Board Game Spotlight: Conan

In another of our regular board game spotlights, Zatu ducks the landlord’s calls and tapes draft excluders round the door so on-one knows they’re in. Money’ll be there by Friday for sure. In the meantime, Conan, the 2016 release from publisher Monolith and designer Frédéric Henry (and many more).

The Game

Conan pits up to four players against one, allowing you to passive-aggressively indicate which of your group fills you with blinding rage through the medium of game. It is based purely on the Conan novels by Robert E. Howard, culling the oiled pecs of Jason Momoa and Arnie.

Players can choose one of twelve scenarios each game. Maybe they’ll do battle in an underground temple; brawl in a tavern; or cut someone on a pirate ship. The game begins with players selecting their team. One takes control of the enemy forces, while the rest play as Conan and his band of merry other people: Shevatas (thief), which sounds like a German describing a woman gardening; Hadrathus (priest), a man who tragically lost his rathus; Belit (pirate), who shouts at candles; and Valeria (warrior), who won’t come over.

Games have a set number of turns depending on the chosen scenario, but the essential gameplay is the same. For the heroes, a turn comprises either activating or resting. Activating allows them to spend energy to carry out actions: fighting, moving, defending etc. If they rest, they regain energy points (gems) for use in future turns.

To carry out the actions themselves, players roll dice, and their rolls are enhanced by whatever equipment their character has.

Life is a little different for the opposition, mainly because they control significantly more units. They have a small board of tiles which correspond to their units in the field, and help lay out the necessary costs of activating each unit. Generally, their aim is to prevent the heroes from accomplishing theirs, though certain scenarios may give them something more specifically evil to do.

The Publisher

Monolith is a relatively company. Co-founded by designer Frédéric Henry, they strive to develop games that are, above all, immersive. Conan is their first project, and is already one of the most successful of the year.

The Designer

Frédéric Henry is a French board game designer and co-founder of Monolith, before which he published under Multiverse.

His other popular works include the Adventurers series and the Builders series.

Buy Conan Today

If you hate Arnold Schwarzenneger but love everything he stands for, buy the game from our online store!