Robin the Hood. On the forest path

A long time ago, in an abandoned forest area, there lived a glorious robber who took money from the rich and distributed it to the poor. As soon as a wealthy man found himself on a forest path in the middle of Sherwood Forest at night, glorious fellows appeared from the darkness and, waving axes, politely asked to share their savings with them. The peasants of the surrounding lands in every way approved of this activity and called the leader of the "highway romantics" Robin Hood. Today on the Pink Sofa is the jogging board game "Robin Hood".

Of course, such a free-thinking position was not liked by the nobles, merchants and other wealthy segments of society, so the best minds of the kingdom were sent to catch the criminals, who unsuccessfully tried to stop the activities of the "Sherwood dashing guys".

No one knows exactly how this incredible story ended, and whether everything was exactly as it is set out in the legends, but one thing is known for certain - Robin Hood became a symbol of noble robbers, if such can even exist ...

A glorious robber and his entire squad can easily hide in a square box. Neither a deck of cards, nor a handful of tokens, nor plastic chips will prevent a unit of free shooters with a week's supply of provisions from being accommodated in free space. The playing field and the modest rule booklet hover in the free space, unable to contain their surprise at such unusual choice packaging dimensions.

Six rivals will have to show their secret existence skills in Sherwood Forest - you will find the appropriate number of plastic chips and markers (for forgetful players) in the bowels of the box.

The playing field depicts the road to Nottingham Castle, it is on this winding path that the main events of the game will unfold.

Six task tokens will help applicants for the title of "the right hand of Robin himself" to complete the task assigned to them - to collect 7 cards with badges of the same type.

84 task cards of six types (the icon in the upper left corner) allow you to move the figures along the road in the direction indicated by the arrows. The white arrows instruct to go forward, towards the fortress walls, and the black arrows return the hero under the shadow of the saving forest.

There are also immediate action cards (10 pieces) that allow you to swap figures and tokens on the field, view opponents' cards, replenish your hand additional tasks etc.

One step forward and two steps back

Place the game board in the center of the table, randomly place task tokens in the upper part of it. The figures of the opponents are placed according to the scheme (the position depends on the number of contenders). The task cards are shuffled, ten of them form a pile of contributions, lying face up near the field.

Opponents receive 4 cards and a token of their color, the remaining deck forms a general reserve. The player who was the last to get lost in the forest starts his journey.

During your move, you must first pay attention to the top row of "bags" and the numbers located next to them. This is the number of cards that must be taken into hand from a common deck. The indicators corresponding to the position of your chip are taken into account. For example, the first (red) player draws one card.

Next, look at the lower part with the "hand" - this is the number of cards that need to be discarded (without applying effects) to the contribution pile. In our example, the red player owes nothing, and the blue or green player is required to donate one card. If the value of the "hand" is positive, then you need to take the specified number of cards from the pile of contributions.

Then bidding follows - the active player openly lays out one task from his hand, and opponents can either pass, or also openly play one card from his hand. In the case when no one answered, the active player moves the pieces according to the played card and ends his turn.

In the event that the opponents lay out response cards, the active player must choose one of them and exchange tasks. Then you need to move according to the arrows from two cards.

With movement, everything is quite simple: you need to move a number of chips along the path equal to the number of groups of arrows, while you can choose both your chip and the figures of your opponents. In our example, there are three groups (two black and one white), which means that it is necessary to move three figures (two - one position back each, one - two cells forward). After that, the task is considered completed, and the card goes to the player's reserve as a victory point.

Free shooters run within the path, therefore, having reached the castle wall, they "loop" to the beginning of the path. At the same time, the left side of the field is an insurmountable obstacle when moving from right to left. Please note: players are required to move the pieces, even if it is not profitable for them.

A special card goes into the hand when exchanged, and in the event of a draw, it is not considered a victory point, but goes to the discard pile after applying special properties.

To win, you need to collect seven identical icons. At the same time, cardboard tokens lying above the track are also counted, but on the condition that the player’s chip stops at the corresponding cell at the end of the turn after all movements.

For example, the Blue player wins by collecting six cards with the Free Rifles Pennant. The seventh character brings a cardboard box, under which his figure ends his journey.

