Excellent review. The universal rulebook is great in theory but definitely leaves something to be desired in practice. The sample play through included in the original Warfighter rules was invaluable to me when I first purchased this game so it's disappointing that one isn't included with the new games. In my opinion it's something that could easily be included as a standalone item for each of the variations. But I'm with you, rulebook aside I love the game system.
Oh man, they used to have a sample playthrough!? I LOVE when games do that. I watched Ricky Royal's play and some others to set up for mine, so it all worked out, but having it in the rules would have been great.
Great review. Totally agree with the pros and cons you raise. But I must warn any fellow completists out there that there are tons of expansions in addition to the current 5 core games (plus Fantasy scheduled for a late summer Kickstarter) so be warned. If you want to undertake a shore invasion, parachute behind enemy lines, take down Bin Laden, play as Germans, North Koreans or the Finns, run a Mercenary company, include a tank as part of your squad or act as a K9 Handler, it’s all here for you to immerse yourself enjoy the ride.
You are SO right. Like I said, I'm trying to pick which ones I definitely want. WWII is my jam, so I'll probably buy Pacific, maybe a few small ones, and then some of the weird ones like Undead and R'lyeh. And you KNOW I am there for Fantasy :)
The rule book is a nightmare. I got this game seven years ago, even as an experienced gamer and war-gamer it took me five hours to play the first game because the rules were a mess. Once I learned to play, it was a blast (albeit a bit too difficult at times). I even re-wrote the entire rule book for myself so I could make better sense of it.
Great job and agree with the conclusions here. I know that I would like the WW2 stuff better myself. But it all looks fun. I also like how “Wargames” aren’t always Hex and Counter (I love those too) these days and have many different faces. You could call this a Card Game with a War “theme” or even Gateway wargame. But in all, I would say it’s a game about War, yes?! Thus a War game! One that is Card driven.
Hahaha, you're getting into all the weirdness with labels and what is and isn't a war game and what that even means. Liz and I discussed that some in our recent podcast episode. Did you catch that one?
One Stop Co-op Shop - Not yet, as a matter of fact thanks for the reminder! Will listen right now! Unless it’s the Historical Games one with Liz, yes I listened to that. I bet my comment fit right in, lol. But I will say..... a label doesn’t matter as long as the Game is fun to play, for whoever plays it. 👍🏻
Just went out and grabbed this one. Thanks for the recommendation! It looks great. You’re right about the rule book, though. I’m finding it especially difficult, considering I haven’t played any other warfighter games. What videos did you watch to learn the rules?
Ricky royal has a nice series using the modern set. I also found a player aid on BGG that cut a lot of the chaff our and just gave me the basics. Between those i was generally good to go. Good luck! Hope you enjoy it. I have more WWII content coming my way after ordering recently;)
Having gotten a handle on the rules(I think) and playing quite a few games the game feels a bit, easy? The strategy for this version seems to be just keep moving. Thematically that makes sense as you are behind enemy lines but makes gameplay kind of dry when you aren't doing anything but moving until you get to the objective.
Do you mean the Shadow War version specifically? I think it does some really cool stuff, but I donated that one and kept WW2, so my preferences aligned generally with yours.
@@OneStopCoopShop Yeah Shadow War specifically. I have not played the other versions but I think will like the other versions. I like the card and action system but Shadow War really tries to dissuade you from doing anything other than walking to the objective and really trying to attack only it. Once I figured that out, the game became kind of easy.
@@Syrilian yes, you got it exactly. It's still cool for a change of pace. WW2 is my favorite because it's the toughest and most desperate. You have a bunch of soldiers, but no modern equipment to make things easy, and WAY too many enemies... my kind of game :)
I don’t generally review expansions of multiple standalones. I really enjoyed Shadow War. Very different feel from standard Warfighter, with less combat and a slower pace. I haven’t played the mercenary one.
I own the regular Warfighter Modern and Shadow War, while I really love both games, the rulebook is absolutely horrific. I would argue that it is one of the worst rulebooks I've encountered. Despite this I still thoroughly enjoy the game and running campaigns can be great fun. As far as playthroughs are concerned, I've found there are few (if any in some cases) for many wargames on RUclips. This is potentially even worse when searching for chit focused games. Admittedly I understand why, it's very niche to begin with in many cases.
I'm right there with you. The rules... ugh. I gave DVG some suggestions of how to organize them better in the future, but I know this is Dan's baby, so he'll do what he wants I guess!
Even the original rulebook for the base 'Modern' game was a bit of a mess with related rules scattered about. The organization was always flawed. Fortunately it became less of an issue after the initial look-ups of the first game or two. I can only imagine how similarly scattered a unified rulebook must've been. Will have to check out the rules summaries on BGG for any future title I get, which probably eliminates much of the reference issues. That said, it's enjoyable. Including in multi-player co-op if your group is into it.
Hey DVG if you really want to take this into new settings...please start spending some money on good visual assets and art design. Please. Oh and the rulebook is a huge no go. Get with it please
0:00 - Introduction
0:47 - Rules Organization (Con)
1:41 - Outfitting for your Mission (Pro)
2:27 - Location Cards (Pro)
3:07 - Random and Cinematic (Mix)
4:02 - Squad Tactics (Pro)
5:00 - Final Thoughts
Excellent review. The universal rulebook is great in theory but definitely leaves something to be desired in practice. The sample play through included in the original Warfighter rules was invaluable to me when I first purchased this game so it's disappointing that one isn't included with the new games. In my opinion it's something that could easily be included as a standalone item for each of the variations. But I'm with you, rulebook aside I love the game system.
Oh man, they used to have a sample playthrough!? I LOVE when games do that. I watched Ricky Royal's play and some others to set up for mine, so it all worked out, but having it in the rules would have been great.
