Ethnos
Designed by: Paolo Mori
Ethnos is a deceptively simple game. The theme is that you’re forming bands of allies (cards) to take control of areas on the map. A band can be as small as a single card, but the size of the band you put together is important…
Each game uses just six of the twelve fantasy races the game comes with, in the form of sets of cards. You can either choose randomly or settle on the races you find most interesting. The six races are shuffled together to form a draw deck, a certain amount (depending on player count) are laid face up, each player is dealt one card, and play begins.
On your turn you can either pick up a card – from the draw deck, or any of the face-up cards – or play a band. A band can be between 1 and 10 cards, on the proviso that either the race or the colour of the cards all match. The top card serves as the band’s leader, and most races have a particular power that is activated when played as a leader: Wizards allow you to claim cards back, Centaurs allow you to play a second band, and so on.
Having done so, you can add a control marker to the board in the region that matches the colour of your leader – if your band is big enough. If you already have a control marker in that area, your band needs to be at least two strong. If you have two control markers there, it needs to be three strong, and so on.
At the end of each round, players will score for how much control they have on the board – but also, how big their bands are. A bunch of small bands of one to three cards will only get 0-3 points. A band of six will get you fifteen points. So although it first looks like the battle is all about the board, there’s a kind of secondary game going on at the same time, of building big bands.
After the third age ends, the player with most points wins.
Sam says
I like Ethnos. I like all the variations the dozen races supply. I love that play is so fast – once you get what you’re trying to do, it really speeds by. And I like the strategic options of band-building or presence-building. You can be undone by luck, especially if you’re going the latter route – if you keep drawing cards that don’t match, you can find yourself falling behind, and some races are definitely more powerful than others. The Halfling race in fact has no power, and can only be used for band-building. But I can readily forgive Ethnos for the reliance on fortune, because it’s a game made up of small moments, and they tend to be fun ones.
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Take That!
Although it's not a game with combat as such, you're constantly jostling for position on the board.
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Fidget Factor!
Low. After a first play you'll find Ethnos plays really fast!
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Brain Burn!
Moderate. Although there's tactical play here, there's a fair amount of luck-pushing too - picking up a card in the hope you'll get a matching race or colour.
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Again Again!
Lots of variety here - only six of the game's twelve races get used in any one game, so you can try a number of combinations.
