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Game Info
Year
2014
Collection
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Description
Game description from the publisher:
The Battle of Five Armies – based on the climax of JRR Tolkien's novel The Hobbit – pits the hosts of the Elvenking, the Dwarves of Dain Ironfoot, and the Men of the Lake led by Bard the Bowman against a horde of Wolves, Goblins and Bats led by Bolg, son of Azog. Will Gandalf turn the tide for the Free Peoples? Will the Eagles arrive, or Beorn come to the rescue? Or will Bilbo the Hobbit perish in a last stand on Ravenhill?
The Battle of Five Armies features a game board representing the Eastern and Southern spurs of the Lonely Mountain and the valley they encircle, and a number of plastic figures representing troops, heroes and monsters.
The Battle of Five Armies is a standalone game based on the rules for War of the Ring, which is from the same designers, but with the rules modified to function on a tactical level as they describe a smaller battle rather than the entire war. Ares Games plans to expand the Battles game system in the future, releasing expansions depicting other battles from the Third Age of Middle-earth narrated in The Lord of the Rings, such as the Siege of Gondor and the assault of Saruman against Rohan.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 2 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video rsrz9boRJgY
Drive Thru Games Top List at 7:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 89445 · mention_pk 237472
Click to watch at 7:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Still around
- Plays a little quicker than War of the Ring
- Probably a little bit not as heavy
- A lot of good meat and good stuff to chew on
- Really fun game
Cons
- Pretty rules dense
Thematic elements
- The Hobbit
Comparison games
- War of the Ring
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven — It's kind of the same deal card driven on one end.
- dice-driven — Dice driven if you're kind of the evil player you get some extra dice and stuff to activate stuff.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- these are for like the wave two ships
- I don't remember really hearing about this game until I was at Gen Con
- I played the game I was like whoa this is going to be great
- it's been huge it's been lasting
- it's still around there's been a second edition atomic mass games has it you know there's still tournaments it's just really lasted
- I don't think this actually came out back then
- it was a couple of years later
- it's a big like 400 box
- it's a campaign game and there's tactical battle elements like you see in a dungeon crawl
- it's like you're building a civilization in hell almost
- it's a huge investment
- it's a lifestyle game all by itself really
- you know it's kind of dark and gross and stuff in a lot of ways
- it's crazy
- so that's not for everybody
- this game's been around I still hear people talking about this today
- this is the expansion for lords of waterdeep
- really cool expansion i still have the game and the expansion on my shelf
- you did not see lords of water deep anywhere on the previous list because it kind of came a little bit out of nowhere
- Dungeons and dragons euro game a worker placement game
- the expansion really makes the game in my opinion
- it really adds some extra elements and layers and a little bit of depth there to the game that is you know made it stay in my collection
- this is definitely an evergreen for wizards of the coast or hasbro whoever
- it's cool that it's kind of neat to see this be the number one
- turned out to be a really good expansion
References (from this video)
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Video RmVOVMTy2Ks
UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 7:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 88628 · mention_pk 234075
Click to watch at 7:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- complete
Cons
- will likely never be played
Thematic elements
- hex encounter war game
Comparison games
- War of the Ring
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the White House plumbers with uh Woody Harris it was about Watergate
- that looked good
- it was a pretty funny if all this [ __ ] is like even somewhat true that happened in the series it was pretty wild what the [ __ ] happened
- she's still working man
- she's got like three or four credits every year
- I can't think of a movie I've seen her in in forever and for a while there she was in a ton of stuff
- 99 was a big year
- 97 was a big year
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video BRIlmaDBE44
Board Game Hangover Review at 12:14 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 79962 · mention_pk 193698
Click to watch at 12:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- More compact and easier than War of the Ring.
- Definitely more about just fighting.
- Really, really enjoy it.
- Cool.
- Can be a warm-up for War of the Ring.
Cons
- Very random, dice decide the destiny.
- Less about the story compared to War of the Ring.
- May fill gaps if you finish War of the Ring.
Thematic elements
- Warfare
- Middle-earth
Comparison games
- War of the Ring
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Asymmetric objectives — The bad side wants to go in and destroy good side's fortresses as soon as possible. And the good side wants to go on the track as quickly as possible.
- Card Play — you will be able to play out cards to impact it.
- Dice Rolling — both sides will roll dice.
- miniatures — minis on a map.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The most colorful area control game out there when this one comes from old sworn authors.
- And this is the best mobile adaptation in board game form that well I have ever definitely played.
- The card play is fantastic because it's a scar resource because whenever you have to play a card, you have to pay with other cards.
- The blackjack combat where you're pushing your luck by drawing these cards and you don't know how close the other player is.
- There is one thing uh rules. I mean, the rule book is good, right? Uh covers most things, but there are some ambiguities we couldn't solve and couldn't find.
- First thing, the board immediately bent once we opened up the box.
