Enter the Dark Ages of Greece, ruled by mighty Gods wielding advanced technology. Control asymmetric heroes and choose your path to victory, either by strategic control or adventure style monster hunting and quests.
Build majestic multi-part monuments of Gods on the board and unlock their mighty powers that will help you win and survive the raids of monsters, who travel through land and rain havoc.
In Lords of Hellas, you control an asymmetric hero, developed by increasing his 3 basic statistics and gathering artifacts. The main statistics are:
Leadership that will help you to move your armies
Strength that will empower you to successfully hunt for monsters
Speed that will make your hero move faster
Through the game you can choose from various actions and influence the game thanks to the mighty monuments of base Gods: Zeus, Athena, and Hermes. You need to strategically move your armies and hero as well as manage your actions in order to win.
Players can win in various ways: by controlling area, temples, or slaying monsters that are wandering through the map and interfere in various ways. Once any victory condition is met, the game ends (there is no point system).
—description from the publisher
- strong thematic cohesion with a classical mythic vibe
- gods, heroes, and mythic beasts
- mythic ancient Greece-inspired world
- epic, mythic saga
- Lords of Ragnarok
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — map regions contested by players
- area_control — map regions contested by players
- combat_and_hero_units — heroic combat with unique abilities
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "the most wholesome themes ever like I loved dog park and forever home"
- "Split Ho is a really fun game how it works is you're trying to meet conditions that are on opposite sides of you"
- "I absolutely love Scythe"
- "I'm very excited with this overall and to compare this versus Lords of helles"
- "Forever Home... Kickstarter is launching September 4th"
References (from this video)
- rich production, multiple winning strategies
- grand scale feel
- heavy; steep learning curve
- some find it overcomplicated
- Mythic conquest and statue-building
- Mythic ancient world with heroes and monsters
- Epic, modular with multiple paths to win
- Blood Rage
- Ragnarok
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Multiple routes to victory include fighting, statue-building, or resource control.
- area control / miniature combat — Multiple routes to victory include fighting, statue-building, or resource control.
- asymmetric strategies / multi-win paths — Players pursue different strategies for victory, creating varied paths to success.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It's such a clean idea. It's so incredibly simple. But I love that you can teach this game in a minute.
- This is the game that kind of put Awaken Realms on a map.
- One surface in which you roll or flip and write. In every one of these games, everybody has their own sheet.
References (from this video)
- Multiple paths to victory
- Interesting theme blend
- Engaging gameplay
- Greek mythology with cyberpunk twist
- Ancient Greece with Sci-Fi
- Strategy
- Lords of Ragnarok
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Controlling areas on board
- Dudes on a map — Moving pieces to control territory
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Foster the Meeple - a channel all about board games
- we have our team jeff team jamie patreons who are going to be voting on what the loser has to do
- i love res arcana res arcana is quickly becoming one of my favorite games
- adult where's waldo
- knocked our socks off
- i love it
- so much fun
- winter is coming
- board game city up in here
References (from this video)
- Unique theme
- Multiple victory conditions
- Interesting action selection system
- Dynamic combat mechanics
- Replayability through random events
- Prototype stage, may need refinement
- Complex rule set
- Legendary heroes battling with advanced technology
- Alternate history ancient Greece
- Competitive area control with mythological elements
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players choose basic and special actions each turn
- Area Control — Players compete to control regions and territories
- Combat — Players fight other players and monsters using combat cards
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Four player was by far the most fun out of any we played
- The game is sort of picking up so now you shouldn't have monsters on the board with four hits
References (from this video)
- fantastic mythic theme
- customizable hero journeys
- unbalanced at times depending on player count
- can be lengthy
- area control with questing and adventure
- mythic Greece with cyborg gods
- mythic epic with quest elements
- Blood Rage
- Chaos in the Old World
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area control / questing — hero-driven moves with quest nodes and monster encounters
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's board game adjacent let's just say it's kind of like an activity where you've got a big map on the table and you're trying to solve crimes
- i really really like tapestry
- it's simple but fun
- the fan track keeps you relevant when you're behind
- it's a bundle of fun
- i love calico
- radlands is a fantastic two-player card dueling lane fighter
References (from this video)
- Greek Gods and Heroic Battles
- Mythological Greece
- Modular Expansion Gameplay
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game-mode really intrigues me
- I'm very curious to see how this actually works out
References (from this video)
- Multiple victory conditions
- Mythological theme
- Varied player actions
- Strategic depth
- Mythological warfare
- Ancient Greece
- Strategic board game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players compete to control regions and lands
- Combat — Players battle using hoplites and combat cards
- Quest Completion — Heroes can complete quests for rewards
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- You can become the lord of Hellas by controlling two lands, controlling five regions with temples, slaying three monsters, or fully building a monument
References (from this video)
- visually striking with robust minis
- deep strategic tension
- heavy setup and playtime
- solo play not discussed in transcript
- mythic conquest and city-building conflict
- mythic ancient world with epic conquest and monster encounters
- story-driven epic with asymmetric powers
- Blood Rage
- Rising Sun
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area control and hand management — Players compete for territories while managing dice-based actions and resources.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a solid game with like this it pulls you in each stream
- the tutorial format really helps you experience it differently
- we had this new evolution of our game group for a good three months
- betrayal legacy is still sitting on my shelf unplayed but I was intrigued
- it's slower at the beginning but picks up and it's a good overall experience
References (from this video)
- Engaging Greek myth flavor and theme that aligns with the setting
- High-quality components, minis, and artwork
- Core rules are approachable; easy entry into the base concepts
- Blessings from monuments provide powerful, ongoing utility
- Thematic cohesion between monsters, heroes, and quests
- Unbalanced victory conditions can incentivize perverse strategies like monument flooding
- Monster hunts rely heavily on random card draws, making outcomes feel capricious
- Gameplay tempo can be slow and buildup can be punishing if you’re not advancing
- Complex flow and memory requirements (flowchart-like) make it easy to forget steps
- Expansion-driven balance is likely necessary for a fair experience
- Base game feels constrained by limited monuments and potential regional imbalances
- mythology, heroes, monsters, quests
- Ancient Greece with mythological elements
- mythic epic, heroic adventures
- Blood Rage
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players perform four regular actions per turn and may take one additional special action; after regular actions are exhausted, a special action is taken.
- Blessings from monuments — Draft blessings that provide permanent, game-wide bonuses when monuments are built.
- Combat and monster hunts — Engage in combat by drawing and playing cards, matching icons on monsters, and resolving wounds and effects.
- End-game conditions — Win by destroying monsters, controlling regions with temples, or completing levels of fully built monuments after set turns.
- Glory tokens and usurp actions — Earn glory to usurp regions via combat and quest actions, influencing control and end-game triggers.
- Movement — Move the hero and hoplites across the map using speed and leadership attributes.
- Quest and monument system — Fill quest criteria and build monuments; progress toward victory by advancing on quest lines and expanding monuments.
- Resource and card management — Manage artifacts, priests, combat cards, and other resources to optimize actions.
- Temple and region control — Recruit priests, place them in temples, and leverage temple control to gain attributes and benefits.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- fame is fantastic
- the Blessings provide powerful permanent special abilities
- it's very simple
- it's an interesting mess
- monster hunts are unbalanced
- you lose everything and then you have to start again
- it's like a flow diagram
- we can't recommend Lords of Hellas today
- it's too slow to build up
- not worth playing above other similar games