The Wargamer

Introduction

In the interests of more-or-less responsible journalism, I'll come clean immediately. While I'm generally not much taken by fantasy literature (Tolkien and Philip Pullman being the exceptions), I'm a big fan of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, upon which A Game of Thrones: The Boardgame is based. However, I also regard myself savvy enough (this may well be a delusion) to realize that products based upon a novel may not necessarily be as good as the novel itself. For instance, while I enjoy James Joyce's Ulysses, I think the board game moves sort of slowly, and the rules are really hard to understand.

However, for all my attempts to guard against undue enthusiasm, I must admit that I very much like A Game of Thrones: The Boardgame. In the game, three to five players take the role of one of the noble houses of the medieval/fantasy land of Westeros in a struggle for control of the Iron Throne. The game combines top-shelf components, elegant and varied game mechanics, tons of tactical and strategic options, cutthroat diplomacy, and fast, involving gameplay to create one of the best gaming experiences I've had this year.

While the game's ahistorical setting and abstract combat might discourage some grognards from trying the game, let me assure them that it plays much more like Diplomacy than Talisman. It's also one of those rare games that has enough depth and subtlety to satisfy the hardcore, and is also simple and fun enough for casual players to enjoy.

Components

Fantasy Flight has done an excellent job with the game's components. The sturdily mounted game board shows all the continent of Westeros, stretching from Castle Black and The Wall in the north to the Summer Sea in the south. The map is divided into sea and land areas, and land areas are marked with different resource icons-either a city, supply, or power icon-with the more valuable areas containing several. The very handsome map is colorful and clearly marked; during our play sessions, we've never been confused by ambiguous borders. The board also sports a turn track, as well as Supply, Influence, and Wilding Attack tracks (more on these later). This extremely efficient use of board space means there's no off-board bookkeeping to be done, and all salient game information is readily available to all players at all times.

The game also comes with 100 colored wood playing pieces representing the combat units (knights, footmen, and ships). While these are pretty plain-certainly nowhere near as fabulous as the stuff you'll find in one of Eagle Game's offerings-they're still sturdy, serviceable, and attractive in a minimalist sort of way. A Game of Thrones also provides a host of cleanly cut and thick cardboard tokens. Some are used to indicate orders, control of areas, or power available, others to track influence or supply. Most of them display a house crest, and all of them are very nicely done.

30 Westeros Cards and 35 House Cards round out the game's components. They seem to be printed on the same card stock as that of the A Game of Thrones CCG, and while the design is clear and readable, the artwork is merely OK.

Documentation

The rule set for A Game of Thrones is a treasure. Consisting of a 20-page, full-color oversized booklet, it does an outstanding job of explaining the game's concepts, mechanics and sequence of play. It also includes a number of very well done and comprehensive examples of play in which most potential ambiguities and sticking points are explained away. Well-placed and frequent sidebars are used to introduce the player to unfamiliar game concepts. The rules booklet is also oversized, easy to read, and nicely designed. I don't think I've ever done this in a review before, but I'd like to extend kudos to graphic designer Scott Nicely for the clean, player-friendly and atmospheric design of the rule booklet in particular and the game in general. I've read enough bad rulebooks to appreciate a good one when I see it.