Introduction and Initial Thoughts on CL

Paul: Hi, everyone. This is Paul Burkhard, a gamer from Colorado. I am a big fan of Camelot Legends, having originally picked it up based upon Tom's good review posted on Boardgamegeek.com.

Actually, it was not at all the sort of game that I would ordinarily purchase. I tried playing Magic: The Gathering many years ago and found that I just didn't like the idea of playing this card to nullify that card and combining these cards to give me some other power, etc. I had a great deal of difficulty keeping track of What was What and Who was Who. So, for the most part, I stayed away from CCGs and other similar games.

But I am a sucker for theme, nice artwork and King Arthur, so I bought the game.

For a "non-card-game-with-variable-powers" person, such as myself, the first look at the cards was a little overwhelming. Lots of text and lots of numbers. However, I talked my 11 year-old into trying it with me. We stumbled through the first couple of games and found that we liked it! Soon, my wife and father-in-law learned to play as well and it was declared a big hit.

As many have mentioned, the game is high on theme. There are a ton of Character cards, each extremely well illustrated by a number of renowned Fantasy artists. The game's designer has done an excellent job of formulating character skills and statistics that are true to the stories and legends surrounding King Arthur.

Gameplay consists of forming Questing Parties from the character cards in your hand. These cards are played into each of three play areas: Camelot, The Perilous Forest and Cornwall. As the game progresses, Quests are revealed for the play areas. For the most part, the completion of a Quest requires a combination of skills and abilities across a number of characters in a party. Some quests will require characters with Chivalry, some with Cunning, etc. When a player completes a quest he is rewarded with Victory Points and (sometimes) extra skills and abilities.

As I previously stated, I am not much of a fan where "This Card" cancels "That Card," but for me, Camelot Legends works, on many levels.