Review: A Few Acres of Snow from Treefrog Games - The Players' Aid

[@JasonMDockins]

Every time Alexander says bits and pieces I get Weird Science in my head.

[@messinuprules3442]

Ditto…From my heart and from my hands….

[@davidthompson7233]

This is the game that introduced me to wargames, and was the primary inspiration behind the combination of deck-building and spatial relevance in Undaunted. A magnificent game. Thanks for the review, gents.

[@zariaswell]

I love than the mechanic of adding cards in the discard pile goes so well with the theme : settlers, guns, ships, money, goods have to travel across the Atlantic first before getting useful in the war...

[@adamkenney6932]

Back in 2012 when all I owned were Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Agricola, I bought this based solely on it being on a best of 2011 list and because of its cover art. I also wanted something more confrontational. Since then it has become a holiday game for my brother and me. We play it a few times on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's always fun, always tactical, and always surprising. "Halifax Hammer" has never been an organically discovered thing in our plays. I also used to own Hands in the Sea and I will say that it felt much different due to the supply rules. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it wasn't hitting the table because of the added complexity. Either way, I really love this system and would like to see it more often with different themes and sprinklings of mechanisms, kind of like the COIN series. Great video, guys!

[@zariaswell]

25:00 Nope. You don't draft location cards i you deck. It's the other way around. First you have to play a starting location card (Here, Norfolk) an adequate transportation card (The boat from St-Mary's card), and if there is a settler icon on the location on the board, a card with a settler (Here, the settler from Philadelphia's). Then you place a cube on the destination one the board and you put the corresponding card (Here, Richmond) in your discard pile.

[@furrysharker]

I do appreciate the minimal footprint and smaller mapboard on this one.

[@hhcacoustic]

The most broken thing about this game is that it’s not in production anymore.

[@zariaswell]

You're damn right !

[@jamesbrazeal3847]

I want to try this one, but out of print and I am not paying secondary market prices. Glad you liked it

[@nohandle54]

I've played this one for years without knowing, or caring, about whatever people say is "broken" about it. I've always had fun with it. I'd even love to see Martin Wallace do a refresh of this one

[@davidthompson7233]

Couldn’t agree more. Don’t give a crap about some silly “broken strategy” employed by douchebags, as Alexander said. And would LOVE to see a refreshed edition of this.

[@henryrodriguez6260]

@@davidthompson7233 From my understanding, the broken strategy reflects the historical means by which the English won this contest.

[@whitneymilam3141]

@@davidthompson7233 It was only one guy who declared the game broken. According to legend, he played it 50 times and won every time. I own the game. I LOVE this game. I have tried to recreate the "HH" and I never can. It demands total commitment or else it loses. So maybe it works; maybe it doesn't. What I DO know is I wont research it any more. I will just play the game and marvel at its design (Note: If you put my feet to the fire, I would say it is not a wargame. I have won with the Brits without fighting with the French once. But as a wargamer, I LOVE it.

[@betasub]

It's not broken. You can see playing it on Yucata. The best players can play either side and win. I've already won with the French against strong players, capturing Boston. The French has serious strength, and, yes, serious weakness. However, it's easier to win with the English side.

[@1183newman]

Ithink he did redo this game with a scifi theme?

[@crokinoledk]

Thank you for the review Guys. Always pleasure to hear your thoughts. It’s a very good game. If you haven’t done it yet, you should try “Hands in the Sea”, it’s even better. Even if you didn’t like the topic (1st Punic War), you would find that game great. Daniel Berger’s game successfully takes on Wallace’s design creating more refined and polished game, with more possibilities at the same time in my humble opinion. Best regards, and thank you for your great job!

[@greginfla_1]

never heard of it; will look in to it

[@crokinoledk]

@@greginfla_1 If you have an opportunity, do yourself a favor and don’t hesitate to try it! Give it a shot whether you like “A Few Acres of Snow”, “Polis”, “Hanibal & Hamilcar” or not. It’s simply a great intense game with historical meat on the bones :-D. Cheers

[@whitneymilam3141]

This is such a brilliant design! So many different ways to win or lose. I have tried repeatedly to recreate the "Halifax Hammer' and never could make it work. Don't worry. The game is NOT broken. Buy this on Ebay if you can. This is an amazing game. And yes...It's not exactly a "Wargame" but still...

