Codeword Cromwell and a Rest for Weary Birkham Stokes

Protect the small village of Birkham Stokes during a surprise invasion with anything at hand in Codeword Cromwell.
For Birkham Stokes! It was years since I last played Codeword Cromwell, and I’ve looked back on those plays very fondly. However, this has earned it a top spot on my favorite solo games without any newer memories. Off the shelf it came to enjoy some updated organization and finally, a return to this village and all of its characters, soon to be heroes.
Game Overview
Game Name: Codeword Cromwell
Publication Year: 2014
Designer: Daniel Hodges
Artist: Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: Fifth Column Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
The goal is to survive through the day as villagers and units move about the village to protect it from an invasion from all directions. Makeshift weapons like cricket bats and pool cues add a few comical moments, yet there is a real struggle to protect the village and everyone in it.
First Play
August 1, 2018
Complexity
3
Latest Play
December 22, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
20 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
20
Play Time
6 Hours
High Score
227
Game Area
42" x 34"
Low Score
0
Intelligence Briefing
As I went through the fairly lengthy setup process of placing counters all over the map, I enjoyed flipping through the intelligence briefing booklet. Lots of stories!
However, it struck me that I knew the narrative. All of my plays had resulted in lots of this information coming out through gameplay, and I wondered what else I would find.
Don’t get me wrong: My past plays were amazing, and I’ve always loved the experiences gameplay offers!
I simply wondered if this might be more in line with a campaign game I had gotten all I would out of it. Onward!
A Quiet Morning
Setup involved a few decisions and random elements, and I managed to have the invasion begin at the earliest possible moment. No extra useful equipment this time!
I had to go through the rules a fair amount, and forgot how much information was split up all over the place.
Little rules exceptions were tied to individual paragraphs, often about a particular piece of equipment. Putting in that work has always been worth it for the stories, though.
Seeing the villagers again was a joy, as I’ve had a lot of fun moments with all of them in previous plays.
Managing the Invasion
A good part of gameplay has to do with managing the speed at which the invasion progresses. Unfortunately, this is usually left up to the random roll of the dice.
Choosing British strategy events increases the odds of slowing the invasion, yet tactics cards are then ignored.
I tried to keep things manageable at first, but the dice rolls almost always were in favor of the Germans by an amount that was just frustrating. 1 vs. 6 didn’t give me a chance.
The charm of the game is in the storytelling, of course, so I wasn’t too worried about this. I just knew all the stories…
Immediate Casualty
Without much warning, Hodges was left alone on the main road. Since the invasion can come from anywhere, forces are almost always spread thinly to form some defenses.
The dice were simply too cruel. He didn’t have much of a chance, and just like that, the first casualty happened.
At this point, I was all about avenging his death. Villagers were prepared to mount an offensive attack. Charge!
But I do want to pause to say that this wasn’t a unique situation. Rallying around a fallen unit has always driven my storytelling, and I kept wondering if I had seen it all.
Knowing When to Stop and Appreciate the Past
In a recent solo play, I talked about the importance of knowing the point at which to turn back for home. Although not exactly the same, I drew a parallel to this experience. Favorite games may not remain favorites forever, and forcing them to the table can actually spoil the past memories. So, what happened here? Was I just in the wrong mood to play?
There was a lot of reflection both during and after I played. Without any doubt, all of my previous plays were excellent and I don’t doubt that this definitely deserved a spot as one of my favorite games. It’s still a wonderful solo game! Yet I think I reached a point where I experienced it all. And that’s not a problem: Sometimes, not every game works forever.
Campaign games or legacy games are good examples, where there is an end point and the designers understand players will have seen everything. No problem calling it there! I think this also happens with other board games, though, and learning how to recognize it is an important lesson. To be very clear, this does not mean a game has gone “bad.”
Look back at how much I adored the stories from this in the past. It was one of my favorite solo games, right up near the top of my list! Yet after this play, it feels like I’m replaying the same turns, only with slightly different dice rolls. In some ways, it felt like a legacy game I completed and came back to. No reason to: I’ve seen it, and can look back fondly!
Trouble at the Church
McGowan was already rallying and arming the Home Guard stationed at the church to take up Hodges’ position. But there was more at stake and lots of trouble brewing.
This central location forms the location that must be protected at all costs. New equipment is brought up from the cellars to be distributed, but it’s not all so helpful!
Sabotaged equipment and jammed weapons are all possible, and greatly slow down any efforts.
Lots of variety is possible with so many equipment tokens, yet there are no surprises after multiple plays.
Losing Daisy Woods
Perhaps the worst moment happened at the old barn. Daisy banded together with the farmers and Reynolds to keep a lookout for any advances from the south.
But when everything went wrong at the western bridge, she was left alone to keep watch, armed with pitchforks.
All seemed to be fine until suddenly, she was face-to-face with advancing enemy troops. With a resounding attack, Daisy Woods lost her life in a lonely and depressing way.
Would Reynolds feel guilty for leaving her behind? Likely, although again, I had this situation play out once before.
Motorbike Races
Another central element to the narrative are the character events, which range from minimal relationship changes to elements that turn the tide of battle… Like the motorbike!
I had already fortified the garage, almost sensing that it would become an important position. And from out of the shadows, a Norton took to the streets at speed.
There is also a Rolls Royce that may enter play and functions in a similar way. Vroom, vroom all over!
My plans were still meaningful, yet this felt more like a re-run of a movie than a new sort of experience.
A Final Stand
Did the pub regulars fight off the enemies with darts? Yes! Did Miss Featherlake successfully launch an acid attack? That was a frightening thought, but she did!
I had backup and all sorts of help, including the newly arrived Norton that raced across the church courtyard.
But this was where the final stand occurred. Amidst everyone, the dice rolls came up empty… Including many rolls of 5-6 dice at once. It was quite disheartening.
Not long after, there was nothing I could do to stop the German advance and they took the church. The end.
Session Overview
Play Number: 19 & 20
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Outcome: 0 (Loss)
It was a disastrous sort of experience. Don’t get me wrong: The stories were still quite memorable! But there comes a time when it might feel like everything that can be seen has been. I was hampered by bad luck, yet even adding that to the storyline, there wasn’t enough outside of the narrative that felt unique. All of the work to figure out the order of operations and mark off activations was a bit much, and Birkham Stokes can rest easily at last.
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
6
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- The stories that develop through play are excellent, and there are always a handful of memorable events.
- Villagers fighting back with makeshift weapons creates immediate narratives and ties to Birkham Stokes.
- A hidden spy element adds a bit of tension and allows a secondary storyline to emerge outside of the fighting.
- There are a good number of different cards and tokens to allow for a lot of variety over many plays.
- Lots of information can be found in the intelligence briefing to add even more intrigue to the overarching story.
- Gameplay is mostly focused on decisions and simple dice rolls, which helps keep the focus on the ongoing events.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Rules are split up across multiple booklets and are sometimes hidden in paragraphs, which can be frustrating.
- Luck plays an enormous role in how quickly the invasion progresses and how soon more enemy units appear.
- Although there are many stories to tell, there isn’t necessarily enough variety to keep playing over and over again.
- Keeping track of activated squares and units can be rather time-consuming, even with the use of counters.
Victory Conditions
Achieve a British Tactical Victory
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 150 points.
Score at least 175 points.
Score at least 200 points.
Continue the Conversation
What have been your most memorable experiences with Codeword Cromwell? Are there any other narrative games you remember quite well? I think it’s important to highlight that I loved this game for a long time, and it’s simply run its course with me. There are plenty of past stories I can look back on fondly! But it’s time to retire this beloved solo game.
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