Commissioned Board Game?? Who knew?

[YourMathTeacher]

Has anybody on the Boards been involved with or tried this game?

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/171479/commissioned

[Redoubter]

Got pretty good reviews (the few it got), and people were comparing it to Pandemic or Dead of Winter in terms of the co-op.  I would be concerned how some might respond to it, as one of the reviewers noted that it feels like losing means Christianity fails, which could bother some.  Otherwise, this might be an interesting one to look into.

Also...it looks gorgeous, especially that map that is Rome-centric, making a lot of sense and looking really cool.

EDIT: Yeah, the scenario failure would be something like "The Roman Empire never adopts Christianity" or "The Church never reaches Europe" which could be a problem for some.

However, I just watched a game review that was recently done.  It looks VERY well done with a very scalable difficulty and very different scenarios.  It removes quarterbacking, which is an issue in co-op games generally.

Additionally, the Appendix is ridiculous.  And by that I mean amazing.  It looks like every card in the game has an entry in the Appendix that gives a history and why it would have that ability.

I'm looking into getting myself a copy.

[TechnoEthicist]

I wish Kickstarter would have told me about it since I supported a similar game made by a friend regarding the Old Testament Kings (Kings of Israel). I'll have to keep this on my radar for when its available to the public.

[YourMathTeacher]

I just got mine. I am still learning how to play. I'll post later after I've played a few games with my playgroup.

[uthminister [BR]]

I am working on getting Commissioned in our Three Lions Inventory and on our site. Looks amazing.

[YourMathTeacher]

My son and I have played a few 2-player games. I have not yet been able to get together with a bigger playgroup for a 6-player game.

We like the game. We have been playing the starting "scenario" (Acts of the Apostles) as recommended in the rulebook (there are five other scenarios that we have not tried yet, including the back of the double-sided board). However, we have not been able to beat the scenario yet. We've learned more by playing than by just reading the rulebook, though.

The game is a combination of a Settlers of Catan (as far as expanding your territories - to spread the Word), Dominion (deck-building component that effects board conditions, or accumulates the New Testament), Pandemic (a cooperative game with a deck of cards - Trials - that work against the Apostles), and Agricola (limited choices per turn based on what cards are made available from each players deck).

If you get the game, I have a few recommendations (for 2-player games):

1.) Use Paul as one of the Apostles. A first turn "Mission Move Stop" is difficult to overcome.
2.) Do not be too hasty to add church members during the "Grow" Phase, since you will eventually run out of cubes. Getting "reinforcements" from the outskirt churches takes too many moves, so you will want to save church growth for the churches that are connected to unchurched cities.
3.) There are only two of each book of the New Testament cards, and one of the Trials removes one from the game (or three in difficult mode). You will want to draw out the 2-Faith deck quickly to finish the New Testament as soon as you can, that way you can focus on the more difficult victory condition of "a church in every city."
4.) Extinguished churches have not been a problem so far. We have lost every time because the Trial deck ran out. The closest we have come to getting a church in every city has been 4 cities short. We have had no problem finishing the New Testament. You will want ways to increase moves (i.e. There are five 3-Faith cards that add two moves, or use James as a starting Apostle).

[uthminister [BR]]

Those are all really good tips. I will make sure to mention them when playing demo games at the homeschool convention next weekend. I have a case of Commissioned games coming which will be live on our site after the convention.

[YourMathTeacher]

My son's friend came over, so we tried a 3-player game, and we finally beat the first scenario. This game is like most cooperative games in that it is easier to win if there are more players. Now, we did start with Paul and James, which are the key Apostles needed to reach all the cities, as I expected. We also used Peter, who has better faith values in his starter cards, so he can buy the 4-Faith cards starting on turn one. The 4-Faith cards are quite powerful, and help deflect the trial cards better.

So, as in other co-op games, more players allows for more variety with character-specific abilities, allowing for combos that are very effective.

[uthminister [BR]]

That is super exciting. We sold through a case of Commissioned games last weekend at the home school convention. Reordering today!

[YourMathTeacher]

That is super exciting. We sold through a case of Commissioned games last weekend at the home school convention.

That is super exciting, too! 

Here is the preview from their website:

http://charagames.com/games/3seeds/

[uthminister [BR]]

Commissioned is now in stock at Three Lions Gaming...along with a bunch of other games as well.