Sherwood Wilds

The original game for programming the movement of figures along the track with active interaction between the players. Each played card becomes a completed task, while changing the position of not only the active player, but also his opponents. And the replenishment of the hand directly depends on this position - sometimes the number of discarded cards exceeds the number received, which significantly complicates the task.

The rules are not complicated, but confusion can arise when moving pieces: you must remember that not only your figure is moving, but also the opponent's pieces. Also, carefully monitor the number of groups of arrows and take into account the "circularity" of the right edge of the field. Sometimes it seems that the players control the "sliders" of the DJ console ...

The manufacturing quality of the field, unfortunately, causes criticism: in the center, along the fold, there is a thick white stripe (paint shedding). It can be seen with the naked eye in the photographs. Of course, this does not affect the gameplay, but it is surprising, given that Zvezda has been making very high-quality fields lately. Perhaps this is a shortcoming of my copy ... But the cards and figures are made "excellently".

For a wide range of fans of jogging through the Sherwood forests…

partisans full moon
The Zvezda company is gradually beginning to dominate the niche of publishing board games based on one or another popular literary or film universe: Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, star Wars”,“ Van Helsing ”- the names are all well-known and in some places even cult. Due to the company's course to turn into games the most popular works of world culture, the release of the board game about the adventures of Robin our Hood was only a matter of time. Now the time has come.

Noble Rogues
First of all, I want to praise the quality of the game. In a box with a Robin Hood tabletop, you expect to see a colorful map of Sherwood Forest, recognizable heroes and charismatic villains. And, lo and behold, it's all there! The game map depicts the picturesque surroundings of Nottingham, conveniently surrounded by forests on all sides.

The design of the playing field cannot be called a masterpiece,
but you can't deny the authors a sense of beauty.

This is interesting: The name of the author of the game is Vladimir Khvatil (it's a pity that it's not Kondratiy, by God), he comes from the Czech Republic. Experienced boarders may know him as the creator of games such as Galaxy Trucker, Space Alert, Prophecy, and Dungeon Lords.

Old acquaintances look from the cards of the characters - the monk Tuk, the maiden Marian, Will Scarlett and even Robin himself. Finally, high-quality multi-colored plastic figurines delight the eye. Although the function of these chips in the game is rather decorative, they certainly create their own part of the atmosphere. "Zvezda" generally very carefully approached the publication of the Russian version of the game and (apart from a few jambs with the translation of the rules) did not sacrifice the quality of the original anywhere.

The Greens came to power in the Nottingham area.

This is interesting: it would be wrong to say that the game takes place in Sherwood Forest. The historically inaccurate map shows the main cities of County Nottingham, and the famous robbers' hideout is not particularly marked in any way. Thus, Robin Hood, as befits a real partisan, comes from nowhere and retreats to nowhere.

Ad Astra
The plot plot pleasantly surprises with its closeness to the original story: King Richard is languishing in prison, his brother Prince John has usurped the throne and oppresses the English poor, and the resilient lumpen receive moral and material compensation for their troubles, uniting in robber gangs and terrorizing the rich of Nottingham.

Players act as leaders of forest gangs and fight not so much for the well-being of Albion, but for the greatest recognition and glory among the people - the winner of the game is exactly the robber whose gang by the end of the game will score maximum amount popularity points. Such is the medieval variation on the theme of "Star Factory".

Per Aspera
However, to get to the star status you will have to go through by no means metaphysical thorns: the Nottingham authorities do not sleep and regularly fill the empty chambers of the dungeons with our brave heroes. And the latter are there with enviable regularity - very vital, I must say.

The police are looking for them. The criminals are armed and very dangerous.

The game move looks like this: three task cards are laid out from a special stack (cleanse a rich man, attack a patrol, or acquire a valuable ally), the players decide which feat is most profitable for them to accomplish, and, according to their plan, select the composition of the participants in the operation. The fact is that each player has cards of the main characters in his hands (Robin, Marian, Took, Little John and Will Scarlett), each of which has both weak and strengths. Robin, for example, is an excellent archer, but nowhere near as cunning as the rogue Took, who, in turn, is not trained in archery at all and is not careful enough. Little John is a consummate swordsman, but as simple as a child, and so on. Thus, in order to successfully complete a particular task, the player needs to figure out what his squad will specialize in this turn and what kind of competition he will have to face from the leaders of other gangs.

