Vantage - some preliminary thoughts

I've played three games of Vantage now, twice solo, and once with a group with two other players (one of whom happened to be one of the designers of Spirit Island, and I had no idea until after we had played!). I really do love this game. The sense of wonder and discovery has kept it on my mind this entire past week.

I prefer it solo, and that's mainly because you will be spending quite a bit of time fishing cards out of the box (there are over 1,000 cards!), and with more players that greatly increases the time pulling cards out and putting them back. The game works well with multiple players, and it doesn't feel like multiple solitaire games being played at the same table - there are important interactions between the players, and decisions to be made as a group. However, as the person in charge of the cards, it was hard for me to focus on all the cool stuff happening within the game's wonderfully imaginative world. Because of this, I prefer it solo.

The game's world is teeming with things to do and discover, and overflowing with surprises. It's almost overwhelming. After three full plays I don't even feel like I've begun to scratch the surface. I love that every game is started fresh, it's a true zero-to-hero game. And, because of this, set up and take down is a snap, barely taking any time at all (so long as you're returning the cards to where they need to go as you play, rather than waiting to do a big clean up at the end). There is nothing to save, nothing to reset, and nothing to remember except for your knowledge of the world.

It's clever, exciting, and, most of all, a lot of fun. If you enjoy things like Lands of Galzyr, Role Player Adventures, and Sleeping Gods, I see no reason why you won't also enjoy this one.