Jupiter’s Folly – Our thoughts and experiences #3

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In the third and final of our thoughts and experiences with Jupiter’s Folly feature, I provide my opinion on the game. Read on to find out my thoughts and experiences.

Jupiter’s Folly is not the kind of game I would normally play. It’s a turn-based strategy game which requires that you plan your moves ahead of time if you want to maximise your chances of success. I’ve never had any experience with this kind of game and to say I was slightly daunted by the prospect of playing through a full game is an understatement. However, despite my trepidation, I was excited about trying a new gaming experience and so I threw myself into a game with an “I’ll see how I go by winging it” mentality. And I was surprised by how intuitive and easy to grasp the gameplay was.

The first few days I spent trying to learn the ins and outs of the game by doing. There was some trial and error (and a few lost security details and badly placed mines) but after a few days I realised I was getting the hang of how things worked. And there was an actual feeling of success when my scouts found a perfect mining site, or crushed a squad of enemy bugs. The game provides enough random events to keep you interested and on your toes, and the gameplay never feels stale or predictable. Whilst you can, and are ecouraged to plan out your moves, the addition of other players, as well as the AI controlled alien bugs means that you will need to rethink and revisit your strategy as events occur. I remember being excited at finding what I thought at the time to be an excellent mine site only to discover after I’d constructed the mine that it was smack-bang right next to a massive alien hive nest. And once that alien queen started popping out bug swarms that were triple my security teams’ strength and experience, the game stopped being about mining crystal and Operation: Protect The Mine! was launched (I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those valorous soldier who gave their lives to protect my flagship mine. Goodkind and King you will not be forgotten)

Redirecting my attention to protecting my mine meant I had to rethink my strategy and the game completely changed. I enjoyed this new challenge and went about organising my troops and playing the cards I needed to play to set myself up in the best possible position.

And that’s one caveat I’d like to raise – this game is not for those seeking instant gratification. There are no immediate payoffs here. You decide on your plan of attack, issue your orders, and it may be hours or even days before you see results. At first this was both daunting and a little confusing, but once I began to understand the mechanics of the game, I began to really enjoy the strategic element to it. Like Joe, I started to think about the game when I wasn’t playing it. I started to plan my next orders and look forward to a free moment when I could check the status of my security detail. I started to worry about whether my mines were securely protected and could Sgt Williams hold his position long enough for me to re-inforce his security detail with more men? (or women – I like to think I had some kickass female soldiers in the mix. I’m looking at you – Sgt Hobb). I realised after the first few days that I had, quite accidentally, become hooked.

This game will not be for everyone. For those of you looking for a quick thrill or for instant action – you won’t find it here. But for those of you looking for a game you can become invested in, that forces you to strategically think about your actions, that always keeps you on your toes and that allows you to put in as much or as little time as you want – this game might just be exactly what you’re looking for. I was pleasantly surprised by my experience with Jupiter’s Folly, and I would recommend it to my friends – both gamers and non-gamers alike.

In the end, the type of experience you get will depend on how invested and involved you become. If you can grab a group of friends who are looking for an indepth and challenging game, and who are motivated to dedicate some time to seeing it through, you might just find yourself thinking about your security detail in the middle of the night.

And for the record – Sgt Williams did make it, he held the mine, and many a bug was vanquished by his valour and might.

Note: I’d like to take a quick moment to mention I especially enjoyed the fact that all the Sgt’s names for your security details are all last names of fantasy or science fiction authors. Only a little touch, but it made me smile and was a nice little addition to the game.

Jupiter’s Folly is an online strategy board game from Iron Helmet Games. The game provies for shorter play experiences, in addition to more complex, longer experiences. Take a look at the Official Website and jump into a game to get an idea of what to do. There is a tutorial video, but I would recommend bypassing it and just jumping into a game.

You can try out a game yourself here. We found the game works best when you have a group of focused friends/colleagues who’ll see the game through and make it challenging to the end. If you do end up trying out the game – let us know your thoughts either in the comments section below, or on our official forums.

A big thank you must go to Iron Helmet Games and Jay Kyburz for giving us the opportunity to try out Jupiter’s Folly. Thank you for a very interesting and enjoyable experience!


About the Author: Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Tash is a self-diagnosed gaming fanatic with a doctorate in Psychology. She's also a self-confessed Mass Effect fangirl and will likely talk your ears off if you ever get her started on the subject. A lover of all things RPG and adventure, she has more gamer related action figures and memorabilia than any 30 something year old professional has a right to own, and has spent more time than she’d like to admit to daydreaming about exactly what she would do should the Zombie Apocalypse actually happen.

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