A criticism that is often levied against "designer" games is that the theme is merely pasted on and simply serves as a method to promote the game's mechanics. I argue against this generalization, as the themes of most of these games usually make sense, and often help me enjoy the game that much more. But some games, while the theme "works" to a degree, are so cerebral that one almost wishes the theme wasn't there.
Fredericus (DaVinci Games, 2005 - Eligio Cazzato) is one of these games.
I enjoy my playings of Fredericus but don't know how often it will hit the table. The theme, that of sending falcons to hunt mythical creatures that are besieging a castle, is a bit farfetched; and while it fits the game well, for some reason it doesn't seem to help the playing. The game, while lasting only about forty-five minutes, seems to take longer because of the "puzzles" that are presented to a player on each turn. The game requires some heavy thinking occasionally, and I wonder if this deep thought might get in the way of "fun" sometimes. But if you're a fan of puzzle-type games and like the problem solving necessary included, then Fredericus might delight you.
An octagonal board is placed in the middle, with an octagonal space in the middle of the edge of each side. There are also eight circles in an inner track, and eight "courtyards" in the innermost track - each corresponding with one of the octagonal spaces. A deck of cards is shuffled, and eleven (less if fewer than four players are playing) are placed face up in a row extending out from each of the eight sides, the cards overlapping so that everyone can see all of them. Each player takes three tokens in their color: one standing for a peregrine falcon, one for a goshawk falcon, and one betting token. The falcons of each color are placed in opposite "towers" (the circle spaces), and then players may place their betting token in any "keep" (octagonal space). A deck of "goal" cards is shuffled, with one given to each player (kept hidden). One player goes first (getting the "start player" card), and the game begins.
On a player's turn, they MUST perform four actions, choosing from the following.
- They can move a card at the end of one row to the end of another row. There are four different types of cards in these rows: seals, wood cards, sky cards, and mythological creatures (four each of eight different types). Moving the cards may allow the player to capture a mythological creature (a free action), or "open the emperor's seals" (also a free action).
- They can move one of their falcons to an adjacent tower (which can hold multiple falcons).
- They can "hood" an opponent's falcon. If an opponent's falcon is in a tower that has woods cards at the end of both of the adjacent rows, it can be hooded. The "hooded" falcon is moved to the courtyard next to the tower and cannot move on that player's next turn. No player may ever have both of their falcons hooded.
A player may "capture" one creature with both of their falcons each turn, to a maximum of two creatures. A peregrine falcon can capture a creature that is the last card at the end of their row if both of the cards at the end of the two adjacent rows are sky cards. A goshawk falcon can capture a creature the same way, except that one row must have a sky card, and the other a woods card. When a player captures a creature, they take the creature card, placing it face up in front of them. If any players have a betting token on the corresponding keep, they are rewarded with a goal card from the top of the goal deck, also removing their betting token from the board.
If a player has a falcon in a tower, and there is an emperor's seal card at the end of the two adjacent rows, they may "open the emperor's seal", which takes the row they are at, and reverses the position of all the cards. Doing this also nets the player a goal card, discards one of the two seals, and gives them two more actions.
At the end of a player's turn, they set their hooded falcon free, if they have one, by moving it back to the tower, and may place their betting token in any keep or in the middle. A token in the middle, if still there at the beginning of the player's next turn, gives that player a goal card. However, the token is removed if any other player captures a creature on their turn.
