This game has some excellent quality components combined with some really great diskworld artwork. There is a lot of discussion around the board for being abstract, well for my 2 cents the board looks great and suits the gameplay, some of the text could be easier to read but it is not a show stopper.
The players are newly recruited members of the City Watch, the eight great spells are missing from Unseen University and they have been tasked to collect a set of the spells and bring them back to the university. Each recruit selects a guild to infiltrate giving them which spells to collect and unique guild abilities to aid them in their tasks.
The winner is the first to bring their selection of 5 spells back to Unseen University which is achieved by working your way through the city collecting volunteers to help you run the spells past the gauntlet of saboteurs, Luggage, magic and other obstacles. You can collect magic and items to aid your volunteers in their tasks or to hinder your opposing players.
As you return each Great spell your selected team has to pass different Wizards challenges in order to safely return it. You selection of volunteers needs to have the right combination of attributes in order to stand the best chance of succeeding.
Throw into this mix a secret society trying top summon Dragons to the City which, if successful, block quarters of the city from being used for anything other than passing though and which the players have to battle to get rid of them. So there is a lot to this game and it just feels like you are there in Ankh-Moorpork.
The rules are not overly complicated but there are some gaps and the layout is not the best. These are things that can be overcome and the designers have been extremely quick to respond to questions on various BGG threads which is really good. Hopefully a formalised FAQ or revised pdf of the rules will be forthcoming.
This is a game that requires a few rounds / games to get the hang of it but the games we have played so far have been close and there is a lot of fun to be had here.
I really enjoyed playing this game and feel it fits well into the theme, yes there is an element of luck but I just feel that adds to the theme of the game. This will get a lot of plays and I think it will just get better the more you play.
