Burning Banners: Rage of the Witch Queen is a great fantasy-themed wargame, for two to six players, set in illustrious world of Khalar. It is really fast playing and intuitive, and features a whopping twenty-nine scenarios, of various size, length and complexity. They range from short campaigns with two kingdoms and one map, to the entire twelve-years war, in which six kingdoms battle over four maps.
We have the possibility to play with the Basic Rules first. They give a good introduction to the core game mechanics, how the battle, movement or build is being executed. Still, the true beauty starts when you move to the Advanced Rules. Here comes the Monsters, Treasures, Spells, Magic and Blessings – all great elements which you would expect in Fantasy game.
But that is not all; as mentioned earlier, you can play with one of the six featured factions, namely: Goblins, Orcs, Army of the Night – these are invader armies – or Dwarfs, Fjordland and Eastern Empire – here we have the resistance forces. Each faction is unique, has its own units, blessings, special rules, strengths and weaknesses. Thanks to the great asymmetry, you can significantly prolong joy from the play.
In the below series of materials I am going to introduce this title to you guys so you can make your mind whether to try it. Hope you will enjoy it!
We start with an overview of the game – so what it depicts, what is its background, components, core mechanics, and victory conditions. This is the ideal starting point to check if this is title for you.
Where shall we continue? Of course with a small, introductory campaign which will be a good entry point into the world of Kalar, its factions, feuds, fights and lore. In this scenario – which takes only three turns – we shall witness fight between Oathborn (Dwarfs) fighters and Fjordland (Viking) invasion forces.
What should be next? Of course another small, introductory campaign which will be a good entry point into the world of Kalar. Interestingly, this time those will be two factions from Invader Army – Goblins and Orcs. Who will loot more and control more of the settlements wins!
It is time guys to jump into the deep waters! We shall explain here the Advanced Mode for this great fantasy-themed wargame. This title really shines when you add all the advanced elements, like spells, blessings, monsters or heroes. In the end, this is what you would expect from the fantasy wargame!
I will not deny it, Burning Banners enamored me with its beautiful and gorgeous components, an immense fun it brings when you play (especially with lower numbers of players), a theme which is deep and wide, with astonishingly beautiful graphics, asymmetric forces, tons of scenarios and – despite me usually not keen on too much of this – well-thought dice rolling. So I hope above set will allow you to get to know this title too!
The Boardgames Chronicle 