Mythologies Review: A look at Super Meeple's strategic board game

Publisher : Super Meeple
Designer(s) : Maxime Babad, Mickaël "Froh" Garcin
Artist(s) : Arthur Boccard
Players : 2–4
Playing time : 20–40 Min
Weight BGG : 2.50

What's this?

Mythologies is a tactical card and placement game where each player shapes their own Pantheon by combining the powers of great civilizations.

How do you play?

A game of Mythologies is played in 4 rounds .

1. The Selection Phase (Simultaneous)

The players will acquire exactly 2 cards .

The Call of Destiny: A Destiny card is revealed in the center of the sanctuary . It indicates to each player which mythology board they are allowed to choose a card from .
The secret choice: Players secretly choose one of their selection tokens and reveal it at the same time .
This process is repeated to reveal a second Destiny card until everyone has their 2 cards.

2. The Placement Phase

Starting with the first player, each player will play their 2 acquired cards, in the order of their choice .

Paying the cost: Creatures are free, but Deities require spending 4 Gems to be played .
Place or Overwrite: Place the card on a space in your Pantheon grid . You can place it on an empty space or overwrite a Creature already present .
Check Completion: If the pose completes a row or column of your Pantheon, you immediately gain the associated completion bonus .
Summoning Gain: Depending on the Plane (the row) where the card lands, you instantly collect the indicated summoning gain.
Resolution of effects: The effect of the card is applied.

3. The Interview and the Tests

At the end of the round, the round counter is advanced, the first player token is passed, and the sanctuary is replenished with new cards .

The Challenges: . In round 3, players check if they have completed the objective of the first Challenge . In round 4, the second Challenge is completed .

End of game

At the end of the 4th round, the scores are tallied: the accumulated Favors are added up, along with those gained from end-game effects, and the remaining Gems are converted (3 Gems = 1 Favor) . The player with the most prestigious Hall of Fame wins !

Is it good?

Mythologies is a card tableau game with excellent replayability thanks to the modularity of the civilizations and central boards. Each civilization has its own unique mechanics: the Norse rely heavily on crushing attacks, the Chinese on movement, and so on.

The selection mechanic is particularly well-designed. Players play simultaneously and can anticipate their opponents’ choices while trying to build effective synergies with only two cards per round.

The placement in the Pantheon is also particularly clever, with different movement and crushing effects, summoning bonuses, and some cards that create a lot of interaction between players.

Visually, the game is superb and features very pretty illustrations.

However, the game requires a bit of an adjustment period and several plays to become familiar with the cards. During the first few games, you’ll spend a lot of time reading the effects, which leads to a significant amount of downtime. Some terms and effects are also open to interpretation, requiring frequent reference to the rulebook. Certain cards generate rather complex resolutions, especially when they trigger multiple chain reactions. If you’re looking for a game that’s immediately smooth from the first playthrough, Mythologies probably isn’t for you. It’s a game that needs to be tamed, practiced regularly, and earned to be fully appreciated.

Some may also criticize its sometimes very punishing interaction. Therefore, players who are sensitive or dislike direct confrontation should beware.

But despite this, Mythologies succeeds in its aim: to offer an extremely rewarding game for those who can overcome the somewhat laborious first few rounds. Behind its relatively short games lies an excellent game of combos, placement, and long-term planning, boasting genuine strategic depth and high replayability.

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Mythologies review

8.0Good

Mythologies is a tactical and interactive card tableau game that shines thanks to its numerous synergies, modularity, and high replayability due to its diverse mythologies. Despite somewhat demanding first games and a significant need to learn the cards, the game rewards dedicated players with excellent strategic depth in a short format.

Positives