![Age of War](https://cdn.zatu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/18152032/Age-of-War.jpg)
Age of War
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Description
Can you unite the clans amidst the tumult of war? Age of War is a fast-paced dice game for two to six players by world renowned game designer Reiner Knizia. You and your fellow players assume the roles of daimyos competing to unite the warring clans of feudal Japan and assume control of the nation. During play, you muster troops by rolling seven custom dice, and you use. these troops to lay siege to one of fourteen different castles, each of which requires you to assemble a unique combination of troops in order to conquer it. Castles grant points towards your victory, and you can gain more points by uniting an entire clan. The daimyo with the most support at the game's end is the victor! Age of War contains: a rulesheet explaining the rules of the game fourteen castle cards divided between six different clans seven custom dice used to muster your troops and besiege castles
![Age of War Board Game Review](https://cdn.zatu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/18123747/Age-of-War-Board-Game-Review.jpg)
Age of War is a fast moving, Japanese themed game of castle conquest using a dice pool to assemble your conquering army. Designed by the legendary Reiner Knizia, for 2–6 players, Age of War is a clean, fun game which won’t take much time to finish.
Rules
The board is set with 14 castles in the centre of play, each of which is colour coded according to their clan, and with a points value. A player turn consists of rolling an initial set of seven dice and based on that roll selecting a castle to conquer. Later, when castles have been conquered and sit in front of an opponent, they too can be conquered if they have not been scored as part of a clan set, though there is extra challenge in doing so.
Each dice face has a symbol for cavalry, archery, daimyo, or 1–3 infantry denoted by swords. Each castle has one or more battle lines of these symbols, all of which must be completed for the castle to be conquered. A single roll of the dice pool must provide all the symbols required for a single battle line for it to be completed. If a battle line cannot be completed the dice pool can be re-rolled having set one die aside. A turn ends when the castle has been conquered or the dice pool has been exhausted.
When a castle is conquered it is claimed and set in front of the conqueror. If a player manages to conquer all the castles of a single clan then they are flipped over as a stack and are safe from predatory opponents.
When the central pool of castles is empty a tally of castles is taken and the highest point total wins.
This may all sound a little complex but the single sheet of rules with illustrations are very clear. It will take minutes to learn.
![Age of War Review - Cards and Dice](https://cdn.zatu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/18123745/Age-of-War-Review-Cards-and-Dice.jpg)
How it Plays
Age of War is not a game which should induce any great degree of analysis paralysis. Chuck your initial dice pool, choose a target, and go for it. This initial choice is the sole point of pressing your luck as once you’re locked onto a castle, you must play it through to either capture or failure.
The castles have varying point values that, to a degree, reflect the ease with which they may be conquered. Having not done the math, I suspect the difficulty is not necessarily a linear match between battle line difficulty and points value. Over much play, I imagine certain castles will gain a reputation for being a walk-over whereas others will prove to be army breakers.
The grouping of castles into clan sets adds another choice, offering the opportunity to prevent or enable set completion. The additional daimyo battle line that comes into play when trying to conquer a castle from an opponent provides additional risk of failure, which can lead to difficult choices as the points start racking up.
![Age of War Review - Dice](https://cdn.zatu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/18123744/Age-of-War-Review-Dice.jpg)
Components
The cards, with their castle art done in pastel shades, look great laid out on the table. According to a friend, who has been to Japan and visited several of them, the castle names are genuine and authentically represented. The on-card symbols for the battle lines do, however, somewhat obscure this fine art.
The cards themselves are fairly light stock but still good quality. The dice are decently weighted with clear symbols.
Final Thoughts on Age of War
Age of War is a fun, quick game which should not be taken too seriously. It has a good theme and provides much hilarity as an opponent requiring a few measly infantry instead rolls nothing but cavalry, archers and daimyo.
Zatu Score
You might like
- Quick, lightweight and suitable for family play.
- Big swings in luck.
- The Japanese theme.
- A take anywhere package.
- Good value.
Might not like
- Big swings in luck.
- A lack of serious depth.
- Best suited to occasional play.