Review: Leder Games’ Oath is one of the best board games of the year


Ouija boards are fun to play with because they foster a shared illusion. If I am not moving the iron and you are not moving it either, then it must be a spirit trying to speak to us. There is a similar type of delusion in Oath: Chronicles of the Empire and Exile, the latest from Leder Games. Everyone at the table is confident that they are playing a traditional strategy game, an improved version of Risk or Axis and allies. But just like that old hokey spirit board, Oath it is simply the facilitator of something much greater.

Oath it’s not really a strategy game. It is a complex, almost convoluted engine for generating stories. Played regularly with the same group of people, it becomes more than just a contest of wills. It’s an elaborate RPG in the clothes of a complex strategy title. And that’s just part of what makes it one of the best dining experiences of the year.

At the end of each game of Oath, the winner makes one of four different promises. Then at the start of the next game, they become the Ruling Chancellor and most likely the Oathkeeper as well. That vote completely changes the victory conditions for the next game.

The Oath of Supremacy, for example, wins by force of arms and force of influence. Games played against this oath sometimes look a lot like a traditional area control game. The Oathkeeper of Protection, however, wins by collecting and retaining the most loot. Games against this oath can seem more like an adventure game, heroes wandering the land one step ahead of a mighty despot.

A cloaked humanoid with a shadowed face, a furious and furious character, and an armed fox among other fantastic creatures.

Art depicting the player’s characters, shared on Twitter.
Image: Kyle Ferrin / Leather Games

The Guardian of the Oath of Devotion trades in information and must have the darkest secret. It is an abstract concept that represents the most powerful knowledge in your world. Played this way Oath it becomes a game of courtly intrigue and deception. Finally, the Oathkeeper of the People must always be a herdsman for the game’s non-player characters (NPCs). Resigning the chancellor who holds this oath feels like leading a revolution.

At the same time these votes are being made and tested, other players have a completely different way of winning. Vision cards represent potential game states, challenging ways to shoot for the moon, in some way, that can allow even the least powerful players to be victorious. They’re no more difficult to pull off than the extensive multi-round campaigns required to uphold or break the oaths outlined above, but they require stealth, time, and sometimes an almost supernatural grasp of the hidden information strewn across the table.

A woman with a hoe reads the sign language given by a sneaky man.

Art for some inhabitants of Oath, shared in Twitter.
Image: Kyle Ferrin / Leather Games

The true magic of OathHowever, and what sets it apart from other high-concept strategy games, are its NPCs. These Denizen cards inhabit the World Deck, which also houses the in-game Visions. Each and every one of these NPCs is unique, both in their art and in their powers. Some can be played on your bench, where they serve as advisors. Some must be played on the map, where they are set in a particular region. But they all have their own personalities, and each of them is classified into a themed outfit.

Cards with the Home suit represent the forces of love, community, and kindness, while the Beast suit is filled with powerful animal creatures. Order features military units and just a hint of totalitarianism, while Discord is full of weird new quirks and restrictions. The Nomad suit is equally disturbing and introduces new characters from outside the game: an evil twin, a magical horse, rival warlords, and more. Finally, the Arcane Suit represents magic and wonder in your world.

It is through the interaction of all these NPCs and each player’s unique objectives that a story begins to unfold. Once the players internalize the rules into themselves, the elaborate stories begin to emerge organically, rising from the table like a mist.

A masked humanoid holding a scepter, dressed in massive clothing that otherwise concealed his true form.

The Chancellor, via Twitter.
Image: Kyle Ferrin / Leather Games

I’ll never forget when, in our second game together, a friend recruited a massive army with the help of a powerful werewolf and his lovable animal playmates. In that same game, a wizarding school displaced a group of rangers, transforming a powerful offensive region used to gather soldiers into a secret enclave that traded in mysteries. It is as if the NPCs themselves participated in determining the direction of the story. The game mechanics actually reinforce that through a clever sway system that shifts power to and from the game board. The brilliant and evocative art of Kyle ferrin, who also helped create the world of Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right, elevate the whole experience.

At the same time, the terrain players are on, the materials of the game world itself, are constantly changing and changing. For example, there are three regions in Oath named Cradle, Provinces and Hinterland. Using the large, poster-like cards that come in the box, players will shuffle and rearrange the content of these regions from game to game. The result is a world that feels amorphous, almost dreamlike.

The interesting thing is that the cost of moving through these three regions will always be the same. Regardless of the type of terrain that exists, movement between Cradle areas will always be cheap and movement in Hinterland will be expensive. So it also moves from one side to the other Among these regions. In this way, the geographic center of power changes from game to game, even when political power is also changing.

A selection of Oath's pawns, including Chancellor Wood.  The art on the cards and the playmat is bright and cheerful, with fantasy creatures and woodland creatures intermingled.

Photo: Charlie Hall / Polygon

As this whirlwind of conflicting regions, NPCs, and player objectives shifts and mutates across the table, so does its cast of characters. The winner can literally eliminate his choice of the game’s inhabitants, permanently pushing the world toward Order, Discord, and the other suits of cards. At the same time, the players themselves develop a rich shared history. One betrayal breeds another, sparking deep-seated rivalries and mistrust. Meanwhile, idle peace treaties and casual alliances can grow and consolidate into ties that can last for generations in the game. As designer Cole Wehrle told Polygon in an interview earlier this year, who win every game is not as important as excuse me they win.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Oathproduction values. I already mentioned Ferrin’s art, but the materials used to make this game are top-notch. It starts with the game board, which is actually much thicker and better made than some fancy mouse pads I’ve owned over the years. The pack is also perfect as it provides a place to store the tokens used during gameplay and a way to safely save the game world after you’ve finished playing. Everything contributes to the game getting on and off the table as quickly as possible.

The only limiting factor for this game, in my opinion, is the manual. It’s painfully dry and looks more like a preflight checklist for an exotic jet plane than a traditional consumer game. Fans of crunchy strategy games like GMT and Phalanx shouldn’t be intimidated in the least, but just about everyone else will need to study a little before, during, and long after their first game. the included Oath Playbook features a complete and annotated walkthrough of their first round of play, but even that feels incomplete to new players. Your best bet is, for better or for worse, the sea of ​​fan-made tutorials found on YouTube.

Despite those limitations, I am still completely in love with Oath: Chronicles of the Empire and Exile. Its complexity and narrative force create a virtuous cycle, making the game more and more interesting each time you visit it again. I think it represents the pinnacle of modern board game design, earning it a place in the Polygon collection for years to come.

Oath: Chronicles of the Empire and Exile was revised with a physical copy provided by Leder Games. Vox Media has affiliate associations. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.





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