Play Matt: Res Arcana Review

The rules are also nice: short and easy. Too short...

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That was a good read.

Your article makes me very intrigued about this game, but I own it and have played it and just haven't resonated with it in the same way. On the one hand, every game I've played of it bar one has been a teaching game, and I feel like the real meat of it comes later. But I also feel very reminded of Seasons, a game in which the whole game happens right at the beginning and then just spins out in a more or less predetermined manner.

All in all, there are other quick tableau builders I prefer that aren't nearly as fiddly (really, 5 different types of "components" were needed?) or dry.

Legomancer wrote: Your article makes me very intrigued about this game, but I own it and have played it and just haven't resonated with it in the same way .... All in all, there are other quick tableau builders I prefer that aren't nearly as fiddly (really, 5 different types of "components" were needed?) or dry.

Don't bother. It thrilled me the first time I played it and continues to do so. If it doesn't thrill you now, it won't. I don't believe it's down to teaching as the game is easy to teach. There are too many other games. Move on: Res Arcana does seem to divide opinions and it's probably just not for you.

I didn't find it dry or fiddly. Five components aren't really many to handle, and the card effects make thematic sense although it's lacking a bit in interaction. What delights me about it is how every game is a new puzzle in a very high-level sense, not in the eking out of tiny percentages from an over-simple set of effects like in, say, Dominion.

The hit rate on this among the staff and forum is pretty incredible.

Great read. Matt, have you tried drafting yet? I will only draft with players that feel comfortable with the icons. However, it completely opens up the game a bit more for 2 or 3 players. Game stays extremely tight in the engine-building but you aren't up to the luck of the draw. You crafted your engine and must utilize it effectively. Running this at my weekly game group has encouraged three other players to add it to their next purchase list.

Not really sure where to drop this, but there's a preview for the expansion coming q4 called Lux et Tenebrae. Adds more to all the things (monuments, places of power, mages, artifacts, magic items), a fifth player, and scaling for different player counts. I'm all the way in.

boardgamegeek.com/thread/2229855/lux-et-...e-expansion-teaser-1

Was bummed not to see this game at the FLGS I was at this week.