Near and Far continues the story from Above and Below, sending players across multiple maps in search of the Last Ruin while building outposts, recruiting adventurers, and encountering narrative events along the way. Ryan Laukat’s sequel addresses many of the criticisms leveled at its predecessor, offering deeper strategic options and a campaign mode that gives the exploration a narrative through-line. Community sentiment positions it as the more complete game, with the campaign mode in particular drawing praise as the definitive way to experience Laukat’s world.
Reception is warmer and more confident than its predecessor received. Players appreciate the design evolution, the campaign structure, and the richer strategic layer, while acknowledging that it still carries some of the tensions inherent in blending narrative and strategy.
The Journey Beyond the Village
The campaign mode transforms Near and Far from a standalone game into an evolving narrative experience. Playing through multiple maps with persistent character development and branching storylines gives the exploration encounters stakes they lacked in Above and Below. Choices made in early sessions affect later ones, and the sense of progressing through a shared story gives the campaign a momentum that keeps groups coming back.
The strategic layer has been meaningfully deepened. Route building across each map creates spatial puzzles that interact with the worker placement and resource management in satisfying ways. The balance between town actions and overland exploration feels more intentional, with each side of the experience supporting the other rather than competing for attention.
The encounter system retains the choose-your-own-adventure charm that defined Above and Below while offering more consequential choices. The larger encounter book, combined with the campaign’s narrative continuity, means that encounters feel like chapters in a story rather than isolated vignettes. This gives exploration a purpose beyond immediate resource gains.
Laukat’s artwork continues to define the experience. Each map has its own visual personality, and the world-building across the campaign creates a sense of place that few board games achieve. The artistic vision is consistent and confident, giving Near and Far an identity that no other game in the hobby replicates.
The Weight of a Fuller Pack
Game length has increased with the deeper mechanics, and sessions can run longer than the box suggests, particularly with four players. The richer strategic options mean more to think about each turn, and groups that include deliberate players will find the experience testing their patience.
The campaign mode, while the best way to play, requires the same scheduling commitment that all campaign games demand. Groups that can’t assemble consistent players across multiple sessions will miss the game’s strongest feature. The standalone mode works but loses the narrative thread that elevates the experience.
The blend of luck and strategy in encounter resolution remains imperfect. Better-prepared expeditions succeed more often, but dice still determine outcomes, and strategic players may chafe at losing important encounters to unfavorable rolls after careful planning.
The game’s systems, while deeper than Above and Below, still don’t satisfy players seeking heavy euro complexity. The strategic framework exists to serve the narrative rather than the reverse, and players who evaluate primarily on mechanical depth will find Near and Far lightweight for its playtime. The town phase, while improved, is still more straightforward than comparable worker placement designs.
Campaign as the Core Experience
The fundamental thing to understand about Near and Far is that the campaign mode isn’t an optional add-on. It’s the actual game. The standalone arcade mode provides a complete experience, but the design clearly reaches its potential when encounters carry narrative weight, when character development persists between sessions, and when the maps tell a connected story. Groups considering Near and Far should evaluate it as a campaign commitment, and groups willing to make that commitment will be rewarded with an experience that grows richer with each session.
Should You Play Near and Far?
Near and Far is built for groups that enjoyed Above and Below and want more, or for groups new to Laukat’s world who can commit to a campaign experience. If your table values narrative, atmosphere, and shared storytelling within a strategic framework, and if scheduling multiple sessions is feasible, this is one of the best options in the adventure-game space. The campaign mode rewards commitment with a depth of experience that standalone games rarely achieve.
Skip it if campaign logistics are a dealbreaker, if you need heavy strategic depth from your game nights, or if dice-driven exploration frustrates you. Near and Far is transparent about what it offers and what it asks in return.
The Verdict on Near and Far
Near and Far is a confident evolution of the formula Laukat established with Above and Below, offering deeper strategy, richer narrative, and a campaign mode that makes the whole greater than its parts. It still navigates the tension between euro mechanics and storytelling adventure, but it does so with more grace than its predecessor. For groups willing to journey through its campaign, Near and Far delivers a storybook adventure that few tabletop experiences can match.