SONG FOR WAR 

KICKSTARTER RELAUNCH

THIS WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL

AT LAST IT'S GREAT TO ANNOUNCE THE NEW KICKSTARTER FOR INVICTA REX'S MAGNUM OPUS

SONG FOR WAR

WITH TWO NEW PLEDGES TO CHOOSE FROM

THE MAIN PLEDGE OFFERS NOT JUST THE FULL MEDITERRANEAN CAMPAIGN SPREAD OVER TWO MASSIVE BOARDS, BUT EACH BOARD  CARRIES ON  ITS REVERSE SIDE A TOTALLY NEW SMALLER SCENARIO:

 

ITALY  ON ONE 

NORTH AFRICA ON THE OTHER

THE SECOND PLEDGE PROVIDES THESE TWO SMALLER SCENARIOS, IN A SMALLER GAME PACKAGE, ONE ON EACH SIDE  OF A SINGLE  MOUNTED BOARD 

KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE FOR A FORTHCOMING REVIEW OF THESE SMALLER SCENARIOS,  ALONG WITH NEWS OF THE MINOR CHANGES MADE TO THE CAMPAIGN GAME

FOR A REMINDER OF MY ORIGINAL FULL CAMPAIGN REVIEW CLICK

HERE

 Relic Wars

by

Flying Pig Games

Designed by

Denver Walker

 This is written by the designer of Relic Wars, Denver Walker, and yes, she is related to that Mark Walker of wargaming fame. I guess the game designing bug is in the blood. The game will show up on Kickstarter next month and links to it and the game will be below. Without further ado here is what she has to say:

"Flying Pig Games Unleashes Relic Wars: A Tactical Fantasy Skirmish and Exploration Game by Denver Walker

Flying Pig Games is set to release Relic Wars, a fast-paced skirmish battler and exploration game designed by Denver Walker. Known for publishing award-winning wargames, Flying Pig is venturing into new territory with Relic Wars a game that blends tactical combat, magical relics, and tense player interaction. This is not a wargame. It's a savage fantasy experience full of cinematic moments, emergent strategy, and brutal decisions.

Relic Wars is a tactical, low-complexity game with high replayability and evolving strategies, designed for 2Ð4 players with stretch goals in the upcoming Kickstarter campaign expanding that count to 5, with the potential for 6. Players take control of deadly champions each with unique stats and special abilities and enter a cursed battlefield made of modular terrain tiles that are revealed and explored throughout the game.

At the heart of the game is movement, positioning, and light inventory management. Each turn, players may explore new terrain, gather powerful items, or engage in direct combat. Characters can equip swords, bows, shields, and spells each with upgradeable effects and use terrain to their advantage for defense or line-of-sight. Chalices, the games ultimate objective, are scattered across the board, drawing players into inevitable clashes.

Combat is fast, intuitive, and driven by custom dice. Each weapon and shield brings its own tactical flavor, and players can stack upgrades to modify their attack and defense pools. Divine Intervention cards drawn at the end of each player s turn inject wild, unpredictable effects into the game from healing to destruction.

Victory in Relic Wars is achieved in one of two high-stakes ways: eliminate all other players, or collect three chalices and survive one final round. Every decision whether to attack, retreat, upgrade, or press your luck can swing the tide of battle.

All Souls Expansion: Death Is Not the End

Included in the Kickstarter is the All Souls expansion, which adds an entirely new layer of gameplay introducing ghost characters, ethereal terrain, and supernatural relics. In All Souls, when a character is KOÕd and doesn't return through Divine Intervention, they return to the board as a ghost, gaining new ways to influence the game and even win.

Ghost players move freely across the battlefield, unhindered by terrain or crowding, and use the unique Haunt Die to perform powerful spectral actions like possession, invisibility, or echo life a ghostly attack. They can also win the game by collecting three chalices and surviving a final round, creating a new path to victory even after death.

The expansion includes:

* 4 ghost miniatures and character sheets

* New map tiles including The Graveyard and The Castle

* A powerful set of new Relic War Tokens like the Shroud of Turin, Crown of Thorns, Longinus the Centurion s Lance, and more

* The purple Haunt Die, used exclusively by ghost players

* New rules for haunting, manipulating the battlefield, and even banishing ghosts entirely

With All Souls, no one is ever truly eliminated. Every player remains active in the game, and ghosts become wild cards disrupting plans, hunting relics, and tilting the balance of power in unpredictable ways.

