Post by chis on Jun 25, 2015 19:52:41 GMT
Eden is a science-fiction skirmish game published by the small French company Taban Miniatures. As a player, you will guide a small band (3-6 models) of survivors as they attempt to survive (or conquer, or destroy!) in the harsh world mankind has created for itself.
While it is a small game in terms of model count and board size, Eden offers a wealth of tactical options and a rich and varied aesthetic. In this post I’ll take you on a whistle-stop tour of the background and rules for the game and hopefully explain why it is worthy of your consideration.
tl;dr - you should be playing this game.
The world of Eden
Eden is set amongst the ruins of Europe, sometime in the middle of the 23rd century. The end of the world has been and gone, and left the European nations as we understand them all but a distant memory. Amidst the remains of civilisation, various factions struggle to survive and eke out what they consider a decent life. Of course, opinions on what counts as a ‘good life’ vary as wildly in these times as they did before the apocalypse – where some seek only to survive, others seek to rebuild, while yet more seek to control, or subjugate, or simply to burn everyone and everything. Resources are scarce, conflict is rife, and alliances are short-lived. What a time to be alive!
The factions
The world of Eden has grown quite quickly since its first releases in late 2009. From the initial wave of four starter sets, there are now ten factions to choose from. What follows is a short summary of each of them.
The Jokers gang are an eastern European faction of vicious thugs with a circus fetish. Packed with clowns, tumblers, strongmen, trained animals and the like, the Jokers rely on dirty tricks, ranged attacks and occasional bursts of ultraviolence to pound their more civilised foes.
The Matriarchy is a militant order of warrior-priestesses and their poor unfortunate male slaves. Matriarchy play is defined by the relationship between sister and slave – the sisters mainly have abilities that allow them to benefit from the presence of slaves or otherwise improve their slaves’ abilities.
The ISC is the remains of a UN robotics and AI initiative. Designed to preserve human culture as it was, the robots of the ISC now strike out at all those who would attempt to rebuild something new. While low in numbers, the ISC drones are nevertheless powerful and well-armoured opponents.
The Bamaka tribe are the descendants of the victims of terrible genetic experimentation. Drawn together by their Chakas or chiefs, they have migrated from Africa to Europe in search of a safe land to call home. The Bamakas are very much a ‘good guy’ faction (reminiscent in their fluff of Confrontation orcs), with a variety of tough fighters, sneaky scouts, ‘magic’, and everything in between.
The Resistance are the remains of humanity as it was before the apocalypse, kept preserved in underground vaults by the ISC. Following the apocalypse, they have dared to dream of freedom, no matter what it might bring. This is a high tech faction, armed with a variety of advanced weaponry, albeit with a limited lifespan (aka battery power!) in combat.
The Convoy are a ragtag band of varied survivors drawn together by a desire to ensure mankind’s survival. To that end, they travel the continent uncovering and protecting sources of perhaps the most valuable resource left in the world: clean untainted water. Another quite varied faction with a real ‘Walking Dead survivors’ vibe.
The Horde is comprised of the dregs of humanity and the wild beasts created by the apocalypse. Brought together by the dominating will of the strongest amongst them, they want nothing more than to tear down anything left standing. A horde force is a pack of bloodthirsty animals and abhumans, controlled by tamers and masters who can provide them with buffs and turn them into a terrifying force of nature.
The Askaris are the unfortunate consequence of an attempt to create the perfect human. Come the apocalypse, all that is left is an insectile hive-mind of brutish, genetically-engineered warriors led by the more humanoid (but equally inhuman) Janissaries. Askaris are another low model-count force like the ISC, but each model is a powerful fighter and can be upgraded to best defeat your foes. Think Dirz in the future!
The Nephilim are an alien race who suffered their own apocalypse and crashed to Earth in the remains of their spaceship. Adrift in a new and hostile world, they are nevertheless determined to survive. They bring with them hideous biological Nergal weaponry with a variety of interesting effects.
Dante’s Angels are the latest faction to be released, comprised of vicious murders, torturers and thugs who see the end of the world as divine punishment for man’s sins. With this in mind they set forth to punish the deserving (i.e. everyone!) under the command of the bike-riding Seraphim. A very ‘Mad Max’ faction.
Let’s talk about rules – the basics
A game of Eden is played on a 60cm square playing area and lasts for five rounds. Normal game size is 100 points, after which the board can start to be a bit cramped. 100 points equates to anything from three models (for ISC and Askaris) to six (Jokers and Matriarchy).
