Think YOU have what it takes to form Cohorts ranging from catapults to legionaries? Well, you can most certainly give it a spin in “The Cohort”, which is coming to Kickstarter sometime in September of 2016. Normally I’d do a preview for something like this, but I was told by MAGE Company (the folks who sent me the game) that my press copy was representative of the final product. On that note, thanks again MAGE Company! I outlined the gameplay and my thoughts in the below video, but also wrote a quick review for those who want the skinny in about a minute or less.
The Cohort: 2-6 Players, Ages 8+, Average Play Time = 15-30 Minutes
The Review
Frankly, “The Cohort” isn’t a bad family-friendly game, which is exactly what MAGE Company was going for here. However, the execution leaves much to be desired. The box is much bigger than it needs to be and there’s no insert, meaning that the game’s components (cards) will get all messed up while the box is closed and moved around. The least they could have done is included some baggies or rubber bands to help keep the cards in place. The manual also makes no sense, with the setup and components list on the very back page and the rest of the card effects in the middle. Usually the components listing and setup can be found on the first few pages or right after the cover page.
Gameplay was fairly interesting, with a heavy focus being placed on whether or not you feel like taking light or heavy risks. You see, the object of the game is to create sets of cards, but each set you start (called a cohort) has a negative impact on you in some way. Laying down cards and starting multiple sets at once will give you flexibility, but will have a lot a negative consequences. On the other hand, you can opt to focus on keeping one set in play at a time to minimize the damage but it’ll take longer to complete you three sets/cohorts needed to win the game.
While certainly casual enough, this game didn’t strike me as special in any way. I’d really only recommend this one to those who want a quick card game fix as it plays relatively quickly. “The Cohort” isn’t bad, but it’s not great either.
Final Verdict: 5/10
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtzt00oZ4XU