Warfront

I really like the idea of tabletop wargames, with “Warhammer” being something that my children and I have dipped our toes into over the last 10 years or so. But in reality, the cost, the amount of space, and the sheer size of it all are a bit restrictive for me. Unfortunately, this means I’ve never fully gotten into it.

Equally, I’m the sort of person who likes to play a wide range of things, and with something like “Warhammer,” you really need to just play “Warhammer” to get the most out of it. Last year, we looked at “Necromolds,” which again tries to give you that kind of experience straight out of the box using a cool playdough aspect. But again, cost was a problem, and getting everything you need to properly play that game was super expensive.

So, game 10 in our Travel Games Log is “Warfront,” a brand-new card game coming soon to Kickstarter. It takes the essence of games like “Warhammer” and distils them into a super small, travel-friendly box while still recreating what makes those games so enjoyable for so many people. And I’m happy to say that, by and large, it does its job extremely well.

I played this with Jack (9), but I also played a game with Toby (6), and both fully understood the rules.

I need to preface this by saying this is not a full review, largely because the version I am looking at is a pre-production prototype. However, I can let you know what some of the final components are going to be like and whether I think it’s worth backing when it goes into production (in short, yes, I do!).

To make the game so portable, rather than relying on miniatures, it is played with a deck of cards representing two armies—in this case, the Zenith Guard and the Corrupted Legion. The game draws influences from “Warhammer” as well as the “Warcraft” video game series.

Gameplay

You start by setting up terrain and laying out any buildings or terrain cards. In our demo, we had buildings, but there will be more in the final game. Equally, you could happily add other items you have lying around. We played on a playmat, but you could just as easily play on any surface you have available.

Each player lays out their armies face down, one card at a time, eventually flipping them over to reveal their forces. Players then roll to see who goes first.

Each turn has four phases: Activation, Consolidation, Combat, and Consolidation.

• Activation Phase – Players take turns activating units and shooting if able. Movement is measured in inches based on a unit’s movement value, as is shooting (assuming the unit can shoot and is within range of an enemy card). Each card has an orange arrow at the front that acts as the measuring point.
• Shooting – You roll your shooting value in dice, and any roll of 4+ is a hit. The target then rolls defensive dice for each hit, trying to match or beat the attack value.
• Damage – Any successful hits deal damage and are tracked with a status card. Generally, all units take three damage before they are broken. I wasn’t overly keen on this system and would have preferred tokens, but I understand why they went with this approach to keep things as compact as possible.

As well as shooting, you can engage in melee combat by moving into an opponent’s unit. This starts combat for the next phase, and the other unit can only Fall Back, but this requires two Glory Points.

Glory Points & Special Abilities

Glory Points are a resource you gain whenever you roll a 6 in combat or shooting. They can be spent on special attacks and abilities. All units have the ability to Charge (double movement), Fall Back (leave combat), Brace (increase defence), and Press (increase attack). Many units also have special abilities, such as dealing unblockable damage or buffing allies.

I really like the Glory system. It made me think about how to manage my resources. Some may not like the RNG aspect of it being tied to dice rolls, but I think it works well and makes rolling a 6 feel meaningful.

Combat

Combat resolves much like shooting, with players attacking and defending based on their combat values. Combat begins when a unit moves into another and engages. Units can move through friendly units but not land on top of them, and they can move through 1-inch gaps.

Each faction also has a unique trait:

• Zenith Guard – Bolster: A unit can forgo movement to give another nearby unit +2 attack.
• Corrupted Legion – Corruption: At the beginning of your turn, you can choose to gain +2 movement, re-roll a failed defence, or make hits +3.

Both abilities felt balanced and interesting, and they definitely added to the experience. I particularly liked the adaptability of the Corrupted Legion.

In the demo version, the game continues for five rounds or until one player is defeated, but the designer has promised more objectives and win conditions to come.

It’s hard for me to comment on components since this is a prototype, but the artwork is really nice and thematic. One small issue I had was sometimes struggling to distinguish which units were which on the battlefield, but this became less of a problem with repeated plays.

Overall, Jack and I really enjoyed “Warfront.” The designers have done an excellent job of squeezing the feel of a full-fledged tabletop wargame into a deck of cards that fits in your pocket. At the moment, there are only two factions, but I look forward to seeing what others might be introduced in the future.

“Warfront” is due out on Kickstarter shortly, and you can sign up to be notified at launch via the link below.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hextor/warfront-a-fantasy-wargame-in-your-pocket

Disclaimer: A prototype copy of “Warfront” was provided for the purposes of this preview by Hexor. All of our thoughts and opinions are our own.