Mini Review: Conan the Legend of the Devil in Iron

This is copied from my posting on BGG.

I recently finished playing through the Devil in Iron campaign for Conan. As a disclaimer, I played solo left hand vs. right hand.

How does it work?The book contains 19 scenarios but you'll only play through eight of them during the campaign. At different points in the campaign the next scenario changes depending on whether the heroes win or lose.

Sidebar: Racism and Sexism in the Conan Board Game

This post is a sidebar on the topic of sexism and racism in the Conan board game.  I'm trying to provide context on both sides of the argument (with my opinions clearly stated) to help potential gamers decide if this is a game they'd want on their table.

No disrespect intended to anyone who disagrees with this and I believe it's okay to have a difference of opinion as long as that opinion doesn't impinge on anyone's civil rights.

Review of Monolith's Conan Skirmish Game

Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to use jewels as both stamina and health, furrowed his troubled brow.  It is I, a random blogger, who alone *cough* along with many other better reviewers *cough*, can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

The game Conan, by Monolith, has been out almost two years and the next Kickstarter is months, if not a full year out, from when I'm typing this ultra late to the party review.  With the Kickstarter version, came a full box of stretch goals, and optional purchases of three big box expansions (I discussed them here), an art/campaign book, and a lot of other add-ons miniatures.

Robert E. Howard's character of Conan was written far more intellectual than he's often portrayed in later books, comics, and movies.  In the opening paragraph of his first story, The Phoenix on the Sword, he's described as "black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth."  That emotion breadth of the character (sullen, melancholy, and mirthful) is often dismissed right along with his intelligence.  There's more to Conan and Robert E. Howard than many people pause to take note of.

To help ensure they captured Howard's essence correctly, Monolith hired Patrice Louinet, a notable Robert E. Howard scholar.

And, much like the titular character, the game could just as easily been toss aside as another 'dudes on a map Ameritrash game'.  There are some hidden gems of systems in this game (pun fully intended) and that adds to the experience and makes the game more than just another skirmish game.

Constructing a Better Dungeon

From 1st Edition AD&D DMG. 
Also a case study in why you don't split the party.

Almost nothing short of a pop culture reference can pull a game group out of the moment than a nonsensical dungeon.  Why are there orcs, goblins, giant beetles, and a wight living in these trees?  Is there a food chain or pecking order here or was this the result of randomly selected from dice rolls on a table a la the original printing of B1: In Search of the Unknown.  Oh good, the giant beetle has a magic scroll and the goblins had a magic sword that they didn't use because it's too nice?

Comparing Some Dungeon Crawler Board Games

In 2015 there were a lot of fantasy based dungeon crawlers on Kickstarter.  I was just getting into hobby board gaming and has just gone a little crazy on Monolith's Conan and late pledged a few of these games looking for something to occupy my time around the time my son was born.  One of my favorite things in Age of Conan, and fantasy in general, is being immersed in a world.  As a fan of Robert E. Howard, AoC was my favorite MMO both for its fun combat but also for the great stories and the characters you meet.  I was looking for more stories and interesting characters in the board game medium.  I was looking for that RPG in a box and looking for something with solo play since I don't have a dedicated game group anymore due to life.

Monolith Conan Expansions

Over a year ago two Kickstarter  campaigns featured the artwork, and in one case, the music of Age of Conan.  They were Monolith's Conan board game and the other was Modiphius' Robert E. Howard's Conan RPG.