Adventures Across the Globe...

For Weezoh's annual birthday get together, we all sat down for a game of the new Indiana Jones homage: Fortune and Glory the Cliffhanger Game. We randomly assigned characters. I had the pleasure of playing Duke Dudley, British Lord.

With a trusty machete and hatred for Nazis, the Duke began combing the globe to find artifacts and ancient temples before the Third Reich could.

We had decided to play the game cooperatively rather than competitively, so it was us against the evil Nazis. A few of us were close enough to one of the artifacts that we teamed up right out of the gate, while across the world, others of our intrepid team made their way alone.

What I Didn't Like: We had seven players to begin. Zoltar ended up--because of bad Initiative and being in the wrong places at the wrong times--not really playing much until the end of the game. There was a lot of down time for him which was unfortunate. I almost wish there was a way in the cooperative game for all of the adventurers to begin in the same place. That way, they could all aid in the retrieval of the same artifacts at that same time. They could split up if they wanted, but at least they could split up in even teams from the get-go.

I am not one to shy away from complex games with lots of rules, but the learning curve on this game was a bit steep as there were about three sub systems to the Task resolution mechanic: Combat, Sneak, and Skill Tests. I think a more unified mechanic would have served the game better.

In the middle of a temple deep in the jungle, there were several times when the Night Club Femme Fatale Danger card was revealed and had to be overcome. I found that a bit jarring to the immersion factor of the game.

What I Did Like: My favorite movie of all time is Raiders of the Lost Ark. I have seen it 55 times. This game does capture the feel and tension of those movies. 

I liked the task resolution for capturing artifacts (despite what I mentioned above). 

The bits are glossy and high quality. Bravo, Frogs! The game is fun to look at as you play. 

I liked the mechanic for how the artifacts are named: a 2-card system where one card is combined with another: For example: The Ring of Zeus. Or in another game it could be the Temple of Zeus, etc.

Dice, dice, dice. You get to roll a ton of dice! 'nuff said.

This game has a huge replay value with all of the random factors in a game.  

With this game being the learning one, it dragged a bit, but I would definitely give this game another go. But next time, I am bringing my fedora.

That's it for this post, folks. Until next time may the dice fall your way and may cliffhangers make your day.