Matagot SAS MATSSUN1 Sun Tzu Board Game

After having played this game in a board game cafe I was impressed enough to buy it. Very good replay-ability and good depth were the main reasons. Also nice that it is a two player game as there are not too many two player strategy games.The reason it receives three stars is that it came in French. As I ordered and got it delivered to the UK and the cards show English language on the pictures I would expect it to come in English. Luckily the English manual can easily be found online so the problem is not huge, but quite annoying.Game is worth it, but watch out that you get it in the right language.

A good quick 2 player strategy game with surprising depth and replay-ability. Games take a maximum of 9 turns (30-60 minutes) and once you've had a quick tester game, it's actually quite simple and easy to pick up. The rules are 4 sides of A4 and very clear.Essentially it's an area control game played with cards. Each turn you have to choose a card to play in each of the 5 areas on the board. The more powerful cards can only be played once per game, so timing and strategy is important. You then compare cards and the winner (highest card) gets to add soldiers/units to that area of the number of the difference between the 2 cards. i.e. you play your 10 card and your opponent plays a 5, you add 5 units to that area (or remove 5 of his if he previously controlled it).At turns 3, 6 and 9, whoever controls each area gets points for it. A clever twist is that each area is worth different points from other areas and at different times (it's handled very well and easy to follow), so there's quite a bit of opportunity to be strategic about which areas to concentrate on when. And also the current state of each area and what you think your opponent might do (or even what you think they think you might do).There's a few other cards like -1 (your card is worth 1 less than your opponents), +1 (worth one more than your opponents card), plague (half the units are removed), which add to the depth and strategic options.Other than the order of cards you get, there's very little luck involved and is therefore a good test of skill and strategy.There's a simpler beginner/kid variation in the rules, which makes it even easier and simpler to play. It's suitable for children who like strategic and competitive games and I'd say suitable for 6-7 upwards.Overall I'd recommend this game and for the money offers a lot of entertainment value, without being overly long or complicated.Please feel free to ask if you need any more info. If this review has been helpful for you, please click the button below. Thanks.