Asmodee – Abyss – Game of Strategy.

Product Information

Abyss really takes place on 3 levels. First, the players must recruit ally cards, either via the games exploration mechanic or by requesting their support in the council. Once a player has enough allies, they can use them to recruit a powerful Lord. These Lords come with special abilities and sometimes keys to the city. Acquire enough keys and you can take control of a location, earning you extra influence points. The game ends when enough Lords have been recruited, at that point, the player with the most influence points wins. Game Components: The artwork in Abyss is absolutely fantastic!

Abyss Review | Board Games | Zatu Games UK | Seek Your Adventure

The cost requirements show a number of ‘bubbles’ showing the exact number of different ally races required, including one ally type that must be used, plus a number which is the minimum total value of allies required (the illustrated rules do a much better job of explaining this, it is simpler than it sounds!).Firstly, there is no limit to the number of allies that a player can have in their hand, so it is difficult to physically hold them all. It is unclear if these are meant to be kept secret, but we find ourselves laying them out face-up so that it is easy for players (and other players) to see what they have. As long as everyone agrees to this we’ve never found it a problem. Leviathan allows you to play from 2 to 5 players and can also be combined with the Abyss Kraken expansion. The game board depicts the council itself, in stunning detail, and has space for cards from the main three elements of the game – the depths, the council, and the court.

Andean Abyss Second Printing | Board Games | Zatu Games UK Andean Abyss Second Printing | Board Games | Zatu Games UK

The small ally cards are pretty simple, coming in different values within each race, from one to five. These races/values are used to recruit lords. The lord cards are a little more involved; each is unique, with its own name, (fantastic) artwork, value, power and cost.

The cost of each lord in Abyss is shown in the bottom right corner. There will be a number which is the total strength of allies required and the colour that must be used surrounds this, there may also be pearls indicating the number of additional factions that will also need to be used to pay for swaying the lord. I think theme wise that you pay these jellyfish and seahorses for the lords to eat, which is kind of rough, but the lords do look like they would eat them. Abyss is a game about undersea politics (yes, that's a thing) where two to four players compete to have the most influence, by affiliating allies, defeating monsters, lobbying the council, recruiting lords, and controlling locations. Components

How To Play Abyss | Board Games | Zatu Games UK

Next, a player will add the collected Lords to their Senate Chamber. The Senate Chamber will be created as an inverted pyramid, with five cards at the top, four cards under that and so on. Lords must be placed from left to right, top to bottom. If you add a Lord that you do not have the colour of already present in your Senate Chamber, then you take a coat of arms token and place it on the newly laid Lord. If the colour of the Lord is already present the coat of arms token is moved to the Lord with the most influence points. The Coat of Arms token (one for each colour) must always be on the most influential Lord. Master Of The Locations

Zatu has an excellent range of games and for most of them the best prices too. Delivery is always fast and I have never received a game in bad condition. 10/10 would recommend.