Runewars

Introduction/Theme
Runewars is an epic fantasy wargame and is re-implementing Battlemist, one of the earliest Fantasy Flight games. This conflict game is much more than a wargame though, covering adventure aspects (heros, quests, treasures,...) as well as area/resource management aspects. The game is set in Terrinoth (!), the same universe used for Runebound and Descent.

Components
The design is stunning and supports the theme and storyline of the game in a great way. The box is extra-large and even if the available space is not used to the max, it is full of tiles for building the map (in 3D!!), cards, markers and nearly 200 beautiful plastic miniatures. Even if Runewars is not one of the simplest games, but the full-color rules booklet makes it quite easy to understand what the game is about.

Gameplay
Four races are part of Runewars and the main goal is to find valuable Dragon Runes. The game lasts six years, each year consisting of four seasons. In each season you have to plan in advance which orders (that are fixed when given once) you want to issue - to decide what should be done (recruit, harvest, fight,...). Combat is resolved by an interesting and simple mechanism, done only by cards. The main focus is on area/resource management, concentrating on your armies and your empire. Nevertheless you need to take care of heros and quests, which is not only fun but also quite important. How you finally set your priorities is up to you, it is great that different approaches can lead to victory.

Conclusion
Although the game is quite deep sometime, it balances the different aspects of the game mechanics in a great way and the downtime is pretty low. The replay value is high as each race has its individual strengths and weaknesses and as the landscape tiles form a different map each game. The well-known designer Corey Konieczka (Starcraft, Middle Earth Quest) has again done a brilliant job.

From the producer: "RuneWars is an epic board game of diplomacy, combat, and quests for two to four players. Designed by Corey Konieczka, RuneWars pits players against each other in a strategic game of battles and area control, where they must gather resources, raise armies, and lay siege to heavily fortified cities.

RuneWars includes over two hundred beautifully rendered cards and as many tokens, as well as nearly two hundred finely-detailed plastic miniatures, but perhaps most exciting are the modular hexagonal map pieces. Featuring stunning three-dimensional mountain terrain, these map pieces ensure that no two games are ever the same!

RuneWars takes place in the same popular fantasy universe as the best-selling board games Runebound and Descent: Journeys in the Dark, and dozens of fan-favorite heroes and monsters play their part. The wars for the dragon runes are beginning, and only one faction will emerge victorious. What would you do to claim the ultimate power?"

2-4 players, 180 min
author: corey konieczka
published by: fantasy flight games, heidelberger spieleverlag
category: fantasy, adventure, miniatures

runewars @ boardgamegeek.com
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