Leading the Way
I’ve had a go at reviewing some abstract games over my time as a critic: Tigers & Goats and Latrunculi. I find it fascinating to look at these very pure expressions of the mechanisms we now see as part and parcel of the games we love. These abstract games cast a long shadow over the hobby from the dawn of civilisation itself. They ignore theme and setting for the purity of the puzzle. What if they didn’t? That would give us a game like Leaders, the first game from desgner Hugo Frénoy. It is illustrated by Naïade, developed by Studio H, and published by Hachette Boardgames UK.
I bought Leaders with my own money. Some of the images in this piece were provided by Studio H. The version of the game I bought has English on all the cards and rulebook.
Leaders launched at Tabletop Scotland and I picked it up out of curiosity. I knew nothing about it other than it seemed to be a rather lovely box for the price, I got it for about £22 which made it a lot easier to say yes to.
For that price the production is off the charts. The box has a drawer in it to store the standees in. All of those have wooden bases and lovely thick cardboard. The board is a simple but beautiful hex with gold ink inlay to show where the characters start off. The few cards the game has reflect the beautiful illustartions on the standees. Each character is picked out from the background of the card with a raised spot gloss and the back of the cards have a pattern that is similarly treated. All this would be just a lovely side note if the game wasn’t any good but thankfully it is a very strong design from a new voice in the hobby.
On opposite sides of the hex board, your leaders stare at each other. The aim is to capture your opponent’s Leader by getting two of your pieces adjacent to them. Alternatively you can make sure the opposing leader can’t move, even if they are stopped by their own pieces.
Now you only have a Leader at the start, but they are soon joined by a series of Champions. On your first turn you might move your Leader a space, but after that you’ll start recruiting. The game starts with 3 of these folk available and they get replaced as they are assigned to teams. There is a nice balancing factor in how this plays out. The first player recruits one of these, but the second gets to recruit two, after which you alternate choosing one each turn until you have 4 Champions plus your Leader. Going first doesn’t seem to be a massive advantage, but it does mean you recruit the last Champion giving you a little more flexibility and counter drafting choices.
Once the Champions are part of your team, you can move them as you did with your leader. However these are not just abstract pieces to manoeuvre into position, they are tools. Each one comes with its own ability that will add to your arsenal.
Some of these Champion abilities will igve an always on bonus like letting your Leader move two spaces instead of one. A couple have weird special abilities liking getting two standees for the price of one pick. The rest are all active abilities which can only be used if the piece hasn’t taken a move this turn. This set of powers is where things get really interesting as you gain the power to jump over other pieces, slingshot standees across the board, or swap places.
Combining these powers in interesting ways is at the core of the Leaders experience. Maybe you’ll puck up Claw, hoping to pull the enemies Leader into a trap. That Leader is always running around though, making it hard for Claw to get a clean shot. How about taking Brewmaster who can move an adjacent ally. Now Claw can move and fire in one turn. Discovering combinations is one of the joys of this type of game so I won’t spoil any I have come across. With 16 champions to choose from though you are bound to find your own favourites, and think up ways to counter the emergent properties of this system.
Although this is effectively an abstract, theming the game pieces as Leaders and Champions gives it an almost skirmish or Moba (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) feel. The art of the Champions themsleves contributes a lot to giving the game life as each one feels full of personality. You’ll interpret these in your own way of course. To me the Assassin looks reluctant, the Brewmaster is content in their work, and the Vizir serene.
A game of Leaders is quick but contemplative. With only 5 pieces aside the decision space you exist in is small but interesting. The standees are black on one side and white on the other, and you always have your pieces with the black sides facing you. This simple piece of graphic design makes the board easier to parse, and strategies simpler to tease out. Games can pass in a few moves, or become a cagey back and forth as you move and manipulate. It’s the sort of game that begs for you to play a best of 3.
There is an advanced version of the game that I am yet to play. It involves having all the Champions available to draft at the start of the game. Before you even get to choose a champion both sides get to banish a Champion from the selection. Once you have 3 Champions, inlcuding your leader, you’ll do this again. I can see this being a much more tactical mode of the game, as certain combinations of Champions are drafted, counter drafter, or banished forever. I can see the appeal of this version, but I have had plenty of fun playing the regular game.
Leaders is an assured and confident design from a first time tabletop designer (Hugo has previous experience in digital game design). I have seen it compared to chess and I think that does Leaders a disserivce. It is more approachable and less intimidating than that ancient title. Although it is an abstract, it has a heart of colour, playfullness, and personality. The production lends it a feel of luxury. When I play it I feel like I am locking horns with my opponent over an ancient game that may take my entire life to master. It is a wonderful game I hope to introduce to more people.
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