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A Column of Fire is an adaptation of the third novel in Ken Follett's "Kingsbridge" series following The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. (The novel is titled A Column of Fire in English, and Das Fundament der Ewigkeit ("The Foundation of Eternity") in German.)
In the game, set in Europe during the time of Elizabeth I, Catholics and Protestants compete for power and influence in England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. In this politically unstable environment, resourceful operatives and courageous secret agents plot to secure power for their rulers. The balance of power shifts back and forth amidst foiled assassinations, successful rebellions, and futile invasions — and not infrequently, those who sympathize with the weak are expelled from the country.
The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pits those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else — no matter what the cost. Who will best exploit the changing power conditions in Europe to win the game?
- Rife with tactical and strategic decisions
- Dice locking creates tension and encourages resource/mitigation planning
- Strong appeal at higher player counts and for various experience levels
- Production issues: brown and purple dyes are too similar in color
- Rulebook unclear on certain rules; boxtree mechanics not well explained
- Luck mitigation exists but isn’t always sufficient
- Religious power struggles and political maneuvering
- 1558 Europe torn by religious hatred
- tutorial/overview with strategic critique
- Pillars of the Earth
- World Without End
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cards and events deck — Deck of character and event cards drawn and resolved, driving actions and effects
- color-coded dice by region with wildcard die — Dice colors map to regions (White: Kingsbridge, Orange: Seville, Brown: Seville, Blue: Paris); purple acts as a joker
- dice locking — Active management of dice values over turns, locking dice to limit options and influence future actions
- Events — Deck of character and event cards drawn and resolved, driving actions and effects
- religion track and stones — Religious influence tracked across cities with stones; affects scoring and conflict resolution
- trading houses and city placement — Placement of trading houses in cities to unlock sales, movement, and area control effects
- two halves per year and endgame scoring — Each year is split into two halves; endgame scoring triggers after conditions are met
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Column of Fire is rife with tactics and strategy
- This is a nice blend of mechanics all around
- the devil is in the detail
- three to four player game
- I'm awarding it 1/2 Pro Point in the department