THE BATTLE OF VALANCE VALE
I was intrigued from the very moment I unpacked the components of Wartime. You see, there are no turns in the game. The flow of the game is instead moderated by the use of sand timers.
There are two factions in the game:
The humans and their allies of the Valance Vale are signified by tokens ringed with a yellow color. Typical units in this faction are Archers, Knights, Pikemen, and Wizards.
The Firebrands are ringed in red color and include goblins and the other miscreants that comprise their uneasy alliance like giants, orcs, minotaurs, and shaman.
Review Of Wartime includes a gigantic hex board on which cardboard tiles can be placed to create terrain barriers. This allows flexibility and the creation of unique scenarios like a playing field with mountain barriers or thickets. (It’s not wholly unlike Memoir ’44 in this regard.)
Scenarios also allow for the placement of different Valance Vale and Firebrand units, giving factions a different starting point, setting the stage for the skirmish. Wartime uses a clever and simple solution for creating units. Each unit has a hit point value. You simply count out that many units and place them on the included clear plastic standees.
Speaking of working excellently, the sand timer mechanic is straight fire. Each unit has a sand timer in an increment of 30, 60, or 90 seconds. Let’s say you want to move your orc two hex spaces. You’d declare your move, slide your unit to the new space, then flip over your sand timer. That unit must hold tight until the last grain of sand falls through.
But while you wait, you best be looking toward your other units. Maybe you are in a position to attack with one of those. Declare it. Your opponent will remove the number of tokens equal to the damage, then you’ll flip that sand timer over because that unit can’t attack again until the sand runs through the timer.
Speaking of your opponent, their hands are flailing around like Animals playing the drums, because they are working their sand timers simultaneous to yours. The entire experience creates a near-perfect feeling of exuberance and movement, all without feeling hurried or frantic.
There are other elements of the course (like blue timers that allow the use of spell cards), but that is the gist of it. And what a gist it is!
Review Of Wartime game I played with my 9-year-old daughter had her yelling “GO! GO! GO!” as she willed the last grains of sand to slide through so she could get a move in before mine. But it wasn’t meant to be, as my timer cleared first and I was able to make that last attack to take her last piece off the board.
She immediately asked if we could play again and, had it not been her bedtime, that would have been an easy ‘YES’ because the skirmishes only last 10 minutes each. Wartime plays quick and whets your appetite for the very next play.
REVIEW OF WARTIME: MISCELLANY
- Based upon if you win or lose, you’ll be steered toward a different scenario in the campaign book. This is a nice touch. Wartime is also a game where I can easily see additional scenarios being generated by fans.
- The art is crisp and engaging but I’m a little meh on the graphic design. The terrain tiles in particular didn’t work for me. For example, it’s nit-picky, but the graphic used for “line of sight” just didn’t flow visually with the overall piece.
- Three of my plastic standees came broken in the box, which is unsurprising considering there isn’t an included box insert. Everything is expected to be tossed in plastic baggies. Adding the last two bullet points together, I can’t give the production values higher than a B-. I will say, however, that on balance, you’ll be pleased with the sheer volume of components you find in the box.
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