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Chosŏn is a small but deadly set collection and ‘take that’ card game. Set in the same ‘uchronian and politico-steampunk universe’ as its thematic predecessor Koryŏ, Chosŏn has players battle it out as members of a Korean dynasty, each vying for political and military dominance. I came across this little game randomly when browsing in my local book store. I was intrigued by the striking image of a sort of steampunk Samurai on the cover and could see from the back of the box that it was a small set collection game, which appealed to me massively after spending far too much time with bigger games such as Spirit Island and Terraforming Mars. I’ll briefly give an overview of the gameplay so you get a sense of how Chosŏn plays, and then give my thoughts on the game (so skip to that section if you just want my analysis and verdict).
Gameplay
Over the course of 8 rounds or ‘seasons’, players draw and play cards as they try to collect a majority in as many of the 9 sets or ‘families’ as possible. Each family has a value ranging from 1 to 9, which indicates the number of cards in that family as well as the number of victory points (VP) the player with the majority in that family will score at the end of the game. Along the way, players trigger special abilities by playing certain combinations of cards or by having majorities of certain families.
Each round of Chosŏn consists of 5 phases:
1) Time Travelling Phase: If a player controls the majority of Time Travellers (No. 8 cards) in play, they may discard 1 Time Traveller card to take the 1st Player token and a VP token.
2) Card Distribution Phase: Each player is dealt the number of cards specified on the current ‘season’ card.
3) Order Phase: Each player, starting with the one who has the 1st Player token, plays face-down the cards they wish to play this round. Any unplayed cards are discarded and shuffled back into the deck. Cards can be played in 4 combinations:
- Any number of cards from the same family.
- Any 2 different character cards (i.e. from different families).
- 1 character card and 1 event card.
- 3 event cards.
4) Main Phase: In the same order as they played their cards, each player reveals their cards and resolves their immediate ‘come into play’ effects, as well as any majority effects they wish to trigger.
5) Round Ending Phase: Each player checks that the number of cards they have in play does not exceed the card limit stated on the current Season card and discards any surplus cards. The 1st Player token is passed clockwise to the next player.
Now, it’s in the Main Phase where most of the action takes place, and its here that this seemingly simple game starts to get complicated. If a player chooses to play 1 character card and 1 event card, and that character card has either the Lobby, Firearm, or Sword symbol on it, they may use its ‘come into play’ ability.
- Lobby means that the player may swap a character card from one player with a character card from another player (including themselves).
- Firearm means that the player may destroy 1 character card that another player has.
- Sword means that the player may destroy 1 character card that another player has, but the target card must have the same value, 1 higher, or 1 lower than the card they played.
In addition to these ‘come into play’ effects, there are a range of effects that a player can trigger if a player has a majority of certain families. For example, if the player has the majority of the Sniper cards (No. 2), they may take the ‘Return Fire’ token. Possessing this token means that when another player destroys one of their character cards with the Firearm ability, the player can retaliate immediately by destroying the attacking character card. If a player has the majority of the Gosu cards (No. 5) in play, and they play at least 1 event card during this turn, they may keep 1 event card instead of shuffling it back into the deck. This event card will be worth 1 VP at the end of the game. Other majority effects include different ways of attacking and stacking VP, as well as being able to protect some character cards from attack.
After the 8 seasons/rounds have been played, players add up their scores. Each family that a player controls (has a majority in) counts their value in VP, and there are extra points for VP tokens, face-down cards, the 1st Player token, and Yi’s Legacy token (gained by playing 3 event cards). Whoever has the highest score has successfully asserted their dominance over this steam-punky rendition of historical Korea, and wins the game!
My Thoughts
Despite lasting only 15-20 minutes, the complexity and aggressive nature of the experience makes Chosŏn feel more substantial than you might expect. Players are given lots of actions to take, choices to make, and there is continual interaction between players. However, I found the game to be convoluted, with actions and effects sometimes stacking to the point where, even at the 2-player count, we struggled to resolve the effects correctly and in order. Clashes between effects were a regular feature and the rulebook was only of limited use in helping us solve these issues (a FAQ section would have been handy). In my experience the game plays better at the 3 and 4 player count, as the incessant back-and-forth of a 2-player game was more draining than exhilarating, largely due to the convoluted nature of the constant stacking attacks.
The fact that players must draw new cards each round keeps things fresh and evolving, but also prevents players from planning ahead in any meaningful way – you simply have to make tactical decisions as best you can in the moment. As I mentioned earlier, most of the time each round is spent in the Main Phase where you are revealing cards and resolving their effects. I’ve found that this disrupts the rhythm of the game, as the other 4 phases usually occur very quickly and smoothly. As such, there is very little flow to Chosŏn; it is a disjointed, syncopated game of short-term tactics.
The component quality of Chosŏn is high. The cards are lovely and unusually large, which may be a pain for those who like to sleeve their cards but perfectly showcases the bold, creepy, anime-style illustrations by Stéphane Gantiez. While the artwork evokes the steam-punk vibe effectively, it has to be said that the theme is not mechanically integrated into the game very much at all. I found that the sense of political feuds and warring families got lost amongst the set-collecting and action-triggering fun.
Ultimately, the level of antagonism in the game simply wasn’t for me; the attacks often didn’t feel like clever or interesting attacks, just brutal, blatant assaults that served only basic strategic purposes. However, I cannot deny that Chosŏn is a well-designed game that feels pretty unique to play. It plays fast, gives players lots of decisions to make, features some satisfying set collection, and packs a real punch for your time and money. If you’re looking for a quick, intense, complex filler game, then look no further than Chosŏn.
Cthulhu Reviews: 4 out of 8 tentacles 🐙🐙🐙🐙
Designer: Gary Kim
Publisher: Moonster Games/Asmodee
Players: 2-4
Age: 14+
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