WARFIGHTER: WWII
For a small company DVG has a very high reputation and deservedly so. By the time Warfighter appeared, card and counter quality were second to none. Only the substantial game board came in for some criticism, not through lack of quality, but because [despite its impressive size] it wasn't really large enough to accommodate all the Hostile cards that were likely to end up displayed on the board. A revamped board in the mighty Footlocker expansion went some way to improving this situation. But honestly to produce a board that would perfectly hold all the necessary Hostile cards would be massive and prohibitively expensive!
All the counters [four sheets of them] are the magnificent circular or rounded corner variety that press out with ease and not a single dog-ear in sight when you've finished. The cards, and once again so many of them, are a delight. The illustrations for all the Soldier, Hostile and Action cards look like genuine black and white/sepia or late war colour quality reproductions. If any are modern mock-ups, they're a damned fine job.
However, be warned you will find diametrically opposed views to mine, one of the strongest being "unattractive .. atrocious graphic design: there are few icons .. they are a chore to read." The commentator in question would have preferred graphically created soldiers [such as the image on the box front] and scenes instead of the use of actual historical material. I like the cards for exactly the reason that they use actual historical material; I wouldn't want some artist's drawing instead. So, who's right? I mention this because I don't think there is a game where the same element won't be praised by someone and decried by someone else. What worries me is that opinion, as in this instance, is so often presented as fact. Of even more concern is that this comment was given in reply to a request for advice from someone as yet undecided on whether to buy the game.
The comment about lack of icons, however, seems just to want icons without considering whether they are appropriate or an improvement. The information on many cards is of two types - a table to roll to see whether you or a Hostile has scored a miss/wound and instructions. Can't do anything about getting rid of the numbers and would icons help to convey a miss/wound better than the words themselves? Any other words on the cards are explanations that simply couldn't be conveyed in any other way.
The one change to the cards is from one reticule for each individual Hostile on a card to a single reticule with the number of Hostiles inside it. At first, I missed this detail, but as the KIA and Suppressed markers rarely stayed in place on top of each reticule, so that you often had to check how many reticules there were underneath, I soon began to appreciate just having the number in view all the time.
But for me the single major outstanding upgrade is the rule book - nearly 20 pages longer. For those looking for lots of new rules, there may be a disappointment. There are only a few new rules. Instead, you get a far better layout. Comparing the front cover of the rule books for Warfighter and Warfighter WWII spells out the change. The former is taken up for three quarters of the page with a lovely picture and for a quarter with the index, the latter has no lovely picture, just a full page index.
This index has ten side headings with 70 subsections. If you need to find a rule, it couldn't be easier. Inside, the same improved layout for ease of access and use continues. Following much the same order of information as in the first game, there is an increase of white space that adds to making reading easier and swifter. Each major section has each page boldly edged in distinguishing colours and labeled in large block capital letters.
When it comes down to what's in the content of the rules, there are no major changes. Partly, I think this is because the original set for the modern world were so thorough and that when you are dealing with the tactical level, many concepts remain much the same and only the nature and quality of the weapons may change. Perhaps, some may feel that the stats of some WWII weapons as compared to modern day weapons don't differ sufficiently. Personally, as a gamer of the old John Hill variety, where effect is more important than hard statistical data, Warfighter WWII provides just as many tense nerve-shredding moments as is needed to keep me happy.
With the wide, wide range of Action cards and the sheer multiplicity of interactions between them and the soldiers you have on the Mission... and their different weapons ... and their equipment... and their varying skills and abilities, there is more than enough to handle and totally engross me in the unfolding narrative.
Only three new elements stand out. The first is an extension of the area of hand to hand combat, with Melee, Unarmed and Thrown included. The second is the introduction of Event cards that are drawn and occur when a Hostile card is drawn that contains the Event keyword. Again, I loved this way of bringing random events into the game. The basic game provides only American Soldiers against German Hostiles and even here I deliberately avoided looking at any of the Event cards so that each turn of the card was a fresh experience. Each Event is different and I look forward to discovering new ones as I explore the different Nationality expansions in the future. Sadly, a quick glance shows that the expansions provide very few additional Event cards.
The last new introduction is Service Record cards; besides adding a note of historical colour, I think their effect can best be described as adding a further riff on top of the use of Skill cards. Interesting without being anything exceptional.
As always in the rulebook, at the end there is an excellent 6 page play through of a complete sample Mission that helps illustrate the rules so effectively and root them firmly in your head. Finally, everything is rounded off with a 4 page player aid on stout glossy card alphabetically listing all the Keywords.
I hope by now I've convinced you of the quality and value of the basic game and just to entice you further, in a few weeks' time, I shall be writing up "A Country Stroll", a detailed AAR of a typical Mission, which uses purely the components that come in the basic game.
So ...from the essential game to the expansions ... twelve in all. Briefly:-
Expansion 1 US #1
Expansion 2 UK #1
Expansion 3 German #1
Expansion 4 Gear
Expansion 5 Ammo Box
Expansion 6 US #2
Expansion 7 UK #2
Expansion 8 German #2
Expansion 9 Russian #1
Expansion 10 Russian #2
Expansion 11 Polish #1
Expansion 12 Polish #2
As the basic game features purely US Soldiers v German Hostiles, the initial Expansions covering these two nations differ from all the additional nations covered in this first Wave of expansions. With obvious logic, Expansion 1 US#1, predominantly contains US Hostiles divided between Frontline and Elite units [37 cards in total],while Expansion 3 German #1 holds mainly German Soldiers and German Weapons. So far, so logical and I would consider totally what I'd expect and want these Expansions to contain. Consequently, US #2 and German #2 are mainly what I'd call completist decks - i.e. you don't really need them, but you'll get them just to have everything!
The other nations' expansions follow, at their core, a pattern that reflects the fact that nothing in the basic game contains their nation. So, first and foremost in each Expansion #1 comes a mix of Soldiers and Hostiles and then a spread of weapons, equipment and skills. Again, I think, a logical decision. However, variations reflect certain basic factors.
[As a Brit, I inevitably turned to the British expansion pack first, but I can assure you that, if you never invest beyond the basic game, just playing as the American soldiers against German Hostiles will give you hours and hours of unfailing pleasure and excitement!]
However, the Russian Expansion #1 reduces the number of Soldier & Hostile cards in order to accommodate the need for more Location and Weapon specific cards [and a few Objectives] to reflect the significantly changed terrain and weather. Not, I would have thought, unreasonable.
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