Warhammer: Diskwars Review

 "Each step becomes more and more difficult. My feet hardly leave the ground. We have been wandering through this inhospitable area for the third day. At the end of the journey, we are likely to face a difficult and bloody battle. I don't know if I can fight in this condition. They say the strength of an army is the strength of each soldier in its ranks; if this is correct, then our chances of victory are slim. I'm afraid we will be defeated." — The last entry in the diary found among the bloody orc corpses.

 Fortunately, players don't have to worry about that: the Warhammer: Diskwars board game puts them right into the thick of the battle. The game was released in 2013 in the setting of Warhammer Fantasy - one of the most popular gaming universes.

 But unlike its big brother, known for its miniatures and hours-long battles, this game fits into one surprisingly small box. However, there are as many as 62 units inside. This became possible because the units are not displayed as miniatures, but as double-sided discs made of thick cardboard in three sizes: small, medium and large.

 All disks are arranged in the same way: at the top are 4 numbers indicating the unit's movement, attack, counterattack and health. Most of the disk is occupied by the image, below it is the name and three icons: these are the price, race and belonging to a certain set (in this case, the basic one). Some units also have a durability option.

 In addition, players will find terrain tiles of various shapes and sizes in the box, which add variety to the playing field. There are also a bunch of tokens (injuries, activations, wounds, corners of the field, etc.) plus three custom cubes and one standard one, as well as almost 50 cards: decks of formation, terrain, scenarios and orders. And a constant companion of Warhammer games is a ruler (here it is needed only for remote combat).

 At the beginning of the game, you should make sure that the surface of the table is not slippery. Ideally, it should be lined with green or brown (the color of the real battlefield) fabric. Meanwhile, players choose factions and assemble an army to their liking on the points provided by the chosen heroes, or use the ready-made set offered by the game. In addition to units, you need to choose battle order cards.

 The dimensions of the battlefield are defined by four cardboard corners: the standard size is 3 by 3 feet (approx. 90 by 90 cm), which is three times as long as the ruler from the set. The ruler, in turn, is divided by colors into three ranges for shooting in a small, medium and large radius.

 Players decide which side of the field they start from, determine the initiative, and randomly draw a scenario card from the deck, which determines the special conditions in that battle. Her lower half is the player's secret goal, for the fulfillment of which he will receive victory points. Also, each player randomly draws starting position cards. Each type of start provides certain advantages.

 Then 4 terrain cards are selected, and players take turns placing the corresponding tiles on the field.

 Even before the start, the actual units are placed on the field. They can be placed only in the starting zone (within the middle range of the ruler from the edge of the field on your side) in front of the starting position cards. The number of deployed units is also determined by these cards, others will go into reserve. After that, the players draw order cards into their hands.

 At the beginning of each round, a player secretly chooses the order they want to use first and places it face down on the table. Orders are opened simultaneously. Each of them belongs to strategy 1 of 4 types (from "decisive" to "slow"), their interaction determines whose order will be executed first. The number in the upper left corner shows how many disks can be activated with this command. Many orders also give passive or one-time bonuses at the time of activation.

 Each disk can only be activated once per round. Available actions are movement, special abilities (in some discs) and ranged combat. Movement points determine how many times in a row a player can flip the disc: this is how they move around the field. If the disc covers at least part of the enemy disc, then the enemy is considered attacked in melee and can move; the activation of the attacking disk is completed at this point (activated disks are marked with the appropriate tokens to avoid confusion).

 The result of the battle will be decided in the battle phase of the same round. Colliding disks exchange blows (attack power - number in black circle, counterattack power - number in white circle), receiving the corresponding number of wounds. As soon as the number of wounds becomes equal to the health of the disc, it dies and is removed from the game, moving to the destroyed pile. The exception is discs with durability: they need to deal damage equal to their health more than once.

 Unlike hand-to-hand combat, distance combat is less deterministic — cubes are used there. For shooting, the enemy must be within the shooting radius (different for different disks). The result on the cube can be a hit, a critical hit (for the rest of the round, the disc is considered already activated), a miss, or the result jumping to the disc closest to the target. Some terrain types block the firing line.

 Both sides continue to play order cards until they run out of order cards or until all discs are activated. This ends the round: the activation tokens are removed, the order cards are returned to the hand and a new round begins. The game lasts 5 rounds, after which everyone counts their victory points, the number of which depends on the success of the secret objectives. Whoever has more points becomes the winner.

 Warhammer: Diskwars does a great job of porting the atmosphere and tactics of miniatures wargames to the tabletop, while simplifying it (primarily due to the lack of a movement ruler) and reducing game time. The simplicity of the game and the freedom of maneuvers cannot fail to fascinate. Beginners will especially appreciate the offered ready-made sets for each hero. With the additions Hammer and Hold and Legions of Darkness, the variability of armies will increase even more; with one basic set, the room for customization is very limited.

 Armies consist of 1-3 units. The number of units on each side determines both the duration of the game and the tactics, since each unit must be led by one hero. There are also certain restrictions on the construction of armies, in particular on belonging to the alliance of factions, the number of copies and unique units.

 However, the game is not only about units. Order cards in the hands of players, if used correctly, can change the course of the battle. Other elements also add tactics and depth; first of all, it is the selection of terrain maps and the disposition of troops. Players will occasionally have to take risks when betting on dice in ranged combat — sometimes with success, sometimes not, which contrasts interestingly with some melee.

 Warhammer: Diskwars is an exciting tactical game that encourages thoughtful actions, maneuvers and thoughtful battle plans. The player must constantly remember his secret goal, try to surprise the opponent and find a weak point in his disposition. And about the special abilities of the units, which are indicated directly on the discs with sets of keywords. However, the latter can be a problem for a beginner: until he has mastered the game, he will have to regularly consult the rulebook.

 It is for beginners that the rulebook contains a training scenario. In general, the game today is extremely friendly by the standards of the genre: the rules are simple, not voluminous, and the game is based on a few very simple mechanics.

 In terms of game time, a standard game with two units per player can only be played in about an hour. You can, of course, increase the number of units: then the variety and time of the party will increase. There is an option of a battle with the participation of more than 2 players in the rules; however, we tested this option only once with one base, and there may be a problem with downtime.

 The discs are beautifully illustrated, so you will hardly miss the missing miniatures. The cardboard is dense, the terrain tiles are clearly visible, and the activation tokens make it easy to navigate during the round. The only problem (for some table-toppers) is where to find a table of the appropriate size. You shouldn't judge by our photos, because we specially compressed it to make it easier to take photos.

 Overall, Warhammer: Diskwars is a very fan-friendly and easy alternative to miniatures wargames. The mechanics are well thought out, the game has enough tactical depth. And with additions, everything becomes more interesting. Diskwars is a great way to pass the time.