Guards!Guards! A Discworld Boardgame Hot

Never read a Discworld book, but a couple of games are coming out suddenly.

What's the deal with the setting?

My wife is a huge fan. I've only read a couple. But she has all of them in hardback, preorders the new ones, and has several special editions. These might be games she would actually play.

I have read a few of the novels (Gaurds, Gaurds and Wee Free Men)- they are silly (as in meant to be funny) fantasy. I know Mr. Prachett recently announced he has Alziemers and is trying to raise money for research, might have something to do with new products being released.

Guards! Guards! a Discworld Boardgame.

Players take on the role of newly recruited members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch.
The Great Spells are missing. With the future of the entire Discworld in peril, each player is tasked to return a specific number of these to the Unseen University. To aid in their quest players can recruit some of the Discworld's best known characters to act as runners or bodyguards as they race to return the spells.

The game serves up healthy slice of strategy with a side order of cunning, and a liberal sprinkling underhanded goings-on.
Above all it is fun, but it is a true Discworld game, so the unexpected should always be expected!

ps.
As a co-designer of the game, I may be slightly biased on this one.

I'm in. I read the books and via Z-Man means it won't be terible.

Lu-Tze and/or Half-Shaft can you tell us a bit more about this game. Is it a race game? An adventure game? A set collection game?

A brief description of game play:

Guards Guards
The players are tasked to collect and return five of the missing spells to the University

Each player selects one of four Guilds to infiltrate, Thieves, Assassins, Alchemists or Fools. Their chosen Guild card will give them a specific selection of the Great Spells to collect and grants them a unique Guild Ability which can be used to hinder their opponents. It is also used to mark the players Charm, Guild and Magic abilities, which can be developed throughout the game.

Time is short, so rather than returning each spell in person, the players have been granted the power to recruit the good, and the not so good, inhabitants of the city to act as guards and runners to protect and return the spells to the University. There are twelve locations on the board where players may charm (or bribe) volunteers to join them on their quest.

The characters are split into three Volunteer Decks each representing the range of inhabitants who might be found in different locations within the city; Lords & Ladies, Man & Beast and Shades & Shadows.
Each Volunteer is assigned a set of skill attributes which can be used individually to protect the Spells, or combined with those of other volunteers and used to complete the Wizards Challenges - five tests of strength, brain, and worthiness which the runners must complete in order to enter the Unseen University with the Spells.

A selection of enchanted scrolls, weapons, armour and magical items can be purchased by players to equip their volunteers and boost their attributes.

The Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night.
A number volunteer cards carry the ‘Mark of the Brethren’
A secret society who aim to summon a greater dragon to the city in a plan to overthrow the powers that be in Ankh-Morpork.

If a player holds three of these cards at any time, he may choose to call a dragon to a specific city quadrant. This effectively shuts down that area of the city until the dragon is driven off. (handy if there are spells located there that are needed by your opponents) Opposing players may choose to face the dragon individually or to co-operate with other players and send a combined squad of volunteers to see off the beast. (Dragons may also be called to the city automatically during the game (on the turn of a fate card) If this happens all players must send at least one volunteer to face it.)

Members of the Brethren may also be secretly planted in city quadrants to operate as saboteurs.

Spell Runs
When a player feels has recruited the right volunteers they move to collect and return the first required Spell (as marked on their Guild Card)
You can send up to 4 volunteers on a Spell Run. Opponents may use magic, or Saboteurs if they have one in play, to try and stop a spell run.
If all (or any) of your runners make it to the Unseen University, they must attempt one of the Wizards Challenges (resolved by totalling a specific attribute score of the successful runners, with any bonuses gained from items or magic and a dice roll).

If successful they have returned the Spell. The volunteers used are seen to have fulfilled their duty and are discarded. The player then goes on toward his next spell (recruiting new volunteers along the way). The winner is the first to return the five Great Spells shown on their Guild Card).

Being set in Ankh-Morpork there are of course many other random hazards that face the players, but we don’t want to spoil the surprise and tell you everything! – Where’s the fun in that?
:)