Sell me on this game

By Seren2, in A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (1st Edition)

What makes you passionate about this game? How well does it work with 6 players? I want to hear from fans why I should buy this game. Thanks.

This game is incredible.

One of my favorite board games ever, this game has everything I needed to enjoy a nice long board game. First off, it's very strategy focused with the only randomness affecting everyone equally. The only argument against this is when playing the leader cards in battle, but even then if you know the cards well enough, you should be able to counter what your opponent is thinking.

Secondly, the metagame is incredible. With no formal alliance system, backstabbing has occurred in nearly every game I've played. Since I usually have the same group of players with maybe one or 2 rotating, we all know to be wary of one another.

Third, it's incredibly balanced. Initially it seems like some of the houses (Lannister and Tyrell) are weaker, but once you've played that house you see that they have their own strengths. Each house has a very different playstyle and its incredibly rewarding playing different houses and figuring out who's more aggressive, defensive, etc...

You need to get the Clash of Kings expansion to play with 6 people, but it also adds a new set of house cards and a series of rules that can drastically alter strategies. It's like a completely different game with the new mechanics, but the regular board game itself is still incredibly rewarding.

If you can get a group of people together and dedicate around 4 hours to play, this is definitely a rewarding experience. Plus, if you've read the books, its almost unbelievable how each house plays in relation to their strategies in the books. It's really quite incredible how close to the source material FF got with this game.

I second that!

In addition, this game is made of the good stuff FFG is known for: a well balanced game that does not favor any specific player role yet leaves more than enough room for good strategists and tacticians to dominate the game...if the other players let him/her.

If you have read the books or are currently watching the HBO series, you will love this game! It is yet another fabled success by FFG turning a tv series, books, or a computer game into a fabulous board game.

You will need some time to play it. But it is rewarding, nonetheless. I personally enjoy longer strategy games -- 6+ hours are fine with me. A Game of Thrones can be done in 3-4 hours...or you can draw it out by allowing more time to haggle about alliances and treaties, both temporary and permant.

The good thing is: the rules are simple enough to comprehend and there is no "I didn't know that..." in this game.

Seren said:

I want to hear from fans why I should buy this game.

Here is a very rationalized way of looking at why you should consider this game. First, two assumptions should be made clear: (1) That your group enjoys playing games that take 4 hours to complete (minimum), and (2) that you are willing to pay for both the base game, and the "kings" expansion. You can only play 6 players if you have both the base game and the expansion.

If you answered yes to both, now consider the following. You have just spent over $100 on the game and its expansion. Each game takes 4 hours. Your enjoyment from your first game just cost $25.00/hour. Game 2 - $12.50/hour ($100 divided by 8 hours). Game 3 - $6.25/hour.

You see where this is going. By the time you've played this game 10 times, you've paid $2.50 per hour of entertainment. That's a lot less then going out to the movies, and a lot more interactive.