Circadians: Chaos Order Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Circadians: Chaos Order, an asymmetrical war game published by Garphil Games. In Circadians: Chaos Order, players are competing to control territories or accomplish their faction objective.

Every year for the last few years, a game has come out which fans claim is “like Scythe, but better.” As a huge fan of Scythe, I’m always equally skeptical and intrigued. Circadians: Chaos Order pits highly asymmetrical factions against each other as they compete for control of powerful relics, using the resources of the land as well as brute force.

Circadians: Chaos Order plays from 2 to 5 players, and takes about 2 to 4 hours, depending on players count.

In Circadians Chaos Order, several asymmetric factions are competing to be the first to complete one of two win conditions. One win condition relates to simultaneously controlling several specific areas (those containing relics), of which the quantity decreases each round. The other possible win condition is specific to each unique faction.

In each round, every player will “price” an action, setting the cost for other players to take that action and making it free for them. Once all players have priced an action, the action phases take place. Starting with the player who priced the action, each player will choose whether or not to complete the currently available action or pass. Action phases include discover, build, harvest, recruit, and move. During these phases, players will upgrade their action efficiency, construct bases and buildings on the board, harvest resources, recruit units and leaders, move units, and perform some auxiliary actions.

After all action phases are complete, combat takes place. Next, players gain income based on areas controlled and spots