Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 120 minutes
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 10-15 minutes

Conquest of Nerath Rules Description:

Conquest of Nerath is conquest game set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. You control one of four factions and try to score enough victory points to win.

Victory conditions in Conquest of Nerath are set before the game begins. You can play to a certain number of victory points or until all capitals are captured. You also choose a starting faction. In 2 and 3 player games you might control more than one faction. If you are playing a 4 player game you need to decide if it is a free-for-all or if you’ll play with alliances.

Conquest of Nerath starts with a predetermined set up. After getting all units on the board you draw two Event Cards and begin the first turn.

On your turn you draw an event card, move your units, fight battles, reinforce, reposition and collect income.

Event cards will help you by adding units to the board, making some units’ attack more effective or move units. You will be required to play some Event Cards immediately, but most can be played when you wish.

Any unit may move. Different units move a different number of spaces. Warships transport and drop off land units in this phase too. The key here is that once you are done moving units no more can be moved. Only heroes (fighters and wizards) may move onto a dungeon tile.

Battles are fought on any squares where enemies are present. Sea battles are fought first then land battles. The attacker chooses the order of the battles. Rolls are made simultaneously by the attacker and defender. You need a six to hit a unit, but different units roll different dice. For example a footsoldier rolls a six-sided die while a dragon rolls a twenty-sided die. You decide which of your pieces to remove based on the number of hits your opponent landed.

If you have moved heroes onto dungeon tiles they fight the monster (or monsters) there. Flip over the tile to see what you are fighting. Your opponent rolls for each monster and unlike units they lose one die for each hit they take. If they lose all their dice they are defeated.

Whether battling on sea, land or in a dungeon, the attacker may choose to retreat from the fight after each round. If the attacker presses on you must continue another full round of combat. If the defender is eliminated from the space the attacker wins that space. Their surviving units may move into the space and if it was not one of their starting spaces they score 1 VP (5 for a capital space). If you beat a monster you draw a Treasure Card. Treasure Cards will score you 1-3 VPs and provide you with special effects. These effects may be immediate and also persist.

Reposition allows you to move flying units again and you must move heroes from a dungeon to an adjacent space.

To reinforce you army you may buy new units and place them at your castles. Different units cost different amounts. There are 8 different units that cost from 1-5 gold. They have different abilities and some fly or can move over water. After placing your new units at a castle you may move them.

Lastly you collect income based on the number of spaces you occupy. You check for victory and if you have not won then it is the player to your left’s turn.

A Quick Review of Conquest of Nerath:

Conquest of Nerath has been compared to Risk and though there are some similarities this is an entirely different game. Conquest of Nerath combines elements from Risk, Nexus Ops, and Axis and Allies to create a fun light-weight war game.

The components are top-notch from the miniatures to the cards. The box insert is awesome and holds everything beautifully. The rulebook is easy to understand and follow. I do wish they had included more player aids. There is a rules summary on the back of the rulebook, but having one for each player would help things a lot.

The combat system is well done and requires you to think about what you stand to lose before entering a fight. It is always helpful to have some footsoldiers to absorb hits but they don’t hit that often.

There is also some tension in Conquest of Nerath as you will always wish you had a few more gold to bolster your position. There is some added replayability as each faction plays differently because they have different board positions and Event Cards.

If you enjoy Risk you should love this game. It adds to the depth of Risk but is not overly complicated. If you play war games and enjoy Dungeons and Dragons or fantasy-themed games then you will also like Conquest of Nerath.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 3 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6