Which one should I get? Mage Knight: Board Game or Earth Reborn? One of them, both or neither?

I like direct interaction, some luck to spice things up but not so much that I don't feel in control i.e luck which can also be managed using tactics (think Twilight Struggle).

I also like zombies (Walking Dead), scifi and fantasy (GoT, LoTR etc.) so theme might not be an issue between these 2 games.

I don't like very long set up times and multiplayer solitaire.

I also prefer the play time not to be very long (3 hours +) but this is not a must.

I'm quite new to the hobby so I haven't played many games. So far, games I like include Twilight Struggle and Eclipse. I think they have a nice balance between luck, interaction and tactics. Also I like area control.

I don't like Agricola (too much stress not enough interaction), Carcassonne (too simple), Ticket to Ride (too simple), Arkham Horror (too much chaos and luck) and Claustrophobia (didn't like dark dungeon theme, a bit too simple).

The two games Mage Knight and Earth Reborn are very very different than one another. I can't speak too much about Earth Reborn other than to say it's well regarded.

I can tell you a bit about Mage Knight.

1)The luck in Mage Knight is at a minimum. Basically, tile draws for the map when you explore are random, the monsters that are placed on these tiles are drawn randomly but the majority are revealed when you get close enough so there aren't many surprises there. Also the type of "magic" available is rolled randomly every turn but again, it is known before you play your turn so no surprises. You play cards from your hand in combat and you will know if you are able to win before you begin so it has no randomness at all.

2) Mage Knight can be played solitaire, cooperatively, or competitively. I'm not a big fan of solo gaming but as far as they go...this one is very very challenging. With two in competitive mode I think the game is fantastic. The box says you can play up to 4 but I think that is too many. Three is pushing it but can be done.

3) Play time is right around 3 hours with this one. Probably longer the first couple of games. There can be some downtime as you wait for your opponent to take his turn. One of the big pluses of Eclipse is the rapid rate at which your turn comes around again. This game is not like that.

4)The game really is in a class by itself. It is very unlike Twilight Struggle and Eclipse. It is very heavy on tactics but not in a wargame sense. Luck is minimal. Interaction can be non existent to mild to rare depending on how you choose to play.

It sounds like Mage Knight would be a very new and different experience for you. Lots of people, myself included, think its great. Many people admire it but don't particularly like it. Which are you? I've no idea. My advise would be to try it before you buy it. That may be impractical depending on whom you game with and the size of your gaming circle. At the very least if you get Mage Knight, decide you don't like it, it would be fairly easy to trade away for something else.

Hope that helped.

Oh and depending where you are in the UK make sure to check out Matt DP's "Trash Fest UK" happening soon near Bath

I've played both and like Earth Reborn much more than MageKnight.

ER is a tactical skirmish game where you have to manage your actions and command points(? I forget the actual name.) The scenarios are often asymetric and you take turns activating units but have the opportunity to interrupt your opponents action if you outbid them in command points. Overall I think it is slightly more complicated than MageKnight but it is broken down into different scenarios for easy consumption.

MageKight is cool too with lots to explore and fight. The skill system is clever and each character plays differently. Not just a different special ability ala Talisman- they really have different strenghts and weaknesses. However I have one huge complaint: you constantly find yourself saying (Ok, I can spend this card for movement then this generates two points of attack, plus one if I do this and plus two more for this follower. OR I can use this guy's free movement and use this card to 2 points and then spend these crystals which will let me generate this much mana to use this card giving me 5 points. OR..

It gets bad in late game. Very bad.

Steve"M8th is 4 100sers"Avery

Mage Knight.

I can only speak the Mage Knight, but I do really like it. It's a very different sort of "adventure" game, and it's pretty low-luck. It's a very open game, in the sense that it's difficult to tell what the best move is in any given situation. I agree that it's better with more players. I've played a lot of times solo, and it works well that way too, but I'm cooling a little on the solo version, just because I like playing with other people more.

Mage Knight is great, but there are a few problems. First, it regularly runs longer than 3 hours, especially with more than two players. Second, there can be a bit of multiplayer solitaire, but there are TONS of variants and map setups to add more interaction to the game. Don't use these variants right away though, learn how to play the game normally first or you will die of an aneurysm.

If you can get over the sizable playing time, go with Mage Knight. Fuck this recommendation though, both are good.

Both games have steep learning curves. You might be happier exploring some more accessible games first. Mage Knight is low on interaction and heavy on the multiplayer solitaire, unless you use the pvp rules, and even then you are probably facing significant downtime between your turns. Earth Reborn is probably more the kind of game that you're interested in, except for the lengthy setup time.

tparel wrote:


You may find that both games have a long set-up time (ER is a little worse), and that MK is a little bit of a MPS game. I do think that both games are great! But they might not be what you are looking for right now, depending on how big a deal this is for you.

Earth Reborn is great, if you have a dedicated person to be your regular second player. If you want to play this a couple times with a bunch of people, it probably will be more trouble than it is worth. It does also have a long setup time (15-25 minutes in my experience).

All that said, Earth Reborn is a fantastic game. I highly recommend it if it meets what you are looking for. The other advantage over Mage Knight is that you can likely find a cheaper copy.

Shellhead wrote:


QFT. I think Shell's nailed it.