TDG: Banish the Snakes: A Game of St. Patrick in Ireland

Why did St. Patrick drive all the snakes out of Ireland? It was too far to walk! Join Cody as he looks at this cooperative game of Christian conversion in the Dark Ages from GMT Games. Will it bless your table on game night? Or will it just be game clover for you?
BGG: boardgamegeek....
Cody Carlson, PhD: / @codycarlsonph.d.5591
Facebook: / thediscriminatinggamer
Twitter: / codyk76
Galaxy of Games: galaxyof.games/

[@JDisStrange]

We (four players) had a great time playing this at GMT Warehouse Weekend. Those Druids are such a pain to get rid of! You can't convert anybody until they are gone. High Kings influence the three Kings, Kings influence the chiefs in their zones. Each of the lower level leaders can replace the guy above them in an upheaval. The constant shifting of leadership is a wonderful complicating factor, where you thought you had a chief in your pocket (converted) but yet another spasm shifts everyone around and you almost have to start over again. I sort of lucked out with the draw when my Saint died (ran out of zeal). My replacement the Saint who get's a +1 for relics. I converted the grave (static in the zone) to a relic (mobile, goes with the Saint), and that guy had huge advantages for the rest of the game. Any Saint who can automatically found a church is a great guy to have filling in behind a successful attempt to remove the Druids. We barely won just as England had almost completely converted to Paganism (which we interpreted as the Romans pulling out). Such a good time! Thanks for covering this non-wargame.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Happy to help. Thanks!

[@Elicurren]

As a person of Irish descent, this is a must have.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Yes it is.

[@thegamesninja3119]

Irish Descent? I now am wondering what an Irish version of the 3D FPS game Descent would be like. Cody has to have a dadjoke answer to that question. 🥷

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@thegamesninja3119 nope.

[@thegamesninja3119]

@TheDiscriminatingGamer Cody is actually working on an Irish expansion to the Fantasy Flight Games game of Descent though. Of course, talk of this Cody would say is a lot of Blarney, which is reference to the game being set in a suburbs of Cork City. 🥷

[@MeanderingMikesManCave]

Nice review! I look forward to getting this to the table later in the year.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks!

[@donnieinman8049]

Got this in the mail a few months back. Stickered everything up but haven't gotten it to the table yet. Need to rectify that.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Indeed. You'll get a kick out of it.

[@carrickrichards2457]

Clear and helpful as ever, thanks

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you!

[@benjaminhester434]

Have been a vocal critic of GMT rulebooks for years, but I see them trending away from that in recent products. Glad to see it.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Indeed.

[@pablod6872]

Now all I can think of is the Simpsons episode where Bart is playing "Billy Graham's Bible Blaster" at the Flanders' house. "Aww, you just winged him; now he's a Unitarian!" Maybe that should be the result of a tie on a conversion roll 😊

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Ha! That’s great!

[@davedogge2280]

I have a nice Irish neighbour and every time she encounters me on the communal stairs she says to me 'Banish the snake !' and then she calls the cops on me for not doing so.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Ha!

[@tmcd5049]

True story! Not???

[@tcp1623]

You should be allowed the win the game with one dead acolyte. Those Catholics LOVE their martyrs 😉

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Ha!

[@CaptainFritz28]

Interesting, I've never seen a game on a topic like this before. Very unique.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

It is a very unique theme indeed. Fun game.

[@CaptainFritz28]

​@@TheDiscriminatingGamerAlso, I just got to the end of the video, and first, the joke is great, but so is your Irish accent!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@CaptainFritz28 Thanks!

[@tmcd5049]

The joke is at 13:49.

[@tmcd5049]

What are DRMs? 10:40

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Dice Roll Modifiers.

[@tmcd5049]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thanks.

[@westcoastavengers1]

Can you convert a Christian to a Pagan?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Not in the game.