Entry 57: Week 12- Merlin (Big Box)

        From the time my wife really got us interested in Queen Games, I have had my eye on the game Merlin and the expansions. From one of our Kickstarter of theirs we backed I was able to add the Big Box version of Merlin to our order which we got in time for Christmas of last year (so it went under the tree).

        At one of the locations in our home where games are kept I put a few of the bigger box games on top of the display cubes. A few months ago we made friends with someone from a FB group we follow who lives one town over so each Saturday that we all are free we get together and play a game or two. It just happens that most of the time we a playing a game that is new to either us or him. Well, he noticed Merlin sitting there and expressed interest in playing so this past week we thought it would be a good game choice. 

        My wife, sister, and I decided not to waste anytime learning the game so we would be ready for our Saturday game day. Needless to say the game was a hit for all parties. Since we do have the big box and we only played the base game to learn it I will just review the base game but provide information for the base and big box editions. 

MERLIN (2017)

BGG Description 

King Arthur is searching for a worthy heir. Together with Merlin, he tries to find the best candidate among the Knights of the Round Table. 

In Merlin, players move their knights or Merlin with the help of dice around the action ring to get the most desired actions. While the knights are only moved by the corresponding player, Merlin can be moved by all players, which makes integrating Merlin in one's plan a tricky endeavor. 

There are multiple ways to score victory points such as defeating barbarians, building manors in the surrounding area and increasing one's influence in the six counties. Additionally, players can fulfill task cards during their turn to get more victory points. The player who plans his actions most efficiently will ultimately have the most points and thus will be the royal successor of King Arthur. 

Weight 3.11/5 

MERLIN: ARTHUR (2018) 

BGG Description 

King Arthur has decided to join in the search to find a worthy successor to his throne. King Arthur will use his tactics to help knights gain more points and rewards throughout the game. 

The Arthur expansion adds a brand new rondell that fits over the top of the Merlin base game rondell. King Arthur now has his very own internal track that only he can move round either clockwise or anti-clockwise. 

This new expansion to the base game of Merlin opens up more action spaces and rewards as well as King Arthur himself. The expansion also adds new elements including the Picts and King Arthur's ring. 

-description from publisher's Kickstarter campaign 

Weight 3.36/5 

MERLIN: BIG BOX (2020) 

BGG Description 

The Merlin Big Box contains a new expansion, Morgana, as well as the Arthur and Knights of the Round Table Expansions, as well as the two Queenies. It also features some upgraded components. 

Morgana adds three new expansion modules which may be played in any combination with the base game of Merlin or the other expansions: 

• Morgana: Players draft a purple dice from a common pool to gain special abilities. 

• Market: On turns that you are not able to complete a mission card, players are allowed to take one time bonuses from the market board. 

• Caerleon: New locations replace the principalities of the base game. In each location, which are randomly placed, players gain a specific resource or take a specific action, receiving a bonus if they use a specific henchmen. 

—description from the publisher 

Weight 3.40/5 

What we like about the game 

        So to make sure everyone understands this, our judgment is based on the Big Box version of the game. 

        The Big Box comes with the GameTrayz organizers which keeps everything nice and clean and makes setup of the game pretty quick. Each player has their own tray for the individual player components and each expansion/module is well organized in groups for easy setup. 

        The next thing that caught all of our attention is how beautiful the overall artwork is in the game. Going from the center (the Round Table) and moving outward, the flow of the art feels “just right.” 

Picture by John M. (our friend Mentioned Above)

        The instruction book is well organized so it is easy to understand all the symbols on the rondel and components. It also has a table of contents so you can find the expansion and module rules quickly. 

        The gameplay is extremely easy. Beginning of the round you roll your dice which each die tells you how many spaces your knight moves and how many spaces Merlin (shared by all players) can move. Your knights move clockwise around the table and Merlin can move either direction. Game turn is consists of selecting a die, moving the character, and taking the action. You can also turn in a mission card during your turn if you have one completed. After you used your four dice, the round ends. The game is only six rounds with scoring after every two and a final scoring. 

Picture by John M.

        Knowing what the numbers you rolled on the colored player dice, you can plan ahead what moves you want to make. However, there are a few actions you can perform that can change the number on the die. So that means this game is heavy in analysis paralysis but it does not hinder the game time at all since there is no action blocking. Other players moving Merlin is probably the biggest reason the game might slow down if you haven’t planned ahead at the possible locations Merlin could be in. 

What we don’t like about the game 

        There are only a couple of things that we noticed so far that we think could be better. 

        The first is in the rulebook under set-up of the environs for the 2-3 player game. The wording regarding removing the tiles before mixing was confusing. Even after a few plays, we still struggle with setting it up via the wording in the rule book. 

        The second issue is that the only space to get apples used for changing a die is on the Holy Grail spot. There is only one spot and the one way to earn apples. Which means the chance to get more apples is really pretty slim. One might say the same thing about the Excalibur space used to remove a traitor (only one space) but to remove traitors during the scoring phase all you need is a shield of the same color in your castle. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

        The gameplay goes with the theme. Again, Queen Games has published a solid game. So if you love the whole Arthurian legend, this game is a must play. Also, it is a Stefan Feld (pictured below) game who has many great hits.