Near and Far by Red Raven Games, Strategy Board Game

The game is super easy to play after you played it once. What's interesting, anyone who played with me said, that the rules sounded more complicated than they really were. And after playing for a few minutes you are ready to enjoy the game.Quests are interesting and give you a general idea about the world that you are playing in quite accurately. What's more important, this game has several modes for those who like playing classical earn-points-win-the-game board games, as well as story-oriented ones.This bg contains a lot of small parts and for the sake of your own time, you want to buy an organizer. You can live without it, but scooping up this game takes some time.From the financial point of view, it strongly depends on amazon discounts. For me, paying for this game above 70 bucks is too much. Lucky me I got it for 45$ last spring.

I would say if you build up your hype thinking that this is going to be a riveting, story-driven, deep RPG game, you'll be disappointed. The overarching plot is present, but not very engaging. And you cannot take any items with you from game to game. The only thing that carries over is your experience points for buying talents, and where you are in your character's story if playing Character Mode. That said, the game is still very enjoyable and I recommend getting it with the Amber Mines expansion as that patches up some of the weaker parts of the game. The focus of the game is scoring the most points in by placing tents across the maps, collecting items, and taking actions in town. 60% of the game is moving your character around the map, completing quests and gathering wealth. 40% is actions in town such as picking up food, hiring party members and pack-animals, and trading. Some may be disappointed that the player-to-player interaction is low in this game. I think what would have made this game go from solidly-good to great would have been: increase player interaction slightly, increase the gravity and presence of the overarching plot, and work that into maps that have more distinct parameters and objectives. On the last point, the maps are mechanically very similar and it would have been cool to allow the opportunity to have "favorite" maps by establishing special obstacles or win criteria for each map.

Such a great game with a TON of replay value. Is easy to learn once you get it but does take some time to learn. You have a base town where you can build up supplies & add people to your traveling party, then you have a separate map where you can explore and camp. Depending on the events of the game there is a sort of "choose your own adventure" aspect to it, where you are presented with a scenario that you can choose how you can react. There are many different maps, a character-building mode, and a few different ways to play. Highly recommended.

Excellent story telling game that is easy to play once you get through the large rulebook. Watch it Played had an excellent tutorial on YouTube.The game is family friendly and has characters you can mix in with near and far. The game is intended to be played as one long story, but you can play one offs if you prefer and the amber mines adds co-op. Amber mines is absolutely worth it for the price btw.

Wonderful game for families/friends who enjoy boardgames beyond Risk and Monopoly. It does help to have played Above and Below but not necessary. Those who have not may find this to be rule-heavy. The game offers several strategies you can mix and match to win but also has a wild card effect thrown in g he mix to keep things fresh. It has several story modes and several different ways to play so replayabality us high. Art is fantastic. Fun and goofy enough for a ten year old but with enough meat for adults.

I would give this a 5 FIVE star rating if it came with all its pieces. I did not receive the small draw bag used for holding people that can join your party. Everything was in the box as expected and undamaged.The game quality is wonderful and easy to unpack. The gameplay is easy enough to teach a young kid about 8+ but complex enough to enjoy for even the most avid board game enthusiast. I just got the expansion "Amber mines" and am excited to try it out.My only problem with the game is that it has so many parts, it can be difficult to keep organized and pack up after playing.I bought a simple plastic organizer and this has worked wonders.

This game is so much fun and has tons of replay value. I really have enjoyed this developers other games, Above and Below, Islebound, especially. I’m so glad I added this to my collection, it has some fun mechanics that make each fame different and can put players against each other as well.5 Stars!

There is a little bit of a learning curve for this game. One of the best things here is that there are multiple Ways to play this game. You can sort of customize it to the level at which you wish to play. Highly recommend.