In the world of modern toys and games, Near and Far is a gem. It stands among only a few board games I know of with, in my opinion, EXCELLENT art design, painted in a beautiful style that is sure to inspire your imagination. The world illustrated for players in this game is one of child-like exploration, and for that I truly appreciate it's unique design. However, beyond the art and the quality components, I find very little to appreciate during gameplay.Here's why you might regret buying this game:1) Very little player interaction.You're playing with other people so they'll read your pre-recorded quest choices to you, and so you can race them to various resources on the boards (adventurers, camp sites, mine sites, etc). Aside from this you're just playing by yourself, taking turn after turn to move in and out of town, collect coins/gems, place tents and amass a party of adventurers. The upside to this is that while it's not cooperative, players who are just bumbling around will be largely unhindered by the other players. It could be great for someone who wants to pretend they're playing a more complex strategy game. The success of your strategy means very little until you're counting scores at the end.2. Most of the mechanics don't simulate anything realistic.You get more bread if you bring a dog with you to the farm. You get coins or gems almost every time you abandon one of your 14 tents out in the wilds. You get a hand of artifact cards at the beginning of the game which you endeavor the rest of the game to purchase from yourself, replace, or discard. Pack animals carry bonuses (called treasures) but not goods. The mystic just gives you treasures every time you visit. Adventurers line up at the saloon for you to inspect them, purchase one for one-time fee and then put them to work; I'll let you decide what that one adds up to.There are plenty of rules that make some sense, but a good half of them are just to make the game work, and NOT at all what would happen if the theme of adventure and town life was actually taking place in the world that is being portrayed. Sadly, this ruined the game for me, as it was all about memorizing a bunch of rules and pretending that optimizing them was somehow a meaningful adventure.3. And my final gripe is the storybook.So much love in that storybook; so many creative, poetic paragraphs about this or that small but meaningful encounter. It was a truly ambitious part of the game design, and something I'm sure MANY people enjoy completely. I can't stand it, for the simple reason that the stories pretend the game world is cohesive and functional, which is in STARK contrast to the actual gameplay. The storybook is read for each player who lands on a quest token, and this means that you're suddenly ripped from the awkward, unrealistic puzzle of getting coins/gems and leaving tents everywhere on the map, and for about a minute and a half you're asked to pretend your character is actually on some narrative adventure, which sounds great until you realize it's actually just a set up for two insignificant options, a dice roll, and a small reward. Then it's back to the odd puzzle of pooping tents everywhere and ultimately buying a bunch of artifacts from yourself.I know this is a game largely aimed at kids, families, and people who want to be kids. I fall in the last category, but I refuse to settle for such a convoluted game, 4/5ths a solo optimization puzzle and 1/5th paragraphs from various unwritten choose-your-own-adventure novels. I wish this beautiful art and this loving intention of child-like adventuring had only been made a better simulation of real adventure, with a cohesive narrative that actually felt like a story was taking place while playing.You're welcome to form your own opinions and play this one to find out what it all means to you!I wish you joy and a great adventure.
