This falls into the category of games that I brought into work for team building and Air, Land & Sea was not one that was difficult game play wise to get to the table. But when it came to the interest in the game, the theme definitely lowered it, but let’s talk about this lane battling game from Arcane Wonders.

How To Play Air, Land & Sea

Air, Land & Sea is a lane battling game. Basically, two players fight over three theaters of war, air, land, and sea. Players take turns playing down cards that influence how much power they have at the given theaters of war. Cards range from 1 to 6 for each theater. It would be easy to know what the other player has except for the fact you only play with 6 cards each.

The strategy comes into the game around when to play cards. With the exception of the 6, each card has a power that goes along with it. Those manipulate where you can play cards or how cards can be played. And each theater can only have it’s own cards unless something allows you to break the rules with that. Or if you play a card face down, then it is worth two points but doesn’t have any power associated with it.

After a round, you score the battles. Who wins each theater gets 6 points and the first person to 12 wins. However, you can pull out of a theater if you don’t think you can win. The sooner you do that the fewer points your opponent gets. If no one reaches twelve, then the theaters adjust their adjacency to each other and you battle again.

What Doesn’t Work?

The aesthetic of the game is just okay. It is a game that takes itself seriously with how it looks, and that is kind of a negative. This is a very light game, one that is meant to be thinky but light in terms of game play. The artwork doesn’t feel nearly as light as the speed the game plays at. And I think the theme and aesthetic will be off putting to some people.

I also feel like the powers on the cards are not always that interesting. They do cool things, but not that game changing in what they do, at least what is what it feels like. The powers are good, and they add a lot of interest to the game, but with six cards for each player and six not in play, it’s fairly lucky what cards and powers will be in play. I feel like even taking it up to seven cards each and four not in play, you would feel like you could strategize more.

What Works?

The speed the game plays at works really well. This is a fast game and a quick game. I am generally interested in what you are doing and need to know what your powers are. And that is one nice thing about the easier powers, it doesn’t take much time to wrap my head around what your strategy for playing that card is going to be.

I also very much like the pull back mechanic. The fact I can drop troops out of a theater of war and give you fewer points, that is by far the most interesting thing to consider in the game. Mainly because, the longer you wait before you pull back, the more points you are giving your opponent. So, even if you think it might be close in a battle early game, it might make sense to pull back.

Who Is This For?

Firstly, I think it is for people who like that war and battling theme. Because the game definitely leans into the theme with the artwork. I think that if you don’t at least appreciate the theme there are going to be other lane battling games or lane tug of war games that will work better for you.

But I do think that the game difficulty level makes it very accessible. I could see playing Air, Land & Sea with a non-gamer and them being able to understand most of what is going on quickly. And since it’s a fast game anyways, if you need to play a learning game, you can and it won’t be bad to then shuffle up and play it again.

Final Thoughts on Air, Land & Sea

Air, Land & Sea is going to be leaving my collection. Now that doesn’t sound all that positive, and I will say, it is a mixed bag for me. Mainly because I compare it against Hanamikoji which has that same push and pull to it. Air, Land & Sea adds in powers, which seems intriguing, but Hanamikoji’s four actions are much more interesting in terms of a decision making space.

I think a lot of it comes down to that for me, the theme is just okay. I am not that interested in games with a war theme unless you add in something supernatural or fantasy to it. Just a straight up war themed game is not that interesting to me. So with the game leaning so heavily into it and just it not popping on the table aesthetically, I don’t know what I need it. I won’t play it over a number of other two player games.

That isn’t to say that the game won’t be for you. This is a game that I know a lot of people like. For me, I just have other games that I prefer and will want to play instead of it.

My Grade: B-
Gamer Grade: C+
Casual Grade: B

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