A Song of Ice and Fire - Immersive Journey into the World of Westeros
A Song of Ice and Fire (often referred as ASOIAF) is a tabletop miniature game for 2+ players set in the (un)friendly universe of the Game of Thrones, created by George R. R. Martin. The game itself was released in 2018, published by Cool Minis Or Not and Dark Sword Miniatures. As we know, the quality of miniatures made by CMON is always the highest and the publisher itself is well known for beautifully detailed miniatures.
What A Song of Ice and Fire actually is?
Overall Look at the Game
As a tabletop miniature game, A Song of Ice and Fire provides you with high tactical-reliant gameplay.
Two or more players take control of the massive armies of Westeros in an attempt to win the War of the Five Kings. Players control various units ranging from basic infantry and thundering cavalry to grand war machines and creatures.
In each game, players will attempt to accomplish various goals, ranging from controlling territory to completing secret objectives, in order to claim victory.
Army Building
Firstly you need to determine a game size – is it small, medium or large. This will define how many points you can spend on army building.
Next step is selecting your faction. For now there are 9 playable factions: Martell, Baratheon, Lannister, Stark, Greyjoy, Targaryen, Bolton, Free Folks and Night’s Watch. Each represents a slightly different kind of playstyle and all of them have different units available.
After selecting a faction, you must choose your commander. This is an important part of army building – your commander will add his unique Tactic Cards to your deck. It will have a great impact on your playstyle and game course.
Last thing you need to do is fill your list with infantry, cavalry, warmachines, creatures or non-combatant heroes. Choose wisely, give them carefully selected attachments to lead your army straight to victory.
Now as you have fully built the army, let go and check some of the core mechanics in A Song of Ice and Fire.
Core Gameplay
After you are deployed (according to the game scenario you play), the game begins. In the Activation Phase, where the majority of gameplay happens, players alternately activate their units.
Each unit may perform one of the available actions (maneuver, march, charge, attack or retreat) and then you pass a turn to your opponent. After all units are activated (each unit can be activated once per Activation Phase) the phase ends and you proceed to the Clean-Up Phase.
In that phase you score victory points (also according to the game scenario) and prepare for next Activation Phase, drawing cards, discarding tokens and so on.
The game continues until the moment one of the players achieves victory.
Movement and Positioning - Game Essentials
These two things, especially positioning, is a core in A Song of Ice and Fire. You always want to attack your opponent from Flank or Rear, if it is possible. Flanked unit has -1 to all defense and panic rolls, which is further increased when that unit is attacked from behind. And -2 to defense rolls may be a death wish.
Popularity - Vast Universe of A Song of Ice and Fire Saga
There is no need to say more than that the World of Westeros is pretty well known by many people that interest themselves in fantasy. After 22 years this universe gathers a huge fandom around itself.
This, combined with easy to understand rules, low entry threshold and constant support (including balancing updates) led a lot of people to enter this game. Icing on the cake are beautifully crafted miniatures that faithfully reproduce all of the details of your beloved characters.
There is another thing that may have influenced the popularity of this game – It is a fact that many Warhammer Fantasy Battle players decided to play this game. After Games Workshop suddenly killed WFB, ASOIAF (as one of the few) was and still is a fantasy miniature game using trays too.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Low Entry Threshold (Starters are 110$ and include everything you need to start your Journey with ASOIAF)
- Easy to understand rules
- Constant support
- Pre-assembled miniatures (no need of gluing)
- Huge number of available scenarios
- Factions playstyle diversity
Cons
- Usage of trays (it may be a neg for somebody that likes more ‘unique’ characters gameplay)
- 2D game (there is no elevations in this game, either terrains are just cardboard tokens on the table)
Conclusion
As you may see, the game offers you quite unique and interesting gameplay with only negatives being kind of aesthetics and visual things. In my opinion the game is definitely worth trying. I personally played this game a couple of times and I like it. Tactic Cards and Reaction Abilities caught me. I like to interact with my opponent beyond my turn and this game allows it!
I think that it is a worth considering option if you want to jump into another miniature game (or as a first game of that type either).
If you want to start your journey in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire and want a beautifully painted army, you just can contact us and we will do our best!
Check available houses and products on the official website (there are also many interesting articles about the game)!
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