I gotta try this... Nice Video Mike!
Yeah, I think you'll like this one, if you can tear yourself away from Rallyman, of course ;)
Great review. Totally agree with the pros and cons you raise. But I must warn any fellow completists out there that there are tons of expansions in addition to the current 5 core games (plus Fantasy scheduled for a late summer Kickstarter) so be warned. If you want to undertake a shore invasion, parachute behind enemy lines, take down Bin Laden, play as Germans, North Koreans or the Finns, run a Mercenary company, include a tank as part of your squad or act as a K9 Handler, it’s all here for you to immerse yourself enjoy the ride.
You are SO right. Like I said, I'm trying to pick which ones I definitely want. WWII is my jam, so I'll probably buy Pacific, maybe a few small ones, and then some of the weird ones like Undead and R'lyeh. And you KNOW I am there for Fantasy :)
The rule book is a nightmare. I got this game seven years ago, even as an experienced gamer and war-gamer it took me five hours to play the first game because the rules were a mess. Once I learned to play, it was a blast (albeit a bit too difficult at times). I even re-wrote the entire rule book for myself so I could make better sense of it.
Couldn't agree more :)
I really like Dan Verssen's designs in general, but a great rulebook writer he is not...
Great job and agree with the conclusions here. I know that I would like the WW2 stuff better myself. But it all looks fun. I also like how “Wargames” aren’t always Hex and Counter (I love those too) these days and have many different faces. You could call this a Card Game with a War “theme” or even Gateway wargame. But in all, I would say it’s a game about War, yes?! Thus a War game! One that is Card driven.
Hahaha, you're getting into all the weirdness with labels and what is and isn't a war game and what that even means. Liz and I discussed that some in our recent podcast episode. Did you catch that one?
One Stop Co-op Shop - Not yet, as a matter of fact thanks for the reminder! Will listen right now! Unless it’s the Historical Games one with Liz, yes I listened to that. I bet my comment fit right in, lol. But I will say..... a label doesn’t matter as long as the Game is fun to play, for whoever plays it. 👍🏻
Just went out and grabbed this one. Thanks for the recommendation! It looks great.
You’re right about the rule book, though. I’m finding it especially difficult, considering I haven’t played any other warfighter games.
What videos did you watch to learn the rules?
Ricky royal has a nice series using the modern set. I also found a player aid on BGG that cut a lot of the chaff our and just gave me the basics. Between those i was generally good to go.
Good luck! Hope you enjoy it. I have more WWII content coming my way after ordering recently;)
@@OneStopCoopShop I would love a link to this player aid.
@@Syrilian it's been a bit since I looked it up, but I believe it was this one - boardgamegeek.com/filepage/143627/warfighter-wwii-rules-reference
@@OneStopCoopShop Thank you! I really appreciate you doing that.
Having gotten a handle on the rules(I think) and playing quite a few games the game feels a bit, easy? The strategy for this version seems to be just keep moving. Thematically that makes sense as you are behind enemy lines but makes gameplay kind of dry when you aren't doing anything but moving until you get to the objective.
Do you mean the Shadow War version specifically? I think it does some really cool stuff, but I donated that one and kept WW2, so my preferences aligned generally with yours.
@@OneStopCoopShop Yeah Shadow War specifically. I have not played the other versions but I think will like the other versions. I like the card and action system but Shadow War really tries to dissuade you from doing anything other than walking to the objective and really trying to attack only it. Once I figured that out, the game became kind of easy.
@@Syrilian yes, you got it exactly. It's still cool for a change of pace. WW2 is my favorite because it's the toughest and most desperate. You have a bunch of soldiers, but no modern equipment to make things easy, and WAY too many enemies... my kind of game :)
Great review
Thanks!
Will you review the "Shadow War" and the PMC expansion?
I don’t generally review expansions of multiple standalones. I really enjoyed Shadow War. Very different feel from standard Warfighter, with less combat and a slower pace. I haven’t played the mercenary one.
I own the regular Warfighter Modern and Shadow War, while I really love both games, the rulebook is absolutely horrific. I would argue that it is one of the worst rulebooks I've encountered. Despite this I still thoroughly enjoy the game and running campaigns can be great fun.
As far as playthroughs are concerned, I've found there are few (if any in some cases) for many wargames on RUclips. This is potentially even worse when searching for chit focused games. Admittedly I understand why, it's very niche to begin with in many cases.
I'm right there with you. The rules... ugh. I gave DVG some suggestions of how to organize them better in the future, but I know this is Dan's baby, so he'll do what he wants I guess!
Which do you prefer? Regular or shadow and why?
Even the original rulebook for the base 'Modern' game was a bit of a mess with related rules scattered about. The organization was always flawed. Fortunately it became less of an issue after the initial look-ups of the first game or two. I can only imagine how similarly scattered a unified rulebook must've been. Will have to check out the rules summaries on BGG for any future title I get, which probably eliminates much of the reference issues. That said, it's enjoyable. Including in multi-player co-op if your group is into it.
Yeah, the key organization and bolding and other basic issues are only annoying till you play ;)
Have you tried the campaign game yet? It makes Warfighter truly fantastic!
Not yet. I only have the core so far, and it looks like the campaigns need a lot of expansions.
U sold me on it
Is this single player
You can play single player, or divide your characters up among multiple players. Same gameplay either way.
@OneStopCoopShop thanks
Hey DVG if you really want to take this into new settings...please start spending some money on good visual assets and art design. Please. Oh and the rulebook is a huge no go. Get with it please
I gave them a few suggestions for the next draft of the rules. We will see how it goes! :)
The rulebook really is terrible.
Right!? :)