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Excellent and fair review. I’d keep in mind that the rulebook wasn’t written for this game. There were 7 core games in the system that came before this. Over the past few years they’ve revised and revised and revised it to make new games fit. I’m annoyed that I have a whole core box full of obsolete cards for the 4 core games I own. I shelved the whole system a couple years ago, and when I get a chance to un-consolidate the expansions it’s going. I do want a solitaire fantasy game for lighter play, but this isn’t it.
Wayne, thank you for a great overview of the game and review. This was detailed and concise and gave me the information I required to make a decision about buying the game. And especially, for providing us with the information to get the "better" version of the rules. I definitely want to at least get the game, and now I know what to expect and some ideas for how to get around the issues. Nick Stasnopolis
I remember seeing a review of Warfighter and remarking that it seemed very dungeon-like, with areas instead of rooms and enemy soldiers instead of monsters.
That guy on the cover won't be able to see anything, other than the light of his torch. He should be carrying it behind him, or have a torch-bearer follow him.
You did a great job with the NAM rulebook. It is a huge improvement over what comes in the box. I hope to see it continue to be refined and improved. That's also good news it will be included with future printings of the game.
Thank you so much for the time you put into this review. Appreciate the pros and cons. The last DVG game that I was very excited to get was Spruance Leader it had so many errors in the rule book and to finally update the whole rule book so I can enjoy playing it out of the box without having to reach out to board game geek fans. To print out a rule book from someone that took the time to actually fix their problems. I also ordered war fighter Vietnam. I kept posting comments take your time and put this product out complete.
I've played a few campaigns of WF Fantasy and I agree on all your points. Cons: the combat is very tedious and repetitive as mentioned, but I also find that the encounters in the pre-objective locations are way too easy while the encounter in the objective is extremely difficult to the point of being close to impossible. I had to encounter 20+ hostiles in objectives many times. That's a lot of dice rolling and it gets old. Fewer but stronger hostiles would be a great improvement. I've tried houseruling it so that I take a minion or two from the objective and place it in each of the locations to try to balance it better, and setting a max of 1 vuln per hero in the objective. Movement is a bit clunky as you have to use an action to enter range 0 in a new location first, then another action to enter striking range. This can be a little dubious and vexing. Pros: I think the leveling up is very well balanced and probably doesn't get enough credit. The scaling remains well balanced as the difficulty increases and the ability to go on side quests to try to bolster your faltering party and bring them up to speed - though at a cost to your victory score - is a help. The adventure system is such that it requires the abilities of all classes of character, so everyone has a contribution and part to play in the story. The artwork is fine in my opinion and the appearance is all immersive. The campaign draws out a good story for your hero party and building your party is fun and customizable with a plethora of equipping options. The components are all good in appearance and durability. And there's plenty of expansion packs which provide even more diversification and replayability, but also are very thematic. I purchased the Lich's Halls pack and I can tell you I felt like I was going through the cold and haunted halls of the Lich with his fell lieutenants. Very dangerous. The prelude cards add an awesome flavor and modification to a dungeon, with a new mix of curses and blessings to change up the game to fit the theme. Overall a good game that I'll keep playing from time to time but it needs some house rules. If you like fantasy you'll like this but be sure to get the New Adventurer's Manual on BGG. Great review, it was very accurate and fair, many thanks.
I don’t particularly like Warfighter, but do enjoy a good dungeon crawl, especially if there is a campaign option. I also enjoy DVG games; so, while watching your video I was almost ready to plunk down some electronic cash for this one - until I heard about the rulebook. As a game geek for over 50 years, I have no problem reading a rulebook. I’m okay with a rulebook of over 100 pages. What I don’t want is to have to struggle through a half-baked and incomplete rulebook to play a tedious game. That’s way too much work and a definite dealbreaker for me. If second edition streamlines the combat system and fixes the rulebook I may reconsider dipping a toe into WF. Otherwise, there are too many other really good games out there to waste time and effort on this one. Thanks so much for your very insightful and even-handed review. So many other guys’ review videos sound like sales pitches - yours lay out the game, warts and all and let the viewers make their own decisions.
Yea....The rulebook is the most important part. I working on my own military game for a long time, and I am still working on improvements in the form of situation descriptions and examples, according to play tests with people who have encountered my game for the first time. For the past year, I have been working mainly on the correct description of rules and examples. Making a universal manual with examples of cards from other systems is the biggest mistake DVG has ever made. THX for the video.
A very fair review. You touched on it, but one of the things I miss from the other games in the series is scalability. Like you, I prefer to play with one player soldier/hero, and typically smaller teams in general just because of table space. It would be nice if the hostiles could scale based on party size or experience.