Every model has a corresponding stat card, and because most models are named characters, you may only have one of each in a force. Let’s take a look at a stat card and go through the salient details.
This is Lamas of Dante’s Angels, a crazed little girl with a chainsaw. At the top of her card is her faction icon and name, and below that are some words that indicate what type of fighter she is (in this case, she is just a normal ‘human’). Next to this is her cost of 20 points.
Surrounding a picture of her model are four clusters of icons and numbers that refer, broadly speaking, to areas of her body – referred to in the rules as limbs. Each limb has four aspects:
Setting up a game
To set up a game, you’ll need a 60cm square space to play; about 6 pieces of scenery; a tape measure, a bunch of d6; some counters in several colours; and your models and their stat cards. There are also two other types of card you’ll need, which I’ll explain shortly.
The first thing to do is decide on which fighters you will use, up to the value of 100 points. You’ll also have to decide which of your fighters is your leader – this is usually the fighter with the highest PSI. You then choose a hand of tactical cards, which are cards you can use at the start of each game round to gain bonuses or surprise your opponent. You also choose a mission card, which explains your personal victory conditions for the game – each player has their own objectives and ways to earn victory points, which may be revealed or kept secret depending on the card. Next you create a pool of strategy points (SP), equal to the combined PSI values of your fighters. You will use these for a variety of purposes in the game, primarily bidding for turn order and activating some special abilities. Then, the scenery is set up and you deploy your models and any necessary counters as specified by your mission card. You’re ready to go!
Turn order
Each turn starts with a bid to see who goes first. Players secretly pick up any number of their strategy point tokens and reveal them simultaneously. The winner of this bet may then choose to play one of his tactical cards – to do so costs 2 SP. Afterwards, his opponent may do the same. The winner then chooses the first player, who selects one of his fighters to activate. He declares the fighter’s name and its SPD value – at which point his opponent may decide to interrupt with a fighter with a higher SPD value. If he does, he gets to activate that fighter first! Unless the first player has a fighter with a higher SPD value, in which case he can interrupt the interruption, and so on.
Either way, when a fighter is activated, you get to spring into action with that fighter. Each fighter starts a turn with 3 action points (AP), which it can spend to move, attack, charge, use special abilities, or carry out actions specified on the player’s mission card (e.g. collecting salvage). A fighter does not have to use all its AP while activated – indeed, it’s often a good idea to keep hold of some, in case they need to defend themselves. Once a fighter has finished its activation, the other player gets to choose and activate one of their fighters – bearing in mind that interruptions may occur as explained above.
Once all models have been activated (or both players have decided to pass on activating) the turn ends with various game effects being resolved (e.g. fire, fear, poison). Every fighter goes back up to 3 AP, and the next turn starts.
Hand-to-hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat is as important in Eden as it is in any other wargame. That said, with the wide variety of mission cards available, it is perfectly possible for a game to proceed without any fighters coming to blows! Not every mission requires that you beat up your opponents, though it does usually help.
Combat is pleasingly simple in Eden. To attack a foe, a model must be in base-to-base contact and must spend 1 AP. The opponent can then announce how the target will respond: either by dodging, trying to hit back, or doing nothing at all. Dodging or hitting back costs AP though, so there are some tricky decisions to make in combat.
If the target does nothing, the attacker rolls a number of D6 equal to its CBT value, and another dice of a different colour to decide the hit's location. For every die result that is equal to or higher than the VIG of the target, the target crosses off a constitution point (CP) in the limb indicated by the location dice.
For example, Tukwila of the Bamakas attacks the Askari Defender. Tukwila has a CBT of 6, and rolls six D6, together with another die for the location. He rolls 6,5,4,2,5,1, and the location is 6. The Defender has a VIG of 5, so there are three successful rolls. The Defender therefore crosses off three CP in the location indicated – his legs.
If the opponent decides to hit back, both players roll a D6 and add their CBT value. The winner attacks first, then the loser gets to hit back. If the opponent decides to dodge, after the attack is rolled the defending player rolls a number of D6 equal to the target’s SPD value. For every result that is equal to or higher than the attacker’s CBT value, one of the wounds is cancelled.
For example, Melyne of the Matriarchy has just attacked Jurgen of the Convoy, and done four wounds to his head. Jurgen elected to dodge, and with his SPD of 4 rolls four D6. He rolls 5,4,3,5. Melyne has a CBT of 5, so two of these rolls were successful. Jurgen therefore only loses two CP in his head.
