About game:

Levy & Campaign is definitely quite quickly becoming one of the fastest developing GMT Games game series. Of course, this is not coincidental and to large extent thanks to Volko Ruhnke. He not only designed a great system, but also built a group of devoted designers, developers and simply enthusiast further expanding the genre.


Now, the volumes in this series share similar core systems & mechanics, simulating medieval Levy of armies by individual great Lords and lesser Vassals, equipping of those armies with transport (such as Carts) and special Capabilities (such as crossbowmen, trebuchets, or stonecutters, to name a few). For each Campaign, players then form stacks of Command cards to preset the order that Lords will March, Forage, Siege, and so on. Logistics are key, as Provender must be gathered and moved to Feed Troops in the field or suffer curtailed Lords’ Service and Disband.

However, each installment of the series features widely different geographic, cultural, and political settings, each with twists on the core rules to help bring out these differences. Thanks to Francisco Gradaille we got Plantagenet: Cousins’ War for England, 1459 – 1485, already 4th title in the system, where we are moved to XV century England in order to witness three episodes for famous Wars of the Roses.

So would you stand-up to the task and manage to crush your opponents, gaining the eternal fame & loot for your family and place in history?

Number of players:

Of course, first and foremost this is a very good title for two players. However, due to the way how the Campaigns are built, it is also very solo-friendly – see may play-throughs for this!

Playing time:

We have here multiple scenarios, with shorter taking about 1.5 hour, large war scenarios each of them like 4-5 hours and epic, full campaign (three wars) where you definitely would need more than 10 hours of play.

Complexity:

This is already 4th installment in Levy & Campaign series so seasoned players will jump into it without any problems. On top of this, a lot of mechanics were significantly streamlined (no Sieges and Storms) so it might be one of the better entry points to the system..

What I like:
  • I appreciate the new & fresh Levy & Campaign game mechanics and their interdependency very much. We have here the Influence Points, which are both victory points and way to pay for many actions. Intentionally omitting sieges and storms makes the game much quicker. The simultaneous fight in battles allows attacker much better chances of success. All of this combined creates a very appealing and tasty experience!
  • It is the series rule but I need to mention it – definitely the game benefits a lot from having so many scenarios; you can familiarize with the mechanics in smaller, you can learn battle mechanism in one of them and then jump to each of the three wars – or maybe and epic campaign which connects all of them!
  • In order to learn the game, I love to explore it and experience on my own, before sessions with colleagues. Thus I am really glad to see how suitable for the solitaire play Plantagenet is. You can play it alone with random campaign cards or you can invite kids as great randomizes! 
  • One can immediately see that GMT Games stands-up to its reputation and the components are simply gorgeous – with mounted maps, beautiful cards and detailed graphics.
What I do not like or would like to see in the game:
  • Some of the larger battles can be really time consuming and require a dice-rolling fests. That can impact the game momentum – however, usually not happens so often as the Lord might die and it is safer to go into exile!

  • The map – especially in southern part of England – is definitely too crowded and can get messy with all favor / depletion markers – not to mention seats and moving lords. Would love to see it definitely larger or designed in slightly other way.
For whom?

Of course, for all the fans of Levy & Campaign series, willing to experience something new. However, for all wondering where to start their journey with that system – Plantagenet seems like a perfect place to consider. As mentioned, a lot of game mechanics were streamlined which will definitely shorten learning curve.

More about the game:

And now let us have a look at the materials created by me plus some pictures of components:

A thorough explanation – with examples – how to play Plantagenet.
Look at the full array of components – game ready to play.
Close-up on the Lords mats.
Campaign underway – Henry VI facing Warwick (Kingmaker) in London!
Great Storage Solution from Cube4Me!

VERDICT:

I am ardent fan of Levy & Campaign series. Still, Plantagenet managed to surprise me positively with its fresh approach and much streamlined gameplay. Using the Influence Points as both currency for many actions as well as victory points was genial. Removal of Sieges and Storms allowed the gameplay to be much quicker. All in all, a fantastic installment which will be played by me very often!

More reviews to come!