- And the biggest thing is this is the deluxe version. You can get also a version with standies like simple version but this particular version is so shiny that you can't even really appreciate how good it looks.
- Star Wars is all about fighting.
- For me, one of the coolest things is just how it looks. It feel like it just looks epic.
- It is medium weight. So, the basic rules are super simple. You just like move your armies and then shoot.
- what I really love about this game are just the minis, the feel, the ease of play.
- If you don't care for Star Wars and want to try a miniatures game with moving around using household objects for terrain, how about little soldiers?
- A board game that you probably will play just once already half of the audience gone.
- It's a skill issue.
- Yet, the more I play it, the more boxes I open up, the more the game change cuz each level feels completely different.
- It's a lovely small package, even though a heavy one physically. There's so much content.
- Pandemic Legacy is also a legacy game with a simple card system that keeps on building up with stickers, with new stuff, which has a story.
- Ever played Ark Nova and thought, "This action selection system is so great. I wish somebody would take it and put it in a medieval Japanese themed war game."
- The best thing about this game is the way you get points.
- Do you want to do that?
- it is on the longer side, especially with a lot of table talk, and the other, it's not available yet, but it is on game found right now, and I can't wait to get my hands on it when it comes out to put it in my collection.
- This has been out for a while, but I just now played it, and well, I think it's worth your time as well.
- It's very random. You can do what you want, but the dice will decide the destiny of your armies.
- But isn't that fun?
- Unpredictable. You don't know what's going to happen. Just like in real battle like like in real battles with orcs, dragons, and whatnot.
- This is my actually alternative. I mean, if you compare it, then this is more thematical. This is bigger, grander, more event cards, more things. Yet, the game The Battle of Five Armies, which is this one, is more compact, a bit easier, and definitely more about just fighting and less about everything around the story.
- I really, really enjoy it, and I'm one of the lucky guys who have a good friend who already has this copy.
- Yet, the game The Battle of Five Armies, which is this one, is more compact, a bit easier, and definitely more about just fighting and less about everything around the story.
- War of the Ring is quite plenty for me and it is a better game.
- This one kind of maybe fills in the gaps if you finish. Oh, you can start with this one.
- It's like to learn the system. pretty.
- And then you move on to the best of the three. Yes, I just said three. It's Dune. Dune's the best.
- The thing I love the most about this game are the visuals and the components.
- it's just such a chill, great game about animals.
- The other thing I really love about this game is the ease of play. It's almost like a chill game. You can have your cup of tea and just play around.
- But if you also want a chill experience, then the alternative for this game would be Cascadia.
- Well, the way opposite of that cute little game is this very aggressive, very good game.
- Getting this game to your table is going to take a lot of work. It's quite complex.
- All of your units are special with their own powers, with their own stats that you can upgrade.
- And if you're brave enough, you can actually turn this character sheet to the other side and actually see that you can upgrade your fortress as well with lots of powers that break the game and feel epic.
- Is it compensating with something? Cuz everything seems to be huge here. It's hugely good.
- It's hugely good. You mean it's full of goodness.
- It's on the lengthy side. That's another minus. It's a biggie.
- Now, we have to find a replacement. These five we these five games we ranked as mine mine collection. So, which one will come on top?
- I'm just going to start out and eliminate Star Wars Legion. It is good, but it is very Star Wars centered.
- So, by the way, sad.
- these in general are the best games we played this month.
- So, sure, this is fantastic. Going to play it more. I already played more. Great game. Try it out if you want a cool simple leg game.
- So, Cloudspire will be our game of the month. It's really interesting, different. Yes, heavy. We'd like those here.
- Um, and it's something uh that we would love to play more and more and more.
References (from this video)
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Video pTuBa4tjWuo
Box of Delights Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 1860 · mention_pk 5374
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Strong thematic tie-ins to Tolkien lore
- Dramatic, tense combat with impactful decisions
- Varied unit types and special character powers
Cons
- High luck element in dice results
- Complex setup and learning curve
- Balance can lean toward a particular side depending on scenario
Thematic elements
- struggle for territory and influence between Free Peoples and Shadow forces
- Middle-earth during the Battle of the Five Armies, around the Lonely Mountain
- dice-driven tactical combat with character abilities and event cards
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dice-based combat — Roll dice to resolve engagements with special symbols and modifiers
- event cards and abilities — Draw and play event cards that alter outcomes and lets the Shadow side disrupts Free Peoples
- leadership tokens — Use tokens to activate leaders, influence reinforcements and morale
- special abilities for named characters — Gandalf, Thorin and other characters provide unique actions
- terrain advantages — Terrain effects confer combat bonuses or penalties
- territory control and recruitment — Control regions, recruit units and manage resources
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Gandalf work his magic.
- Gandalf's here in the middle of the board.
- It's going to be bloody.
- We can't retreat here or here.
- The goblins have terrain superiority.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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