MOGS

MMO Board Games Part 1

Even though video games may take a majority of my game time, I have to admit I’m a tabletop gamer at heart. Many of our MMO’s have crossed the virtual platforms to  the tabletop to reach out to gamers of all genres.  I’m going to explore the two largest MMO/table top game combinations today, and will be back to visit others later.

World of Warcraft was the first game to bridge this gap. With the MMO releasing in 2004, they followed it up with the board game a year later in 2005. The game boasts over 1000 separate plastic pieces and cards and takes up a considerable amount of table space. I personally own the game, and have yet to get through an entire game due to it’s length and dedication. This board game is not for the casual gamer. With a rule book that will take approximately  30min -1 hr, to explain to the full group and insure everyone knows the rules and a 2-4 full playtime this game is not a short one. It’s pretty much as close to playing WoW in a board game setting without turning it into D&D.  Fantasy Flight did a good job making it so you can do just about anything in the game sans battlegrounds and instances (there is an instance in the Burning Crusade Expansion). A couple of small complaints towards the game include long downtime during other player’s turns, and  the general lack of pvp (you really gotta chase someone down). The game is based around leveling up a character, completing quests, gaining gear, then either defeating the opposing faction or defeating an end boss. Even with it’s flaws the game has high replay ability due to it’s complexity and the urge to want to conquer it with a bunch of friends that all know the rules. I recommend this game to the hardcore gamers that are looking for a board game twist on their WoW travels.

World of Warcraft also breached the tabletop genre with their own World of Warcraft trading card game. This card game plays very similar to Magic: the Gathering, except much more streamlined. Each deck is based around any of the Faction/Race/Class/Specilizations in World of Warcraft. This allows for an extremely large number of different deck combinations, along with each class/specialization being able to play variations of a “control” deck or an “aggressive” deck.  I personally played Magic for several years then the WoW tcg for the first couple of blocks and I was blown away by how well the WoW tcg plays (Planeswalkers have nothing on Hero cards). I highly recommend the WoW tcg to any Magic players for they tackled many of the problems that Magic had; including keeping resources manageable, the formats diverse, combat is streamlined (multiple combat phases) and damage carries on between turns. While Magic may have their top 2-3 decks in a tournament WoW tends to have almost a new top 4-6 class/specialization combinations every expansion that works out. Deck strategies range from massing with many allies (creatures), controlling the board with spells, to even gearing up your hero character in full epics and whacking at enemies with your big sword, and everything in between.  Games are very easy to pick up and play for new card gamers, while deckbuilding strategies are expansive enough to keep even the most hardy card floppers scribbling down decklists. I can recommend the card game to all card floppers, WoW players or not.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, was the second game to bridge this gap. However in the complete opposite way that WoW bridged it. Warhammer originated as a tabletop figure based game and then joined the ranks of the MMO world in 2008. For those not familiar with the Warhammer board game, I highly recommend you go to your local game store and check out a  couple of codex’s (rulebooks) just for the figure’s paint job alone. Warhammer is a complex figure game with large 50-150 piece armies each individually hand painted by yourself or a local artist where you pit your army against an opponent(s). Armies price range can be anywhere from $150-400 depending on the pieces/paint job, however that one army will last you years (or until rules change and some units get nerfed). Game scenarios are very expansive and can be set up from anything from finish off the opposing army, to capture the corner, capture the base, or holding strategic points. Games are played with using a ruler to move your pieces and then using dice to determine the outcome of battle. Each faction’s army has its own individual codex that you need to keep at hand to insure your units have the correct stats and abilities. Games can range anywhere from 30min -1 hour depending on the campaign. The battlefields that they play on can be as beautiful as the painted armies themselves. Generally the terrain is hand crafted and is themed to the setting.  It is an expensive hobby in it’s own, but quite the unique tabletop experience for those looking for a tabletop game that tests your skills at commanding a large army and using the terrain to your advantage.

Stop by your local game shops and check out the table top counterparts to your favorite MMO. I’ll be back next week covering a couple more MMO’s that explored the realms of tabletop gaming.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments! Jon@mogs.com

-Jon

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