Pyramid: Xena, Warrior Princess -- the Board Game

Pyramid Review

Xena: Warrior Princess, The Board Game

Published by Component Game Systems, Inc.

Designed by C. Henry Schulte, George T. Henne Jr. and Andrew Smith

$29.95
It was only a matter of time that the incredibly popular Xena "intellectual property" got converted into a boardgame -- after all, the roleplaying game and trading card games are already out. The surprise, to me, is that instead of getting a quick, heavy on flavor and light on game mass-market confection from one of the big boys of the toy industry, we get something with real strategy and complexity.
Not that that is necessarily a good thing, mind you. But it's what we've got.
Anyway, in Xena: Warrior Princess, The Board Game, players control -- individually or in teams -- major characters from the show. Xena, Gabrielle, Callisto, Joxer, they're all here. Using a map made up of modular hexagons spread out randomly at the beginning of the game (just like Settlers of Catan), players traipse around the countryside, defeating monsters and finding treasures until they gain enough allies, equipment and powers to storm Mt. Olympus itself. The first player to successfully take out Mt. Olympus wins (just like Games Workshop's old Talisman board game, now that I think about it.).
No complaints about the game, though it might be a little complicated for someone with no wargame or adventure game experience. There are terrain effects, missile and melee combat, a very simple step reduction system, and a few . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.

Article publication date: December 4, 1998

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