Thames & Kosmos Legends of Andor: Eternal Frost, Strategy Game, Cooperative Board Games for Game Night, Family Games for Adults and Kids, For 2 to 4 Players, Age 10+, Blue

Having never played an Andor game before, I thought this would be a sort-of outdoor version of a dungeon crawl. But although there are indeed fights with monsters, it is not at all that style of game. This is really a very tight cooperative puzzle game.Like many other cooperative games, there is something like an increasing threat meter – a timer on your progress in the game. There are four scenarios to the game, which is played across a double-sided board, each involving the completion of multiple tasks. The game does a superb job of teaching the rules, by revealing them through objectives as you play the first chapter.This is a very tricky game! You quickly learn that you must ration your moves and attacks, and assign certain tasks to certain players. For example, one player might need to move across the board to retrieve an item, while another player fights encroaching monsters. If you spend too much time on something, the game progresses and you may fail your objective. Even fighting and defeating monsters can cost you, as each successful defeat advances the scenario and reduces your available time.There are four characters in the game with matching standees (in two genders, take your pick) that have unique abilities adding a bit of asymmetry. Some randomness in distributing tokens and an option to increase difficulty offers replayability, though it will certainly take multiple attempts just to win each scenario the first time through.Having never played an Andor game, I can tell you this acts as a great introduction to the series and makes me want to check out the other games. Highly recommended!

I don’t usually give 5 stars, especially for games. In fact, I’m not much a game player as I don’t have the patience for most of them. If I do play a game I usually go for the fast paced games that are over in minutes, not hours. So trust me when I say 5 stars took me actually playing this game and getting to understand it, then deciding I really like it.When the game arrived my teen son opened it up, read through the instructions and proclaimed: sorry dad, you won’t like this one… it’s gonna be complex as it has a lot of pieces and rules. After that I was kinda dreading playing it but that time arrived last night.Having played many coop games in the past (we have several) I was thinking it would be like some of those other ones where every time you play the same game it’s the same thing, but maybe with some slight randomization. Nope, not with Andor. Andor is a cooperative story game. It progresses and the goals change. You think you’re working towards something but that something will change, or there will be something beyond that that is the real goal. The format change was refreshing, a coop game that progresses. Cool!We played the first two “chapters” (they’re not called that but suficeth to say that’s what they are). Our family of 3 had a lot of fun, working cooperatively to kill the beasts while we moved across the board to meet our objectives.The fight mechanics are good. Though, one v. one fighting can be dicey. Once we teamed up with two heroes on a tile then beating beasts became easy.The game is complex… sorta. It’s complex in the fact that there’s a LOT to unpack and ready and things can change. However, the turn mechanics is straightforward and easy. Read the story cards and follow instructions. After a couple of turns things moved faster as we got the hang of things.The next time we will play it, which I’m told will be soon, we will be starting the next chapter. See, this is the beauty of this game, it’s different each time you play.Overall, for someone that doesn’t like complex and lengthy games I found myself really liking this one.If you like coop games then I recommend you give this one a try. Also, I’m aware there are other Andor games but this one does not have any dependence on any of the others. We don’t have any of the others and picked this up and got after it. Great game, will recommend to a friend!

This is a standalone continuation of the Legends of Andor series. While there have been some side games and expansions, this is the fourth game in the main series. To me, so far, it feels closest to the first game. It even reuses the original map, just covered in snow. The main addition to this version is the snow theme and the mechanic of the days (read rounds) getting shorter as more of the world succumbs to ice.The game is essentially a cooperative puzzle game with a pastiche of a fantasy combat game. Yes there are combat rolls and health points, but the main goal is not to defeat enemies, but to defeat the situation. That feels very thematic to me, as you are a small group of adventuring heroes against the hordes of evil/villainy. I mean it isn’t very likely a team of 4 could defeat a whole army by themselves through direct combat. Instead, you must use planning and teamwork to complete objectives while minimizing losses. However, I get how some players might miss the dungeon crawling, loot-grinding, combat heavy elements you come to expect from many fantasy games.The numbering system on the board may be a bit confusing, but I trust the designers worked it out in the best way possible. The components all seem compatible with the earlier games to some degree; so you could mix and match elements if you wanted to. Really that is one of the great things about this series; the games are essentially game designer tool kits. There are so many components included and there are resources on the official website for you to create your own adventures.The components are all high quality. And, it is nice to have a board game that isn’t about miniatures or an app or some other marketing gimmick. You are getting a well thought out game system with exceptional artwork and quality pieces. And, even if you don’t enjoy the actual game, there is enough here for you to design your own fun.