It's 2:00 AM and I just woke up from a fever-induced dream/dillusion/hallucination where I was playing BattleLore, but it wasn't BattleLore. It was like Runewars, the board game because we all had order cards that determined our initiative. But then, we were moving and attacking units like some sort of miniatures game. After waking up, I realized that the way units change initiative from round to round in RuneWars: TMG is a spiritual successor to Runewars: TBG.

In Runewars, you play one order card each season. The order card tells you the action(s) you take during that game round. Each order card has an initiative value (up to 8) so the order you play also determines player turn order for that round. It's a neat mechanic for several reasons. First, turn order is not decided for the whole game, which mixes things up a bit. Second, the theme is great where moving troops to a neighboring area is faster than say, harvesting resources or building a stronghold. Third, this adds a great strategic element because sometimes, for example, you really want to Recruit some new units at a poorly-defended stronghold, but you know your opponent could play a lower-initiative order like Conquer, and take over your stronghold before you even get a chance to Recruit, so you may be better off with a Garrison or Strategize order that could let you get a defense bonus or move units into the stronghold from elsewhere. Of course, your opponent can predict a Garrison order and hold off on attacking for one season, so maybe the Recruit IS the right order.

I don't know why I didn't see the similarity between order card initiative and action initiative on the dials between Runewars and RuneWars. I find this very exciting because I've been wondering what — other than theme — is the same between Runewars and RuneWars? Why give them the same name? This initiative business ties these games a little closer together, which I find neat. So I guess I have to thank my fever-dream for this added clarity.

And I can not stress enough how awesome the initiative chess match in this game is. It's what really got me hooked the first couple times I played it. Maneuvering and positioning matter a good bit, but out thinking your opponent and timing your attacks and defense will be the real key to winning hands down.

And I can not stress enough how awesome the initiative chess match in this game is. It's what really got me hooked the first couple times I played it. Maneuvering and positioning matter a good bit, but out thinking your opponent and timing your attacks and defense will be the real key to winning hands down.

Did you try it out at gen con then? Do you have any observations that you can share with us? Like it looks like the infantry is just not durable at all and archers are really strong? Is this just the demos online or did you experience the same?

And I can not stress enough how awesome the initiative chess match in this game is. It's what really got me hooked the first couple times I played it. Maneuvering and positioning matter a good bit, but out thinking your opponent and timing your attacks and defense will be the real key to winning hands down.

Did you try it out at gen con then? Do you have any observations that you can share with us? Like it looks like the infantry is just not durable at all and archers are really strong? Is this just the demos online or did you experience the same?

If I understand correctly, he was the one running the demo in the Team Covenant video.

I was running the demos, and I've played the game a handful of times. Until you've played once or twice you don't really realize just how much the defense modifier helps your units stick around, and so most people didn't use it, instead opting to go for the damage modifiers since it was a demo. We also were not bothering with line of sight rules which will reign in ranged units a good bit. There also may or may not be some upgrades you could add that will help you keep your infantry alive.