That’s pretty much it for close combat, asides from the various special rules that models have that can have an effect in combat. The only other things to note are protection (e.g. armour), a type of equipment that blocks wounds, and the ability to adjust the location roll by sacrificing successes from your attack roll.
For example, say your attacking model did 5 wounds to location 5, but it wasn’t enough to kill the target. However, you notice that the target only has 2 CP left in location 3. You could then choose to sacrifice two of your successes to change the location roll to location 3, leaving 3 wounds –more than enough to kill the target!
Ranged combat
Fighters that have ranged equipment may spend AP to make ranged attacks during their activation. There are three types of ranged weapon: shooting, blast and projectile.
Shooting attacks are resolved in a similar way to close combat, with a slight difference: you have to roll to hit before rolling to wound. First, the shooter rolls a number of dice equal to his CBT (plus any modifiers the weapon provides). For every result that is equal to or higher than the target’s SPD, he gets a dice for his wound roll. For the wound roll, he takes those successful dice (plus dice equal to the strength of the weapon), and then rolls them again, together with a location die. For each result that is higher than or equal to the target’s VIG, the shooter causes a wound to the limb indicated by the location die.
For example, Mark of the Convoy shoots at Folayan of the Bamakas with his hunting bow. He rolls dice equal to his CBT of 5, though his bow offers no modifier. He rolls 6,4,3,2,1 against Folyan’s SPD of 3 – giving him three successes. To wound, he then rolls three dice, and another two dice as the bow is strength 2, together with a location dice. He rolls 4,3,2,3,5 with a location of 4. Folyan’s VIG is 3, so he does four wounds to location 4 (her torso), which is enough to kill her – an arrow straight through the heart!
Projectile weapons use a small circular template, and do not require any rolling. Simply place the template anywhere within the range of the weapon and within line of sight. Models even partially covered by the template suffer the effects listed by the weapon (it might be an explosive blast, or a poison cloud, or a swarm of spiders, for example).
Blast weapons use a teardrop template. Again, no rolling is required, simply place the narrow end of the template over the base edge of the attacker. Any fighter even partially covered by the template suffers the effects of the weapon (for example burning or poison).
The good and the bad
So, that’s an overview of the rules. I’d like to finish off with a look at the pros and cons of Eden as a game.
The biggest attraction of this game is the simplicity of its rules, which nonetheless offer a great deal of tactical depth. The basic rules are easy to learn, but the various special rules that characters have and the interactions between them offer a lot of variety and decisions. The small model count means Eden is cheap for a wargame (the base rules are freely available online and are also packed into every starter set in booklet form), and the small board size and short game time (about 90 minutes is usual) mean it is convenient to play. You can easily fit two games into just over three hours. The model range is characterful and diverse – I’m confident that there’s something to suit every taste. The game is being actively supported, with new releases every two months. Finally, the main rulebook contains a bunch of fun optional rules – rules for interaction with terrain, non-player fighters, weather conditions and three- and four-player games are all included.
Eden is not without some drawbacks, however. Most notable, and no doubt familiar to English-speaking fans of Confrontation, is the translation from French, which is not always clear. Relatedly, the player base is small outside of France (though hopefully that will change!). Some games can be unbalanced, due to the unbalanced match-ups of factions, models, missions, or a combination of these. For example, Jokers will often struggle to even dent the ISC due to the heavy armour the robots wear. The simplicity of the rules may not appeal to everyone (I’m looking at you, Infinity players!). Annoyingly, the game effect counters come unpunched and you have to cut them out (it’s a bit of a pet peeve for me!). Also, it can seem like you have a lot of cards to organise at the start of the game, although frankly with these last couple I am scratching around for criticisms!
Conclusion
I know I’m speaking as a fan, so take it with a grain of salt, but Eden is a great game and worth checking out. If you know someone who plays, ask for a demo and see what you think. Alternatively, if you are feeling more gung-ho, pick up a couple of starter sets with a friend – each one contains a 100 point force, with their cards, counters and a rules booklet. At 35-40€ each, these are the best way to get into the game.
I dare you to try and survive the apocalypse. Who knows, you might even thrive amidst the wastelands...
While it is a small game in terms of model count and board size, Eden offers a wealth of tactical options and a rich and varied aesthetic. In this post I’ll take you on a whistle-stop tour of the background and rules for the game and hopefully explain why it is worthy of your consideration.
tl;dr - you should be playing this game.
