1754 Conquest

Academy Games newest addition 1754 Conquest – The French and Indian War completes the Birth of America Colonial Trilogy. This is a game based off of the Seven Year’s War (1754-1763) which was fought between the French and the British along the northern American colonies and into Canada. This is a game of strategy, control, with randomly dictated plays depending on what cards you have in your hand. In the game players from opposing factions made up of French Canadians, French Regulars, and British Colonials, and British Regulars fight to control for dominance for the Americas. Both sides can ally themselves with the Native American Nations who essentially act as free agents throughout the game. Each side strategizes together against the other side attempting to control key Victory Symbol Areas on the game board. The game ends, either at the end of the eighth round, with the team who has the most control markers or when all sides play the Truce Card. To get the hang of the game there are instructions for a Short Introductory Game on page three of the Rule Book. Teaching Videos are also available on their webpage. The game is for 2-4 players. This game is recommended for ages 10 and older. Each game takes approximately one to two hours to play. 

1754 Conquest is categorically not your normal run of the mill game. This game requires a bit of “smarts” and strategy. Players must have the ability to sit for an extended period of time as you will be sitting for at least an hour or longer. I think that this would be a great game for honors, AP, and enrichment type classes. This would be a great game to play after studying about the French and Indian War in the classroom or homeschool setting. This game would also be perfect for the child or individual in your home that has a particular fascination with history, war, or military strategy. Team success is twofold, tactic and luck of the die roll.

Overall, this is decidedly a great quality game. My teenage son who is fascinated with history and battle/war games was definitely more interested in playing this game than were my teenage daughters. One of the express highlights of 1754 is the addition of two new features. 1754 Conquer has added two additional tactical elements to the game that make for greater strategical maneuvering. First is the addition of forts that have been placed throughout the home and neutral areas. Second, is the addition of harbors. The addition of harbors allows you to quickly move troops via “imaginary” ships to other harbors thus allowing players to have stronger defenses and to allow sneak attacks. This has added an extra element of tactical “fun” to the game. This is a great game to teach strategy, team work, and history. I really enjoyed the Historical Overview that was added at the end of the Rule Book.

I will have to admit that it took me a significant amount of time to learn how to play this game. I tried to just read the Rule Book but was just not getting it. I was excited about the videos on how to play the game until I realized that they were actually just other people’s reviews on the game. While many of the videos did break the game down well I was still left with questions. I was happy for about the “Short Introductory Game” version on page three of the Rule Book. Like I stated earlier in the review, this is clearly not your ordinary game. When I first got the game one of my husband’s Ph.D. interns came over to visit and I asked her to look at the game and her first response was, “Oh this is one of those games for the smart, nerdy types.” No wonder I was having a hard time learning how to play it. With that said, it is possible with lots of patience, time, and questions for the average person to learn how to play this game. The Rule Book does a great job at breaking down the different game phases, battle examples, and card classifications but I am more of a visual learner. It would be nice if Academy Games had a more basic, dumbed down version of the game rules and teaching videos for people that would like to learn to play their games but need something a bit more simplistic in terms of instruction. Not everyone is well versed in game strategy, military tactics/maneuvers from playing other similar board games or video games.

I would without a doubt recommend this game to others but would be selective as to who I would recommend the game to. Between my teenage son, my military husband, and my son-in-law I most definitely am glad that we own this game. I am hoping that over the holidays more of our family and extended family members will be able to enjoy playing this game. This would be a great gift for the history or military/battle enthusiast in your life.

I originally reviewed this product for The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November, 2017