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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?
- Unique dice/turn-cycle mechanic
- intriguing thematic angle with religion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area scoring and resource manipulation — You draft and upgrade/downgrade elements and manage dice to gain resources and score victory points across multiple areas.
- Dice Drafting — Roll all available dice and draft a face-up card from one of four color-coded piles; place the die on top of the chosen card and immediately use that card's ability, which can be used for three additional turns (six turns if you draft a die of the corresponding value).
- religion/die mechanics — There is a black die used to choose a religion (e.g., Catholic) for a number of turns, then rerolled to possibly switch to another religion; religion in an area affects scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The basic idea of this game is you have a pool of dice and on every single turn you will roll all of your available dice and then on every turn you must draft a face up a person from one of four different piles in the middle of the table.
- I really enjoyed it, it was really pretty unique and felt like a very different gaming experience.
- it's a race to a certain number of points... it escalates in interesting ways.
- I jumped out of my chair, I just couldn't believe I won by a single point.
- Magnus Storm is a big thumbs up for me after one play.
References (from this video)
- 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