The world of Eden
Eden is set amongst the ruins of Europe, sometime in the middle of the 23rd century. The end of the world has been and gone, and left the European nations as we understand them all but a distant memory. Amidst the remains of civilisation, various factions struggle to survive and eke out what they consider a decent life. Of course, opinions on what counts as a ‘good life’ vary as wildly in these times as they did before the apocalypse – where some seek only to survive, others seek to rebuild, while yet more seek to control, or subjugate, or simply to burn everyone and everything. Resources are scarce, conflict is rife, and alliances are short-lived. What a time to be alive!
The factions
The world of Eden has grown quite quickly since its first releases in late 2009. From the initial wave of four starter sets, there are now ten factions to choose from. What follows is a short summary of each of them.
The Jokers gang are an eastern European faction of vicious thugs with a circus fetish. Packed with clowns, tumblers, strongmen, trained animals and the like, the Jokers rely on dirty tricks, ranged attacks and occasional bursts of ultraviolence to pound their more civilised foes.
The Matriarchy is a militant order of warrior-priestesses and their poor unfortunate male slaves. Matriarchy play is defined by the relationship between sister and slave – the sisters mainly have abilities that allow them to benefit from the presence of slaves or otherwise improve their slaves’ abilities.
The ISC is the remains of a UN robotics and AI initiative. Designed to preserve human culture as it was, the robots of the ISC now strike out at all those who would attempt to rebuild something new. While low in numbers, the ISC drones are nevertheless powerful and well-armoured opponents.
The Bamaka tribe are the descendants of the victims of terrible genetic experimentation. Drawn together by their Chakas or chiefs, they have migrated from Africa to Europe in search of a safe land to call home. The Bamakas are very much a ‘good guy’ faction (reminiscent in their fluff of Confrontation orcs), with a variety of tough fighters, sneaky scouts, ‘magic’, and everything in between.
The Resistance are the remains of humanity as it was before the apocalypse, kept preserved in underground vaults by the ISC. Following the apocalypse, they have dared to dream of freedom, no matter what it might bring. This is a high tech faction, armed with a variety of advanced weaponry, albeit with a limited lifespan (aka battery power!) in combat.
The Convoy are a ragtag band of varied survivors drawn together by a desire to ensure mankind’s survival. To that end, they travel the continent uncovering and protecting sources of perhaps the most valuable resource left in the world: clean untainted water. Another quite varied faction with a real ‘Walking Dead survivors’ vibe.
The Horde is comprised of the dregs of humanity and the wild beasts created by the apocalypse. Brought together by the dominating will of the strongest amongst them, they want nothing more than to tear down anything left standing. A horde force is a pack of bloodthirsty animals and abhumans, controlled by tamers and masters who can provide them with buffs and turn them into a terrifying force of nature.
The Askaris are the unfortunate consequence of an attempt to create the perfect human. Come the apocalypse, all that is left is an insectile hive-mind of brutish, genetically-engineered warriors led by the more humanoid (but equally inhuman) Janissaries. Askaris are another low model-count force like the ISC, but each model is a powerful fighter and can be upgraded to best defeat your foes. Think Dirz in the future!
The Nephilim are an alien race who suffered their own apocalypse and crashed to Earth in the remains of their spaceship. Adrift in a new and hostile world, they are nevertheless determined to survive. They bring with them hideous biological Nergal weaponry with a variety of interesting effects.
Dante’s Angels are the latest faction to be released, comprised of vicious murders, torturers and thugs who see the end of the world as divine punishment for man’s sins. With this in mind they set forth to punish the deserving (i.e. everyone!) under the command of the bike-riding Seraphim. A very ‘Mad Max’ faction.
Let’s talk about rules – the basics
A game of Eden is played on a 60cm square playing area and lasts for five rounds. Normal game size is 100 points, after which the board can start to be a bit cramped. 100 points equates to anything from three models (for ISC and Askaris) to six (Jokers and Matriarchy).
Every model has a corresponding stat card, and because most models are named characters, you may only have one of each in a force. Let’s take a look at a stat card and go through the salient details.
This is Lamas of Dante’s Angels, a crazed little girl with a chainsaw. At the top of her card is her faction icon and name, and below that are some words that indicate what type of fighter she is (in this case, she is just a normal ‘human’). Next to this is her cost of 20 points.
Surrounding a picture of her model are four clusters of icons and numbers that refer, broadly speaking, to areas of her body – referred to in the rules as limbs. Each limb has four aspects:
- An icon indicating which part of the body it is – the head, arms, torso or legs.
