La Famiglia The Great Mafia War
La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War is a vicious and explosive area control game. Each player will lead one of the Italian families that want to take over the beautiful, colorful Sicily. The game will be played in a 2 vs 2 team mode, in which we must support our allies and constantly coordinate our joint plans.
Mechanics
A game of La Famiglia can last 4 rounds, each of which is divided into 2 phases.
In the first phase, we will deal with advanced worker placement. We will have to move action discs to perform various activities on the map. This will allow us to recruit new soldiers, build laboratories, boats, and cars, collect income, issue orders, and improve our family. There are tons of options, and the available actions will change from round to round.
An interesting thing about this phase is that we can use other players’ action discs, but then we will have to pay them for it.
In the next phase, we will resolve all orders placed on the map, according to the order of initiative. This is the meat of the game. By placing our orders in the previous phase, we tried to respond to our opponents’ moves and carry out our plans. In this step, we will see how successful we were.
Orders allow us to attack nearby areas, plant explosive surprises, move our troops, and carry out many other nefarious acts. You can feel the excitement during this phase. I especially like the moment when I manage to thwart my rival’s plans and destroy the area with his orders, eliminating his further possibilities. Initiative is key here, as I have learned that many times.
The combat in La Famiglia is also very interesting. We can launch brutal attacks that cause losses to our troops, or offer a subtle solution to the conflict. It’s the latter option that leads to the so-called “mind games.”
In a subtle clash, we play cards and decide whether we want to take our opponent’s card. Each player has 3 identical cards that allow them to replace an enemy soldier with one of their own or give their soldiers the opportunity to escape. This is what makes these decisions very important, because often, despite our military advantage, we can even lose if we choose the wrong cards.
After each of these phases, we check the control of the territories, and after the second phase, we additionally check whether any team has won the game.
To become the undisputed king of Sicily, a member of the team must capture 5 mandamenti (regions) or the entire team must capture a total of 6 mandamenti.
Playing time
It’s a bit difficult to determine the playing time for this game. There were games where we played for less than 3 hours, and there were also those tedious, lengthy battles that tested my gaming endurance. It’s one of those long games. More suitable for Friday or weekend gaming.
Number of players
The game must be played by four players, and I understand why. The fact that we play as a team means that every action matters and can affect our rivals and allies. It works great and further increases the adrenaline during the game.
I also played with an expansion that allowed me to play against my wife in a romantic area control duel. I was a little concerned about this solution and the fact that we wouldn’t have such interesting decisions to make. However, surprisingly, it was also fun to play with just the two of us. The gameplay was faster, more dynamic, and the area control aspect was also very noticeable. Unfortunately, in this mode, we get some rule changes and new possibilities in the form of a neutral board that we fight over all the time. In my opinion, I could play without it, because we didn’t really have time to expand there and place our soldiers. I would love to play La Famiglia with two players.
Quality and graphics
In terms of graphics, La Famiglia reminds me of a game where you build family resorts in a seaside town. It’s colorful, but most importantly, it’s quite clear. Except for the boundaries of some areas, where we weren’t sure if we could go there. The rest of the components are of good quality, and most importantly, the box contains numerous containers to sort everything.
Each team also receives a game map board where we can quietly show what we want to attack. It’s nice that there are also arrows on the map to show us who should make their move next.
Summary
La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War provided me with explosive gameplay, full of exciting decisions and cunning moves. The core of the game is a very advanced worker placement system, which gives us many options and provides many ways to achieve our goal.
The conflicts in La Famiglia are a breath of fresh air and something I definitely did not expect in a typical area control game. I love this sophisticated approach to combat, which turns every clash into an interesting battle of wits, where either the smarter player wins or the one who is better at reading their rivals’ intentions.
The fact that we play in teams adds even more variety to the experience of this Italian, spicy board game. The fact that we have to cooperate and agree on our plans requires us to make many strategic decisions that affect all players on the board.
We have to make our plans secretly at the table, which further deepens the conspiratorial, mafia-like experience.
Unfortunately, the game does not provide a good and easy start. Considering the instructions and the number of micro-rules that unnecessarily complicate everything. This is mainly due to the fact that some soldati go behind the board, some on the board, and different actions and situations require us to remember where and when we should place them. In addition, the game can be a bit long, and sometimes I feel that it would be nice if it ended an hour earlier, because I don’t have that much time to play it during the week.
Final verdict: La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War is an explosive mixture that tastes better than many spicy Italian pies.
Pros
- Mafia atmosphere
- Depth of gameplay
- Freshness of sophisticated battles
- Team play
- Asymmetrical families
- Components and graphics
- Also works with two players
Cons
- Lots of micro rules complicating the gameplay
- Difficult start
- Sometimes it can drag on
[Game provided by Galakta]
