Rallying in Oltréé to Defeat a Wave of Rats, Rats, Rats
Keep the land safe from an incursion of rats and manage a myriad of other problems as diverse rangers in Oltréé.
It was hard for me to consider packing up Oltréé after I had such a wonderful time with the introductory chronicle! There wasn’t a question about it: More stories were ahead before I moved on. Yet I decided to try out the only other short chronicle, which was a promo expansion not found everywhere. Rats were on the agenda… And more rats!
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)
Rangers form a party of individuals with various abilities and professions. Their job is to protect the satrapy, dealing with incidents and problems. In an overarching sense, a chronicle forms the main storyline, while other goals act as ways to progress towards a successful ending.
First Play
September 3, 2022
Complexity
3
Latest Play
October 9, 2025
Expansions
1
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
10
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
38" x 30"
Low Score
N/A
The Luck of the Dice
Most situations come down to rolling up to 5 wooden dice. More lovely components! But that does mean that luck plays a big role, sometimes going in the wrong direction.
However, provisions and some other possible options allow for re-rolls or even added successes. It also comes down to trying to give each character a bonus.
I continued with my team of Berenice, Conrad, Ernest, and Maeva. They represented all 4 available professions.
This gave me a way to diversify, but my party could have leaned more heavily in favor of soldiers or craftspeople.
Rats Everywhere!
Not surprisingly, this was a bit of a joke on the classic RPG trope of an introductory scenario involving rats. They made their way into the fortress. How terribly rude!
Although this expansion is more of a promo, it played out like another short chronicle. That’s to say, it was like an alternative introduction to gameplay.
It was a lot of fun, but I also don’t want to make it seem like something that’s absolutely necessary. Just an option!
I was also looking for some broken mechanic that I read about in a review… Which wasn’t there. It simply teaches.
Racing Here and There
Berenice was most useful for constructing buildings, but she still headed out to deal with incidents. Collecting resources was also crucial, as was handling problems.
Maeva was on the move constantly! She progressed through incidents left and right, often taking the brunt of the damage. She was a solider, after all.
So she met up with Berenice in the southwest, where the locals provided expert healing. Maeva felt much better.
Her solider skills were very much needed in dealing with the rat infestation. Their numbers kept multiplying!
A Recreated Scene
That’s right: It was rat mayhem in the satrapy! This is what the mayhem looked like, courtesy of some help from lots of menacing Calico Critter “rats.” Or… Mice. Ha ha!
Fires blazed. Provisions were stolen. Rangers were crawling in rats of all sizes as the enemy worked together.
Oh, the horror! There was even one rather large rat dressed up as a tomato, which was most unsettling.
No one was harmed in the process! Well, to be fair, some rats tumbled off of the meeples, acting out some battles. Good thing the rangers dispatched with the group!
Tempering Expectations with Stories
I had to pause for a moment and remember that after playing through each chronicle, I wouldn’t be seeing entirely new content. Indeed, many of the incidents were already a bit repetitive after I saw them a couple of times. But I would argue that a game like this can still be fun over time, so long as it’s not something that’s expected to hit the table all the time.
In fact, I play through static storylines again and again! There might be a break as long as a year or more, yet I always find a reason to want to play through those narratives. Not everything remains a mystery. But that’s not something that can be avoided. I like to think that this one will be something I can return to at some point for more enjoyment.
The key, at least for me, is knowing that I can fill my time with other solo games. I would not recommend this as the only game in a board game collection! But once I play through the chronicles, I feel like I can safely place it on a shelf and look at it from time to time, waiting for the day when I forget most of the details and can see everything again!
Maeva the Great
Although all of the rangers played their roles, Maeva was the hero of this chronicle! Her solider skills came in handy for dealing with the rats and other issues. Hardy, indeed!
This is also a moment to appreciate these character mats for being beautiful, helpful, and practical.
Despite not being able to take as much damage as some of the other characters, Maeva could pick up a few more successes with the dice. That was very useful!
And I still love how the ranger medallion can be seen on every ranger, showing the importance of the role.
Thematic Flooding
As I’ve played a few times, I’ve found that the random events often weave a specific tale. There have been icy cold winters endured, but this time, it was all about the rain.
Near the end, the satrapy experienced major flooding. This was quite unfortunate for a building, thereby knocking out a die that I needed for certain rolls. Too much water!
Yet as I looked closely at the artwork, I saw a bunch of rats swimming in the water. It was almost too perfect!
I liked to think that this was the moment that helped turn the tide of the rat invasion… Quite literally. Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 3
Expansion: Oltréé: Rats, Rats, Rats
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Rats, Rats, Rats with The Owl Comet
Outcome: Win
Not everything was resolved throughout the land. Many problems remained, highlighting the ongoing work of the rangers. Never fear, though: I always imagined things returning to a peaceful time after the chronicle. The rats were defeated! And I now had my sights set on a slightly different sort of adventure… An exciting long chronicle!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- With multiple characters to choose from when forming a party of 2-4 individuals, there are a lot of options.
- Deciding how to best utilize 2 actions during a turn always feels like a challenge with many different issues.
- Although a chronicle progresses in the same way, many other random elements ensure a lot of variability.
- The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and help bring every aspect of the world to life in vivid color.
- Most of the components are made of high-quality wood with designs, and the cardboard tokens are excellent.
- A variable adversity die means that certain chapters advance very quickly or slowly at an unpredictable rate.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Chronicle surprises might not feel so unique after playing through once, leading to some limited reusability.
- Dice rolls can be especially unfair or unlucky at times, despite several avenues to mitigate poor rolls.
- The play area is gorgeous but can feel a little too large at times, particularly with the far end of the board.
- This particular expansion chronicle is more like an alternate introduction than a fully-fledged adventure.
Victory Conditions
Successfully Complete the Chronicle
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete all base game chronicles.
Complete the Rats, Rats, Rats chronicle.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Oltréé? The short chronicles have proven to be interesting, but I’m very much looking forward to finding out what else is out there. Do you know of any other cooperative solo games? It’s been a lot of fun seeing these 4 characters go on adventures together. This has been enjoyable so far, and I can’t wait to protect the satrapy again!
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