First off, I'm not a reviewer of games, in fact this is the first D10 game I have played, so it's not my strong suit! Moving onto discussing the game itself, I had the chance to play a demo session of the game Era: The Consortium at the London 2016 Comic Con event and from the first introduction of the game, I grew an attachment to it. 500 years worth of plot has been written for the game, to allow GMs to create a story based on any moment they wish, the larget book has a number of example sessions listed. You can read about a lot of the backstory on the website here to get an idea of if it sounds good to you.

One key thing about this game is you don't need a board and you can allow plays to make the story progress how they want to. You can draw up the area people are in if you want, to me, adding a visual aid adds something, even if it's just scribbles on a piece of paper! On my first action of the demo, I seduced one of the guards, it wasn't overly effective and probably not the right action to make but it was fun and building a story is what I felt this game was all about. Are there rules? Yes, there are lots of rules, if you are good with dice and numbers, it shouldn't be very hard! Since I'm not good with either, I will need a lot of practice!

At the convention, I got a lot of time to speak with the creator (Ed Jowett), along with many other members of the team, all of which defiantly showed their passion for the game, as well as other games the company has created. Unfortunately, I didn't ask any hard hitting interview questions, or even conduct an interview! It was very casual and informal, but the feeling I did get is that the game was designed to be very story driven for all involved and not as complex as Dungeons & Dragons, it's defiantly a game that feels accessible.

The greatest thing I would like to see added would be an audiobook for the long story created, for me, reading is a challenge and that'll be the biggest hurdle here, but for stories that are worth reading, I can take the extra time. Since the convention, I have had the chance to introduce a few people to the game, though I probably made many mistakes as a GM, it's a learning experience.

This has effectively been my hands on, first impression of a table top gaming experience that I haven't been a part of before, it's always looked interesting but very complicated. The ability to create a story with a group of friends, or strangers, is a wonderful thing, defiantly the type of game for creative minds and those who like sci-fi, many aspects of Era: The Consortium will seem familiar from many popular sci-fi shows and yet, unique in it's own right!

If it sounds like your type of game, check out their website I linked above or if you are near Birmingham, the Shades of Vengeance team will be there on the 3rd - 5th of June, see here for the UK Games Expo website. Sadly, I won't be there, I spent most of my money in London!

WRITTEN & EDITED BY Three of Seven - rena.hobden@ufplanets.com