Zaberias is a magical land! Once upon a time it was harmonious, but things have changed now … War has broken out, and now four tribes – the Humans, the Guardians, the Undead, and the Orcs – fight for control of the realm. As the leader of your tribe, it is up to you to ensure your enemies are eliminated, and your troops are victorious. Do you have what it takes?

What Is It?

Battle Game – Players will be summoning various units to the board which will move around and ultimately try to attack opposing units and cities. Attacking is done through dice rolling, and adding on a unit’s base strength.

Variable Player Powers – Each tribe has unique units, some of which have special abilities, such as being able to travel over water, or absorbing other units that they defeat.

Player Elimination – A player wins when there are no other opposing units or cities left on the board. A player is eliminated if all their units and cities are eliminated, because they can not summon more units without a city, and can not take over a city without units.

Who Is It For?

  • 2 to 4 Players – It works pretty well at any player count. I think I prefer it at 2 just so that the player elimination is not an issue
  • Ages 10 and Up – While the game itself says it’s for kids as young as 6, I think there are a few too many rules for younger players
  • Fans of dice rolling combat and variable player powers
  • Players who don’t mind some luck, and player elimination

PROS

  • Aesthetics – I love the art across this game, it is absolutely gorgeous. I also love the bright color scheme of all the tribes
  • Very little set-up; just pop the lid off the player boards to set up the field, and you’re ready to play!
  • Very little waste in the packaging. Each board is wrapped in plastic, but there is then no other trash involved in the game
  • I like how unique each tribe is, makes your plays/strategies feel different if you try different tribes
  • Portable – Everything is contained in the player boards, and the game doesn’t take up a lot of space
  • I like that a tie in combat wasn’t an instant win or lose for anyone, and the attacker could just decide to try again or stop combat

CONS

  • The tokens were very difficult to punch out of the boards initially, making it easy to damage them if you are not careful
  • Rules – I didn’t like the flow of the rules, it was more of an index that a flow of the game, and I thought some things were left a little unclear because of poor editing
  • The game does not come in a box of any kind, so it is hard to store on the shelf. On top of that, the game does not come with any rules, you have to access them online, or print them out, which is inconvenient
  • The cost of units, and special abilities were only listed on the back, so you had to flip them back and forth, or constantly reference rules
  • In a 3-4 player game, it is easy for a player to get ganged up on and eliminated quickly
  • Luck – Combat comes down to your dice rolls mostly, so it can often come down to luck, and it can be hard to come back after a few unlucky battles

Final Thoughts

I loved the look of this game, and was excited to give it a try. I thought it had pretty simple gameplay overall, and I loved how fast you could get into playing because of how the game is set up from the start, basically.

But I thought some of the rules stood in the way of getting to that streamlined ease of play for me. It seemed like a light dice chucking combat game at first glance, which could appeal to a wide range of players, but there were so many factors that made it fiddly, such as the special abilities and how range versus movement worked. I think without the additional layers of things like that, it would be more accessible to younger players, and those less experienced with games.

That said, it is very attractive, and does come down to just a bit of dice rolling, so there is definitely an audience for it. Personally, I just don’t think it was a great fit for me.

Additional Information:
Designers – Brachya Glueck, Benny Goldstein
Publisher – E Mobility Now
MSRP – $50.00
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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