Cave Troll 2nd Edition
From: Fantasy Flight Games
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Cave Troll Second Edition is a new Board Game from Fantasy Flight Games.
Cave Troll is a game where players compete for the treasure hidden within the lair of the cave troll. Each player has a stack of plastic figures, a deck of game cards, and can acquire artifacts from the Artifact Deck along the way to help them.
From page # 1:
“Inside the lair of the cave troll lie riches and dangers beyond one’s imagination.”
Set up is fairly simple. Lay out the board and distribute the figures and cards. Each player has his own color-coded set of figures and deck of cards. Each player has a set of figures representing Heroes and Monsters. Of the Heroes, there are nine Adventurers, one Knight, one Thief, and one Barbarian. Heroes have a round base. Of the Monsters, there is one Wraith, one Orc and one Cave Troll. Monsters have a square base. There is also a Treasure Chest figure that is used in play when the cards call for it. The board has a labyrinth of rooms, doors, stairs and halls, all representing the lair of the cave troll. All rooms have a number of coins representing possible treasure a player can obtain during play. There is a scoring track along the outer edge of the board.
Once set up, players draw one card for their starting hand and randomly choose the first player. With the exception of the first round, each turn a player can take up to four actions. The actions one can choose from are:
- Draw and play a card
- Move a Hero or Monster
- Play an Artifact Card
- Use a Hero or Monster ability
The only exception is that first round, where the first player only takes one action, the second takes 2 actions, and so on.
At the heart of the game are the cards. Each player has 19 cards that randomly come into play. These cards can be Hero Cards, Monsters Cards, or Event Cards. Hero and Monster Cards allow you to place your heroes or monsters down on the board, while Event Cards have different affects including scoring one room, finding an artifact, or playing your treasure chest. There are also six Artifact Cards that can be drawn if a certain Event Card is drawn.
Scoring is an event that occurs one of two ways. The first way is through an event card and applies to a single room. The second way occurs when there are five score cards in the score pile. A score card is marked with an hourglass symbol and all players have five cards in their deck with this symbol. When these cards are played, they are then stacked separately until 5 have been drawn. Then all rooms are scored. The player with the most Heroes in a room controls the room and gains the amount of gold printed on the board as score points.
Also each Hero and Monster, with the exception of the Adventurer, has a special ability. For instance, the Wraith has the ability to “push” heroes out upon entering a room. A Dwarf doubles the value of any room they are in when scoring. Orcs force players to discard a Hero out of play. Discard in this game means it is out of play for the rest of the game.
In conclusion, this is a game of luck and positioning. You never know when the scoring is going to happen, you just have to position yourself well when it gets close. There is no real combat between characters or dice to roll. It is an abstract positioning game with the trappings of a fantasy game. It is fun, challenging and easy to play. I would say that it is reasonably satisfying for a board game. It is a little pricey, but it is a Fantasy Flight Game.
For more details on Fantasy Flight Games and their new Board Game “Cave Troll Second Edition” check them out at their website http://www.fantasyflightgames.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Cave Troll Second Edition
From: Fantasy Flight Games
Type of Game: Board Game
Game Design by: Tom Jolly
Additional Game Design by: Corey Konieczka
Developed by: Corey Konieczka
Cover Art by: James Ryman
Additional Art by: Allan Bednar
Number of Pages: 6 page folding rules booklet
Game Components Included:
- 1 game board
68 plastic figures 104 game cards 6 artifact cards 4 score counters rules
Retail Price: $ 29.95 (US)
Number of Players: 2-4
Player Ages: 10+
Play Time: 20 – 60 minutes
Website: www.fantasyflightgames.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung