Mayfair Games Discworld: Ankh-Morpork

I don't ever bother writing reviews for things on the internet, but this game is fantastic and rare enough and totally worth talking about a bit.I'm not going to go deep into the mechanics and gameplay, I'll just explain why this game is great.The game is a mix of hidden identities, dumb luck and strategy.The hidden identities aspect is probably less felt in the first game or two, but after that you'll find yourself trying to think of what other people's win conditions are to try and stop them.The luck aspect is always there when drawing cards (as in most card games), but it really comes into play when someone draws a random event, which has the potential to completely change the game pieces placements on the board, and even end the game.It might seem like an issue when you try to think about, but random events aren't too common (especially in the early game stages) and so the luck aspect really shines as a fun, desperate-move aspect in the game, and really adds to it rather than detract.The luck of the draw is somewhat minimized, as the draw deck is actually made out of 2 decks, with most of the better cards and random events being in the button half of the deck, which means that while playing through the top half the game will play slightly slower and with a lot less random events, and there's no chance of someone getting all the best cards to begin with, keeping the balance despite of the luck based mechanics.The strategy aspects really come into play after the first two or three rounds, when the pieces start to fill the board and players start buying buildings.Again, won't go much into it, but the game can get increasingly strategic the more rounds that pass, to the point where the tension is felt at every player's turn.My gaming group is pretty diverse, with some Discworld fans and some who haven't read any of the books, and we have a lot of great games we play, but Ankh Morpork immediately became a hit and one of the regular games we play each time we meet.It's only playable with up to 4 players, but its fun enough to watch or play with teams of 2 (we did so with 2 couples and 2 solo players) but its also very fun with 2-3 players, the win conditions scale according to the number of players.The components quality is superb, the game board is beautiful with its depiction of the city, the cards are durable and pretty to look at, all the game pieces are great, rulebook and player aid cards are laid out and simple to read.I didn't regret buying this game for one second, and if I could buy the collectors edition brand new I'd do it.As it is, I recommend to every board game fan, whether or not familiar with Discworld, to buy and play this game.

I tend to be leery of products based on stories that I love; because so often they'll muck it up somehow. This game however, is brilliant in the interpretation. It stays true to the characters, the card text and game play is hysterical, and the art is phenomenal.Rules can be tricky the first few plays, but even my 9-yr old grasped them and was eager to play, even with his limited exposure to the full canon.Gameplay is card based. Tokens are wooden and have a great feel and heft. Other bits are well manufactured and should stand up to even the youngest of kids at the game play range.All in all, I think the publisher and designers hit this one out of the park. One of the better games I've seen in a long time.

I found this game to be great fun. I wouldn't recommend it for two players, for as a game with secret agendas and working at cross purposes, once a player is familiar with possible agendas, it can be fairly easy to figure out what the other player is trying for and work to thwart them.In addition, some agendas are harder to achieve than others. I'd love to see a few more additions to the list to expand play and variety a little.But in a nutshell, each player is given a character with a goal to reach, which is known only to them. Players try to acquire control over various sections of Ankh-Morporkh, which gains them various in-game benefits like additional income or the like which increases their chances of winning.Some goals are too easy, for example: Acquire x dollars in money and assets. This can be fairly quickly achieved in a three player game and *really* difficult to spot someone achieving it, given the costs of properties and some cards that give money values. Some are difficult in a three player game, such as have the game go through the entire play deck without anyone else achieving their goal.But I find the design is excellent and play is fun and engaging. So much so we played it three times in a row and wanted to play it some more.It gives a good feel for the world too, and the cards are true to theme. You're not bogged down by any of it, so the flow of play is very good. There's a nicely balanced element of chance and strategy, cooperation and adversarial play to keep the game interesting.As collector of games and an avid all around gamer, I have to say this is one of the better board games out there. If you're looking for a fun game with that Discworld flavor, it's a great game. If you're not familiar with Discworld, it's still an excellent game and you'll acquire a good feel for the world through the cards and play that might spark your interest in reading the books.As a family game, I think it's great, if the child can read and count. The only downside is that with limited secret agendas, you'll soon known all of them so will have the advantage on players new to the game. But that's the only limiting factor I can note on. The quality of the game is excellent, the pieces are nicely printed and have a good heft and feel and you definitely get good value for money.Totally recommend it, especially to discworld fans.

This entry has gotten hijacked by some sort of muscle stimulating product on Amazon. I will be deleting it from my wishlist.

This was a pretty fun game, but after about 10 plays it started to become obvious what each person was doing, and make the secret part less secret. This usually boiled down to fun for the first half of the game, and a long drawn out grudge match at the end.