[@Jubilo1]

’Tis well. Magua took the hatchet to color it with blood. It is now bright; when it is red, it shall be buried.”

[@robertmoffitt1336]

LOL on the "if someone does that to you they're a..." 😄. I agree!

[@davidthompson7233]

Amen. The solution: don’t play with that person.

[@petem4122]

Really a good unique take on the F&I War with this one. This will probably always have a place on my self. Like you guys I looked at it on the shelf at my local store for years & finally caught it on sale for cheap. So glad I finally picked it up a few years ago. If only I were better at “maths”, I could probably get really good at this one! 😂🤣. As always you guys are the best!

[@francoismailly7380]

You should definitely try : Hands in the sea! It's everything this game has and better! The first Punic war, tighter deck building, limited time for sieges etc. Keep the great work!

[@Phillybrarian]

Has nothing to do with the game itself, but Alexander made my day when, during the description of the map and gameplay, he mentioned my hometown: Oswego. Silly, I know, but thanks for the smile (you didn't do a bad job in pronunciation, either) Historically, the town and fort (Fort Ontario) changed hands a couple of times over the war years, but the French never maintained a true garrison and the town and fort ended in British control. Thanks for another enjoyable and informative player's aid review!

[@whitneymilam3141]

I love these guys. They are wonderful at what they do. "A Few Acres of Snow" blew my mind when I played it for the first time. Over repeated play, I found that either side can win in a variety of ways. AFOS is in my all time top five games. So...my new Bucket List item is to play "AFOS" with Grant at a gaming convention and beat his ass with my snowshoe.....er...I mean, tennis racket.

[@ThePlayersAid]

Bring it! -Grant (jokingly)

[@Jubilo1]

French win by raiding until they accrue 12 point of cube and disks; British win by concentrating on taking Louisburg to Quebec before the French can build forts. The cards will dictate your fate. Very historical in abstract economic and political terms.

[@e-4airman124]

thank you

[@MichaelCorryFilms]

How did you guys even get ahold of a copy?

[@ThePlayersAid]

Got this in a trade a few years ago.

[@MichaelCorryFilms]

​@@ThePlayersAid So, of course now that you've played it you are completely disenchanted with the design and are willing to sell it for a pittance. Am I right? No? Damn...

[@MichaelCorryFilms]

@@ThePlayersAid I've been trying to get a person totally new to wargaming to transition from euros. This one was on my first choice because he was interested in the subject. The cost of course was ridiculous when I looked it up. Have you got another recommendation that might fill that role?

[@ThePlayersAid]

@@MichaelCorryFilms Undaunted Normandy, Time of Crisis, Lincoln (PSC/Worthington)

[@rolandhatzenpichler893]

I had to decide whether to get this or one of the Birth of America/Europa series and it looks like I made the right decision to kickstart 878 Vikings. I can play it even with my dad who is not a gamer and hasn’t played even a light wargame (other than Risk) ever and he liked it. Do you have a preferred one from the latter series? 1775, 1812?

[@ThePlayersAid]

I think 1754 is the best of the series.

[@henryrodriguez6260]

Having played 878 Viking and A Few Acres, I will say that the former is easier to introduce non-/light- gamers to. However the latter is the deeper, more engaging game.

[@whitneymilam3141]

@@ThePlayersAid I'm 56 years old. Back in my day, there was a saying in the hobby..."Real men play the campaign game." Still true with this old grognard.

[@maxvigne7111]

Maths is correct!

[@zariaswell]

The game is not balanced the same way Chess is not balanced. At expert level, it is a tiny bit easier to win with white (Brits) than black (Frenchs). It doesn't make it a bad game and I love AFAOS !!!