Legends of Andor: The Eternal Frost Review - It's Getting Cold In Here

Milla and Zee take a look at Legends of Andor: The Eternal Frost
Check out Great Tables, Games, & Bags at: www.boardgamet...
Join the Dice Tower Discord here! / discord
Support The Dice Tower at www.dicetowerki...
Support the channel by becoming a member!
/ @thedicetower
Subscribe to our newsletter, "The Dice Tower Digest": dicetowerdigest...
Check out the friendliest conventions on Earth!
Dice Tower Cruise - www.dicetowercr... (January 15-21, 2023)
Dice Tower West - www.dicetowerwe... (March 8 - 12, 2023)
Dice Tower East - www.dicetowerea... (July 5-9, 2023)
Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com
BGG Link: boardgamegeek....

[@mgk2020]

This game would be a prime target for a legacy edition.

[@mcstabba]

Always was intrigued a bit regarding Andor but never got it. Maybe I'll jump aboard now. Nice review.

[@Mortis2405]

Awesome explanation. Great pace and clarity. Thank you 👍

[@ramonosuke]

I liked Andor, but the overly puzzle aspect over fantasy just killed it for me. I wish there was more “fantasy” and freedom in this game, and the design shows its age IMO. Would love if this used a system like Gloomhaven or a euro-amertrash hybrid mechanism from Eric Lang to spice it up.

[@giozingaro]

Funny that after few seconds into any Zee's review I can tell by his mimic and voice if he liked it or not. Nice review anyway, thank you!

[@spacecentergames]

Another Andor! 😮

[@mikehuff2693]

I have Andor on my phone. I appreciate the fantasy theme and the story but I don't enjoy the unforgiving puzzle. I like a little more freedom in my games. This one seems a little too linear for me because if you don't use all of your actions perfectly, you will lose. Combat looks a little fiddly for what it is. But I play on the app so I don't have to worry about it.

[@mattbrewster8504]

Assuming you are talking about Legends of Andor: The King’s Secret, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to compare the two if you have only played the app. While the app is very similar and shares maps and most of the mechanisms with the board game(s), it IS quite different in terms of the degree of freedom you have, and the way it is executed. In the app the ‘puzzle’ aspect feels a LOT tighter, and on some levels it is tight to the point that it can seem that only one or two sub-optimal actions can cost you the victory. There is also little to no randomisation if playing the same scenario a second time. It feels much more like a *Solo* adventure puzzle where the aim is to figure out how to optimise the actions of all the characters to figure out how to attain victory over the ‘level’. By contrast, All the Andor board games do have quite a lot more freedom than this: there is much more of an ‘exploration’ feel, and more of a ‘band of heroes working together’ vibe. There is quite a bit of flexibility within the game for each player to have their own agency and ‘do their own thing’, but being aware that if one player ‘goes off exploring alone because they want to’, it might be harder for the rest of the team to ‘battle that big old troll currently threatening the city’. A major difference in the board game is that it doesn’t feel anywhere as linear as the app. You might play a legend (scenario) 3 or 4 times, and still find that things pan out differently, the events are different, different enemies appear in different orders, and different problems and opportunities arise each time. This is accomplished using an ingenious combination of both random and semi-random elements, mixed in with different combinations of narrative cards and mechanisms to create a scenario that plays out quite a bit differently every time. In the board game the feelings generated are more like “ooh I wonder what will happen next”, or “where do I want to go? Should I buy cool stuff, get more strength, explore the world…”, and taking each challenge and making decisions moment by moment. Don’t get me wrong, I think the app is really good and very faithful to the board game in so many ways, but i consider it to be a completely different type of experience in terms of the way it is executed. I prefer the board game to the app (even when playing the board game ‘solo’) simply because I don’t enjoy the frustration of “how do I get past this level after having already tried 6 times and not yet won” which is what is usually induced in me by the app.

[@StuartHetzler]

The maps are always cool. That's about the best thing I can say about the Andor-verse

[@RaynorJ2]

Love The Andor games, but this one just seems too similar to the first game with minor tweaks. Also, why no archer? Maybe an expansion will include one, but the archer was amazing in the original.

[@ramostott190]

It does have the benefit of the heroes working with any of the editions, so an archer could be transferred to this setting. I was happy that, even though they tweaked the warrior and dwarf abilities, the mage's ability to flip dice remains. That's easily my favorite.

[@edwindrood2816]

Great overview

[@kglas]

I have Jaws of The Lion and also Andor. For me Andor is much more fun of the two.

[@yodasdad]

One Way Out!

[@maio52]

I love Legends of Andor. I hate only set up.

[@matheusfonseca2826]

I don't get the idea of being intimidated by a game because you don't know where to start, a game can have a billion expansions, if you wanna try it, just play the base game, you can always start from the beginning just like everyone did when the game came out.

[@koalabrownie]

Sometimes there are multiple "base games" or products that fill the same role. Or if a game has a ton of content it can just be overwhelming because you wonder if you need that stuff or if it's still available or what's good and what isn't. etcetera

[@vast3394]

Why would I rob myself of having a better experience if certain expansions improve the game or maybe I won’t enjoy the base game,but an expansion adds things that I would enjoy. If I don’t enjoy the best game I probably wouldn’t seek out more material of it. Yeah you have to do research and even then you won’t know something until you play it for yourself. I think it’s perfectly fair to be intimidated by the series almost like starting a big series of books , starting a new show like anything the takes, time, commitment, or monetary resources. It’s perfectly reasonable exceptionally something like legend of andor

[@BobLee-df4zh]

​@@koalabrownieExactly. The DnD board games are a perfect example. Yeah, they're all "basically the same", but some are definitely more beginner friendly than others. People in this hobby have a hard time realizing not everyone has been playing as long as they have.