Legends of Andor, the Last Hope is the third game in a series of adventure games by Thames & Kosmos that explores the fantasy land of Andor. In this time-driven story adventure game, players become legendary heroes attempting to complete a quest.
Legends of Andor is one of my favorite fantasy adventure games. I had a chance to review the previous two board games in this adventure game series: Legends of Andor and Legends of Andor, Journey to the North. Both titles are fantastic and are highly recommended for families and hardcore gamers.
I was excited for the recent release of Legends of Andor, the Last Hope and was surprised to learn it is a standalone game. That means you don't need any of the previous games' components to play. Does the new adventure measure up to the quality of the previous two games in the series? Oh, yes. And there are some surprises, too.
The theme of this new adventure picks up with the group of heroes returning to their homeland from the land up north. Upon their return, they find that the land of Andor has been destroyed by an undead army of skeletons called the Krahder. The people of Andor are now slaves to the Krahder and the "last hope" for the kingdom are the efforts of the heroes. They must travel to the lands of the south to destroy the new and terrifying enemy.
The Legends of Andor series centers around the use of a board game map that shows a variety of locations with numbers. Players select a hero with unique abilities and travel the land accomplishing specific goals. Each game features a variety of different legends or stories. The legends progress one by one, building on top of each other to reach an exciting conclusion.
A key element in the game is the need to complete a variety of tasks before time runs out. For example, in the first story legend of the Legends of Andor, the Last Hope the heroes must travel to a mysterious fountain and explore it. But along the way, there are fog tiles to explore and items to gather. This takes valuable time and time in Legends of Andor is the single most important resource.
A new requirement for heroes in this version of the game is the need to eat. During the sequence of play, the heroes will need to gather food because at certain designated moments, they must eat or suffer a loss of willpower. Trust me, this is not a good thing.
Skeletons are another new part of this version of the game. When skeletons come together, they become a horde. Skeletons always move toward heroes and try to destroy them. Skeletons can be defeated or overcome during battle but beware. Overcome skeletons can rise again to fight again. It's best to completely defeat a skeleton or it may never stop bothering you.
It's safe to say that this next chapter in the Andor series continues the same great play as the previous two sets in the series. I appreciate needing only this set to play. It makes it easy for people to jump in and play the series at any point. So don't worry if you think you've missed everything. Jump in and try this stellar game.
Legends of Andor combines a perfectly balanced set of play mechanisms with a strong story-driven campaign. The fantasy setting, time-draining tasks, evolving legends, combat, monsters and variety of playable characters make this game something truly special. This game is like playing through a storybook. It's fun, strategic and exciting. My only question now is this: Will there be more to come? Find out at the Thames & Kosmos website.