Now or Never is a board game released in 2022 by Red Raven Games. It is designed by Ryan Laukat, who is known for his innovative and engaging game designs. The game falls under the categories of City Building, Exploration, Fantasy, and Science Fiction, offering a unique blend of gameplay elements.
Game Components of Now or Never
Player Boards: Each player has a town board and a personal hero board to track gear, abilities, specialists, health, and mana.Building Tiles: A 4×5 grid of building tiles for each player to construct their village.Quest Cards: Three types of quest cards (basic, advanced, and artifact) with specific requirements and rewards.Specialist Cards: Players start with two specialists and can recruit more during the game.Season Board: Tracks the six rounds of the game, including the market, gear, and villager tokens.Resource Tokens: Wooden tokens for resources, which can be challenging to manage due to their size.Storybook: For story mode, containing 40-50 pages of narrative per chapter, specific to each character.
How To Setup Now or Never
To set up the game, each player chooses a character with unique abilities and receives a starting hand of quest cards and two specialists. The season board is prepared with the market and gear for sale. The quest card decks are shuffled and placed near the board. Players also set up their town boards with the 4×5 grid of available buildings. The game is played over six rounds, each representing a season, and players need a significant amount of table space due to the numerous components.
Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective
Competitive Strategy: Players compete to rebuild their ancestral village and guide their people home.Asymmetrical Characters: Each of the four characters has unique abilities.Building and Resource Management: Players build buildings in a grid, starting from the outermost border, and manage resources to house villagers and earn production points.Combat and Exploration: Fight off monsters to protect villagers and explore a fantasy landscape with bizarre places, technology, and people.Specialist Actions: Hire specialists to perform special actions.Story Mode: Play through six chapters with a storybook, making choices and reading narrative sections specific to each character.Objective: The player with the most points, earned through building, completing quests, and other actions, wins the game. In story mode, the player with the highest total reputation over six games also receives a bonus.
Player Experience
**Now or Never** offers a rich and immersive experience, particularly for fans of eurogames and narrative-driven games. Players must carefully plan their building choices and resource management to maintain an advantage. The game features two modes: Standard and Story, with the latter adding a deep narrative layer through a storybook. The solo mode, which uses an automa bot, provides a challenging and replayable experience. However, the game is known for its complexity and long playtime, especially with multiple players.
Pros
High Replay Value: Includes a campaign mode with six chapters, solo mode, and variations in gameplay.Deep Strategy: Requires long-term planning and strategic decision-making.Immersive Narrative: Story mode offers a unique narrative experience with character-specific storylines.Robust Mechanics: Combines building, resource management, combat, and exploration in a cohesive way.Visual Appeal: Features high-quality artwork by Ryan Laukat.
Cons
Complex Setup: Requires a lot of time and table space to set up.Long Playtime: Can take 1-3 hours to play, especially with multiple players.Resource Management Issues: Large resource tokens can be difficult to manage.Limited Player Interaction: Some players find the interaction between players to be limited, especially in larger games.
Personal Thoughts on Now or Never
**Now or Never** is ideal for players who enjoy complex strategy games with a strong narrative component. It is particularly suited for those who appreciate eurogames and are willing to invest time in learning and playing the game. While it may not be the best fit for players seeking quick, casual games, it offers a rewarding experience for those who enjoy deep gameplay and immersive storytelling. The solo mode is highly recommended for those who prefer playing alone, as it provides a unique and challenging experience.
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