Our Allegory review, what we have to say about the simple auction and set collection board game with a whimsical narrative. This is a card game for 2 – 6 players that is going to run you 30 – 50 minutes. You are trying to get the highest scoring element cards and place them within your “stories” in the most strategic way possible. Once you get it down the play is very simple and moves quickly all while using a smart bidding system that is very strategic and not quite like anything else.
We took a look across fun, replayability, player interaction, quality and art & style to come up with the overall score for our Allegory review. See the breakdown by category below.
FOR MORE: How To Play Allegory | Games Like Allegory | Buy Allegory on Amazon
– CATEGORY BREAKDOWN –
Fun (7 out of 10)
For the fun section of the Allegory review, we award a high 7 out of 10. All you are doing is trying to get one card each round, but everyone is fighting over the same cards.
There are only a few decisions to make but they are all key making for a really fun game that is accentuated by how fast it moves. You want to get the best cards and there are a few different ways to get them, both of which are a result of both short term and long term thinking. There is plenty to keep you engaged the whole time but not so much that it will hurt your head.
Replayability (7 out of 10)
For the replayability section of the Allegory review, we award a wonderful 7 out of 10. The game is quick, changes every time and has some easy but ingenious gameplay mechanics. Every game is different and you are quite engaged the whole time so this is an easy one to get into over and over again.
What this all makes for is a game that is pretty different every time and one that you are going to want to play over and over again. This is not one where you can learn a strategy and execute it every time. You need to be able to predict the paths to victory others are going to try so you can find the less-traveled path that will take you all the way to victory.
Player Interaction (8 out of 10)
For the player interaction section of the Allegory review, we award a very good 8 out of 10. The game is all player interaction. At the end of the day, there is a round and all you need to do is get one card, but everyone is fighting over the same cards so it gets very tricky. You can play this with up to 6 players. The twists and turns will keep you guessing.
The whole hook of the game is the interesting bidding system and how it naturally repopulates the money in the ecosystem for people to spend depending on what they do. Anticipating what each person is going to do is everything. Do you bid and get what you want or do you pull back to collect. There are other games that have this “do I want something good now or take a chance to get something better later” but this has and extra payoff mechanic in the middle that lets you kind of sneak in at the half way point.
Quality (6 out of 10)
For the quality section of the Allegory review, we award a solid 6 out of 10. While the bidding mechanic is interesting and the game is quick and modular, there is a bit of a disconnect with the scoring and overall theme.
The theme is interesting, but it pretty much has nothing at all to do with why you are making decisions or what happens in the game. The scoring does add the nice hurdle of “low score out of three rows” making you have to be smart about how you are managing where to put things, but it kind of comes down to the luck of the draw and it would be great if there was more to mitigate that.
Art & Style (6 out of 10)
For the art & style section of the Allegory review, we award a good 6 out of 10. The theme and art make this one pretty and interesting, but it is a bit of a stretch connecting it to the actual gameplay. You are building this lively story, but only because the game says you are, it is not something that you are actually doing.
That said, the art is in fact good looking and unique. It has a very ornate and historically rustic feel. The drawings on the cards do look like they could have come out of the literature of the 19th century or something from another time. The iconography is solid across and the cover is a solid eye catching entrance to the property.
– IN CLOSING –
Allegory Review | Board Game Halv
Allegory has a great bidding mechanic and quick gameplay but the scoring and connection to the theme (which is lovely) are a bit of a disconnect so we can't say this is a classic for the ages. It is, however, a really solid bidding game that is very playable at all player counts 2 - 6. The showdown amongst all the players make this a fun one, but there is just not enough to help sway some of the luck of the draw. This has been our Allegory review, we hope you have enjoyed it.
Product In-Stock: InStock
6.8
See the full explanation of the judging criteria here.