This is interesting: fans of tactical computer games are likely to remember the project “Robin Hood. Legend of Sherwood" from Spellbound - a kind of Commandos in the entourage of medieval Sherwood. There, too, there were heroes with diverse skills, who needed to be combined into effective reconnaissance groups.

Then the fun begins: since the selection of units is carried out in a closed manner, after the flip of the cards, it becomes obvious who performed best in fencing, who is the most accurate shooter and who is the most cunning at the end of the move. The winner in each "nomination" is entitled to a reward, and the player whose squad did during the raid the most noise, you have to part with all your operatives, who are immediately sent to rot in prison.

Fortunately, the Nottingham sheriff in this game is not vindictive and extremely greedy. Not only does he willingly accept a ransom for captives, but he also distributes amnesties right and left! From the point of view of the gameplay, this, of course, is justified: it would be strange if Robin and his team languished in a dungeon for most of the game time, and the player was inactive. In addition, the leaders have the opportunity to arrange regular escapes for their wards - for this it is enough to lie down on the bottom for one turn and not make sorties.

Collection of the Museum "Fields of Wonders": gifts from Sherwood.

Green redistribution
It is a mistake to think that all the actions of the forest brothers come down to following the code of a thief from the Soviet comedy "Gentlemen of Fortune" - "stole, drank, to jail". Robin Hood and company are trying not for self-interest - a player who successfully completes task after task often gets the opportunity to annex one of the county cities to his sphere of influence. Each such city is +1 point on the gang popularity scale, and if the cities are connected to each other and Nottingham by chains of roads, these are also additional points! So it turns out that behind the innocent amusements of the merry robbers lies a real redistribution of spheres of influence and almost Civil War. However, the goal of the game remains the same: whoever is the most famous bandit in the area by the time Richard is released from captivity is the canonical Robin Hood! And the rest are impostors in the dustbin of history.

There is such a party!

During a successful raid, allies can join the squad of heroes - invaluable help in the fight for the coveted popularity points. All allies have some kind of unique talent: Much, son of a miller, for example, is able to extract additional gold or items of equipment that strengthen squad members, and Will Stutley can easily steal the sympathy of the population of the city, which previously belonged to another player.

Fun 2 out of 3
advantages: peppy and dynamic gameplay does not give a chance to get bored in the middle of the game
limitations: experienced players will quickly figure out winning tactics and schemes
Interaction 2 of 3
advantages: fighting other players for the sympathy of the common people is really interesting
limitations: direct collisions between players are completely excluded
Working out 2 of 3
advantages: all elements of the gameplay are in perfect harmony with each other
limitations: the rules of the game are full of ambiguities and inaccuracies
Atmosphere 3 of 3
advantages: the childhood favorite story of Robin Hood is cleverly transferred to the board game format
limitations: considerations of balance sometimes prevail over common sense and realism
Quality 3 out of 3
advantages: excellent artwork, no complaints
limitations: plastic figurines are not perfect

Verdict: The path to the heights of popularity begins at the very bottom, and the game clearly illustrates the ascent of an unknown upstart to the status of a legend. If you like atmospheric games with intense competition between players and numerous role-playing elements, then Robin Hood is definitely your choice. Don't hide your money!

While King Richard the Lionheart is on a crusade, the citizens of England are suffering from Prince John's exorbitant taxes, increasingly prone to robbery and robbery. One of the most famous bands of robbers appeared in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham. The Nice Guys, led by Robin Hood, rob the rich to help the poor.

You, too, decide to join the noble outlaws on the paths of Sherwood Forest. To become right hand Robin Hood, you will have to prove your loyalty and favor by completing seven tasks of the same type. In the game "Robin Hood" players will need to rob passers-by, send messages, find out information and hide in the forest by moving their chip along the forest road.

How to become one of the brave guys of Robin Hood?