Better scalability would be a huge improvement. The review went long enough as it is or else I would have talked about even more. Had to stop somewhere 😁
Interesting over view, thanks. I don't this version of WF. is for me, with rule book mess, & the multiple repetitious attacks. I was expecting a bit of shadow war action for creeping around dungeons. Hope the sci-fi version better.
How much would you lose in the game if you culled the swarmiest monsters (e.g., bats, ants, etc.) out of the hostiles deck? Hopefully such a deck would be bolstered by appropriate expansion content and still have enough variety.
I've experimented with a lot of house rules (I have a thread on BGG with a few), including one that removes all of the Hostiles with the "swarm" keyword, which does reduce the number of Hostiles. But it feels like a patch, not a fix.
Excellent review and I couldn’t agree more. I have not, and will not, purchase this game, although I have all the other Warfighters. I do not like the HTH Combat system that has been changed from the original warfighters games. I agree that the Combat in Warfighter Fantasy is much too tedious from all of the videos I have watched.
I think you were more than generous. Glad I didn’t back this turkey. For me the photos on the original warfighter cards solidified a nice style and feel to match the theme. This is far from the case in fantasy. Art work and styling feel so out of place and amateurish, the box art, none of it feels like something I would want look at as I imagine an adventure of any kind. Sorry my tone is harsh, but these people continue to take advantage of their most loyal fans by putting out things in this state of completion. Especially after the length of delays. Shame.
"I expect it to be playable out of the box...." "I hope there's a second edition that does blah blah blah..." Sorry but no they are direct contradictions, are you going to pay for that second edition in the hope it corrects everything that is wrong with the first edition?
When you say that points get converted into gold, we'll the rulebook doesn't explain it. It is the worst manual I have ever seen, out of the box the game is unplayable.
Hey everyone! I hope you liked the video. If you did, I'd love to think I earned your subscription. It really helps me to get more of these great games to show off! You can also help by subscribing to my Patreon: www.patreon.com/wargaminghansen OR making a one-time donation: paypal.me/wargaminghansen
Excellent and fair review. I’d keep in mind that the rulebook wasn’t written for this game. There were 7 core games in the system that came before this. Over the past few years they’ve revised and revised and revised it to make new games fit. I’m annoyed that I have a whole core box full of obsolete cards for the 4 core games I own. I shelved the whole system a couple years ago, and when I get a chance to un-consolidate the expansions it’s going. I do want a solitaire fantasy game for lighter play, but this isn’t it.
I have come to believe that it is always better to wait for the 2nd Edition with DVG games.
Wayne, thank you for a great overview of the game and review. This was detailed and concise and gave me the information I required to make a decision about buying the game. And especially, for providing us with the information to get the "better" version of the rules. I definitely want to at least get the game, and now I know what to expect and some ideas for how to get around the issues.
Nick Stasnopolis
I'm really glad my video was helpful, Nick! Always my goal with my vids.
I remember seeing a review of Warfighter and remarking that it seemed very dungeon-like, with areas instead of rooms and enemy soldiers instead of monsters.
That guy on the cover won't be able to see anything, other than the light of his torch. He should be carrying it behind him, or have a torch-bearer follow him.
I'll hear out any criticism you have of the NAM. It's going to be the rulebook in the box when the second print run happens.
You did a great job with the NAM rulebook. It is a huge improvement over what comes in the box. I hope to see it continue to be refined and improved. That's also good news it will be included with future printings of the game.
Thank you so much for the time you put into this review. Appreciate the pros and cons. The last DVG game that I was very excited to get was Spruance Leader it had so many errors in the rule book and to finally update the whole rule book so I can enjoy playing it out of the box without having to reach out to board game geek fans. To print out a rule book from someone that took the time to actually fix their problems. I also ordered war fighter Vietnam. I kept posting comments take your time and put this product out complete.
I preordered Warfighter Vietnam myself once I saw the new manual. Fingers crossed it is a much better out of box experience!
I've played a few campaigns of WF Fantasy and I agree on all your points.
Cons: the combat is very tedious and repetitive as mentioned, but I also find that the encounters in the pre-objective locations are way too easy while the encounter in the objective is extremely difficult to the point of being close to impossible. I had to encounter 20+ hostiles in objectives many times. That's a lot of dice rolling and it gets old. Fewer but stronger hostiles would be a great improvement. I've tried houseruling it so that I take a minion or two from the objective and place it in each of the locations to try to balance it better, and setting a max of 1 vuln per hero in the objective. Movement is a bit clunky as you have to use an action to enter range 0 in a new location first, then another action to enter striking range. This can be a little dubious and vexing.
