Review: Mage Knight (Board Game)

An elegant but overwhelming mix of mechanics makes Mage Knight both impressive and intimidating.

Mage Knight is a game that demands investment. After two hours spent reading the rules, another hour setting up each game and six- nearly seven- solid hours of actually playing it I’ve yet to scratch the surface of it’s myriad co-op and competitive scenarios. Whilst I have admired the game during this time; from it’s eloquent and clear rule book(s) to it’s luxurious production values and sprawling mass of options I’m not sure I can truthfully say I or my gaming group actually had fun. We are certainly not in a hurry to unpack the game again any time soon.

It’s a strange position to be in since on the surface at least Mage Knight contains pretty much everything I enjoy in other games. Randomly generated hex maps form a lush and varied countryside for our avatars to quest across using decks of action and movement cards. These decks can be tailored by completing adventures or storming castles to add powerful artefacts and spells to your hand whilst unit cards can be recruited at monasteries, villages and keeps. There’s even an elaborate mana system that ties into the game’s day/night cycle (really) that serves to keep things ticking along at a slow but steady pace. I’ve not even mentioned the good/evil reputation system and the ability to level up characters.

If that sounds like a lot to keep track of– it is. There is so much housekeeping to do during a turn that it’s hard to tell the difference between genuine creative decisions and simple maintenance. Working out what you can achieve takes a lot of maths and whilst the rules do everything they can to keep your thinking time occurring whilst other players take their turns these can make such a difference to the map that you’ll need to take several minutes to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Despite all this attention to detail I somehow never felt that attached to my character since all of the mage decks are pretty much identical. Neither did I feel invested in the objectives of each scenario since their victory conditions are more basic than evocative and the game can end without actually completing them.

I was planning to describe this game as ‘Talisman for adults’ since both involve developing a fantasy adventurer across a number of small quests before taking them and their accumulated gear into battle against more worthy foes, however I feel that would be doing Talisman a disservice. Talisman is a breezy romp with easy to learn rules and laugh out loud surprises whilst Mage Knight is an impenetrable slog, so bogged down in detail that it loses its sense of scale.

In the end the game succeeds at what it sets out to achieve; to create a comprehensive fantasy board game for hardcore players. Up until today I had considered myself part of that demographic but Mage Knight has found me wanting.