Resist! by 25th Century Games, a Solitare Game

Product Information

After the Spanish Civil War, a group of loyalists to the Republic, known as Maquis, continue to fight for democracy and freedom. Maqui cards have special powers which are activated if played in a particular phase, and some of those powers can be utilized in either phase. If you were successful in the mission, the fourth and final phase begins. This is called Recover. Here you clean up your played cards, draw a new hand, and make one final end-game determination before the next round – if you have a full hand of spy cards (you start with three, but more can be added throughout the game), you lose. Resist! takes up a bit of table space, but thankfully it plays in a short amount of time. Game Experience:

Each over-sized Maqui card has 2 “sides”– a hidden side and a revealed side. Maquis played as hidden continue to support the guerillas without showing their allegiance to the cause, while Maquis played as revealed are front and center during the mission. Hidden Maqui cards are returned to the regular discard pile, which revealed Maquis are sent to the Reserve discard pile. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but the amount of time spent on 20th century Spanish history in my history classes throughout my educational career was, to be charitable, limited. I knew about the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi support for Franco, and the event that inspired Picasso’s Guernica… but that was pretty much it.Basically, stop before something horrible happens… then figure out your score. Defeating all ten missions is an Epic Victory – I figure that is likely to happen just after Hell freezes over for me. Right now, I’m aiming for just a plain old “Victory”. Show your love for Meeple Mountain and for your favorite hobby all in one great tshirt. The Meeple Mountain Gaming… Read more… Resist! is a solo hand management card game that plays in approximately thirty minutes. Designers Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, of Undaunted fame, as well as designer Roger Tankersley, pay tribute to this spirit of resistance. It’s published by 25th Century Games and features illustrations from Albert Monteys. Gameplay Overview: It's always an excellent service with brilliant products at a very competitive price - will use again!

Finally, the scenario book does offer a way to link three era-specific scenarios together into a campaign… but I’m leaving that until I feel a little more competent at the basic game. And you will fight. This is a difficult game. It requires planning and flexibility. It asks players to consider civilian loss as a necessity while at the same time leaving little room for error. The margin for error can be a little too punishing. At times it can turn the game into a min/max exercise, one that highlights the war of attrition while also lessening the impact of the unique maquis cards. Overall I love the decision making in Resist! The decisions on whether to use the Hidden or the Revealed side of your character and then, at the end, whether you are going to push on and try and get a new high score or whether you are going to call it quits where you are. All of these aspects make me want to keep playing this game more and more. What Is There To DislikeIn Resist! You take on the role of the Spanish Maquis, fighting against the Francoist regime. Over a series of rounds, you will undertake increasingly difficult missions. Defeating missions gains you the victory points you need to win the game.

Some 40+ years and a couple of thousand different games played later, I don’t really qualify as a wargamer any more. While I love Memoir ’44, my “war games” have a lot less small cardboard chits and a lot more plastic miniatures… and no CRTs. (That’s “Combat Resolution Table” to the those of you uninitiated in the world of war games.) There is one misprinted card in the original version – Adolfo’s hidden side should be a zero value rather than 2. As is, Adolfo is being played by A. Schwarzenegger in “Commando”. (It’s a joke; you have permission to laugh.) The game can end in a few different ways. If the player draws a hand with no Maquis, if 5 Civilians have been lost due to undefeated Counter-Guerillas, or if 2 Missions have been failed, then the player (and the resistance) is defeated. Alternatively, the player may choose to end the game after any round, totaling up their points from successfully defeated Missions to determine their final score. The scoring table is tough: it takes quite a few successful raids to achieve anything greater than a stalemate between the Maquis and Franco’s army, and achieving a positive future for Spain as a whole requires near-total dominance. To secure such a win, you’ll need clever strategy, careful play, and a phenomenal understanding of timing. Our Time Is NowIn case it isn’t obvious: I think Resist! is an incredible game, a clever and taut design that captures the theme well. While many solo players don’t care for beat-your-own-score modes, it works for me here since there is a clear threshold for victory at baseline. For those looking for a long-term challenge, there’s a set of 8 scenarios to play as well as a campaign mode that links them all together. The scenarios and campaign do not introduce any new cards or major rule changes, though, so they’re mostly similar to the standard game. The interior of the box leaves something to be desired, as it’s way too empty and the cards don’t fit particularly well. Game Store Addition Form – Do you own a game store or cafe, and wish to be added to our database? Complete our form here. More and more effort was made by Franco’s government to crush the Maquis that ultimately ended the resistance roughly 25 years after it began. Resist! is a fast-playing, card-driven solitaire game in which you take on the role of the Spanish Maquis, fighting against the Francoist regime.