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Game Info
Year
2026
Collection
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Description
Vie for control of Jerusalem and the supremacy of the Middle East as one of the four major powers of the medieval world: the Latin Christian Crusaders, the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire, the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, or the Sunni Seljuks. Refight and change the history of the two first Crusades!
Lords of Heaven is an area control and card placement game for 2-4 players. You, the leaders of each of the four asymmetric factions, will play action cards to take your actions such as build units, fortresses, and temples, move troops, fight battles, and develop your Middle East holdings.
The game is a combination of rivalry and cooperation between two blocks of factions – Christian and Islamic – where combat and conquest are not always the best ways to achieve success. Politically nuanced and steeped in its early crusades setting, Lords of Heaven will offer a couple of short scenarios and a campaign.
—description from the publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video vBKwm2TG3Ks
Zilla Blitz Playthrough at 0:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 87242 · mention_pk 283172
Click to watch at 0:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- The game plays fast.
- A strong political surge at the end of the Second Crusade can change the game's outcome.
- The mechanics for building citadels can lead to extra bonus points.
Cons
- The Crusaders made a 'strategic error' in a costly battle outside Antioch.
- The game is described as having a 'tippy turvy' political situation which can be difficult to manage.
- In the Second Crusade, the Seljuks end up short on cash and unable to respond to the Crusaders' actions.
- The narrator is unsure of a specific rule regarding an event during the Second Crusade.
Thematic elements
- Crusades
- Middle East
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players compete to control various locations (cities) on the map by placing presence markers and military units. Control of these cities grants victory points and other benefits.
- Card Play — Players use cards for various actions, including development, military support, and special events, influencing battles and area control.
- Combat — Battles occur when players contest the same area, involving rolling dice and playing cards to determine the outcome. Casualties are inflicted on opposing forces.
- Development — Players can build structures like fortresses and citadels, which provide strategic advantages and can increase victory points.
- Resource Management — Players manage gold and faith to perform actions, build units, and influence the game state. Income actions provide resources.
- siege — A specific type of conflict where an area is 'landlocked' and cannot be reinforced from adjacent areas. Sieges can result in the fall of a city.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Sjix pick up three victory points giving them six Crusaders pick up one more giving them two Selix open up a four-point lead with another devastating loss on the Crusaders outside of antiochia
- this gives them the political situation here with two players seems pretty tipsy Turvy and uh that's a good move for selj
- The Crusaders pick up a 20 to 15 Victory Point win by controlling political control over a majority of the Middle East
- I'm going to offer some thoughts on two-player and four player precursor it's very different and I'm going to offer my thoughts on soliter as well
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PggfcmPPNNY
Zilla Blitz Review at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 87216 · mention_pk 284927
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fantastic sense of history
- Brings the Crusades element to life
- Love the artwork and color palette
- Picks up pace really fast
- Accelerates quickly with good momentum
- Short game (in terms of single sitting)
- Plays in a single sitting (1.5-2 hours)
- Nice sweet spot of length for teaching and playing in an evening
- Great momentum and pickup
- Doesn't overstay its welcome
- Good gameplay with different levers to play using cards
- Card play can swing the game
- Alliances and political back and forth are good
- Outstanding four-player experience
- Not enough space, resources, or actions makes every decision meaningful
- A lot of different ways to solve problems
- A lot of different ways to disguise actions
- Spectacular four-player experience
- Soliter experience is quite good and enjoyable with modifications
- Good addition to the historical gaming genre
Cons
- Two-player experience needs refinement
- Two-player experience is not yet riveting
- Rulebook needs refinement (for prototype)
- Gaps and omissions in rules (for prototype)
Thematic elements
- The first two historical Crusades
- Jerusalem and the surrounding areas
Comparison games
- Crusader Kings 3
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players vie for control of Jerusalem and surrounding areas, involving presence markers (political and military) in locations.
- Card Play — Cards are used to bring the game to life and can trigger double actions, significantly impacting the game.
- Combat — Battles and sieges occur, involving hidden card plays, commitment of faith markers, and troop strength.
- Negotiation — The game involves alliances and a political back-and-forth where players negotiate, make bargains, and deals.
- Resource Management — Players have limited resources and actions, requiring careful decision-making.
- Set Collection — Building citadels, fortresses, mosques, or churches are objectives within the game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Game's I think shining sweet spot I absolutely love this game as four player
- literally you're like two turns into this game and it's smoldering hot you feel like you're right into it and you've got a critical battle coming up the acceleration of this game is so good
- I love games that throw meaningful decisions at you
- I think the four-player experience is absolutely Majestic I think the two-player experience um needs some refinement
- The four-player experience is spectacular I really like the soliter four player much better than I did than I thought I was going to um two- player I think needs refinement but I expect it we'll get there
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video LInroTFDsu0
Zilla Blitz Top List at 5:56 sentiment: positive
video_pk 83415 · mention_pk 284555
Click to watch at 5:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Excellent components
- Solid gameplay
- Interesting four-player dynamic
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Conflict between Christian Crusaders, Byzantine Empire, Fatimid Caliphate, and Seljuks
- First Crusades
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Faction Play — Players choose one of four distinct factions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This one takes us back in time.
