Andor – The Family Fantasy Game Review
With huge thanks to the folks at Kosmos Games we’ve been spending some family time to check out their more child-friendly adaptation of Andor – The Family Fantasy Game. This one has been especially adapted for little ones, so we’ve been testing it with our four- and seven-year-old Micro-Bandits! As usual our full review contains our common-sense parent’s guide, and we’re happy to say that this adapted version of Andor has been awarded the Pixel Bandits Family Hit award!
The Basics – What is Andor – The Family Fantasy Game About?
Players: 2 – 4
Age: 7+
Play Time: 30 – 45 minutes
Style: Co-operative Dice-rolling Fantasy
In Andor – The Family Fantasy Game you will play as a part of up to four intrepid heroes. The title blends traditional fantasy and legend, working to rescue lost wolf cubs as a dragon bears down on Reitburg Castle. The title is a slight reworking of the Legends of Andor series, and while gameplay will be familiar, this one has a far more family-friendly slant.
Party members will each choose a character, playing a Magician, Warrior, Archer or Dwarf. Each of these characters comes with their own special abilities, and can have a direct impact on your gameplay. We’ve found that, with our Micro-Bandits, this means that whatever character you choose, nobody feels like they’ve been left out. Each player also gets different dice depending on the character, which makes each persona feel nice and different.
Warriors are brace heroes, and have an advantage when fighting enemy creatures, the Gors. Archers can move fast, covering more ground per day than other players. The Magician can use flashes of light to defeat opponents. The Dwarf can light up the mine easily, and can use subterranean caves to move around the map.
Before searching the mine, you’ll need to complete tasks for Mart the bridge guard. He’ll need various resources which you can collect and deliver from around the board. As well as a nice introductory challenge, the rules also provide four different sets of tasks as well as giving you a guide to creating your own.
As you move around the board various additional resources and enemies will also spring up. In addition, the Dragon will move ever closer to Reitburg and, if it reaches the castle, the game is lost!
Is Andor – The Family Fantasy Game Safe for Children?
Rating: Family Friendly
Andor – The Family Fantasy Game is not only suitable for Micro-Bandits, it’s actually one we heartily recommend you introduce them to as soon as you can. This is a great entry into the board gaming universe, and while it’s pitched at 7+, even our four-year-old Bandit had a great time (with a little assistance).
Game rules are easy to understand, and the colourful and well-crafted cartoon visuals have been a hit with our little ones. The story is entirely child-friendly, and we’ve absolutely no concerns regarding content or capabilities for young ones.
Is Andor – The Family Fantasy Game Accessible?
Rating: No Barrier
With the child-friendly pitch of this one, it’s been made incredibly accessibly for newcomers to the board game space. The rules booklet is twelve pages long, but that includes a lot of pictures and four challenges each with detailed explanations.
It’s incredibly easy to follow, and rules are set against pictorial diagrams so you can easily see which game piece each element refers to. It’s one which might be a little basic for board game veterans, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t have fun with it.
The Run Down – Our Five-Point Rating for Andor – The Family Fantasy Game
Gameplay – 5: While it has been made suitable for young ages, we’ve found that the challenges and gameplay for Andor’s family-friendly title is pitched just right. Key things here are the strengths of individual characters, and progression through challenges and seeking wolf cubs, mixing up gameplay. There’s always something to do and even with two young players (age 4 and 7 for us) we found there was no lull or dull moments. The cooperative nature of the title also makes it one which won’t lead to family feuds, unless you try really hard.
Visuals – 5: The board and pieces for Andor have been lovingly designed and well printed. Characters themselves can be played as masculine or feminine, giving options for each player, and designs really convey their own unique personalities.
Build – 4:Tokens and characters are a good thickness, especially important when dealing with younger players. The board is also well made, and we found it to be a good, solid base, even when played on our living room rug. I love the wooden tokens and dice, but would have liked to see wood for character tokens, which could have elevated this slightly. With that said, the thick card does work well and with a nice cartoon design it hasn’t impacted our enjoyment of the game. There’s also some really lovely etching around players’ character cards, delving further into that fantasy feel.
Storage – 5:While there are a good number of components for Andor, the box isn’t oversize, and in typical Kosmos style it all packs away rather nicely. The box is a fairly uniform square, and it fits in pretty well with our other titles to keep the board game cupboard nice and tidy.
Replay – 5: Replay value is especially strong here, with four different written challenges that ramp up as you replay the game. Once you’ve done all four, you can either just go back and play them again, or create your own challenges. The rules booklet give a guide for creating easy, average or difficult custom adventures. On top of this, a simple change in character, and using different strengths within the cooperative game, also adds to the replay value.
The Verdict – Is Andor: the Family Fantasy Game Worth It?
Pixel Bandits Sword and Sorcery Level for Andor the Family Fantasy Game is an Outstanding 10/10. Andor – The Family Fantasy Game is a really great intro to the board gaming world. In addition, for long-term gamers with families it’s a game which children will love, and which you will love playing with them.
With a great build, some lovely character concepts and good strengths and weaknesses for each, Andor has become a firm favourite here in the Pixel office. It’s been pitched just right for a nice evening or weekend boardgame get together. An average playthrough for us would last around an hour, even with a Micro-Bandit quite far under the recommended ages. This, coupled with the fact that it’s genuinely a fun game to play as an adult, means it comes firmly recommended as a Pixel Bandits Family Favourite.
As ever, to provide this review and common-sense parent’s guide, we received one free copy of Andor – The Family Fantasy Game from the folks at Kosmos.
