But a few interesting systems make the game special. Which all sounds like a pretty straightforward, dudes-on-a-map type of experience. Then a Victory Point card is drawn and added to those on the table. In the Refresh phase, players may discard cards and then draw back up to five in hand.

In the next phase players take a turn each, in which they may discard cards in exchange for Silver Eagles, the game’s currency buy new units, build structures (strongholds, turrets and alarms to bolster your controlled areas), and purchase upgrades for their cards move up to four units around the board, and finally engage in combat if their units end up sharing a location with enemy forces. Booker may also appear around Columbia, and if he happens to be in an aggressive mood he can play havoc with your forces. Further information on the card indicates whether special events occur concerning Elizabeth, as a counter moves down on one of three Elizabeth Timeline sheets you randomly choose at the start of the game.

Each game round starts with the draw of a World Event card on which players vote, totalling the influence value on cards they may choose to discard to decide whether the event passes or not. The game plays with either two or four players, the latter in two teams. The rules are easy to explain and you can get started with newbies in very quick order. However I would have loved to have seen the cards just a bit thicker and with a linen finish, and Plaid Hat Games follows the usual American publisher convention of including no box insert.īooker may also appear around Columbia, and if he happens to be in an aggressive mood he can play havoc with your forces This design quality is matched by component quality, and the big-numbered custom dice and little plastic units are wonderful. Yes, the board is a little busy and the borders defining areas blend into the art a bit, but this didn’t cause any difficulties once we all had a mental map of the board. The colours pop, the fonts and imagery are carefully chosen, the decorative elements are stylistically appropriate. Peter Wocken is that designer, and he has outdone himself in creating what I think is a vastly superior piece of work to City of Remnants. This is all the more impressive an achievement considering the graphic designer was working with unfinished assets and references. It’s a bit of a shame if you haven’t been immersed in the computer game actually, because the graphic design here captures its look and feel perfectly. In my case, when we played with four, two of us knew nothing about the background, but a brief précis was enough to clue them in. Who are Booker and Elizabeth, where is this strange sky city, and why are the Founders and the Vox Populi at each others’ throats? What is this strange mixture of early Americana and science-fiction? How important this is will depend on your group of course, but hopefully it won’t stop anyone from enjoying the game. BI:TSoC pretty much assumes you’re a fan of the original and know what’s going on, and while a boardgamer picking this up will most probably have some attachment to the theme, that could alienate the gamers who have no such previous attachment. Well, as has been pointed out by numerous reviewers, if you haven’t played the computer game you’ll be somewhat thrown into the deep end here theme-wise. But enough of my console-based prejudices, how is the boardgame? Much like in the first game in the series, Bioshock, I found the endless scrounging through drawers and trash cans for ammo and food tedious, the environments repetitive despite all the obsessive detail, and the battles with faceless adversaries uninteresting. It started well, with stunning visuals and some confronting, challenging things to say about racism and American history, but rapidly degenerated into an brightly coloured shoot-’em-up with a tricksy story twist at the end. I, on the other hand-and slightly irrelevantly to this boardgame review-didn’t find it much fun. But of course, what we all really want to know is … is it fun to play? Swallow your vigors and strap on your hand cannons, because we’re about to find out …įor those who completely eschew the world of computer gaming, Bioshock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia is based on the smash hit first person shooter, winner of numerous awards and widely fulsome praise. The EOG recently sat down with Plaid Hat Games to discuss the making of Bioshock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia, and we highly recommend you read that article for some insights into the process behind designing the game. Disclaimer: Plaid Hat Games kindly provided me with a review copy of Bioshock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia.

Bioshock infinite board game