game's maps in different play sessions. [9] Reception [ edit ]

Will you be competing against other adventurers to secure that quest, recruit that mercenary from the saloon or dig up riches from the mines? You will laugh at some of the stories and find yourself reading them in character as you become more immersed with every play. Having a high score at the end almost feels secondary as the whole point of this game is going on quests and experiencing the stories that unfold. This is also the case when it comes to player interaction. Near and Far tells personal stories, and as such, there’s not much that players will do with each other. Even the duels in town that occur when one player wishes to visit a location occupied by another are not really filled with drama. The real element of tension between players mostly comes from competition over limited game resources. Overall, I am very happy to have this game in my collection and look forward to seeing where Ryan Lukat takes us next if he chooses to revisit this world. I am not a fan of too much player interaction but even I feel this is a little light. What is this about an Atlas you ask? Ingeniously to aid in the immersion of the story based aspect of the game. Instead of just having one game board which would mean visiting the same locations again and again and again….add infinitum.I’ve appreciated that sandbox sense of freedom in games ever since, and it’s something that Near And Far, a campaign-driven board game from designer Ryan Laukat, strives to emulate. A sequel to his 2015 release Above and Below, Near and Far casts players as heroes embarking on perilous quests across a series of fantasy realms. While that might sound like the premise for at least a million other tabletop adventure games, Near and Far comes with a level of style, imagination, and originality that elevates it above the generic orc-stomping titles on the market. a b Herkewitz, William (September 29, 2017). "The 50 Best New Board Games". Popular Mechanics . Retrieved October 7, 2017. In addition, if a player stops on a location with a book icon, the indicated adventure is read from the Adventure Book which presents a light roleplaying encounter to the active player. This usually involves a player making a roll against their “skill” or “combat” score to determine success with the hopes of gaining resources and reputation. What is this Questing thing? For each game session you will have a certain number of quest tokens based on the number of players. These will usually be fairly randomly placed across the map (there are a very few minor restrictions). When you reach a quest location you will have the relevant quest read out to you along with two choices of action. An example of this might be Once you have made your decision you roll your D6 add on any modifiers and choose to use any of your remaining hearts to modify the roll even further the outcome result and any relevant rewards will be read out to you. Final Thoughts on Near and Far

If you fail a quest you cannot “retry” next go in fact the overarching need for the story to progress means that failure of a combat, threat or quest is never harsh or even overly negative. This is a story, A journey in a world of Lizards, Robots, Mystics and Nomads. If you can immerse and accept this journey for what it is you will have a lovely time and come away smiling. Depth comes not from the mechanisms or the methods of play but from the story above all else. In a two player game, only seven adventures are placed on the map, resulting in roughly 3 per player per game. This results in, much like Above and Below, a management game with some storytelling thrown in. With more players, one player could monopolize these roleplaying opportunities, so there is some competition there. Resources include banners, food, money and gems. Artist, designer and publisher Ryan Laukat’s success with blending the storytelling + resource management in Above and Below has the potential to be duplicated in a new sequel. Near and Far is a storytelling and resource management game in the same thematic world as his previous game. Players occupy the role of adventurers forming a party of heroes, journeying through the landscape completing tasks for fame and fortune. While there are a lot of activities in the game, the player who utilizes the presented opportunities best to gain victory (journey) points will ultimately win.

Documents and Files

Ryan Lukat and Red Raven Gameshave in fact provided you with a book of maps called the Atlas. This is again Spiral bound, meaning that it opens out into a full sized game board for each map. Each one is distinct and different. Again adding to the story immersion aspect.