OATH: CHRONICLES OF EMPIRE AND EXILE Is Complicated, Enduring and Intelligent

Board games normally have some barrier of entry because of some complications in rules, unique strategies, or special goals. Oath, by Leder Games, is all that and more. Making this game possible one of the more difficult games to approach, even for more veteran board games fans. But the rewarding strategy, open paths to victory, and variety of twists and turns that the game will take make for quite an enthralling experience.

First and foremost, Oath is a very well-made game. From the wooden pawns and to the fabric board, everything is well crafted. Leder Games has a profoundly beautiful art design when it comes to cards. The art style is just like Root, and each card looks fantastic. The Deluxe Edition comes with some fantastic coins and added components that are purchasable on their website. While quality components, cards, and dice aren’t the most important thing, it adds a nice touch to the game’s experience.

Oath is unique for a number of reasons. The gameplay is wildly complicated. Players have to juggle chasing multiple goals (if they want), make moves depending on opposing players, and can even switch loyalties halfway through (multiple times if it suits them). These complexities can be very cumbersome, especially because of the constantly changing goals that a player should and can chase. All these rules can pay off well in gameplay and subsequent playthroughs, but be prepared to spend a lot of time learning and trying to grasp the game’s core ideas, rules, and strategies. Leder Games even makes an effort in packaging so that players will open each deck of cards and set up the game for the first time in a certain order to help players. This is nice of them, and the game plays well once you understand the game, but it poses the question, are the rules of the game complicated, or are the choices within those rules complicated? With such a vast set of rules, at times it can seem to complicate things just to be complicated, not enhance and challenge the players’ intelligence.

Another major unique side of Oath is that it is technically a legacy game, meaning that the actions from the previous playthrough will dictate the next game. However, as I can tell from now, there isn’t a set limit of scenarios or “ending” to be reached. Players are partaking in an ever-changing world and take turns taking different roles. I love this idea. It gives the game a sense of life and history without being so confined to a setlist of playthroughs. This also allows people to hop in and out whenever they want, unlike other games that have a player assume a role for a set number of games.

This game will ask a lot of you. It will make you nervous while others take their turns and a single battle can change the tides of the world. This feels a lot like dealing with the politics and wars of the real world but tied to a table, and that can be very good...or not so good. This game won’t be for everyone because of its heavy complexities and drastic changes, but there is a specific crowd that will love Oath. I can see a group of friends playing Oath starting now till the end of time, every week starting with different circumstances and different players taking different roles and making different strategies. In the end, Oath is like its name, if players can dedicate the time and energy to fulfilling the rules and requirements of the game, they can be promised a worthwhile experience.