The game ends when one player captures eight creatures, or when the Fredericus card is drawn from the goal deck (shuffled in the last four). Each player then totals their score. Each creature and goal card is worth one point, while Fredericus is worth two points. For each matching pair (goal card and captured creature are the same), a player gets 1 point for the first matching pair, two for the second pair, three for the third, etc. The player with the highest score is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The peregrine falcons are represented by a large rectangular prism wooden block, and the goshawk falcons by an octagonal prism wooden block. While chunky, easy to hold and move, and nice to look at (in an abstract way), one must wonder why they didn't use falcon shaped pieces? I didn't care that much; but at least two people asked about it, and both stated that it would have been a nice visual effect, and I agree. The game is already abstract enough as it is. The cards are nice and small (which is good, because I don't think they would fit on the table otherwise. Each mythological creature has a different color, picture, icon, and starting letter (like King Me!) The mythological creatures are a bit bizarre (I found them on the internet, but they weren't an easy search), and I have no idea how a falcon could bring them down - but no matter. The octagonal board is neat, if only for the fact that it's the only one besides Can't Stop that I own! Everything is small and compact and fits easily in a box that's a little smaller than your typical Carcassonne box.
2.) Rules: The rules (coming with a rules booklet with several languages) take only four pages. The rules of the game are actually pretty simple and are explained well, with several examples and pictures included. Teaching the game usually requires several examples of play, as I usually have to actually demonstrate how a capture occurs, rather than just tell about it. Even then, the rules still weren't grasped by everyone I taught the game to, but most people had no problem.
3.) Abstract: The theme is present - barely. Yes, it kind of makes sense to have certain falcons catch prey high in the sky, and others lower to the ground. But that's about it. I have no idea how a falcon could even take down such a powerful fantasy creature. The goal cards themselves don't even fit in the theme! But no matter, I guess. I just know that I would have enjoyed the game more had the theme been more attractive.
4.) Hit him!: The game allows players to "hood" other player's falcons, but it's usually in a player's best interest to not do so, because they are basically inviting retaliation for the remainder of the game. Yes, you can cripple an opponent for a turn; but you spend valuable time of your own to do so, and you must realize that he'll be seeking revenge. I just didn't see much point in it, other than to watch someone's face turn purple.
5.) Strategy and Puzzles: One of the things that drew me to the game was the fact that you had to sit and puzzle out during your turn exactly what to do. How could you shift the cards to your best advantage, while doing your best not to set up the person to your left? In a four player game, trying to set up something for your next turn was pointless, as the cards' positions changed entirely too much for any real planning to be done. With only four actions, capturing two creatures on a turn isn't impossible, but hard enough to bring a real pleasure when done so.
6.) Betting tokens: The goal cards are essential to the game (you need the pairs to win), so you can't afford to bet incorrectly. Yet this part of the game seemed a bit sour to me. It seemed as if the best strategy was to look ahead, see which creature the player after you would capture, then place a betting token at that location. Perhaps I was too shallow in this regard, but I rarely was wrong when placing a betting token.
7.) Fun Factor: The "fun factor" of this game is a bit different than most. Most people who played it had the same reaction - interesting, but not enough fun to want to play again. Moving the columns of cards around isn't that exciting to many people. However, a few people really enjoyed the puzzle aspect of the game and wanted to play more than once, so there is a definite group who has "fun" with this game.
8.) Players: Four players can be fairly chaotic, and two players can result in many turns occurring without any captures. Three seems to be the best choice for the game, but I did enjoy it with four.
9.) Goal cards: I did NOT like the luck factor of the game. Getting goal cards and creatures to match is VITAL to winning the game, but the goal cards one gets are a random draw. A player supposedly has a choice of what creatures to capture, but usually there is very little choice; you take the nearest and easiest one. And also, players tend to capture creatures before they get goal cards, so you get a goal card and just hope that it matches one of your creatures. This is luck, which I normally don't mind, but this random luck determines the outcomes of most games I've been in.
Hmm, I look back over my comments and see more negative than positive. And I hate to end on a negative note, because Fredericus actually contains some clever ideas, and I did enjoy the logical puzzles each turn became. With this kind of logic, however, luck isn't really necessary. Ricochet Robot is a similar game but has no luck. The added luck, soulless theme, and unnecessary elements took what might have been an extremely good game and changed it to a mediocre one. I won't refuse to play Fredericus, and indeed might even have fun when playing it, but I don't think I'll play it often or suggest it even.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games."
www.tomvasel.com
