Their Satanic Majesties Request- SOLIUM INFERNUM review Hot

Sweet, thanks for the review. I like Arm. Empires but haven't pulled the trigger on this one yet.

I'm very happy with Armageddon Empires, but the marketing pitch for Solium Infernum left me with some doubts. Part of it is that there hasn't been a good game about Hell yet in any format, at least not that I've seen. It seems like a great theme for a game, but the designers who are attracted to that theme come up short.

Definately agree with your opinion on this, Michael. Sadly I haven't gotten a PBEM game of this off the ground yet. Haven't tried all that hard either, I bought it and then a baby fell in my lap, literally.

"Archfiends have to impress the Infernal Conclave by accumulating Prestige Points"

Wait, kissing the rulers ass is okay now?

It sounds like there is too much resource management involved. Is this game actually a euro with a Hell theme lightly pasted on it?

The chief problem with Solium Infernum is learning the game. The rules are a reference, not a teaching tool, so you can read through them and still have no idea what to do once you start your first game. Each turn is actually fairly simple, with only a few decisions to make, all of which contribute to your overall strategy. If you understand how the game works.

Fortunately, there are ways to simplify the learning process. There are a couple of references, such as a fantastic cheat sheet, that can make better sense of the overall game for you than the rulebook does. You can play without the places of power, which reduces some of the initial frustration. ("Why is that guy earning so much prestige?")

I think it's a good idea to choose a non-combat avatar first, since the combat system has many preconditions for fighting, and the relative strengths of units can be difficult to figure out.

Once you finally get into the game, it's very, very good. In fact, it's one of the best strategy games I've purchased in the last few years. If you're looking for a strategy game that gives you many different strategies to pursue, SI provides a lot of value.

You lost me here.

I was being a smartass with that line...but yeah, you do have to impress an off-board Satanic governmental body. At least it's Satanic, though.

The chief problem with Solium Infernum is learning the game.

A 50-page rulebook that doesn't tell you how to actually play the game. No tutorials or tooltips. It's a pain in the ass to learn, and even though I'm a "learn by doing" person I found that I really wanted something to sort of tie it all together into something that made sense.

You are right though in that the more you learn to play it the better it gets. Honestly, if I reviewed this game after the first two plays I wouldn't have been nearly as charitable. It takes a couple of plays to really get it, and even then there's so much to consider that it's tough to really see it all. It was a few games in before I ever even messed around with the rituals or manuscripts.

I don't want to come across as too negative about the game, because there is some really good stuff going on in it. But it does have some issues, and most of them like I said come back to the single player game. You can still play it and enjoy the strategic elements, but it's just not the same without live opponents. And the pace and measure of it really demands the more leisurely clip of PBEM.

It sounds like there is too much resource management involved. Is this game actually a euro with a Hell theme lightly pasted on it?

Nah, it's not very Euro. There's too much CCG in it for that. It's not really that there's too much resource management, it's more that there's too much to do with the resources. And the way they're generated, like a lot of other elements, is kind of opaque. There's no on-board production. You can upgrade stats to get more draws or keep more cards out of them, but that's it. There is kind of a neat idea that you've only got eight slots for resource cards so you've got to combine cards to be able to pay for stuff, but the problem with it is that it can add several steps to being able to actually buy something.

Part of it is that there hasn't been a good game about Hell yet in any format, at least not that I've seen. It seems like a great theme for a game, but the designers who are attracted to that theme come up short.

Agreed, but I would also say that SI is probably the best one I've seen to date. They've really done a great job in creating the "world" of Hell, creating a political structure, culture, and unique things and places.

Well this makes me feel better that the Mac version isn't out. Sounds like Armageddon Empires is the better game.

This game is not a Euro. It's not even close to being a Euro. Victory points does not a Euro make. Here, VPs are entirely appropriate to the theme, which has been implemented brilliantly. Saying you have to impress the Infernal Conclave by accumulating Prestige Points doesn't do the game justice.

If you want an even more detailed sense of just how this game plays, read the game diaries on RPS: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/gameboys-from-hell/ (start from the bottom). Actually, they're a fantastic read even if you're not that interested in the game.