Designed by Richard Launius.
You are an adventurer in a kingdom under siege! Orcs, dragonkin, undead and assorted other bad guys are closing in on your kingdom. You must travel the world, killing bad guys, and gathering the resources you need to defeat the four bosses leading these armies before Monarch City falls into ruin.
Defenders of the Realm is Pandemic but with a cheesy D&D fantasy art theme. If you can get behind the theme, it’s a much more impressive experience, with dozens of miniatures that helps create the sense of an encroaching hoard. If you like the epicness of Lord of the Rings and the teamwork of Pandemic, odds are you like this.
Interesting Mechanic: Quests. One area of interest is that each player can be on a quest at a time. This quest might ask them to kill specific monsters in a certain location, or to search another location. These quests encourage players to make tough choices and let some problems fester in hopes of unlocking additional power — the party likely won’t win without completing a few of them. Also, the game has a concept of ‘win more’ – yes, everyone wins together, but completing quests lets you be the winningest of winners. This creates a little bit of selfishness that helps prevent the tendency for one player to shanghai the whole game.
Defenders of the Realm is very good if you like coop games, and breathes new life into the Pandemic formula. Also, the various character expansion packs are also very good, and add a great deal of replayability to the game. The Dragons expansion, however, is hella hard.
(Photo Source: The Board Game Family)
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