Play Report: Shadows Over Camelot: The Card Game - Game #1, Quest #1

Well I have put a couple of posts up about it of late but, tonight marks my first time actually sitting down, breaking the seal and, playing me a game of Shadows Over Camelot - The Card Game.

Not having played the original board game, I couldn't tell you how they compare but speaking for the card game alone, I can say that it is well worth the money and, that despite the fact that I was playing solo, it was still tense.

For the purposes of a play report on a memory game, I decided to note down the cards once I had committed myself to a quest (because writing them all down as I went along would be cheating frankly). So here goes!

My first quest that I embarked upon was for Excalibur. It was a middle of the road quest, granting two swords if I was successful and I had seen a couple of high value Excalibur cards go down as I worked my way through the deck. I had seen a couple of high value Saxon cards pass too but Merlin effects where going to remove those (or at least so I figured), so this seemed like a fairly safe bet.

There was a Morgan card in play that forced me to count cards aloud as I played (which really messed with my mental count) but I felt pretty confident in my decision as her effects hadn't been in play too long and, I couldn't have lost track of what had passed by that much. Could I?

As it turns out, no, but it was close! One more point in the quest for Excalibur and it would have been a failure. Still, a win is a win and none of the other quests reached the failure threshold either, netting me two white swords and no black ones. A good start.

But what does the realm of Camelot have in store for our valiant knights and their new and shiny sword?

Alchemy Bytes #23: Shadows Over Camelot: The Card Game - Video Review

Following on from my recent post I found this stellar video that gives a good overview of how to play the Shadows Over Camelot Card Game but, however leaves me with one question still unanswered, just how on earth is a game with such a strong focus on interaction supposed to play solo?

Plunder For The Cave #2: More Goodies!

In addition to the recent purchase of a rather awesome box of Skeleton Warriors, that I am REALLY looking forward to getting up and running, I also picked up a few other goodies worth noting.

There is a lot of sweet terrain to pick through in my local gaming store but, one small pack had caught my eye a few trips back and the purchase of the Skeleton Warriors gave me the perfect excuse (as if I needed one) to invest in it.

The pack in question contained a staggering 44 assorted gravestones for a meager £8! Throw in a hairy grass mat and that's pretty much a graveyard right there (although I'd like a mausoleum or two as well).

Renedra,who produce these gravestones are the same folks that were able to outfit me with 90 bases for only £5! As far as value to quality ratios go, these folks give you a lot for your money, which is always a good thing and, as far as the actual quality goes, I certainly have no complaints.

On top of all the modeling goodness, I also decided to pick up a copy of the Shadows Over Camelot Card Game by Days of Wonder. As well as the evocative box art, I was also drawn in by the promise that it could be played solitaire.. The fact that my copy came with the free promotional expansion (giving me a couple of extra cards that look like they'll really change the game) also certainly didn't hurt my decision making process in this either.

Although I have only had a chance for a quick flick through the rules, I have to say that I am quite impressed with what I have seen so far. At it's core, it appears to be a fairly basic memory game but, despite the typical Days of Wonder simplicity it actually opens up and encourages (and kinda doesn't work without) fairly deep roleplaying opportunities.

This should be an interesting one to bring to the table but, quite how a game that depends so heavily on roleplay will fair solitaire I really do not know. I sure plan on finding out though, and soon!