Our regular boardgames group paused recently the Frosthaven campaign (see here). After playing all major sub-campaign tracks and with no end in sight (you need to resolve the whole puzzle book!), we decided we need a rest from that title.

Of course, that vacuum in the time dedicated for playing boardgames did not stay empty for long. It was quickly filled by other titles, one of which was probably most prominent and gained the largest traction – Burning Banners.

So today I shall start a series of articles from our various plays, not only explaining the scenarios and providing a session reports, but also evaluating how fun, balanced and quick to play each of them is. Enjoy!

About the Game

Couple of words about Burning Banners for those who have not heard about that title yet. If you are familiar – feel free to skip to the next section.

In essence, this is a fantasy wargame for two to six players. It is really fast playing and intuitive, and features a whopping 29 scenarios, of various size, length and complexity. They range from short campaigns with 2 Kingdoms and one map, to the entire 12-year war, in which 6 kingdoms battle over four maps. Possibility to play with Basic and Advanced Rules, as well as with one of the six featured factions (Goblins, Orcs, Army of the Night, Dwarfs, Fjordland and Eastern Empire) allows for endless hours of great joy!

Burning Banners Scenarios, Campaigns and Chapters

If you have not played Burning Banners yet, it is worthwhile to stop for a moment and analyze plethora of options to bring this title to the table. In essence, all possible set-ups are divided into two sections: Scrolls of Sandaria and The Chronicle of The War of Burning Banners.

  • Scrolls of Sandaria – it consists of an Introductory campaign designed to help players learn the game, followed by seventeen self-contained Campaigns from different periods in the Burning Banners timeline.
  • The Chronicle of The War of Burning Banners – contains starting positions for ten of the twelve years of the war. This allows players to set-up a single 3-turn game from any year in the war, to the entire twelve-year war.

To say that the lore in this game is strong would be an understatement. A whole book is added to the game box, which explains the world of Kalar, its history, the rivaling factions and what lead to the great war of Burning Banners. Really appreciated!

Scenario Description:

Our group decided to start the journey with Burning Banners from the first four-players scenario, which describes the initial attack of the combined Army of the Night and Orcs forces on unprepared Dwarfs and Eastern Empire. You might be surprised to see this is called Campaign 7 – that is because introductory Campaign as well as the ones numbered 1-6 are quick, 2-player engagements, most of which happens long before the Great War.

So what is the main goal and aim of the game? Not surprisingly, the Invader (Army of the Night + Orcs) will win if at the end of any season control at least 11 settlements on both maps which are used for the play (Imperial Heartland + Fields of Ash). The resistance (Oathborn + Empire) try to prevent it, and that way gain the victory at the end of the sixth round.

Sides:

As none of us played this game before, we simply rolled for sides to see who will be commanding the evil forces, trying to burn and pillage; and who will try to prevent their march westward. What we got was:

  • Army of the Night (Invader) – Kuba J
  • Orcs (Invader) – Adam
  • Empire (Resistance) – Kuba G
  • Oathborn (Resistance) – Michal

One important note: this was our first session, so we played with Basic Game Rules. That means we did not use Heroes, Magic, Monsters and several other, smaller mechanics.

Session Report:

Initial set-up of Campaign 7. There are some elements here which are decided by the players (more on it below) which makes each session different.
Army of the Night can choose one settlement as controlled at the beginning of the game (where corruption started). This is crucial strategic decision. Kuba J went for Khalesh – a Mara Mitai stronghold in Wilderness; while not in the center of the map, this was a perfect jumping point for initial attacks.
At the same time Army of the Night also had two covens to set-up – and as we know, they can build feral (=beast) armies next to it. This is cool rule in this scenario, which allows for completely different set-up each time.
So the invasion begun! Hundreds of Ghouls started to land across the Empire shores; that was definitely the fastest way to move them around and very clever on AotN side. Kuba G (Empire) was doing its utmost to prevent the collapse of the front.
On the other side, the orcs started to quickly gain momentum; in South they did not dare to touch Port Talonshield (too much defenses).
But in the North they made much bigger progress! That was the high tide moment for Invaders, when they were at the brink of the victory.
The corruption was spreading further, with some huge Vampire Knights quickly flying through the mountains and hitting hard the Empire defenses. Still brave Kontorai held!
Then it was high time for a payback. The Resistance started to win the game economically, Storm Giants entered the fray. But not before the last attempt by Vampires to turn the tide of the game.
The final situation on the map; while victory for resistance, it was very bloody and hard won with multiple places razed to the ground. Great fun!

Result:

The game finished in resistance (that is my and Kuba G.) victory. It was not a resounding defeat of our opponents (Kuba J and Adam), but rather “victory via small points” – opponents were able to secure 7 settlement, while they needed 11 to win. There were moments when they reached 10-11 in their turn, but the last world always belonged to Eastern Empire who was able to reconquer some of the lost territory to prevent the defeat.

Evaluation & Summary:

Scenario Fun Factor

Scenario Balance

Time to Play

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

That was definitely one of our best sessions so far – and when writing those words, I played Burning Banners already over ten times in various formats. The game gives a lot of fun – especially is the attacks goes well to invaders. It is well balanced, with a little advantage on resistance side. It also plays relatively quickly – especially if you start with Basic Game Mode, just as we did while learning the game. All in all, strongly recommended set-up for you first four-player experience with this great title!

On a general side, while I plan a separate article on my impressions for Burning Banners, I could not resist and have to share at least couple of observations immediately. The game is an immense fun to play – a wargame in fantasy world, with astonishingly beautiful graphics, asymmetric forces, tons of scenarios, a lot of dice rolling. We enjoy it very much so you can expect more scenario reports and analysis in weeks to come! Highly Recommended!