- A number of small circles which indicate how many wounds the fighter can take in that limb. These are called constitution points or CP – when a limb has all of its CP crossed out with a drywipe marker, the fighter is dead!
- Two numbers, one in white and one in red. These are the fighter’s stats: Psi (PSI, head), Combat (CBT, arms), Vigour (VIG, torso) and Speed (SPD, legs). The white value is the unwounded value, and the red is the wounded value. When a fighter has all of the white CP in a limb crossed out, it is forced to use the wounded value of the associated statistic, which is usually worse. For example, if Lamas loses two CP in the arms, her combat value drops.
- Finally, each limb has one or more dice faces. When a fighter takes wounds, a dice is rolled to decide which limb is wounded – for example, if Lamas is wounded and a 4 is rolled, the wounds will affect her torso.
Setting up a game
To set up a game, you’ll need a 60cm square space to play; about 6 pieces of scenery; a tape measure, a bunch of d6; some counters in several colours; and your models and their stat cards. There are also two other types of card you’ll need, which I’ll explain shortly.
The first thing to do is decide on which fighters you will use, up to the value of 100 points. You’ll also have to decide which of your fighters is your leader – this is usually the fighter with the highest PSI. You then choose a hand of tactical cards, which are cards you can use at the start of each game round to gain bonuses or surprise your opponent. You also choose a mission card, which explains your personal victory conditions for the game – each player has their own objectives and ways to earn victory points, which may be revealed or kept secret depending on the card. Next you create a pool of strategy points (SP), equal to the combined PSI values of your fighters. You will use these for a variety of purposes in the game, primarily bidding for turn order and activating some special abilities. Then, the scenery is set up and you deploy your models and any necessary counters as specified by your mission card. You’re ready to go!
Turn order
Each turn starts with a bid to see who goes first. Players secretly pick up any number of their strategy point tokens and reveal them simultaneously. The winner of this bet may then choose to play one of his tactical cards – to do so costs 2 SP. Afterwards, his opponent may do the same. The winner then chooses the first player, who selects one of his fighters to activate. He declares the fighter’s name and its SPD value – at which point his opponent may decide to interrupt with a fighter with a higher SPD value. If he does, he gets to activate that fighter first! Unless the first player has a fighter with a higher SPD value, in which case he can interrupt the interruption, and so on.
Either way, when a fighter is activated, you get to spring into action with that fighter. Each fighter starts a turn with 3 action points (AP), which it can spend to move, attack, charge, use special abilities, or carry out actions specified on the player’s mission card (e.g. collecting salvage). A fighter does not have to use all its AP while activated – indeed, it’s often a good idea to keep hold of some, in case they need to defend themselves. Once a fighter has finished its activation, the other player gets to choose and activate one of their fighters – bearing in mind that interruptions may occur as explained above.
Once all models have been activated (or both players have decided to pass on activating) the turn ends with various game effects being resolved (e.g. fire, fear, poison). Every fighter goes back up to 3 AP, and the next turn starts.
Hand-to-hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat is as important in Eden as it is in any other wargame. That said, with the wide variety of mission cards available, it is perfectly possible for a game to proceed without any fighters coming to blows! Not every mission requires that you beat up your opponents, though it does usually help.
Combat is pleasingly simple in Eden. To attack a foe, a model must be in base-to-base contact and must spend 1 AP. The opponent can then announce how the target will respond: either by dodging, trying to hit back, or doing nothing at all. Dodging or hitting back costs AP though, so there are some tricky decisions to make in combat.
If the target does nothing, the attacker rolls a number of D6 equal to its CBT value, and another dice of a different colour to decide the hit's location. For every die result that is equal to or higher than the VIG of the target, the target crosses off a constitution point (CP) in the limb indicated by the location dice.
For example, Tukwila of the Bamakas attacks the Askari Defender. Tukwila has a CBT of 6, and rolls six D6, together with another die for the location. He rolls 6,5,4,2,5,1, and the location is 6. The Defender has a VIG of 5, so there are three successful rolls. The Defender therefore crosses off three CP in the location indicated – his legs.
If the opponent decides to hit back, both players roll a D6 and add their CBT value. The winner attacks first, then the loser gets to hit back. If the opponent decides to dodge, after the attack is rolled the defending player rolls a number of D6 equal to the target’s SPD value. For every result that is equal to or higher than the attacker’s CBT value, one of the wounds is cancelled.