- This is an updated version of the old Aces of Aces flip books working on that same type of system.
- So, it's essentially plane versus plane dog fighting World War II done in an incredibly innovative for its time flip book.
- This aces of aces updates all of that and adds a bunch of new Kickstarter goals and extras that go along with it.
- This might be 2027. I'm not sure.
- This is basically an operational level game of submarine combat in the World War II Pacific Theater.
- Steel Wolves takes the Silent War system and brings it to World War II. uh in the Atlantic theaters.
- And it's solitary as well. I should mention that too.
- Oh, this looks so good.
- This is a soliter game of World War II combat where each counter is an individ individual soldier.
- combat I think is, you know, if you think back to the old Ambush games, combat is really aiming, I think, to be a modern version of that.
- Such a compelling theme.
- it's great to see the growth of this series.
- This game just completed a very successful Kickstarter.
- Takes us to the year 2034 for combat between Chinese and Taiwanese forces in Taiwan.
- So, we've got some robots, we've got some got drones, just a ton of modern combat elements in here.
- I have a prototype of this now, so I'm going to be bringing some gameplay of this to the channel in a couple of weeks.
- This looks spectacular.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video N71fzJpge0o
Meeple University Playthrough
video_pk 70540 · mention_pk 167549
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the game is set in the first Crusades
- we are going to play different factions where there's going to be maybe Alliance backstabbing
- there are three ways to gain points in the game
- I could play a card into here and take this action but it would cost me two coins
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video N71fzJpge0o
Meeple University Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 70540 · mention_pk 287571
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Clear walkthrough of core mechanics and how a round plays out
- Multiple factions with shared mechanics and thematic variations
- Detailed explanation of combat resolution and scoring
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- The First Crusades
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Drafting — Left two actions and middle yield event if your faction matches; events resolve as part of the action.
- Action drafting and event resolution — Left two actions and middle yield event if your faction matches; events resolve as part of the action.
- Bluff card used only in battle — There is one Bluff card in hand used only during battles to influence the outcome.
- Building and upgrading buildings — Develop action allows building one building and upgrading one track; castles, mosques, citadels are constructed and upgraded to increase income or strength.
- Card-driven action selection with escalating costs — Players play cards into columns; the top cards provide actions; costs increase as more cards are stacked; events can trigger if faction matches.
- Combat system with battles and sieges — There are two conflict types (battles and sieges); players commit units and faith; dice (swords and wounds) determine outcomes and wounds remove units.
- End-of-crusade scoring and scoring triggers — Points come from controlling cities, participating in conflicts, and buildings; Crusade phases score points and there are multiple scoring moments.
- Influence and support on cities/regions — Place influence and support tokens; influence helps control and scoring, support participates in conflicts.
- Influence Points — Place influence and support tokens; influence helps control and scoring, support participates in conflicts.
- Movement and recruitment points — Movement costs one coin per adjacent space; fortresses provide recruitment points to gain units.
- Movement Points — Movement costs one coin per adjacent space; fortresses provide recruitment points to gain units.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the game is set in the first Crusades
- we are going to play different factions where there's going to be maybe Alliance backstabbing
- there are three ways to gain points in the game
- I could play a card into here and take this action but it would cost me two coins
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xSd_2rWhbTs
ON TABLE Board Games Rules Teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 37977 · mention_pk 114139
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Distinct asymmetric factions with unique starting sets and strategies
- Comprehensive rule coverage in a prototype presentation
- Deep strategic layers involving battles, sieges, and city control
- Multi-source end-game scoring with varied VP sources
- Clear discussion of prototype status and potential component changes
Cons
- High complexity and learning curve due to numerous interacting rules
- Prototype components may change before final release
- Setup and rule overhead can be lengthy
Thematic elements
- Religious and political conflict with shifting alliances
- Holy Land during the Crusades with four factions vying for influence
- Asymmetric, card-driven, historically flavored warfare with city sieges and religious structures
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action cards — Cards can be played to trigger actions by placing in a column on the main board or during conflict resolution; costs and faction matching determine triggers.
- asymmetric faction setup — Each faction starts with different cities, tokens, and starting resources, affecting strategy and balance.
- Building and influence — Development and presence actions build churches/fortresses; influence tokens affect control and outcomes in cities.
- Conflict (battles and sieges) — Two conflict types; players secretly commit units and tokens, then dice are rolled to determine outcomes with wounds and rewards.
- Gold economy — Gold is used to pay costs for actions and to unlock additional effects; interacts with cost totals in a column.
- Movement and income — Units move between locations by paying gold; income actions generate bonuses from cards and crown token values.
- token management — Influence tokens, present tokens, and crown tokens affect control, expansion, and possible chain effects.
- Victory points and end-game scoring — Points come from city control, temples, fortresses, and battle outcomes; most points wins.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Lords Of Heaven takes us to the holy land where four faction will battle each other for influence and control the game playay of this board game
- the Blu card can never be played to perform an action it's always in the player's hand
- Now a few words about the sieges that is the second type of conflict in this board game
- the player with the most victory points wins the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6