Have you been itching for a family-friendly tactical card game? Perhaps you liked my review of Pixel Tactics, but thought it might be too much for your kids to handle? With “WarFields”, I’m pleased to report that the search is over. It’s fun and easy to play, but yet still requires folks to think a little in regards to which cards they should place on the battlefield when. Before we take a sneak peek at this current Kickstarter project, I’d like to thank Chris Green from Menaveth Games for reaching out and providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to note that because the game is still in the funding phase, the components featured in the pictures below may not be fully representative of the final product.
WarFields: 2 Players, Ages 10+, Average Play Time = 30 Minutes
The game comes with a total of 144 cards, 58 of which are unique in the way they act. The cards themselves are broken up into two decks: the Draw Deck and the Gold Deck…more on that in a moment. You’ll also receive tokens (which are placed on cards to track damage), a die to assist in mixing up combat a little, and a bag to put them all in. There are no bulky boards or complex damage counters, making set up and clean up a cinch. Each player will start with a King card, a Knight card, and a Worker card. Like in “Chess”, the object of the game is to kill your opponent’s king while protecting your own.
The battlefield itself is made up of six imaginary rows…three on your side and three on your opponent’s side. The row closest to each player is called the Kingdom Field, the middle row is called the Ranged Field, and the row farthest from each player is called the Melee Field. Throughout the game, players will be playing cards onto their Kingdom row and then moving their attack cards (like Knights and Archers) to the appropriate melee or ranged row in order to attack enemy cards. Some cards like the Worker play a support role, making it necessary to keep them on your Kingdom Field and out of harms way.
A player turn is broken up into four stages: the currency stage, the build stage, the move stage, and the attack stage. The currency stage is perhaps the most important stage of all, as it allows you to draw cards, collect gold from workers you have on the battlefield, and sell cards as needed to boost your reserves. Building, moving, and attacking are fairly self-explanatory, as they involve shoring up your kingdom while trying to put a dent in your opponent’s army size. There are a few rules to consider when placing and moving cards around, but they aren’t complicated by any sense of the definition.
Vinnie Approved!
Combat is also fairly easy. Each card capable of an attack will either be ranged or melee based. Melee units must be adjacent (one row away) to their target in order to attack, while ranged units must be two rows away. During an attack, the attacking player will roll the die to determine the attack modifier. Low rolls reduce the default damage, medium rolls do the default damage, and high rolls do bonus damage. I like that the die adds a bit of variety to attacks while remaining subtle enough to where the game doesn’t turn into a luck-based series of battles.
In all honesty, “WarFields” is exactly the kind of tactical card game that I’ve been waiting for. I’m a sucker for all things medieval to begin with…easy to play and family-friendly card mechanics puts this game right over the top. This is one game that you’ll definitely want to check out, especially if you like tactical card games with a lot of variety without the complications of a three-hour game.
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“WarFields” will be seeking your support via a Kickstarter campaign starting August 29th, 2013. If you like what you see, then feel free to support the game via the links below.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1270795545/warfields-card-game