Order here- Sellswords: Olympus
WBG Score: 7.5/10
Player Count: 2
You’ll like this if you like: Card laying games with ever changing game states
Published by: Level 99 Games
Designed by: Cliff Kamarga
This is a free review copy. See our review policy here.
Sellswords was first published in 2017, and now Level 99 Games is bringing it back with a fresh new reprint. At the time of writing (15th December 2024), this is currently available for pre-order from the publisher. You can use the link in the game title above. But why are they bringing it back? You presume because it is good, don't you? Well, let's get it to the table and find out.
How To Set Up Sellswords: Olympus
First, separate the Terrain tiles from the rest of the deck. Then, shuffle the remaining cards and deal seven out onto the table. The cards are double-sided, don't worry about which side you deal. Now pick a first player at random, and then each player will take one card at a time from the seven in the middle until all players have three cards. Note, the power of the card you choose may have powers that affect this, but more on that later.
When both players have three cards, discard the final card into a discard pile, and deal out seven more. Repeat the process until both players have six cards, again discarding the final seventh unchosen card. Players must now decide who will be red and who will be blue. The red player must turn all their cards to the red side, and the blue player... well, you get the idea.
Now place one of the Terrain tiles at random into the central playing area, setting the unused Terrain tiles to the side. You are ready to begin the game.
How To Set Up Sellswords: Olympus
Players now in turn order will place one of their six cards from their hand into the central playing area. Players must always place a card orthogonally next to a previously placed card. And can never form a row or column to be longer than five cards. You are building a five-by-five grid. The first card must be next to the Terrain tile then all subsequent cards can be placed next to any card. When you place a tile down, you will do two things. First, you will check the card's abilities. Each card has a written ability shown on the face of the card. This could do one of many things: rotate other cards, move other cards, flip other cards, and many more.
Once you have carried out the placed card's ability, you will now battle any adjacent cards next to you that your opponent currently owns. For example, if you are playing blue and you placed a card down next to two red cards as shown below, you would battle both cards.
Battling works simply by comparing the adjacent numbers on the two cards. So in this example, the Blue Architect card would defeat both the red Hydra four to three, and the red Cerberus, three to two. This double victory would mean both the red cards are flipped to their blue side, swinging the victory into the blue players favour.
Play continues like this until both players have played their six cards. Mid-game scoring then takes place, where both players score one point for any row or column where they have two cards, two points for columns or rows with three cards, four points for four cards, and seven points for any row or column that has five of their coloured cards in.
Players will now repeat the steps shown earlier, where seven new cards are placed into the central area, and they take turns picking one. This is done twice, so both players have a second hand of six cards. The second round begins until all cards are laid and a 25-card five-by-five grid is formed. Final scoring then takes place, where cards in rows and columns are scored just the same as the mid-game point. Note, some cards with stars on them, like below, offer end-game scoring options too. And some of the Terrain tiles will do the same.
The other types of cards in the game are split into three main groups: cards with mandatory effects, those with optional effects, and cards with ongoing effects. Note the type of card and its specific unique effect when you place it, and how it may interact with other previously placed cards, especially the ongoing effects. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.
Is It Fun? Sellswords: Olympus Card Game Review
Sellswords is an ever-changing game where players constantly battle to and fro for ownership of the cards. There are some intriguing and subtle tactics that you can deploy throughout the process, making this fast game deeply strategic. Starting with which cards you draft, taking note of the cards your opponent takes, and then, of course, which order and location you place your own cards in.
This is a back-and-forth, tug-of-war between two players, where card ownership will change multiple times throughout the game, and you need to strategically plan ahead to make your specific hand pay off. If you have a card with two strong numbers, ideally you will want to wait for a situation to arise where you can place this card and use both those numbers. Using just one wont be te end of the world, especially if the unused high number in in a open space. It will at least have a good defence ready for other cards placed next to it. But it would be nice to flip two cards with it when you place it, wouldn't it.
Likewise, if you have a power that affects more than one card, you will want to wait for a situation to arise where this card can make full use of that benefit. It may be that you can manipulate the game board to develop in this way using your other cards. You need to think ahead, plan accordingly, and be one step ahead of your opponent at all times.
Now, of course, this is very difficult. Because all the while you are doing this, your opponent will be doing the same. But both players will know what cards the other player has. They all see them in the initial draft. And they are double-sided, so you cannot really hide them from your opponent during the game anyway. We play with the cards on the table so you can see them all easier. But this does also make it harder for the other player to see them, rather than being held up in each player's hand. Laid flat on the table, the angle does make it hard to read them unless you stand up and really peer over. But either way, if you want to see the other player's cards, you can. But even with this knowledge, can you predict what order they will play them? And where they will use them?
All this combines to make for a delightfully strategic game that offers constantly interesting choices, making you feel fully in control of your destiny. All in a package that concludes within 20 minutes. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, fast, fun two-player card game that creates a back-and-forth swing feel, with interesting and satisfying scoring options.
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