The game launches on Kickstarter on May 6th, and has already been selected as a Kickstarter Project We Love. Fans can follow the campaign now via the Kickstarter pre-launch page to be notified the moment it goes live. As a special reward for early supporters, the first three backers will be able to pledge for the full game at just $1 + shipping.

Relic Wars will also be featured on major tabletop media platforms, including Zilla Blitz's YouTube channel and Becca Scott's Good Time Society, giving players a front-row seat to gameplay previews, strategy tips, and behind-the-scenes content.

Designer Denver Walker, in her first published release, expresses deep pride and gratitude for the years of development and support that shaped Relic Wars. She worked closely with artist Riccardo DAriano, whose stunning artwork brings the world of Relic Wars vividly to life from the brooding characters to the haunting landscapes and every relic in between.

The game has been rigorously playtested by respected figures in the wargaming world, including Mark H. Walker ('65, '85, The Long Road, 2022 CSR Winner), Hermann Luttmann (A Most Fearful Sacrifice, The Rock of Chickamauga), Fred Manzo (developer), Greg Porter (Armageddon War), and many others.

With accessible mechanics, rich tactical depth, and a mix of exploration, combat, and clever maneuvering, Relic Wars marks an exciting evolution for Flying Pig Games and a thrilling debut from a rising designer."

 Normally I am much more excited about pushing Panzers and regiments, etc. around a board. However, this game has really caught my eye.

 This is a link to the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzxamH15Shc

Pre-launch page;

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markhwalker/relic-wars

 For the Empire: Canada & New Zealand in Italy

by

Flying Pig Games

This is an expansion for Old School Tactical Volume 4

 This is an expansion for the game Old School Tactical Volume IV: Italian Theater 1943-45. The parent game has been as greatly acclaimed as the other in the series. I am really pleased to say that you now get to fight in the environs of Monte Cassino. This means that you now get to fight with the British Empire's troops and also the German Fallschirmjäger (roughly hunters from the sky). They were also called the Green Devils in comparison to the British Red Devils of Arnhem fame. The campaign in Italy was an infantryman's war from first to last. It was a slow slog up the Italian Peninsula. For the Allies, it seemed that there was always another mountain to climb and fight over or an entire mountain chain. 'Smiling' Al Kesselring made the Allies pay for every inch of Italian soil they captured. 

 As is the norm with Flying Pig Games, the game comes with a very large map with 1" hexes. This means that the counters are also large and extremely easy to maneuver whatever your scale of dexterity is. Of course, this also means that the counters' information is large enough to almost read across the room. The counters have the obligatory picture of the units and weapons you will be playing with. It almost seems like Flying Pig Games has been developing games for us senior citizens in the Old Grognards Home at Shady Acres. With new elite units on both sides, the tactical battles are tense and portray the battles of the campaign to a "T". There are five scenarios about the fighting for Monte Cassion, one of my favorite battles to read about, and three for the savage battle for Ortona. Thank you, Flying Pig Games, for allowing me to review this excellent expansion to an excellent game and series. The only problem with this series of games is that at some point it has to end.

 This is what Flying Pig Games has to say about it:

 "When Great Britain once again found herself in war, she sent out a call to her Commonwealth allies.  They stepped forward and answered the call, as they always had done.

New Zealand was in the thick of the action from the beginning.  The Kiwis fought bravely in the Balkans and Greece in the battle for Crete and were a key force in the North African campaign.

The New Zealanders came to Italy with the same amount of fight.  Among the many battles they faced, they were tasked with a difficult struggle to take the fortress at Monte Cassino.

The Canadian Navy fought vigorously in the battle for the North Atlantic, but the army was static, stationed in the British Isles.  But they were itching to get into the scrap.

They got what they wanted when their soldiers and tankers were added to Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.  They were bloodied and they learned.

They carried on to the Italian boot and fought their way North through difficult terrain against a determined enemy that always had the advantage. Many battle honors were earned, one being the terrible Christmas in Ortona."

 This is what comes with the game:

A large map (30" x 41") game map (hexes are 1") that depicts urban ruins and Italian countryside for units to fight on

Two sheets of counters which add Canadian and New Zealand units, including the M5 Ram, the Fox Armored Car, AT74 Sticky Bomb, 6-Pounder ATG, Sherman V, 2" Mortar, Sapper squads, and much more

Also added are the German Fallschirmjäger

A full-color playbook with 14 scenarios involving these units

Robert Peterson

Flying Pig Games

For the Empire