Have you noticed that small text in the left hand corner of my blog? (Made you look didn’t I?) It actually says Michel’s Book/Boardgame/Movie review blog. One would almost forget that I love boardgames too, as my last post on a boardgame dates back to the beginning of this year. So, it’s time to change that and do a new review for a small but fun little dice game based on the popular anime Sword Art Online. And this one is for Rose (go check out her awesome blog if you haven’t already!) as I promised her this post quite a while back. Sorry it took me some time to finally get this one done, but hey I usually always try to keep my promises. On the box it says this is a boardgame, but quite honestly I think this is much more a dice game than a boardgame. But whatever label you put on this, it really doesn’t matter. It’s a fun game and one that you will like especially if you enjoyed the first season of the anime. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this, Sword Art Online takes place in 2022 where a popular virtual reality game is introduced to the world. However something goes horribly wrong and all the players become trapped in the game. And dying in the videogame, means dying in the real world as well. With that cheery note done, let’s go check out what we have here!
Components
Even though this is a pretty small box, I have to say that it contains a lot of pretty cool stuff. The first thing to notice are the awesome (and very cute) special dice that are included. I have made an enlarged picture for you guys down below, so you can see them better. Yes those totally are the faces of a couple of the main characters of the anime. We have six of them in this game, and of course Kirito and Asuna are amongst them. The characters themselves are depicted on six oversized cards that provide information you will need during the game. We then have nine item cards that showcase some things that will help you as the game progresses. Also included are some tokens, cards that represent the dangers you will face during the game, and of course the set would not be complete without a rules booklet. I honestly have to say that it isn’t the best rules guide ever written, but it does pretty much get the job done for the most part. All in all the components are very decent, and bring the anime to life in a good way.
Game Overview
So, how does this game work? Basically it has you take on the role of one of the characters from the anime and fight your way through, all the way to the top level of Aincrad. The weapons at your disposal are dice. Yes, they won’t really do much damage in real life (unless you throw them at someone that you don’t like really hard and really fast), but in this game they are your offensive weapons. Depending on which character you choose, you have special attack paterns which you use to defeat the enemies of the floor you are currently on. You have three floors to get through in total until you reach the final boss. Whenever you clear a floor, the characters level up and get more powerful skills at their disposal. But that of course also means that on the next floor the enemies become more powerful, so you will need those newly acquired skills. This is pretty much what they call a “push your luck” dicegame, though it also requires a bit of strategy.
To defeat the enemies on a floor you roll the dice and compare them to your character card. Different combinations cause different levels of damage. So it is up to you to decide which attacks to use agains the current enemy. You are allowed to re-roll your dice two times and that’s where the challenge lies. Are you happy with the current results, or will you try to re-roll hoping for a better and higher level of damage? Whatever you choose to do, don’t forget the enemies fight back too. And when they cause enough damage to you, you die and the game is over. The fun thing is you can chain your attacks with other characters (in a solo game you play two characters at the same time) to cause even more damage…..if you are lucky. The game continues until either one of the player characters die, or the final floor is reached and the ultimate boss is destroyed.
Difficulty
This game is not the most difficult one to learn, but it will take a bit of time to figure out exactly how everything works. The hardest thing really is to determine when to use which attack. Sometimes it can be a good thing to use a relatively easy dice roll in order to cause a low level damage attack. But then again, that won’t win you the game, so there are also times when you just have to take some risks. Winning the game is not easy, but it’s also not impossible. Of course with dice a lot of luck is involved, but I also liked the fact that the game encourages you to use some strategy. I found myself thinking a lot in this game calculating what to do, how much damage I could still take and maybe use a stronger attack in a later turn. With some trial and error pretty much everyone will be able to conquer this game, and learn it’s many secrets.
The Verdict
This is just one of those quick games that you can pick up and play whenever you have some time to waste. I loved the fact that this game really managed to capture the heart and soul of the anime. As you play through the scenarios and encounter some of the enemies and situations that Kirito and his friends found themselves in, I really felt myself thinking back to how much I loved the anime. It’s not for the first time that I really have this huge urge in me to rewatch the anime, seeing as I am a huge fan and haven’t even written a review for any of it’s seasons on my blog. But…that is a story for another time. Sword of Fellows is a fun little game that can be enjoyed by anyone, even those who haven’t seen the anime. The dicerolling mechanics work well, and it has quite a bit of replayability too as the floors are randomised each time you play the game.Each game takes about 30 minutes to play, and set up time is minimal. It will probably not be a game that you will pick up each day, but it is one that will return to the table quite a few times whenever you have some time to spare. So…..LINK START!!
I give Sword Art Online: Sword of Fellows a 8 out of 10 score.
That actually sounds like awesome fun. I’d love to have a go at some point.
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It really is a fun game! And even if you can’t find players to play it with, solo works really well too. It can be found on amazon, and it’s not too expensive either 😊 Hope you will enjoy it when you give it a go 😀
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Ooh. This looks really good. I only became aware of the existence of this recently but was immediately curious, as I like SAO. Might have to look into it… though getting my board gaming group to play anything that isn’t Gloomhaven at the moment is an effort and a half.
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I haven’t played Gloomhaven (yet) but I have heard that it’s totally amazing (and it looks that way as well 😊😊). So can understand that it’s hard to get your gaming group to quit playing that one 😊😊
The good thing about this one though: It plays solo, so even if you can’t get your gaming group to quit playing it…you can go at it yourself! 😊😊 Hope you will enjoy it!