For example, Melyne of the Matriarchy has just attacked Jurgen of the Convoy, and done four wounds to his head. Jurgen elected to dodge, and with his SPD of 4 rolls four D6. He rolls 5,4,3,5. Melyne has a CBT of 5, so two of these rolls were successful. Jurgen therefore only loses two CP in his head.
That’s pretty much it for close combat, asides from the various special rules that models have that can have an effect in combat. The only other things to note are protection (e.g. armour), a type of equipment that blocks wounds, and the ability to adjust the location roll by sacrificing successes from your attack roll.
For example, say your attacking model did 5 wounds to location 5, but it wasn’t enough to kill the target. However, you notice that the target only has 2 CP left in location 3. You could then choose to sacrifice two of your successes to change the location roll to location 3, leaving 3 wounds –more than enough to kill the target!
Ranged combat
Fighters that have ranged equipment may spend AP to make ranged attacks during their activation. There are three types of ranged weapon: shooting, blast and projectile.
Shooting attacks are resolved in a similar way to close combat, with a slight difference: you have to roll to hit before rolling to wound. First, the shooter rolls a number of dice equal to his CBT (plus any modifiers the weapon provides). For every result that is equal to or higher than the target’s SPD, he gets a dice for his wound roll. For the wound roll, he takes those successful dice (plus dice equal to the strength of the weapon), and then rolls them again, together with a location die. For each result that is higher than or equal to the target’s VIG, the shooter causes a wound to the limb indicated by the location die.
For example, Mark of the Convoy shoots at Folayan of the Bamakas with his hunting bow. He rolls dice equal to his CBT of 5, though his bow offers no modifier. He rolls 6,4,3,2,1 against Folyan’s SPD of 3 – giving him three successes. To wound, he then rolls three dice, and another two dice as the bow is strength 2, together with a location dice. He rolls 4,3,2,3,5 with a location of 4. Folyan’s VIG is 3, so he does four wounds to location 4 (her torso), which is enough to kill her – an arrow straight through the heart!
Projectile weapons use a small circular template, and do not require any rolling. Simply place the template anywhere within the range of the weapon and within line of sight. Models even partially covered by the template suffer the effects listed by the weapon (it might be an explosive blast, or a poison cloud, or a swarm of spiders, for example).
Blast weapons use a teardrop template. Again, no rolling is required, simply place the narrow end of the template over the base edge of the attacker. Any fighter even partially covered by the template suffers the effects of the weapon (for example burning or poison).
The good and the bad
So, that’s an overview of the rules. I’d like to finish off with a look at the pros and cons of Eden as a game.
The biggest attraction of this game is the simplicity of its rules, which nonetheless offer a great deal of tactical depth. The basic rules are easy to learn, but the various special rules that characters have and the interactions between them offer a lot of variety and decisions. The small model count means Eden is cheap for a wargame (the base rules are freely available online and are also packed into every starter set in booklet form), and the small board size and short game time (about 90 minutes is usual) mean it is convenient to play. You can easily fit two games into just over three hours. The model range is characterful and diverse – I’m confident that there’s something to suit every taste. The game is being actively supported, with new releases every two months. Finally, the main rulebook contains a bunch of fun optional rules – rules for interaction with terrain, non-player fighters, weather conditions and three- and four-player games are all included.
Eden is not without some drawbacks, however. Most notable, and no doubt familiar to English-speaking fans of Confrontation, is the translation from French, which is not always clear. Relatedly, the player base is small outside of France (though hopefully that will change!). Some games can be unbalanced, due to the unbalanced match-ups of factions, models, missions, or a combination of these. For example, Jokers will often struggle to even dent the ISC due to the heavy armour the robots wear. The simplicity of the rules may not appeal to everyone (I’m looking at you, Infinity players!). Annoyingly, the game effect counters come unpunched and you have to cut them out (it’s a bit of a pet peeve for me!). Also, it can seem like you have a lot of cards to organise at the start of the game, although frankly with these last couple I am scratching around for criticisms!
Conclusion
I know I’m speaking as a fan, so take it with a grain of salt, but Eden is a great game and worth checking out. If you know someone who plays, ask for a demo and see what you think. Alternatively, if you are feeling more gung-ho, pick up a couple of starter sets with a friend – each one contains a 100 point force, with their cards, counters and a rules booklet. At 35-40€ each, these are the best way to get into the game.
I dare you to try and survive the apocalypse. Who knows, you might even thrive amidst the wastelands...