Pros: I think the leveling up is very well balanced and probably doesn't get enough credit. The scaling remains well balanced as the difficulty increases and the ability to go on side quests to try to bolster your faltering party and bring them up to speed - though at a cost to your victory score - is a help. The adventure system is such that it requires the abilities of all classes of character, so everyone has a contribution and part to play in the story. The artwork is fine in my opinion and the appearance is all immersive. The campaign draws out a good story for your hero party and building your party is fun and customizable with a plethora of equipping options. The components are all good in appearance and durability. And there's plenty of expansion packs which provide even more diversification and replayability, but also are very thematic. I purchased the Lich's Halls pack and I can tell you I felt like I was going through the cold and haunted halls of the Lich with his fell lieutenants. Very dangerous. The prelude cards add an awesome flavor and modification to a dungeon, with a new mix of curses and blessings to change up the game to fit the theme.
Overall a good game that I'll keep playing from time to time but it needs some house rules. If you like fantasy you'll like this but be sure to get the New Adventurer's Manual on BGG. Great review, it was very accurate and fair, many thanks.
I don’t particularly like Warfighter, but do enjoy a good dungeon crawl, especially if there is a campaign option. I also enjoy DVG games; so, while watching your video I was almost ready to plunk down some electronic cash for this one - until I heard about the rulebook. As a game geek for over 50 years, I have no problem reading a rulebook. I’m okay with a rulebook of over 100 pages. What I don’t want is to have to struggle through a half-baked and incomplete rulebook to play a tedious game. That’s way too much work and a definite dealbreaker for me. If second edition streamlines the combat system and fixes the rulebook I may reconsider dipping a toe into WF. Otherwise, there are too many other really good games out there to waste time and effort on this one. Thanks so much for your very insightful and even-handed review. So many other guys’ review videos sound like sales pitches - yours lay out the game, warts and all and let the viewers make their own decisions.
Yea....The rulebook is the most important part. I working on my own military game for a long time, and I am still working on improvements in the form of situation descriptions and examples, according to play tests with people who have encountered my game for the first time. For the past year, I have been working mainly on the correct description of rules and examples. Making a universal manual with examples of cards from other systems is the biggest mistake DVG has ever made. THX for the video.
Good, thoughtful review.
Thank you kindly!
Always objective mate :) :)
Doing what I can, my friend!
A very fair review. You touched on it, but one of the things I miss from the other games in the series is scalability. Like you, I prefer to play with one player soldier/hero, and typically smaller teams in general just because of table space. It would be nice if the hostiles could scale based on party size or experience.
Better scalability would be a huge improvement. The review went long enough as it is or else I would have talked about even more. Had to stop somewhere 😁
Interesting over view, thanks. I don't this version of WF. is for me, with rule book mess, & the multiple repetitious attacks. I was expecting a bit of shadow war action for creeping around dungeons. Hope the sci-fi version better.
How much would you lose in the game if you culled the swarmiest monsters (e.g., bats, ants, etc.) out of the hostiles deck? Hopefully such a deck would be bolstered by appropriate expansion content and still have enough variety.
I've experimented with a lot of house rules (I have a thread on BGG with a few), including one that removes all of the Hostiles with the "swarm" keyword, which does reduce the number of Hostiles. But it feels like a patch, not a fix.
Excellent review and I couldn’t agree more. I have not, and will not, purchase this game, although I have all the other Warfighters. I do not like the HTH Combat system that has been changed from the original warfighters games. I agree that the Combat in Warfighter Fantasy is much too tedious from all of the videos I have watched.
I appreciate that!
Yeah BGG, and fans of Warighter and DVG, are all wondering WTF happened with the rulebook.
Like DVG cut corners or chose to go with cheaper talent
DVG with a shity rule book would have thought it 😂 (Dave Thomas games aside)
"Worst rulebooks found in modern gaming..." Worse than Plains Indian Wars? :)
In both cases you can't actually play the game without errata... so it's a tie 😁
I think you were more than generous. Glad I didn’t back this turkey. For me the photos on the original warfighter cards solidified a nice style and feel to match the theme. This is far from the case in fantasy. Art work and styling feel so out of place and amateurish, the box art, none of it feels like something I would want look at as I imagine an adventure of any kind. Sorry my tone is harsh, but these people continue to take advantage of their most loyal fans by putting out things in this state of completion. Especially after the length of delays. Shame.
"I expect it to be playable out of the box...." "I hope there's a second edition that does blah blah blah..." Sorry but no they are direct contradictions, are you going to pay for that second edition in the hope it corrects everything that is wrong with the first edition?
What?
When you say that points get converted into gold, we'll the rulebook doesn't explain it. It is the worst manual I have ever seen, out of the box the game is unplayable.
The NAM is much better, of course it doesn't come in the box, you have to download it yourself.