Join us at Pandemonium to learn and play The Great Wall, a game we’re featuring by popular request! You’re especially welcome if you’ve never before played hobby board games (and are curious about where to start), but know that this is a longer session (4 hours) with a game that is higher on the complexity end (though likely intuitive after the first round).

WHAT IS THIS GAME ABOUT?

“In [The Great Wall], [1-4] players take the roles of generals of an ancient Chinese empire who lead the defense against ruthless hordes. Players will gather allied advisors, manage their workers, recruit armies and raise and defend the Great Wall! As the game progresses, you will often need to negotiate and interact with other players but make no mistake – there can be only one winner!”

– From the Publisher

The Great Wall (1-4 players) is an ambitious game that tries to blend courtly drama with a tower-defense board game. Mechanistically, this is abstracted by a worker-placement game where you’ll need to outmaneuver each other – via canny timing and asymmetric ability development – in order to collect the most resources, hire the most soldiers, and – ultimately – slay the most foes.

And speaking of those foes (!), they are attacking each round, so everyone at the table needs to be committed to out-cooperating each other to keep the realm safe.

The game, unfortunately, doesn’t show its coolest feature (although this picture on Board Game Geek does): you actually build the Great Wall (or at least a portion of it) through physically stacking cardboard models on the map. Awaken Realms (the publisher) is known for their production value, and this is a game with a stunning table presence. 

LOGISTICS

We will do our best to finish the game on time (hence starting at 5:00 p.m.). Nevertheless, know this is a complex game, and we will do our best to get the most out of the time we have.

Note also: this game has a dedicated fully cooperative mode. Although brutally difficult by every report read, we can elect to play it. Each session, we’ll do a table poll for the players on whether or not they want to play competitively or cooperatively.

So if that sounds like something you’d want to try, do sign up for the event! Note that this weekend we’ll be demoing the retail reprint of the game, but if folks enjoy it, we may come back with the 5th player expansion and several other extra bits! Nevertheless, if this doesn’t sound like a game you want to try, stay tuned to our Events Calendar for future events on Saturday and Sunday.

RULES FOR ATTENDING: 

 

• Proof of vaccination is no longer required. If COVID levels rise, masking will be required. We will make an announcement about this on our website and social media if re-instated. 
• Photos may be taken at events to be used in our social media or promotional materials. Please inform the staff member running the event if you do not want your photo taken.
• Advance online registration is required.
• Anyone not registered in an ongoing event will not be allowed in the event space to maintain capacity limits.
• Food is not allowed in our event space. Drinks are allowed.