The road to Nottingham is divided into seven sectors, in each of which a task token is placed. Above each sector on the field of the game "Robin Hood" it is written how much the player "looted" in it - he pulled cards from the common deck. The drawing at the bottom of the sectors tells how much the noble robbers give the loot: for example, with "-1" - the player must discard one card to the end.

"Robin Hood" is a simple but pretty unusual game, in which players constantly move each other's chips, put up their cards for auction, steal (no wonder they are robbers), peep, mix, get to Nottingham Palace, but escape from there into the forest. And in order to win and become the best assistant of the legendary Robin Hood, the player must accumulate 7 cards with tasks of one of six types.

Wow, why move other players' chips?

Like Sherwood's outlaws in the book and films, these also sometimes commit a forced robbery. Each turn, the active player must bid one of their quest cards. If no one came out with him to change, he completes the task on this card. And the tasks there are described by arrows, for example:
On the quest card, one black arrow points back, and one double white arrow points forward. This means that the player needs to move one chip back one step, and the other forward two. It turns out that even if he moves his chip somewhere, he will have to move one of the others.
Why is this a robbery setup? Because the places where the chips are located have different properties. Suppose a player received two new task cards for each turn. And then it was moved back! And now he only gets one card. And he needs to hurry to accumulate 7 identical ones!

But there are also special cards

You can not sell them, but immediately play. They help to peek at other players' cards, even pull cards from their hand, take additional cards from the task and contribution pile, swap player pawns and task tokens, even completely swap cards with a competitor.

There are many treasures hidden in Sherwood Forest.

• playing field,
• 94 cards,
• 6 figurines of forest robbers,
• 6 player tokens
• 6 task tokens,
• Rules of the game.

“Steal from the rich and give to the poor!” The game takes us to the hard times of the most just robber - Robin Hood. Players will have to unite the Merry Robbers of Sherwood Forest around themselves and achieve popularity by endearing themselves to the inhabitants of Nottingham and its suburbs.

Game progress

The adventures of the Merry Thieves are built around the completion of tasks, with the help of which players establish control over cities. The action takes place on a beautiful map, in the center of which lies Nottingham, and on the outskirts in the Sherwood Forest there are small towns and villages connected by roads.

The game takes place in three stages, each of which corresponds to the task - from simple to complex. Each round, three task cards are selected from the current stack of tasks. Tasks are divided into three groups: by strength, dexterity and cunning. The same skills are indicated on the character cards. Players secretly select a squad of characters to complete current tasks and open them. The funniest rogues with the highest score in a particular skill win the corresponding quest card. But even with the successful completion of the task, the robbers can end up in jail! Each character has a caution value. If the gang with the highest Caution score wins the mission, the Sheriff catches them and sends the bandits to jail. The characters will remain in jail for the rest of the game unless they break out or bribe the Sheriff.

Each card won allows you to choose one of two rewards. Rewards allow you to perform actions that help players score victory points. In total, there are four types of Rewards in the game. "Justice" allows you to immediately place a robber figure in a free city and establish control over it. You can even place a figurine in an already occupied city, but for this you will have to fork out gold and bribe the townspeople to drive them away former hero. The "Strength" award gives you the right to occupy any free settlement located on the outskirts of the map, which will bring you popularity points. Using the Loot reward, the player can receive money or useful items, which increase the chances of winning tasks. Money can be spent on bribing the Sheriff or the townspeople. And finally, the Ally award allows you to enlist the support of neutral characters.

Due to the variety of mechanics, players have to implement a variety of strategies, but the game is very finely balanced, so there is no one hundred percent strategy here. You can try to take control of the center of the map, but at the risk of losing these cities at the end of the game. You can bet on accumulating money and items to reduce the risk of going to jail. Or to bet on increasing the size of the gang, which will allow you to worry less about imprisonment and increase the room for maneuver. One way or another, in this game, the share of randomness is minimized and everything depends only on the decisions of the players themselves.

Purpose of the game

After the end of the game, victory points are calculated. The player scores victory points for occupied cities if there is a road between them. Nottingham brings bonus points. The winner is the player with the most points.

Who is this game for?

"Robin Hood" - a game of constant choice and search optimal solutions. The game is addressed to experienced players and fans of board games.