A First Sighting of the Broodmother in March of the Ants

March 26, 2020 | Sessions | 0 comments

Follow the progress of an ant colony as a centipede broodmother shows up to take the meadow in March of the Ants.

This might be the only instance where I want to see ants out on my table. Ha ha! March of the Ants is a challenging experience with just the base game. When I added in the expansion, March of the Ants: Minions of the Meadow, everything changed. I returned to the meadow to hunt down the centipede broodmother and destroy her for good!

Game Overview

Game Name: March of the Ants
Publication Year:
 2015
Designer:
 Tim Eisner and Ryan Swisher
Artist:
 Tim Eisner, Ryan Swisher, and Peter Wocken
Solo Mode: Expanded with Minions of the Meadow

Although this might not be the cutest solo board game out there, it doesn’t need to be! The mechanics are wonderful and help show the trials and tribulations of an ant colony.

It may not be completely realistic, yet it’s a unique theme that introduces a very interesting set of challenges.

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First Play

March 4, 2020

Complexity

3

Latest Play

March 27, 2022

Expansions

2

Setup Time

5 Minutes

Lifetime Plays

25

Play Time

40 Minutes

:

High Score

26

1

Game Area

34" x 24"

;

Low Score

4

Modifying the Setup

Since I’ve been struggling to even get close to uncovering the broodmother, I made another modification.

A huge thanks to Citanul for posting a comment to my SGOYT entry with the following great idea:

It’s been a while since I played, so I don’t quite remember how the setup works, but I don’t think there’s any reason why you couldn’t move the broodmother’s hex closer to the top to make it easier to get to her.

Sometimes, simple changes make big differences!

Specific Changes to the Hex Draw Pile

In the rulebook, the Nest of Centipedes is shuffled together with 5 random black-bordered hexes. The rest of the black-bordered hexes are then stacked on top, and the top 3 black-bordered hexes are removed. The hex stack is then seeded with 2 yellow-bordered hexes on top, representing 1 from the base game set and 1 from the expansion aphid hexes.

How to change this up? I just needed to get the Nest of Centipedes a little closer to the top. At the same time, I also saw an opportunity to make it easier to predict when she would show up. So I made the following changes:

  • Nest of Centipedes: Shuffle this hex with only 3 random black-bordered hexes.
  • Hex Removal: Remove the top 5 black-bordered hexes from play.

The numbers were easy to remember, too: I just switched the 3 and 5 from the setup instructions! This only takes out 2 more hexes, but can still make the broodmother show up later on. It seemed pretty balanced, although I can see the chance to adjust these numbers as needed. If you’re also struggling, maybe consider giving these changes a whirl!

The Great Exploration

Aside from making it easier to find the broodmother, I also took a lot more explore actions to fill in the meadow. It was certainly a bustling scene of activity!

The aphids are a really tricky part of the expansion. They’re immensely helpful, but also very fragile.

Herding an aphid turns that ant into one that really shouldn’t spend much time in battle. A lost ant means a lost aphid, and they can quickly disappear for good.

What an exciting play! I tried out a lot of other strategies and discovered some more nuances. But where was she?!

Centipede, Right Ahead!

Well, hello! As usual, I failed to capture the sheer scale of this giant centipede. The usual green centipedes, lovingly called centimeeples, are dwarfed by her bulk.

Quite a monster! I was at least proud to discover the Nest of Centipedes and get her into play for the first time.

The bonus for finding her in the early rounds comes down to her starting health and bonuses. She showed up in autumn, which was the worst time to uncover her.

This is another reason why I love the expansion: There is a true enemy to find and fight to the bitter end.

A Near Victory

The bitter end was what it was. I managed to whittle her down from 12 health to 3 health before my ants ran out of food and couldn’t attack anymore. So close!

Part of it boiled down to luck… My cards in hand had 1 ferocity to add. Just for kicks, I drew my cards after autumn and ended up with 4-5 ferocity options. Come on!

She was a beast, just as I expected she would be. Nymphs showed up, centipedes swarmed, and she was too strong.

It all came down to continuously sacrificing ants. I was so close, even though my final score didn’t show it at all!

Session Overview

Play Number: 13
Expansion: March of the Ants: Minions of the Meadow

Solo Mode: Expanded with Minions of the Meadow
Play Details: Easy Expansion Difficulty Level
Required Play Space: 34″ x 24″
Setup Time: 5 Minutes
Play Time: 1 Hour
Outcome: 19-32 (Loss)

The Tawny Crazy Head allowed me to save lost ants in battle and return them as larvae. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. However, this evolved ant looked amazing!

%

20 Plays

Affordability

Price & Value

8

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

9

Originality

Design & Theme

9

Quality

Components & Rules

10

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

9

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

6

More March of the Ants

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Victory Conditions

Defeat the Broodmother

  • Overall Goal Progress 100% 100%

Goals and Milestones

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Win at least 1 expansion game at the easy difficulty level.

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Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.

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Win at least 1 game at the hard difficulty level.

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Win at least 1 game at the normal difficulty level.

Continue the Conversation

What are some of your thoughts about March of the Ants, particularly in regards to the difficulty level? I really like how challenging it is, and I can see a lot of practice ahead in my future. What aspects of March of the Ants: Minions of the Meadow do you enjoy the most? I’m inching closer to taking out the broodmother… Someday soon, I hope to succeed!

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