Sword Art Online Board Game: Sword of Fellows Board Games

Before I get into my actual review, I want to address the concerns that were raised for me by the other review on here (which I greatly appreciated): 1. All players DO actually play during the final battle. The main thing I want to point out is that, while Kirito is the only attacker at one point, it is only for one phase during the last boss fight. [show spoilers in bound] Kayaba has two phases (referred to in the game as "steps"): during the first step, all players attack. During the second step, only Kirito attacks. However, this second step has Kayaba at exactly 1 HP, with a shield effect worth 28 (I believe). Literally a single good roll will end this entire phase of the battle. Additionally, all players play during this portion of the game: the others (players not playing as Kirito) simply roll the support dice rather than the attack dice. 2. No player can be left unused in normal battle either. Additionally, all players are active in the game, as the exhaustion system (which only comes into play when there are three or more players) are in place so as to ensure that each player can only chain for one turn before sitting the next turn out. Now on to my personal review. I saw the review on here, and while it was helpful, it also left me a little unsure about the game. I got it anyway though, as a gift for someone. Upon trying it I must say I love the game. It's extremely simple to play, it follows the show's storyline (which at first I wasn't thrilled about, but later realized that it's fun reliving those moments with your friends), and it relies heavily on team work -- it is literally impossible to finish without at least two characters, as each character is relient on assistance from another character in order to use their best sword skills. How it plays (in a nutshell): Each player picks a character (Agil, Asuna, Kirito, Klein, Lizbeth, and Silica are all here). Each character has a special character die which are more likely to produce the numbers they need to trigger their sword skills (more on this later), and they also have the picture of the character they belong to on one side. To play you simply take the four black dice (attacking dice) and give the four white dice (support dice) to the player you wish to chain with. Both players roll their dice, then use the numbers they rolled to activate one of the sword skills belonging to the attacking player-- the numbers needed to activate a sword skill are indicated on your character's card. Some examples: Kirito's skills require multiples of any given number, so to activate Horizontal Square you need (If memory serves) four dice showing the same number -- any number works. Klein on the other hand needs small numbers, so to activate his skill called Wolf Pack, you need (again, if memory serves) six dice showing a total of twelve or less. Each player can roll up to three times, and they can also roll their character dice to more easily obtain the numbers their character needs (Ex. Klein's dice are all ones and twos, since he needs low numbers) and if they roll and their character's face is the side that the die lands on, they get to pick whatever number they want. The character dice and the abilities are where supporters really come into play in a big way (though all of their rolls are important) since they get to choose what numbers they contribute to their partner's roll. As an added bonus, if all eight dice are used, the characters "Switch" and the opponent's turn is skipped, so no damage is dealt to either player. Back to abilities: each player has one, and as implied above, each player's ability let's them adjust the dice after they are rolled. Example: Klein rolls: 1, 1, 5, 6. Obviously he doesn't want the five or six because he needs the low numbers. What does he do? Using his ability is a good option (depending on the situation). Said ability allows him to turn two of those dice into twos, so his roll now looks like this: 1, 1, 2, 2. Abilities are limited in use however, so knowing when to use your ability is important, and optimal play requires you discussing things with your partner. There are a few other very important rules, but this should give you a good idea of how the game is played. One last thing that should be noted is that the game is divided into four sections: lower, middle, upper, and final battle. Each of the first three sections are randomly chosen by shuffling the three cards labeled as being part of that group (so that there are three cards labeled lower, three labeled middle, and three labeled upper), and thus your adventure is determined anew each time you play. That's the gist of how it's played. If you're on the fence, take my advice: buy the game asap. It can be played solo if you have no one to play with (you control two characters in solo play), and if you do have someone to play with, your shared reactions to each phase you play will make for fun memories. The game itself is also a blast to play. I bought this game as a Christmas gift, and we've gotten our fair share of usage out of it already, and have no plans of stopping anytime soon!

Seiji Kanai is one of my favorite tabletop game devs.. i htink i have all of the ones i can get my hands on, and SAO is no exception. Its fun fast and gives a really good feel to playing each character.

This game may be fun but as other reviewers have mentioned it is in no way a board game. Check the dimensions to temper expectations!

Interesting concept, boring game. I like how it’s difficult and it truly relies on cooperative nature, but there’s no sense of competitiveness which makes it quite dull.

So first I have to say I do love this game and enjoy it immensely, however I gave it 4 stars due to lacking heavy replay ability. I love the simple set up. You choose one of six characters (Kirito, Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, Klein, and Agil). One players must always be Kirito. You work your way through lower, middle, and upper floors of Aincrad and make your way to the final boss. That is done buy rolling dice and attacking the enemy for the floor. You level up your characters by beating floors. It's most fun with 4 players though you can play solitaire. Now I said I gave it 4 stars due to lacking in replayability. That being due to the game only focusing on the 1st half of the 1st season. However, that also opens up the door for future expansions that can introduce new characters, equipment, and characters which I am ever hopeful will happen. Overall this is a great game and does provide some quick fun!

It is a nice board game for SAO fans.

Really fun

Small box. Doesn’t feel worth the money

Buen juego, complicado la primera vez, divertido las siguientes, tiene buena rejugabilidad y la calidad en general es buena aunque las tarjetas son delgadas, pero no se usan mucho

It is a fun game and true to the anime. I did find only one final boss not as fun and that only Kirito mattered in the end even though it makes sense for the story. I ended up creating another final battle boss based on "Ordinal scale" that allows all players to play and the monsters defense changed for how many players to allow for equal difficulty. It just gives it another option and made for less player downtime in the end. Over all very enjoyable if you like the anime.

El juego llegó en perfectas condiciones, a un precio justo y de excelente calidad. Es facil de aprender y dificil de completar. Rinde un excelente tributo al anime.

El juego es más pequeño de lo que pensé pero es muy divertido, recomiendo buscar un tutorial de como jugarlo, especialmente para el modo de un solo jugador.

Buen juego, entretenido y bonito como colección. Es mucho más pequeño de lo que imaginé 😄