The Pleasures and Tortures of - Heroes of Land, Air & Sea

I had fun with this game but it's very much a "fake multiplayer wargame". Like Eclipse, it's really an Euro with the appereance of a fighting game.

The game doesn't work like Warcraft in practice, but it's similar in theory: Get resources, spend resources to build troops or upgrade buildings, attack other players and so on. You get points for practically everything so there's a bit of fighting but it's not the focus. I like it and it's well made but it's true it's not groundbreaking.

Actually .... even though I said I'd buy it if the price was right but from what Uba has said in her review, and Erik commenting on, of it being more of a (hidden due to so many player options) points salad to find teh winner rather than the biggest or most aggressive empire building the game probably isn't for me. I'd probably play other peoples a few times for the fun but I'd get back to the numerous 4X DoaM games I already have that does it for me. (It does look purty though)

While I agree that it's point salad-y, combat is the single best source of VP and by far the most efficient expenditure of resources for such.

ubarose wrote: @Southernman

Yes, biggest, most aggressive kingdom isn’t necessarily going to win.

Plus, typically you only have like 5-8warrior dudes. It’s not like you can mass an army and take over the world. It’s more like you can slaughter and terrorize peasants in the outlying countryside.

Well they shouldn't have been hanging aroung thievin' in my lands !