rudy games - Leaders Edition 2019 - the combined strategy game - board game cold war (Base Game)

I saw this game at the UKGE 2018. There was nothing fancy about Rudy Games stand and you certainly could have missed it if you were not looking. I was struck how their games board was a lot like ‘Risk’. Risk has always been one of our gamer group favourite games. The problem with ‘Risk’ is that it’s a bit limited and sometimes rather frustrating. So after playing our first game of ‘Leaders’ I can say it’s ‘Risk Like’ but ‘Risk on steroids’. With ‘Leaders’ you have a traditional board game with the added benefit of an app on a smart device. Much of the ease of the game is that the app guides you through set up, rules, and wining conditions and they are always within easy read. The game certainly if different to ‘Risk’ there are multiple ways to win, production points, improving technology, or completing missions. A player can also boycott or infiltrate other players as well as forming alliances. There are also global events that affect all players. These events and actions are all done within the app. You will need the board to track your production points which you spend inside the app creating new units, diplomates, spies or improve your economy or technology. The heart of the game is the board where you can move your units, re-enforce, and do battle. Battle is conducted by dice. There are three types of dice, white for infantry, grey for tanks, and black for planes. Each player takes one dice for each of the units that are within the territory. So if a player had two infantry, two tanks and one plane they would take one dice of each unit. The defender would then take one dice for each type of unit they had. The dice are rolled and the number of hits is indicated, the players then remove units of their choice from the game board equalling the number of hits. This carries on until no one has any units left, or one player wins. Winning territories give your production points and winning a whole continent gives you extra production points.Conclusion: Leaders is a fun strategy game! There is more going on than ‘Risk’ and it’s not as complicated as something like ‘Axis and Allies’. I tried to play ‘Axis and Allies’ once and after 2 hours of setup decided to give up! You do need a smart device to play and I’ve had no problem with the app crashing. Rudy Games have told me they are working on bring new features within the app so it will be expanded over time with new scenarios, statistics and some bells and whistles to make it even more polished. If you like ‘Risk’ but feel it is a little limited and don’t want a full-blown deep strategy that you can’t play in a night, or have a number a casual gamers in your group then I highly recommend picking up a copy of ‘Leaders’.In response to a review below, you can switch the timer on which limits people’s time use of the app making the game faster paced.

I've now played several games in groups of 2-4.Positives -Game design mixing conventional board game, dice roll battles and App based 'secret' activities is really engagingBoard, components and the App itself are all well made with a consistent cold-war look and feelPlenty of online tutorials to make it easier to followUpgrades available to bring the game into modern eraLots of game variants available in the App (though we've only played the quick games so far)NegativesSeveral confusing elements in the play that are poorly explained in the instructions. It's still not clear to me whether you count your production points from the start of the round or at the moment you begin your turn. It makes a huge difference (if you are last in the round you could be consistently behind)It's not clear who is in the lead until the App tells you someone has won given there are three ways to win.Though the App does make for a clever and engaging game, half the point of board games in my family is to get away from screen time!It's costly - understandably so and worth it if you are a keen board gamer but not a great choice for an occasional family game.

I bought this game quite a while ago, and being a lover of all things strategy it was a brilliant decision. The game itself is a joy to play, with easy to learn rules and a delightful amount of depth. The tablet usage blends seamlessly and enables you to easily see at a glance everything available to you. The unit models are well designed and made, and it gives you the feel of standing in a war room deciding the fates of whole nations. Frequent free updates to the rules, for example the inclusion of nuclear weapons mean the game continues to grow and develop.There is also something that must be said for the support from the creators of this game. Thanks to heavy usage and my young son quite a few of my units have gone missing. Upon contacting the creators, I have been able to secure replacement units with ease, something that really sets Rudy games apart from other manufacturers.Simply put, I cannot recommend this game or its creators enough. If you love strategy, or the feeling of truly annhilating your nearest and dearest, you owe it to yourself to give this game a go.

I think this game was amazing. Really enjoyed it. One part I liked was the inclusion of each countries' leader and ideology, which gave more personality to the game. The setting of 1960 is a nice touch as very few Board games touch on this era. Usually WW2 is used. The rules are somewhat confusing on your first try but getting used to them isn't impossible or hard, even. The playable nations are the USA (democratic, JFK), the UK, (democratic, Harold Macmillan), French Republic (authoritarian democrat, Charles de Gaulle), West Germany (authoritarian democrat, Konrad Adeaneur), Soviet Union (Communist, Nikita Khruschchev) and China (Communism, Mao Zedong). China is my favourite as they almost always win. Playing with friends is good when you make alliances and sabotage/assassinate other leaders. There are some expansions. I have bought none, but they look great. There is a mode where you play as the leaders of the mentioned nations in 2016. They add separate DLC for Republic of Cuba, Australia, Republic of South Africa, Empire/Republic? of Japan, Argentine Republic and German Democratic Republic (East Germany). £8.99 for 2016 scenario and £2.49 for one DLC nation.

The app-based elements of the game add new dynamics and therefore new strategy options, which make it a really interesting game. I find the time estimates of the gameplay slightly quicker than we've managed but that may just be due to us learning our way into the game. That said the basics are really easy to pick up and it's really good fun. Feels like it has brought "Risk" and similar games into the 21st century.