Game Review: Nemo's War

When I was a kid and started to read, I read a lot of fiction. I remember reading The Adventures Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and many more classic books for young adults. I loved the worlds these books transported me to. Also around this time, the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books were popular. My grandfather saw me reading one about sea exploration, walked over to a bookshelf, and handed me a well worn copy of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (thanks, Papa)! It was a fantastic story and I was enthralled by the images I saw in my mind's eye of Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus, and the giant squid that attacked it. 

These images were rekindled after I played Nemo's War, a solitaire game of strategy and resource management from Victory Point Games. Now, I admit I was a little skeptical at playing a solitaire game. I was not sure how much I would enjoy a solo, book keeping style game. However, I was very impressed at how well the game played and just how much fun I really had. In fact, this game has ushered in a whole new genre of gaming to me, solitaire games, and I am sure to order more games to play (Astra Titanus, I'm looking at you). Victory Point Games has a whole slew of cool games and, like Nemo's War, are all print-to-order. Nemo's War is stored in a resealable plastic bag, and has several paper components, such as a game map, several punch out cardboard chits, rulebook, and deck of card stock cards. While compared to some other game company's standards, say Fantasy Flight Games, VPG's production quality may seem too simplistic, but I find their minimalists design nostalgic and part of the charm of supporting, as I understand it, a great, but small gaming company. The price of their games reflects the game design and playability, not the components, but some may not see this as a value.  

Now, as sad as it may sound, I played the game twice...and lost both times. However, there is so much going on during the game and the rules are so tight, I don't feel bad about it. Now that I have a better grasp of how the game flows, I'm sure I'll get better. But how will I win?

Well, that's the question, isn't it? 

As I have learned, there is more than one way to win the game, and each path to victory (Nemo's Commitment) requires different strategies. Will Nemo go to War! and attack the ships of the world's nations? Will he explore the mysteries of the oceans? Will he embark on scientific research? Will he liberate the oppressed peoples of the world from Imperial rule? How you decide to play the game has great effect on your decisions. However, if your current plan is not working, there is a way to alter it in the game, though it means committing Nemo to that path. So how does it play?

The game contents, ready to go (exclude the Vampire Counts)

The game board is a map of the world with the oceans of the world listed. There are also several tracks on the board to keep track of progress and various events in the game. There is a time track measured in weeks (the game takes place over the course of a year), a notoriety track, a liberation track, a treasure hold, a sunken ship track, a salvage track, Nemo, Crew and Hull tracks, an area for hidden ships and pass/fail areas for the cards. 

A turn consists of several phases, each done in order, if applicable. First, you randomly determine where, if any, new ships/treasure are added to the oceans. Second, the opportunity to resolve an adventure card may happen. Thirdly, Captain Nemo gets to choose one of several possible actions that turn. Finally, the time track is advanced one week and the turn ends. Then repeat. However, as simple as this all sounds, the game is working against you, and each decision you make is very important. I found myself wanting for more actions or more time, but it was not an option. But you do have resources to use, and choosing to expend these resources at the right time is crucial. 

Nemo's War set up and ready to play.

For example, at the beginning of turn X I roll 2D6. The result is a 2 and a 6. I then place one random ship chit in the North Atlantic (2) and one in the Western Pacific (6), face down. I then consult the turn tracker. It currently says 7+, and since I rolled an 8, an Adventure happens! I flip the turn tracker over to 10+, and draw an Adventure card. Say it is a Test (not an Event) and it says The Whales. The target number for me to equal or exceed is 9. Before I roll, I can opt to push the Crew and/or the Hull to gain a bonus modifier to my 2D6 roll. I chooses to push the Crew, and move their marker halfway down the Crew track, gaining a +2 to my roll. I roll and the result is a 8+2=10, so I successfully fended off the whale attack! I place the card in the Pass pile and will add the card's Victory Points (if any) to my total at the end and move the Crew marker back to its original location. Should I have failed, I would have suffered the negative consequences printed on the card AND I would move my Crew marker one further down the track. Note, the Crew and Hull get weaker the further down the track they get, while Nemo becomes more powerful. However, the more powerful he becomes, the closer to madness he gets and his mind may break. And he has a shorter track!

