I’m so excited to share our full review on the game The Chronicles of Avel.
I am not joking when I tell you I haven’t been this excited about a family game in a long time. Chronicles of Avel is not one to miss and we’re breaking down why!
What is Chronicles of Avel?
Chronicles of Avel is a cooperative family game. Players will explore the world of Avel, moving around the modular board, fighting monsters, gathering equipment to protect themselves, and filling their bag with potions and gold to aid them on their journey.
At it’s heart, Chronicles of Avel is a dungeon crawler. All players start in the castle space. The hexagon tiles that make up the map are all upside down, hiding the destinations underneath from players. Players must venture out from the castle and explore the tiles. Each time these tiles are flipped, they reveal a new location on the map with enemies to fight or action tiles where players can visit to prepare and protect themselves for future battles.
Chronicles of Avel is played out in two game phases. The first involves players exploring the map, fighting smaller monsters, and gathering supplies. Then, after a set number of rounds determined by player count, the game switches into the second phase where the final boss monster is revealed.
The final goal of the game, and the only way for players to win, is to defeat The Beast and defend the castle. If players were able to use the first phase of the game to set traps and power up their characters, they will be well poised to stop The Beast and his minions.
Each round of the final phase has the enemies moving one space closer to the castle. This continues until either the enemies reach the castle and everyone loses or all monsters on the board are defeated and the players win.
What Do We Think?
Few games have impressed me recently like Chronicles of Avel. Every part of this game is so good that I almost don’t even know where to begin. This truly is a game the whole family will enjoy. The rules are simple and straightforward while the game is entirely language independent. This allowed even our 5 and 6 year olds the ability to play.
Chronicles of Avel has a distinct story feel to it. You really feel that you are building towards this climactic moment; tension increases as The Beast gets ever closer to arriving and you’re frantically exploring around the map to find what you need, set traps, and seal up as many monster entry points as you can. The cooperative nature of the game really shines. We had to find a way to work cohesively as a time and send each player off on their important missions.
The kids get way into this.
When the game switches from the exploration phase to the more tower defense phase as the monsters descend upon the castle the energy around the table shifts too. This part was really reminiscent of other great family games like Castle Panic (an amazing tower defense game) and I loved how it focused the strategy of the players.
During this part we’re having to take out the monsters that pose the most immediate threat because if even one breaches the castle you lose. It provides a great test for how well you prepared during the first half of the game, while also encouraging cooperation as players must decide which hero is better suited to fight different monsters.
Dice Battle System
I love how simple battling is in Chronicles of Avel.
Players will roll the dice for both the monster and their adventurer. The dice you have to roll for the monster is clearly printed on their card so it’s easy to know what you need. Then players roll their hero dice, plus any other die they are allowed as indicated by the armor they’re wearing or potions they’re using.
This again is where strategy and choice comes in. Equipment you pick up along the way, (helmets, swords, shields) can allow you to roll another die of a specific color against all monsters or sometimes against monsters of a specific color. You can also increase your odds of victory by strategically adding dice to your pool to aid you.
Each die color has a different function. Orange/Attack, Blue/Defense, Yellow/Both.
The die colors and their different faces are very easy and intuitive for children to pick up. It took no time to teach this to our kids before they were conducting battles completely independently.
You will be rolling a BUNCH of dice, so having a contained way to do this is great. We suggest using either the box top, a dice tower, or our favorite lay flat dice trays.
Chronicles of Avel Components
You will want for nothing inside this game. Packed full of quality components, everything is incredibly well made and built to last.
Our children’s favorite part (and mine too!) were the player sheets that allowed everyone to design and color in their adventurer however they wished. Similarly I also really loved the included naming sheet! You can add this sheet into the box top, roll the dice and the results help you name your adventurers! Super clever!
These two layer boards not only look cool, they’re incredibly functional as well. Keeping the pieces together, safe from any jostling of the board. The backpack is also a really unique way to limit the number of resources players are able to keep on their person. If it fits in the bag, you get to keep it. If it doesn’t, well, time to make some decisions about what to get rid of.
There are a lot of components in this game and they all fit nicely inside the box with plenty of bags to help you organize it all. There’s even a cute cardboard treasure chest built into the box to help store items!
Decisions, Decisions!
Speaking of decisions, Chronicles of Avel proves players with a huge level of decision space.
As a parent, I really loved that my kids have these different ways to think critically about how they wanted to spend their actions each turn. I also appreciated that, while there may be some choices that are better than others depending on the current situation in the game, almost anything they decided to would be helpful in some way or at least not a hinderance.
Some of our kids just wanted to run around and fight monsters the whole time. Strategically it might have made better sense to set traps, but by fighting monsters they were able to power themselves up by gaining better equipment and potions so it wasn’t a bad decision either. Then other players who want to set traps can set traps.
It all balances out.
If I Were to Give One Word of Caution…
The time it takes to complete a full game of The Chronicles of Avel is the only element that works against it. This can take a bit longer to complete than your average family game. It is not uncommon for a full, 4 player game of Chronicles of Avel to exceed 60 -70 minutes. Even our two player game took around an hour. There’s a lot happening in this game. You will have to work to keep the game moving along by encouraging quicker decision making lest the pace get away from you.
Normally, this would be a deal breaker for me when considering games for younger kids. Their attention spans just aren’t consistently there yet. However, the game is incredibly engaging and keeps younger players locked in longer than other games. Due to this, if you are considering Chronicles of Avel primarily for a younger child, I wouldn’t recommend it.
This however is an easy recommend for the family that has kids mostly in that 8+ range with the added bonus that the game is simple enough that a younger kid around 6 could join in with the family.
Adventurer’s Tool Kit Expansion
We don’t usually recommend getting an expansion when purchasing the base game, but this time we’re making an exception.
The Adventurer’s Tool Kit Expansion brings more variety to the game with new items, land tiles, and monsters. The cool think about these monsters is if you defeat them, you can earn an animal companion. (live out your Disney princess dreams, people!) Oh, and there are also crossbows involved!
Chronicles of Avel is an exceptional game and does not require the expansion to be so. The expansion just gives you those extras I know you’re going to enjoy. If anything, save the expansion for a birthday gift or stocking stuffer later in the year.
Summary
If you have been looking for an event game the whole family will love, Chronicles of Avel is the one! This is a bar setting game for me and if it doesn’t sweep the family board game awards this year I’ll be shocked.
Chronicles of Avel manages to pack an amazing, full, and decision filled experience that stays straightforward enough for players as young as 6 to enjoy. This game is challenging without being punishing and accessible without being simplistic.
Chronicles of Avel is an instant recommend from us!
Chronicles of Avel will be released in the United States soon!
Follow us on Instagram to be alerted when it’s available.
A special thank you to our friends at Rebel Studio for sending us an advanced copy of The Chronicles of Avel for review. As always, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
Game Info:
Title: The Chronicles of Avel
1-4 Players Ages 8+
Designer: Przemek Wojtkowiak
Artist: Bartomiej Kordowski
Publisher: Rebel Studio
