Stronghold Games Sola Fide The Reformation Board Game (2 Players, Ages 12+)

I loved that it was a very oriented game, it was great to see that it had many many references to the reformation and a whole print out of what each card really means!. The game itself took about one play through to really get the rules down! Its the type that you can play once or twice a week and its a solid fun pass time!

The rules were exhaustive, but after finding a tutorial play-through on Youtube finally caught on. My 10 year old also plays, but it is an enjoyable strategy game for adults as well. The history behind the Reformation is interesting and concise in the accompanying booklet. I like that you can play either side without any bias or knowledge of the historical events or figures. Takes between 45-60 minutes to play.

This is a fairly engaging and entertaining game. Interesting mechanics and the theme is good if you have an interest in Reformation history. Theme is somewhat easily divorced from mechanics though so you could easily play red versus black and forget about the theme. But if your are into the history the game includes brief descriptions of the historical events.

Better than I expected. Not one of my absolute favorites but an enjoyable two player tug of war type game. If you are interested in the Reformation on either the Protestant or Catholic and find the theme appealing (as I do) side than I suggest you give this game a shot.

This game is of interest to history and religion geeks, but the mechanics are really fun and easy to learn, and so you can pick up the game pretty quickly. If you're interested in the details the cards are full of historical info. But you can also just play to win. This makes the game great for educational purposes - you can play based on what you already know, or play to learn.

great game

If you are interested in this theme, then I think you will find the game to be a lot of fun.

To coincide with the 500th anniversary year of the Protestant Reformation (1517-2017), game designers Jason Matthews and Christian Leonhard revisited their political card game Campaign Manager 2008, and have given it a complete overhaul along with a new coat of paint, under the title Sola Fide: The Reformation (2016). Published by Stronghold Games as part of The Great Designers Series #6, Sola Fide comes with 108 playing cards, 47 tokens, and some other components.The timing of this release couldn't be better, given that 31st October 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the date when Martin Luther published his 95 Theses in Wittenberg. This historical event proved to be a significant catalyst as part of the Reformation movement, with its cornerstone doctrine of "By Faith Alone" that the game's title refers to. The Protestant Reformation had an enormous theological impact on Europe and Western Civilization, despite efforts by the Roman Catholic counter-reformation to quash it with decisions such as those of the Council of Trent.Given the historical significance and the 500th anniversary year of the Reformation, a game that immerses itself in the historical flavour of this time is certainly welcome. With the name of Jason Matthews on the cover, I was immediately intrigued. In the two-player tug of war that is Sola Fide: The Reformation, can we succeed in successfully installing the Reformation movement, or will we take the side of the counter-reformation and try to prevent it?As far as mechanics go, Sola Fide: The Reformation is a card-driven area control game. The game engine is based on the card game Campaign Manager 2008 by the same designers, but eliminating its flaws. Game-play revolves around playing cards to place influence cubes, similar in that sense to Twilight Struggle. Rather than playing with the default decks, experienced players will want to use the drafting mechanism that lets you build your own deck, although this does require knowledge of the cards. The other main mechanic is area control, as players try to control areas in a tug-of-war style game.The Reformation related historical theme is one of the game's strong selling points, although some find it a little too dry and abstract. This historical theme has special significance given that the year 2017 was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Despite the apparently serious theme, the rules are easy to learn, and the game itself plays quickly. Furthermore, Sola Fide meets many of the criteria for elegance, for although the rules are straight forward, there are significant decisions to be made, with thoughtful game-play.RECOMMENDATION: The card-driven system of influence that made Twilight Struggle such a success is present in Sola Fide: The Reformation, but this is a much lighter card game. The historical theme will certainly be a point of interest for many, even though it isn't something deeply immersive or integral to the game itself. In the end the lasting appeal of Sola Fide lies in the elegant game-play itself, where interesting decisions are required in the context of a relatively straight-forward rule-set.Some might find the tug-and-war struggle that this produces somewhat bland, but it is a tense experience that will be especially rewarding if you do appreciate the theme. For those willing to invest enough time with the game to experiment with the drafting version of the game to build their own decks, Sola Fide will prove to be a satisfying experience to come back to multiple times.