New game has something special to offer

As an abstract strategy fan from way back I’m always interested in new games in the genre.

While the first decade of this millennium was notable for the release of games such as Arimaa, Hive, Tazaar, Dvonn, Slither and several others, the last few years have been woefully thin in terms of abstract start games with lasting impact.

So when I found Sovrano on Kickstarter.com recently I was intrigued.

The game is being launched by Cambium Games (cambium games.com), and designer Nick Chira. It is still well short of the goal of $10,000.

For an abstract strategy game where you can’t exactly add features as the fundraising grows, that is a lot of money. The reason in this case though is a good one, the game is being offered in wood, the board and the pieces, which gives it that heirloom look from the get go.

But is Sovrano a game you will want to leave to the next generation, like the games mentioned earlier here?

Well maybe.

“The game of Sovrano is a straight-forward and easy to learn game of strategy and cunning,” states the ruleset, which is available online for a look.

“However, beneath the relative simplicity lies a depth of complexity that will keep the game interesting and re-playable.

“Assemble your guards and prepare to lead your emperor to the throne and absolute power!”

Sovrano is a strategy board game for two players, as most are.

“The object of the game is to be the player that scores the most points by capturing one or both of the tower-spaces located at opposite sides of the middle row.

“Players must also protect their emperors and attempt to move them to the board’s center space – the throne.”

Having the dual elements within the game is a nice touch.

Each player has one emperor, eight guards to protect him and capture towers with, and two archers to supply support fire from a distance.

They suggest a typical game of Sovrano will last between 15 and 30 minutes.

So how is the game won?

“The game of Sovrano is about who can gain the most points throughout the game by capturing Tower-spaces. Tower-spaces are at opposite ends of the middle row and are marked with towers,” explains the rules.

“Points are granted to a player who has any piece on one or both of the Tower-spaces.

“Each Tower grants one point to the player who possesses it at the start of each turn. Any piece, including the Emperor may hold Tower-spaces and receive the points from them.

“Three points are given to the player who takes and holds the Throne-space with their Emperor. Any piece may occupy the Throne-space, but only the Emperor may end the game and receive the points for holding it.”

The player who is able to move their Emperor to the Throne and is able to hold it until the start of his or her next turn receives three points and ends the game.

Since you must ultimately have the most points when a game ends there is strategy in when you move to the throne for the win.

Players may move up to three different pieces each turn, and must move at least one.

You may not pass on moving completely and you may not move the same piece more than once. All pieces are only able to move one space per turn.

This has a somewhat Arimaa feel which is not a bad thing as Arimaa is a modern classic.

As you might expect each of the three pieces has unique features.

• The Emperor is able to move one space in every direction (including diagonally) and is the only piece allowed to do so. The Emperor is also permitted to attack/take opponent pieces from one space in all directions.

• Guards may move one space forward, backward, left, or right. They may attack/take opponent pieces that are one space in front, behind, or to the right or left of them. Guards may not move or attack diagonally.

In addition Guards may counter attack.

Counter-Attacking is an optional movement that is granted only to Guards. It is an out-of-turn action, which means that it occurs during the attacking player’s turn and before that player makes any other actions.

In order to counter-attack, your Guard must meet two criteria:

* It is in line with the attacking piece and the piece that was attacked.

* After the attacking piece has finished its attack, your Guard must be in a position where it could attack the attacking piece.

The counter attacking feature is a neat one, as it allows out-of-turn play that is not often seen in such games.

And the Archers:

• Archers may move one space forward, backward, left, or right. They may not move diagonally.

*Archers may only attack and take opponent pieces that are two diagonal spaces away. They can only do this when they have a clear line of sight to the target (no pieces between the Archer and the target). Archers do not move to the space they took a piece from.

You see this sort of reach-ability in some chess variant games, so it’s not new, but again it is interesting.

This is a game with some really nice elements to explore, and because of that it will have some definite replay value, at least in the learning stages.

It’s a game with depth not that of chess perhaps, but in the realm of Camelot and International Checkers, both classics, so mark this one worth grabbing, and just maybe you will discover something special.