Fantasy Realms: The Cursed Hoard

Summary: Fantasy Realms by Bruce Glassco and produced by WizKids is a resource replacement card game for the entry-level crowd. The game seats three – six players, ages 14+, and the typical game runs about 20 minutes. While the rules say 14+, I believe that with a little adult help you could get down to 8+ for the age category for the game. On to the Dr Games’ Criteria … GO/NO GO Criterion • Complexity: (GO) it is the perfect level of complexity. Cards are combinations of: suit, bonuses, and penalties. Every player has seven cards. He or she has to decide to draw, take a faceup card, or discard one card. • Balanced: (GO ) . The game is perfectly balanced. The cards are randomly distributed. • Chance (GO) the chance level is appropriate. Anybody has a chance to win. The cards are randomly distributed, but logic and experience are helpful. • Clarity: (GO) the rules are very clear with nice examples, and there are two completes goring examples. • Reasonable Time: (GO) . The game ends. As soon as there are 10 cards face up. With six players, could be in less than five minutes. However, in 10 run-throughs of the game, the average game did last about 20 minutes. Bonus Criteria • Social: the game is lighthearted, and, although there are no special rules for socialization, the spirit of the game encourages it. • Unique/Interesting Mechanics: the combination of suits, events, bonuses, penalties is very innovative and encourages storytelling. • Informed: not so much with this game. • Rewards Throughout: return you potentially get closer to that killer hand, but scoring occurs at the end.

I have been waiting patiently for this game for a while after seeing it very positively reviewed on Dice Tower a few months back. It was well worth the wait. In many ways the game reminds me of a mini-Dominion. In that the game is about making combinations that score the most points. The game plays very quickly and to be honest the scoring takes as long if not longer than the game. It takes a couple of play throughs to get the hang of the game and to catch on what cards do what. Just a couple games in my son figured out a 100pt. combination on me. It is a filler game that packs a lot of punch. Simple to learn, the card quality is ok, the art is ok, but more importantly the game is fun. Trying to figure out what card to take from the discard pile or what card to discard from your hand becomes more interesting as you continue to play games. They also give you a nice score pad to keep track of everything. The directions are pretty easy to follow but I recommend watching the Man vs. Meeple for the best review and online explanation. There is also a nice two player variant to the game. I enjoy this type of game very much, small, easy to learn, but tons of replayability I highly recommend this game.

Picked this up after seeing some positive reviews on a gaming channel on YouTube. It was very fun on the first play through, and has stayed that way over several play throughs with friends. The gameplay is simple, but the strategies seem versatile. Each card is different, and with a limited amount of turns the game feels fairly quick and definitely competitive. The only drawbacks were that your success can depend on what cards you were initially dealt, and the scoring is complicated. However, you can use the scoring feature on the game developer’s website (I no longer see the app mentioned in previous reviews available, but found the webpage version) and it makes short work of the scoring. Our board game loving group enjoyed it immediately and we found it incredibly addictive to play. I would definitely recommend.

I played this at a friend’s house first and had to buy it for myself. I love Dominion and this has a similar vibe with collected cards to build your deck. Some learning curve to understand the interactions of cards but most friends catch on quickly. A game goes quickly. But scoring is hard unless you use the app…there’s a lot to keep track of, plus bonus points and penalties that impact other scoring. But the free app does all the work for you. I really like this game.

So for reference, my gaming group will play games like Terraforming Mars, Gloomhaven, Camel-Up and Scythe, and enjoy it. This is just such a great addition to the cycle though, as it is simple enough to play, strategic enough to get everyone engaged, and changes up enough where it doesn't feel too repetitive. When it comes to complexity, the age on it is probably correct due to understanding and pursuit of combos to get a lot of points. While I think slightly younger individuals or even slower adults could understand the game, I think they would feel a little overwhelmed or intimidated when put up against a group that is just really going out the gate ready to combo and shift strategies. It's not difficult to learn though. I loved it~!

I really like this game. There is not too much to it. Good for people who are not the best sports. No stealing or trickery- just try to build your best hand. Cards interact in unique ways. Great ice breaker for the beginning of a game night.

Easy to learn, but a huge amount of strategy and depth. We played it as a two player game and it works very well. The fantasy theme fits great with the card combos! Love how it doesn't take a lot of setup or space, but contains quality gameplay. Lots of replayability because each shuffle and hand will generate so many different combos. The combos and points make scoring vary between games. One of the best modern card games! This is currently in our top 5 card/board games! Thank you WizKids for such a great game. It would be great to get more expansions/more cards in the future, perhaps even other themes like sci-fi or western.

Great little game

Il gioco mi è stato regalato per il mio compleanno e non poteva essermi fatto regalo migliore. Chiunque ami i giochi di carte con combo e forme di draft deve assolutamente provare questo capolavoro. Lo adoro!

Juego de cartas muy divertido, donde se hacen muchas decisiones en cada turno

Has quickly become a favorite quick game with friends. Definitely recommend using the Fantasy Realms app or web page for scoring

Good fun with this game. Worth it