Ninja Relic Knights Darkspace Calamity Rulebook Board Game

Do you have a love for over the top anime inspired action? Do you enjoy games where you are constantly engaged? Do you love cute miniatures? Relic Knights is definitely the game you need to pick up.Relic Knights: Dark Space Calamity is the core rulebook for the Relic Knights system and can largely be divided up into a few sections: Rules, Story, Faction Data and Hobby.The rules are very clear, with good examples; a few issues slipped through the net in the rules but Sodapop Miniatures provide an FAQ (available here: http://sodapopminiatures.com/media-page/relic-knights/) to answer all of the questions that have arisen since the book was published. These are mostly edge case scenarios with certain model interactions that aren't necessarily covered by the rules as they stand so for the most part you shouldn't have any trouble. The game plays quite differently from other miniatures games I have played before which is one reason I rate this game highly. The activation system alternates between players and uses a queue concept, where you need to plan which model you need to move 2-3 activations ahead of time. This adds a great deal of forward thinking in putting your queue together during the game as well as making sure you are engaged for the whole match as the fight bounces back and forth between you and your opponent in rapid fire actions. All actions are resolved using the Esper deck, where success or failure is determined purely by the cards in your hand. This also adds to the games fast paced feel as if you have the resources to take a given action, it will always happen.The story sections are excellent, giving you a well written insight behind the various factions battling in the Last Universe and what their motivations are. I can heartily recommend reading this to give some context to your battles.The faction data section gives you some additional background detail on the various models and units available in the game currently, from both a gaming data and a background story perspective. This is both added insight into characters motivations and allows you to put together list ideas or theorycraft interactions between models without needing to buy said model just to see it's stat card.The hobby section gives painting tips for the newcomer and goes into good detail on getting that 'crisp, anime finish' that even veteran painters should find useful. This is complete with lots of photos of all the excellent studio painted models to use as inspiration for your own colour schemes.Highly recommended