Greek heroes rule the stories of lore. Many mythological creatures fill the landscape and give stories and games a real solid theme to be based on. Today we are going to talk about one of those games and the Greek heroes, gods and creatures that star in it!
Nessos is a new game from Iello Games designed by Takaaki Sayama and Toshiki Arao and illisutrated by Miguel Coimbra. It plays 3-6 people in 20-30 mins.
Components:
55 cards
1 first player token
Gameplay:
In Nessos you will begin with a deck of creature cards and Charon cards that is determined by the number of players. Each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards and one player is given the starting token.
Your goal is to bluff your way into the best creatures while avoiding the nasty Charons that can end your game and send you packing!
In the round, the first player will offer a face down card to another player and an once a number. That number will either be the correct number on the Creature card or a bluffed number for a Charon card. The second player can either keep it, pass it back and force that player to keep it or add a 2nd card and move it to another player.
The third player may now keep the 2 cards, force the second player to keep them or add a 3rd card and pass to a new player. That last player must either pass them back or keep them.
As soon as any cards are placed gave up, the round ends. Points are added to the player’s score and if they hit the value to win the game is over. However, any Charon cards are going to hurt you. If you flip over a third Charon card on any turn you are automatically out of the game.
If no end game conditions are met, players draw back up to 5 cards in hand and the next round continues.
The game may come to an end in one of three ways:
1-The total points for one player meets or exceeds the end game condition. That player is the winner!
2-After a player is eliminated, if there are no opponents left the last player wins the game
3-If there are a total of 9 Charon cards face up, the game ends. Highest point total wins!
Things that could be better:
Variety. The game plays well but after a handful of games it becomes repetitive. I think some variety or asymmetrical powers for individual players may help that.
Storage. This game would be just fine in a small deckbox like a deck of playing cards. That would make storage and portability much easier for tossing it in a pocket and going.
What we liked:
Bluffing. I’m usually not as a big of a fan of bluffing games but this one delivered the experience in a tight quick play. I can see it being a great filler for a good sized group to get their night started or for adding in an unsure player with much less commitment to the table.
Speed. As I said above, it’s a quick play making it easier to get this one in. It would work great to grab for a pre-dinner quick game or to start a game night.
Art. My son is a big Greek mythology fan and he really liked the art and the style of this one. It’s simple but it hits the theme well and is aesthetically smooth.
Overall:
Nessos provides a quick, easy card game experience that will immerse the player into the battles of Greek lore. It’s a solid bluffing game that plays well with a higher player count giving the entire party a quick experience that will be a great start to your gaming night or an easy option to pull out and play when the time is right. If Greek lore and bluffing interest you, then Nessos is going to be a game you want to check out!