War of the 3 Sanchos

The three Sanchos are the Kings of Castilla, Nájera-Pamplona and Aragón, fighting over the northern territories of Spain (as it wasn't then) in 1065-67. The war where El Cid gained his reputation.

In game terms, players are looking to gain control of the castles and towers across the land and hit the crucial 10 points-worth that gives them supremacy. Or have the most points after all cards have been played.

Players' actions are fuelled by the cards in their hand, but playing a card also lets both opponents do something. This makes for some tricky decisions over which card to play when – ideally when the other guys can't take advantage of it. Combat is handled by a mechanism that needs a bit of getting used to, but is ever so clever when you get the hang of it.

I'm particularly taken with this game as there aren't many designed specifically for three players (when fewer than three people are playing, non-player Sanchos take up the slack). It's also the fourth in Surprised Stare's "Pocket Campaign" series after The Cousins' War, The Ming Voyages and The March of Progress.

For 1-3 players, aged 12+, playing time 30-45 minutes

War of the 3 Sanchos was designed by David J Mortimer and is published by Surprised Stare

Find out more:
    War of the 3 Sanchos at BoardGameGeek