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Gloomhaven is really good! I just would quite like a change now and then 🙂 Still, I can’t really complain too much I guess. It’s been a pain in the arse to get these guys together since two of them had kids (not with each other) so I should take whatever time I can!
I’ll think about it. I’ve been trying to downsize my board game collection a bit as a lot of them aren’t getting played, but, hmm…
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Hahah…not with each other lol 😂😂😂 Sorry I had to laugh at that one 😂😂
Oh man…I hear you. I have tried to put a stop on me bying games too…but so far that has been really hard. Way too many fun games out there. The good thing is though: this one is really a very small box so it doesn’t take up much space 😊😊
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Ooh nope, I get stuck following the rules of snakes and ladders, I’d never get to start this! 😀 Good comprehensive review though!
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Haha: no worries😊 The thing with games such as these is probably it’s best to get someone else to learn the basics: or head over to Youtube. That works very well too😊
Thanks for the kind words! Always appreciate it😉😊
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I know, that I have crazy iseas so often and this time I have just another crazy idea – we can play in boardgames via whatsapp or any other video communicator. Of course it’s not the same what to play in person but when you can be at the same place with your friends and still want to play with them, this can be a solution 🙂
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Well…that isn’t such a crazy idea at all 😊😊 In fact I think there are people out there that are already playing games in that way. It’s a great idea, and very fun to try out with games. In that way you can play with people from all over the world, and who you might never meet in real life 😊
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Exactly and by crazy idea I didn’t mean anything bad. By crazy I often mean about something spontaneous or unusual 🙂
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Haha!😊 Well…I love spontaneous and unusual ideas any day of the week: so I say, keep them coming 😊😊
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They’re making life more funny and more interesting 🙂
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I love the dice, and I’m not even a SAO fan. They just look so happy you rolled them!
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Haha…They do, don’t they? 😂😂 Yeah..the dice are seriously awesome 😊😊
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Wow man, this looks like a lot of fun! I do love strategy games (chess being my all-time favourite), but boardgames are a lot of fun when you got friends who are as enthusiastic about it too. And your review definitely makes me want to give these games a try! Thanks for sharing man. 😛
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No problem! It really is a fun game to play. Not too complicated, but still containing a lot of depth😊😊 And it doesn’t take up a lot of time, which makes it the perfect game to play during weekdays 😊😊
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With all the apps, and video games, I’m surprised that there’s still a market for board-games. I haven’t played one in over a decade.
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You would be suprised 😊 Boardgames are more popular than ever, and more of them are appearing every month. And in quite a number of genres too. There are even boardgames based on videogames now! 😊😊
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This looks like a fun game. Of course, I love the SOA theme which makes for some wonderful artwork 🙂
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*SAO
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Lol 😂😂
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It really is a fun game. The great thing is that it doesn’t take up a lot of time to set up/play, so it’s great to play when you only have an hour or so to play 😊😊
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I never knew you could go for such nice and detailed reviews on board games. I had always wondered because it was always in your description whenever I come to read your posts! Great post Michel!
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Haha…yeah…I was really excited to finally review a boardgame again. It really was fun to write one of these again, as I really love boardgames 😊😊 Thank you! 😊
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I actually have a couple of board games on my Amazon wishlist thanks to you Michel. I think I might add this one as well.🤗
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Haha: yeah because of a request I received I will be doing a new post about the top solo boardgames: so…you will probably be adding more soon😂😂 Oh well: guess that makes up for all the books I had to add to my to read list lol😂😂
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😁😂🤣
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Those dice are so cute 😀
This sounds like a fun little dice game 🙂 There seems to be a lot of anime with their own boardgames. I’ve never had much desire to play them (I’m more into classic games like Cluedo and card games), but after reading this post I think I’ll give this one a try. It seems like it would be great for the little board/card game party, I hold every year around Christmas 😀 Thanks for sharing 😀
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Well, you would be surprised. There aren’t so many anime with their own games. Attack on Titan does have a couple of cool games, and then there are some upcoming Robotech games (though I guess technically that isn’t anime). This one is great fun though…Hope you will enjoy it, as it’s one of those really small, but still quite a lot of fun and easy to set up games. Thanks as always for your great comment 😊😊
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Yeah, I noticed that Attack on Titan had a few games 🙂 It also has a version of Monopoly which seems like it would be awesome to play 😀
The more popular anime like Sailor moon, Naruto, One Piece and Dragon ball Z have board games. But they don’t seem as fun as this one 🙂
Glad you enjoyed your game 😀
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Attack on Titan has a really fun deckbuilding game. Sadly the creators of the game have not really supported it as there have never been any expanisions for it. But still the game is fun 😊
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I don’t know this anime but the game looks fun based on the dice alone! Sounds like it plays well, too!
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it is a really great anime (it’s actually one of my favorites and I am a huge fan of it), but yes this game really is great fun indeed 😊😊And those dice are just simply put: Awesome 😊😊
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Sounds like a game I would enjoy, as I like the anime and it doesn’t take too long to play. Dice can do quite a bit of damage, as I learned from watching friends recklessly roll in DnD. One concern I have with SAO games is that if you are defeated you might die in real life too.
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Lol…well it seems that particulare glitch is not present in this game, as I failed a few times already and am still here. Unless this is some alternate reality and I have already died 🤔🤔
Lol…well reckless dicerolling should just be prohibited 😂😂
Seriously though…this is a fun game, and really one worth checking out 😊
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