Viktory: Terror in Europe

(Free copy provided by maker. Review is still as unbiased as possible)

The game is okay, but it's not great in my opinion.

The game has an interesting concept, but it feels very unfair in favor of the Terrorist. We played 2v1, but the counter-terrorists could only follow the trail of the terrorist and couldn't cut him off very easily. It seems that you can't really do much to locate the terrorist or to stop him from just running in a straight line and dropping a few bombs along the way, doubling back every so often to throw the detectives off his trail.

We only played 2 rounds, but I've been thinking and I'm still unable to come up with a good way of capturing the terrorist. Even if you use an airport, the terrorist can just move in the opposite direction away from you.

We may have been playing wrong, but there just doesn't seem to be any good way to catch the terrorist as he spreads terror across Europe, making the game extremely one-sided. I could also be missing some strategies, but as long as the terrorist keeps moving in random directions, he shouldn't be able to be caught very easily.

In hindsight, if you have a player who can move 2 spaces chasing the 1-space-moving terrorist, you should be able to catch him, but it still seems too easy for the terrorist to double-back and get away. We should have tried that, but again, the terrorist could double-back. It could just be how we played as a first-time group, but I personally wouldn't recommend it when the publisher has other great games like Viktory II and Viktory: Bazaar out there.

A well-designed game with simple components, nice graphics and a very good logic and strategy design by Peter Morrison. This game has similar design mechanics as Fury of Dracula. There is an added educational bonus, you learn many of the major cities in Europe. The game was given a less than fair assessment by The Dice Tower, in my opinion, because of the topic...terrorists running amok in Europe, setting off bombs and killing the good guys.

Given the current political climate in the world and our war against "radical Islamic terrorism" (there, I said it), a game about terrorism might be perceived as insensitive or downright anti-something. Dare I say that somewhere in the world, a terrorist cell is using Viktory Terror in Europe as a training tool to plot their next attack?

Let's make some comparisons. How about the game, Pandemic on the Brink? Enormously popular series, only you are fighting to save humanity from ravaging bacteria and viruses. Did you remember that it also has a bioterrorist scenario? Some deranged scientist is actually trying to destroy humanity. How uncomfortable and disgusting does that make you feel? How come there seems to be so many games out there where good versus evil? Fighting Nazis, killing zombies, slaying the Dark Lord and his minions and lick'in them Rebels at Gettysburg. I guess some of us like to be the righteous knight, fighting against injustice and tyranny, preserving our American, European, Asian, African, Arabic or any other culture's way of life.

Unfortunately, someone has to play the bad guy. But I know you are out there. You like playing the underdog, the anti-hero. You are the ones who want to change history, to create an alternate world of chaos, authoritarianism and force us to listen to disco music again. For everyone else, there is always Scrabble, Dominos and Candyland.

I think if we designed every game with a concern for political correctness, we would have some nice, generic, monotone-colored games of logic and luck. Nothing wrong with those. But I think the gaming community has already spoken out about what they like and buy, and the game manufacturers have responded in kind.

So in summary, let's take the politics out of gaming and let the gamers decide with their dollars what they like or dislike. I'm tired of people injecting their political or religious opinions into my choice of games I play or buy. Hey, I have a game in mind about Israelis vs. Palestinians. I'm going to call it Gaza Breakout!

Good game, I like the 3v1 play. The only thing I don’t like is how unbalanced in favor of the terrorist faction. On the cusp of being a great game.

Sturdy compact package, well printed. Comes ready to play; no stickers to apply! A very pleasant surprise in play--holds interest, intense, with just enough mix of action and cat-and-mouse to give a great "feel" for the theme. Very well-done design and a great game, easily fast enough for two plays in an evening.

(Review copy courtesy of Peter Morrison.) The game is a light yet challenging entry in the "hide and seek" genre. It's winning conditions and combat mechanics make it tense and the movement options are balanced against unit abilities. Plays quickly and is fun!

Great hidden movement game! This cat and mouse game feels like Scotland Yard, mixed with a little Fury of Dracula. My game group and I had a blast, especially when the terrorist got cornered and had a bad train ride in Vienna! Definitely recommend!

Really enjoy this game. I would recommend it to friends and family. Good for adults and kids.