Next, it is Nemo's Action. He may choose to Rest/Refit/Repair, Seek Adventure, Move to another Ocean (moving the turn track the appropriate weeks listed), Attack any ships at his location, Stalk a particular ship, Incite a population to revolt, or Search the ocean for Treasure. However, he can only do one of these actions. Let's say I choose to Attack one of two ships in the Indian Ocean. I target one ship and flip the chit over. It happens to be a Passenger ship, with a Defense Value of 8 and a Notoriety icon of 1. As a Passenger ship, it cannot attack me, so I attempt to sink her. Again, I choose to push a resource, though this time I choose the Hull. This nets me a +1 modifier. I roll 2D6 and add the +1 and the result is a 10. I sunk the ship! But, do I salvage it to upgrade the Nautilus later or do I add it my sunken ship track for VPs at the and of the game? I opt to salvage it, gaining no VPs for it, but once I get enough salvage parts I can refit the Nautilus with some better attack or defense equipment or better search abilities. I move the notoriety track one space due to the icon. I then elect to attack the second ship at my location, so I move the notoriety one more space, and flip the second chit. I reveals a frigate, which is a warship. It has an Attack value, and gets to attack the Nautilus first. The value is 6, so if it rolls a 6 or less on 2D6, it hits the submarine and I randomly determine the effect (either minus one Crew, Hull, or Nemo. If the Nemo, Crew, or Hull markers reach their last spot on their tracks, the game ends and I will most likely loose). After it attacks, I can counterattack, following the same procedure above. The frigate has a Defense of 10. After I push the Crew (again) and add my result, I get an 8. However, I can exhaust Ned Land for an additional +2 to tie and sink the ship, but it will cost me this once-per-game effect AND I deduct -3 VPs at the end of the game for having let Ned escape! Hmmm...decisions!

So as you can see, the game is all about resource management, risk assessment, and making the right decisions. Add to this which path to victory you wish to follow and the game strategy increases. If Nemo is Exploring, I earn bonus VPs for each treasure I find. However, I can't be too passive, because if the oceans fill up with ships, I will loose -50 VPs and, more than likely, the game. But, you get to change this path once during the game when Nemo reaches a certain point on his track. However, once chosen, Nemo is locked into this decision. Knowing when to flip your path, if at all, in the game is a crucial decision. In retrospect, the reason I feel I lost my games is once I realized my initial plan was not achievable, I switched too late in the game and ran out of time. 

Now I know I am leaving out a whole bunch of other stuff (such as more warships being added to the pile as your notoriety increases or as time passes...bad news travels fast and the nations of the world are on alert!) but there really is a lot going on in this game. The rules do make it very clear when and how things happen, but there is just enough randomness in the game to keep things fun and interesting. 

Upon conclusion of the game, (the time track passing 52 weeks, Nemo/Crew/Hull hit their last spots, the oceans fill with ships, the Maelstrom card is drawn, or the last ship is sunk) depending on which path to victory you chose, you add up all your VPs and consult the chart for your final game result. Needless to say, the more VPs you earned, the better your result. As a neat, storyline feature, you cross reference your result with Nemo's Commitment on a chart, and you get to read a brief synopsis of what happens in the world and the fate of Captain Nemo. 

What a fun game! Again, I was very pleased and impressed with how well the game plays, the complexity of the rules, and the fact that this was a single player game. I have to credit my friend Seth, via Jason (who already enjoys solo games and owns Legions of Darkness, also from Victory Point Games) for recommending this company and showing me how much fun I could have playing with myself. 

Wait...scratch that last part. /facepalm

Nemo's War is currently on sale for $29.95 and is available as a print-to-order game from Victory Point Games. 

Strength and honor, 

-Wicked