It’s time to look at the wonderful and historical world of building and making a Coat of Arms. Let’s start with a definition today as we explore the world of heraldry and what all comes with it. Blazon: To describe or depict (armorial bearings) in a correct heraldic manner. Medieval heraldry is an art that have existed for many years and today we are going to dig into a game that shows us what all goes into it as we explore Blazon!
Blazon is designed by David Conklin with art by Ian O’Toole. It’s published by 25th Century Games and plays 1-4 players in 30-60 mins.
Overview
In Blazon players work to score Prestige by placing Element cards on to their personal shield board. Earn points through the distinctions of your personal shield and the player with the most prestige at the end of the game wins and is crowned the King of Arms!
Gameplay
Each player is given a shield board and the centerpiece board is placed in the middle of the table. All device cards are placed in the centerboard and a display of four is set under the board. All the Tincture cards are placed on the centerboard as well with two cards face up for their display. Achievement animal tokens are placed near the board along with the herald token. Each player is given their color’s distinction markers and a starting hand of two Tincture and two Device cards.
The two different types of cards you start with are both Element cards. These are Tincture cards and Device cards. Both make up the patterns, symbols, colors and aspects of the shields themselves in real life. They add the distinct decorative aspects that make the shields really pop and stand out as beautiful creations. They can represent animals, humans, rank, status, awards and so many other things dependent on the family and the individual. Here is the game they will be used to decorate your shield and push yourself to be the player with the most Prestige!
On your turn you will either take the action Acquire or Blazon. In Acquire, players will draw two Element cards from either deck and and keep or exchange them for ones in the display. This is how you will build up your hand of cards and acquire both Tincture and Device cards.
With the Blazon action players can place Element cards from their hand on to their shield board. You must match the Device or Tincture requirement on the board when placed and be ale to discard cards from your hand to equal the Prestige value of the card played. Once placed these Elements will score the Prestige marked on the indicated card. If you can afford it you may do more than one card at a time.
The placement of the cards is where this one really gets to the meat of the game. Placement is based on aligning the card either to the top of bottom of the shield space. The visible symbol must match the card placed and once you choose those cards cannot be moved and they must all fit the same orientation moving forward in that row. You can place cards over the top of old cards but alignment must stay the same. Herald tokens can be used as well to take extra cards or clear the display to refill. Playing these at the right time can make a huge difference when you are taking your turn. There are also optional rules using Abatement tokens and overriding the placement of Element cards. These give you some extra depth to the game once you have played a few times.
Prestige is score when Element cards are placed on your board. Once the first player reaches one of the milestone counters on their value counter which are designated by 10’s (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) they grab any of the animal achievement tokens and other players take a Herald token. Distinction cards allow you to score extra Prestige based on how well you match up your Element cards to the distinctions. These when met will be scored and all other players receive a Herald token.
The end of the game is signaled immediately when a player lands on or passes the 50 Prestige, fills every space on their shield board or claims their final distinction award. At this time all players take one final turn. Final scoring is based around the accumulated scores along with whoever has the most of each of the five Augmentations, placed Distinction markers, unused Herald tokens and Animal Achievement tokens.
Impressions
Blazon is a wonderfully produced game from top to bottom. Chad Elkins over at 25th Century Games has done a great job at not only finding this solid game from Dave Conklin but then making it really shine with art and graphic design from Ian O’Toole. I love there there is a Heraldry consultant in Karl Wilcox as well-you can tell that this game was given the time and attention to bring out the specifics and details that go into Heraldry and it really leans into the realism of the theme.
I enjoyed the way this game balances out the cardplay as you work to place the different Element cards on your shield board. There is a puzzle aspect to this one that really challenges you to think ahead and pre-plan out your moves as you design and decorate your shield. It is not a game you can slowly move into or hope for the best as you go-you need to really think out your decisions as you explore this world of heraldry.
The game plays very smooth for both experienced and newer gamers as we introduced it to a few different people in our home. I especially liked the fact that after a few plays you could ramp this one up with some additions like the Abatement Tokens and other variants to change the style and details of the game. The depth of play makes it something that is easy to come back to and have a different experience after multiple plays which is always important to find in a game.
Blazon is an excellent adventure into the world of heraldry as you work to design the ultimate shield full of the best Tincture and Device Elements. It places you right in the experience of making a Coat of Arms with such thorough and thoughtful attention to detail you will feel like you are standing in the middle of the Smithy. Forge the best shield and come out on top to become the best Herald and be crowned the King of Arms!
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