First Runewars preview up

fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=903

It's sounding kind of interesting so far. The dial mechanics and how you recruit units is certainly different. You can't save up resources to produce a higher tier unit, you've got to reach a certain level of production and maintain it.

Also, very clear there will be action/role selection each round like in San Juan/Race for the Galaxy.

I'm hoping this turns out to be the Heroes of Might and Magic/Age of Wonders game I've always wanted.

I just creamed my jeans, that was awesome. I am making this my first blind buy and pre-ordering the fucker. It looks amazing.

it looks interesting, i hope the combat isn't like starcraft and more like MEQ (at least from what i've read about it) i found starcraft's combat system to be too simple and nothing beats dice rolling.

Looks pretty fucking cool to me. Action/role selection frightens me, but I guess it worked ok in TI:3...

Looks like we're about to see if a lot of us will pony up $100 for cardboard and plastic...

Ska_baron wrote:

Looks like we're about to see if a lot of us will pony up $100 for cardboard and plastic...

But didn't a lot of us already do this for Space Hulk?

Gary Sax wrote:

Looks pretty fucking cool to me. Action/role selection frightens me, but I guess it worked ok in TI:3...

See, I hated it in TI3. I hope it works out better in Runewars. I'm ready to love this game, and the role selection is the only thing that makes me hesitate. I'm certainly willing to give Corey K. the benefit of the doubt, however.

For those of you who can't wait for the next preview, here's a shot of the back of the box:

www.boardgamegeek.com/image/594603?size=original

interesting stuff:

the game has seasons
red scorpion is evil aligned
tons of neutral monsters
there's an archer, a caster, a melee unit and a cavalry/heavy unit for each race
only 12 heroes (oh well, they need something to put in the expansion after all)

the role selection seems to be very different from ti3 -- there appears to be 32 order cards, and they have different backs, so there could very well be different "strategy cards" per race

It could be using a Warrior Knights-style order system too, instead of the TI3 style one.

Dials are the cool new thing, huh?

The thing that scares me (and I don't see myself buying this...but I could be wrong) is that most of the discussion about this game has focused upon mechanics. That's fine and all...but I don't normally think about mechanics. Sure, it is there, but when it is non-intrusive, that's when a game works for me. Sure, you have to learn the rules. E.g., when I learned Combat Commander: Europe--it took a bit to go through--but when I think of the game, I think of the stories and cool ways to come up with a plan...not the mechanics. Same with War of the Ring.

It may just be that people are reading the rules right now--so I don't want to read too much into this--but I've noticed this trend both here and on BGG.

I was first lukewarm when I saw RuneWars presented, this first preview seems to sway me tho. It looks good and there are some good ideas out there, the iniative mechanic reminds me a little of Warcraft where ranged striked first then flying and then ground. It looks like a more thought through version tho. Hopefully it will give me (and my gf) the Heroes of Might and Magic Feeling. We are both HUGE fans of the series and a little dissapointed in no good games simulating this kind of experience.

Merkles wrote:

The thing that scares me (and I don't see myself buying this...but I could be wrong) is that most of the discussion about this game has focused upon mechanics. That's fine and all...but I don't normally think about mechanics.

Personally, I only talk about the mechanics because the theme of the game is already freaking awesome. I love TI3, but I love fantasy settings even more, and this is set in the Descent universe, which I love. The setting puts it over the top for me. I'd rather have Mad Carthos than some random generic crazy wizard. It adds stories to our games.

I can imagine us talking about Runewars when we play Descent, and and vice versa. Pure awesomeness.

2nd preview is up. Combat and showing the undead.

I'm very excited about this game, to say the least. I will be buying it one way or the other.

I really like the combat because I think that it will be pretty fast and not bog down the game too much.