Expeditions, a new game by Stonemaier Games for 1 to 5 players, continues the legacy of Scythe with some familiar design elements while also forging its own identity.
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessor, in Expeditions players race to achieve objectives and place star tokens on the board. The game ends as soon as a player places their fourth star. Apart from star tokens, points are earned through mech upgrades, collected coins, and corruption tokens acquired during the game.
In Expeditions, each player controls a single Mech and can take three main actions: Move, Gather, and Play. Move grants 1-3 movement points, Gather involves taking the action of the hex tile the mech occupies and Play allows players to add cards from their hand to their active row and gain extra actions and benefits.
Similar to Scythe, there are restrictions on available actions. Players can take two different actions per turn, and these two cannot be the same as those taken in the previous turn. However, there is the option of taking a rest turn which includes no actions and reclaiming played cards. In this case, players can take all three actions in the subsequent turn. This mechanic requires careful planning, which adds to the game’s depth, something I’ve always appreciated in Scythe.
Cards play a crucial role in this game. When played through the Play action, they provide extra actions, ongoing benefits or both. Additionally, tucking cards from your hand or play area under your mech mat is essential for creating a strong engine and scoring victory points. This makes building a good and diverse hand crucial, a goal players naturally pursue. The game includes a large deck of cards offering various combinations of actions and benefits, which is excellent for a card-driven game.
The engine-building part of this game is fun. By tucking cards under three sides of your mech mat, you can improve your actions and score victory points. This highlights the importance of keeping an eye out for specific cards and beating opponents to them when they become available. Also, building a strong hand of cards will lead to more impactful rounds as the game progresses. While the game begins at a slower pace, it can end suddenly, something familiar to Scythe players.
The way cards are managed in this game is a questionable design choice. Based on the rules, all cards must be laid out on the table, with the player’s hand placed on the left side of their mech mat and played cards (or active row) on the right side. This caused confusion during our first couple of plays, particularly since acquired cards go to the active row instead of the player’s hand. To streamline our gameplay, we opted to keep our available cards in hand rather than putting them on the table. It’s important to mention that because of the small font size of the text on the cards and the game’s overall complexity, we never looked at each other’s cards. As a result, playing with open or closed hands was irrelevant in our games. Another problem we encountered was with the five face-up cards. Having to pick them up one by one to read their effects slowed down our games and certainly wasn’t fun.
The game includes 5 Mechs and their respective mats, each featuring unique powers. These asymmetric powers influence strategy and introduce variability to the game. However, during our plays, we found that some mech abilities appeared stronger than others.
Artwork and Components
Expeditions features the same captivating art style as Scythe. From the visually striking box to the gorgeous illustrations on map tiles and cards, everything looks impressive on the table. The game includes a practical insert, chunky and detailed miniatures, and high-quality cards and components. However, the insert has been clearly designed with future expansions in mind, resulting in a larger-than-necessary box, which may divide opinions. It’s also worth noting that this game requires a lot of table space, as the map tiles are large and the map takes up considerable space. When factoring in the necessary play area for each player, a sizable table is essential for comfortably playing this game.
Final Thoughts
While Expeditions has the same theme and art as Scythe and borrows some gameplay ideas from its predecessor, it’s a significantly different game with simpler rules. It may feel familiar, but it plays quite differently. Regardless of your thoughts on Scythe, you might enjoy or dislike Expeditions.
If you approach Expeditions expecting it to replicate the experience of Scythe, you might be disappointed, as achieving that level of excellence is a high standard to meet. However, when judged on its own merits, Expeditions is a game we find enjoyable and will bring to the table again while acknowledging it has a few rough edges and may not suit everyone’s taste.
Disclosure: We received a review copy of this game. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.
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