Customer Reviews

Mayfair Games Inc. Xanth

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At first glance, it may seem like a road map to Florida, but as you look closer you see that it is really your entry way into the magical land of Xanth.

Players take on charactors from the story, including their fabulous magic talents, to travel around the land of Xanth to complete a series of quests. Complete with hazzards like hte gap with it's fearsom dragon, the elemental regions, and the region of madness!

This was a pleasantly surprising game purchase for me. I've read a couple of Piers Anthony's Xanth books, but not enough to know all the references built into this game. And it didn't matter a bit. This game was outstanding, and you need not know a thing about Xanth to play and enjoy it. It has a beautiful, large game board, which is bright and colorful. Gameplay is completed with cards. There are many, many cards. All are illustrated, and most are black and white. Character cards are in color.

You choose some starting characters and create your adventure party. The available characters each have abilities and strengths unique to them, and there are enough of them that numerous combinations can be made. Some that appear to be weak can in fact become quite useful when paired with the right other character(s). You get a colored plastic token to represent your entire party. The party's moves are represented by the token. The goal of each game depends upon your quest card that you secretly choose at the beginning. They are all different, so that when a player's token moves around the board, no one is certain what they are attempting to do. After repeated plays, you may be able to make a guess, but not necessarily the right one. The first player to reach the secret goal of their quest wins.

The beauty of the game is the great variety and type of cards that you draw. You may gain helpful objects, temporary friends, permanent additional characters to add to your party, aid cards to help you move or fight, and lots of nasty creatures to spring on your opponents' parties. Most of the cards have two different features on them, which in effect doubles the amount of already plentiful cards, and allows you to choose which part of the card you want to play. The possibilities are so many, that I don't think you could ever have 2 similar game experiences. You can also choose from several game options, to allow for shorter games, or much longer ones.

Now for the big down side. The rules, at least to me, are very poorly written. They leave a lot of room for interpretation, as do some of the cards. I corresponded with Mayfair Games a few different times for clarifications, which they happily provided. Consulting a gaming web site is another excellent tool. Some people like to understand the rules completely and clearly, and I am certainly one of them. You may not see the need, depending on your gaming experience. If you do seek assistance with the rules, I can say that it was well worth it to me. This game is just way too much fun to let it pass you by. And the game is not hard to play. There is a process of becoming familiar with the cards and characters, and the locations on the board. But all is richly rewarded if you take the time.