Oltréé! Heeding the Rangers’ Rallying Cry from the Satrapy
Explore more mysteries and stories with long chronicles and assignments around the satrapy in Oltréé.
Not quite ready to pack things up and leave behind the greatest horse meeples, I set out to play through a few more long chronicles in Oltréé! It was nice to know I had seen most of the content, yet it didn’t feel repetitive. Besides, I doubt it was meant to be played constantly like this. Rangers always have something new to solve, and I was ready!
Game Overview
Game Name: Oltréé
Publication Year: 2021
Designers: Antoine Bauza and John Grümph
Artist: Vincent Dutrait
Publisher: Studio H
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Different chronicles form the main storyline, but issues persist in all of the regions. Dice-based skill checks provide variable outcomes, yet the fortress itself can be built up with new buildings for extra bonuses. The unique rangers must work together to keep the satrapy safe!
First Play
September 3, 2022
Complexity
3
Latest Play
September 11, 2022
Expansions
1
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
38" x 30"
Low Score
N/A
Trusted Companions
There was probably an opportunity to change out some of the characters, yet I had grown fond of this team!
Ernest and Maeva often took center stage. Yet Berenice was known for her crafting and building skills, while Conrad found himself at the right place at the right time.
Switching up the rangers might have offered new abilities and ways to play. But as it was, I was content.
All the talk of rangers saw me watching an old movie from the 90s… Go, go Power Rangers! Ha ha! At least these ones were a little more believable. It’s pony ridin’ time!
Unnerving Calm
Once again, no real spoilers here! This was merely the opening to this new chronicle. It was already pretty quiet in the satrapy, but apparently, that was too much.
Early on, I actually played incorrectly by opening up the chronicle. It’s meant to begin play with only its cover visible. That gave me some time to size up the satrapy!
As usual, Maeva handled a lot of the battle scenes. Her specialization always made those a little bit easier.
But there was darkness on the horizon… Or, at the very least, something stirring out there. Or underground?
Lots of Resources
Enjoy this slightly tilted photo, obviously done on purpose to capture the feeling of a decaying fortress. Ha!
Through some luck and a lot of better planning, I had tons of resources at my disposal. Buildings went up pretty early on, and the defenses were nearly at their maximum.
It wasn’t all so easy, though. Reputation hovered dangerously low. I blamed Berenice: She failed a few too many incidents and gave the rangers a bad name. Uh-oh!
But this adventure ended in victory, despite some of the rangers being in critically low health. Thank goodness!
Onto a New Adventure
I moved onto another long chronicle, rather intrigued by the idea behind it. Titled Damsel Not in Distress, I was hoping to see something akin to Maiden’s Quest.
Alas, this tale was a little confusing and almost seemed to play into some stereotypes. Not my favorite, although it had its interesting and fun moments!
This was also my chance to realize that the branching storylines seemed to be limited to 1 of 2 cards.
Definitely not enough to decrease my overall enjoyment of the game itself! I just noticed a few aspects here and there.
The Importance of Fading First Impressions
This session made me more aware of some of the shortcomings of the game. Yet is that good or bad? I almost always see my general ratings of games slide a little bit over time. Some will see giant slides if I had some very unusual first plays. But in general, a solo game’s rating takes time to degrade over a series of many plays.
I’m also careful to note the play number in each of my posts. Why? The sheer excitement over a new game often clouds my initial thoughts. Yet I also don’t want to temper that feeling! This is a fun hobby, and trying to ignore the joy of opening and learning a game for the first time isn’t something I want to do. So my first impressions can be unreliable.
Playing multiple times and returning to games I haven’t played in a long time are ways I try to understand the core mechanics better. Nothing is perfectly objective, though! I enjoy picking apart a game I like to find the things about it I don’t love. Yet in the end, this is how I come to appreciate each game for what it is and find my absolute favorites!
Session Overview
Play Number: 5 and 6
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Underground Threat, Damsel Not in Distress
Outcome: 2 Wins
Success! There were a couple of tricky moments when my reputation level almost fell low enough to trigger a loss, but the rangers pulled through. Ernest remained the star… For the moment. Everyone teamed up to make sure the satrapy remained safe from the various threats. The final pair of long chronicles will have to wait for another time when I return to have some more fun with this one!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
8
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the artwork is absolutely beautiful and helps bring the world, characters, and situations to life.
- Rangers all have their own special abilities that can be useful in very different situations for lots of choices.
- The component quality is excellent, and moving the meeples around the large board is very thematic.
- Many rolls come down to luck, yet there are ways to improve the odds or earn rerolls to try again.
- Little events all add up around the different regions to add to the overall narrative with important moments.
- Gameplay is straightforward and relatively quick with only 2 actions to take during each ranger’s turn.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Most endings occur immediately and don’t necessarily lead up to an exciting conclusion beyond a few dice rolls.
- The branching storylines are rather limited, typically encompassing a path down 1 of 2 different chapters.
- Errors and typos are prevalent enough to be noticeable and can break the immersion at regular intervals.
- Overall progression can be rather static across plays with the main goals generally feeling very similar.
Victory Conditions
Successfully Complete the Chronicle
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete Damsel Not in Distress.
Complete In the Shadow of the Dragon.
Complete Open Doors.
Complete Rats, Rats, Rats.
Complete Underground Threat.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Oltréé? I’m glad I had a chance to dig into most of the chronicles and understand some of the areas I might not love. This is still excellent, though! Are there any games you’ve come to appreciate more over time, even if your ratings went down? Definitely looking forward to coming back, but for now, onto something new!
I pulled the trigger on this and it arrived last week. I’ve had a great time playing it.
It was interesting playing through a chronicle blind, usually failing, and then playing through a few more times to try and get a win. I did have to slow myself down at times to read the events and not rush to rolling whatever the relevant die was.
I’ve noticed you prioritise story when you play games. Do you ever have trouble glossing over narrative elements or do you find it’s something you engage with very naturally?
Excellent to hear you had a lot of fun! I managed to succeed at the chronicles the first time around in most cases, yet that still was a lot of fun. I think the narrative elements depend on the game: If I’m really struggling with the mechanics, flavor text or fun story moments usually devolve into take this action, play that card, etc. For games where I’m comfortable with the rule set, I almost always have some little story going on.
I’ll often remember the highlights of a character’s journey, laughing at their mishaps or labeling them a hero, or have fun watching the story unfold. Even some games with a minimal theme might generate a quick story based in a sentence or two as I play. Seems like something I’ve always enjoyed doing, which also explains why I’m often drawn to narrative-based games. Great question!