Glen More II: Highland Games Review

Highland Games adds a further three chronicles to Glen More II, featuring guest designers (including Rüdiger Dorn, Jonny Pac, Morten Monrad Pedersen, and David J. Studley) and an incredibly accomplished solo mode chronicle from the famed Automa Factory. 

Rüdiger Dorn of Istanbul fame kicks off the games with ‘Feasts & Follies’; a fun mix up to the standard scoring rounds, giving players the opportunity to boost points in certain categories by bidding on various event cards. Thematically, these events range from hosting guests of honour to rousing your population through spectacular festivities and looting whisky carts. Admittedly, the theming is thin but there’s fun to be had with these scoring modifiers and the accompanying weighted bidding chips.

‘Sticks & Stones’ by Jonny Pac (Merchants Cove), introduces an additional board to the game tracking the strength of the new ‘Clan Champion’ meeples, alongside a host of tokens and markers. As players go about their usual business of gathering influence and territory, opportunities will arise to train their famed Caber Tossers and Stone Putters. There’s a lot of content here, which, nonetheless, integrates like a light side-dish, giving players something to pick at throughout the game whilst never feeling too taxing. 

‘Plan & Prosper’ adds new territories to the game, each accompanied by a ‘blueprint card’ whose requirements must be met before being built over particular tiles. A substantial amount of extra planning emerges from these nicely thematic mechanics of industrial progress, resulting in a longer and weightier – albeit notably less slick - game. 

Ultimately, in terms of overall design and ambition, the ‘Allenarly’ solo mode from Automa Factory clearly stands out. A fair chunk of rules is given over to ‘Her Ladyship Auto MacNificent’, but, once learned, she proves to be a functionally manageable and dynamic opponent. With a range of difficulty levels, MacNificent can serve as both a great guide for learning the base game (and most of its chronicles), and as a challenge for dedicated solo gamers. 

CHAD WILKINSON

PLAY IT? YES

Read our review of Glen More II: Chronicles by clicking here!

Time: 45 minutes

Players: 1-4

Age: 12+

Price: £33

This article originally appeared in issue 60 of Tabletop Gaming. Pick up the latest issue of the UK's fastest-growing gaming magazine in print or digital here or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.

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