I just played in the Chaos Marauders Event at Gen Con and it was a blast! It is definitely a beer and pretzels game, and I mean that with the highest adoration. Fast, simple and chaotic: it's everything a game about Orcs & Goblin tribes battling for supremacy should be. All of us enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to play again. It's simple enough that I will be teaching 9 & 12 year olds to play. The classic GW artwork is a blast from the past. The production values are typical high standard FFG.

A word of caution though, it is a given that you must play the game with a sense of humor. The chaotic nature of the gameplay can make you king of the hill, and then strip you down to nothing. I know firsthand.

Enjoy!

Brian

I have to second this. I played a few games with my wife last night. It was very easy and quick to teach and after winning the first game (oops, quickly reset for a second game without counting points) she slaughtered me... something like 1700 to 300. What that does not show is how much the game went back and forth. It seems like one turn I was 2 cards away from winning then I would loose a whole almost complete battleline and a few turns later she was a few cards away. Well, that is until she owned me and won.

Great game, fast simple, full of flavor. Recommended.

For me it seemed to be mainly random card drawing and looking what happens. Are there any great choices I missed in the game?

jogo said:

No, you've pretty much got it. You guess at how long your line might end up. You draw to fill the line. You hope to randomly acquire all of the parts to multiple piece siege engines. You DO make a choice when your line gets to attack, but it tends to be painfully obvious what will give you the most. It's nearly totally random, but some people like that sort of thing.

jogo said:

I guess it's more about getting together with friends and enjoying a silly game of luck. In fact, the second a game includes dice it becomes about luck; you make the best decision in the circumstances, then watch as the pretty colours play out. If you want a game of pure skill, there's a great one you can play forever: chess. Gets a bit boring though, methinks

Ar-Gimilzor said:

Sure. There are plenty of silly games out there that you just play while you hang with your friends. I have to take issue with you on dice though. The inclusion of dice does NOT make a game all about luck. I see this mistaken belief often. As for chess getting boring... well I feel the same way but obviously not everyone does. I think it's a mistake to equate boring with pure skill though. Pure luck games can be just as boring. In fact, I'd probably have to argue that a pure luck game is more boring than a pure skill game. With a pure skill game, you're disinterested because you don't wish to expend the effort to affect the game. With a pure luck game, you're disinterested because there ISN'T a way for you to expend any effort to affect the game.

I got hold of this, I like it but my friends seem to hate it (even though some of them found it hilarious... which is odd).

I do like the nature of how the game can swing, though in one game it didn't last very long as one player managed to build all their battlelines before any of the others had completed one!

I just recently bought this game, and ought to be playing it next week with either the wife or gaming buddies (they are separate!) - but bought it mainly through nostalgia, as I remember playing it when I was a teen, back in the 80s. It's always good to have a game in the house that's simple and can be played in a few minutes rather than an entire evening.

The other half is bound to give me a kicking at it though, she invariably wins at all manner of two player games, worse luck - Citadels, Odin's Ravens, life in general...

RedMike said:

Completely agree with you!

I agree, it's very fun. The only issue I have with it is that sometimes, if lots of "Marks of Chaos" are rolled, the game can drag on for a bit too long.

As to dice == luck, look at Backgammon. Totally controlled by dice, yet the stronger player will win the vast majority of games.

"If you want a game of pure skill, there's a great one you can play forever: chess."

What? A game where you have a 50% chance to get a huge advantage from the start (getting to start the game)? Chess is random, I tell you!