I have been looking in the forums and over the internet and such and am interested in Battlelore but was kinda wondering some things. I have grasped the "basic" idea of the game like movement is hexed based but was kinda wondering how combat works. The other thing I was wondering is I have noticed alot of items are out of stock atm (alot on Ebay though) and wanted to know are these new armys or what? If they are do you "build" an army by points or how does that work. I guess the easy way to say this is how does the general gameplay work? Thanks for any replys

Briefly:

Board is divided into three sections: left, center, and right. There is a deck of command cards which both players draw from and take turns issuing orders (for the base game, each side has about 10-15 units, each turn one orders anywhere from one to around 6 of those units) by playing a card per turn. Hand size varies from 3-6 cards, 3 representing a weaker command, 6 a relatively strong command. The lore deck is dependant upon the players' war council build, and the lore plays augment and influence the command plays.

Currently, the game consists of human main forces with goblin and dwarf mercenary units bolstering them. It is possible to field armies consisting entirely of goblin and/or dwarf units, but only in scenario (pre-set) battles. There is no point system, but a card driven placement system (Call to Arms) that allows army building of sorts. Currently their are only deployment cards set up for the human army/mercenary army building, using "specialist" cards to add some more variety/functionality. The game seems to be headed towards race/nation (human, goblin, dwarf/english,french,moorish, etc) specific deployment decks. I'm hoping that that aspect of the game begins to receive attention.

Up through the present, only the base game and piecemeal-type figure expansions have been released - no expansion requiring anything other than the base game to play. Full armies have been hinted at as being future releases, but no specific plans have been announced.

Cool thanks for the detailed info

Is it not true that the new Heroes expansion requires several of the previous (maybe even out of print) expansions (like hundred years war & goblin skrimishers)? I believe that at least some of the scenarios in Heroes use pieces that did not come with the base game.

I should've been a little more explicit that I wasn't including Heroes as a figure expansion. While it does have figures in the Heroes, I consider that expansion as separate from expansions army building in nature, which I think the original poster was trying to get a feel for in this game.

I haven't gotten a hold of Heroes yet, but it does have scenarios in the adventure booklet that call for the use of other expansions.

always wanted to try and play this game...

Same than Konrad here : could anybody describe the game, but not the rules ? (i can read the pdf for that and not bother anyone here). Like, the feeling, the idea, what it looks like, can you like buy the game and one or two expansion boxes, is there collectible stuff to add (which i hate, marketing process), how long does it last, is there a lot of text, can boardgames noobs like it (me friends...), and so on ? please, battelore fans ?

Many grognards have a problem with the Battlelore. Though it may sound cliche, Battlelore is not your father's Commands and Colors (C&C). While it has the same dice mechanics, it has a completely different feel. At its heart, it is still a light wargame. But the fantasy aspect takes it much farther. If Commands and Colors and Memoir '44 are like watching the History channel or reading a book on ancient world history, Battlelore is like watching Sci-Fi (SyFy, if you prefer) or reading a few chapter of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers . With the addition of fantastic creatures and magical powers, the game transcends the typical C&C game.

The game consists of quality components that you may have become accustomed to with Days of Wonder and have continued at Fantasy Flight Games. With hundreds of detailed miniatures, tokens and cards (which can contain lots of text), the base game is definitely worth the money.

The base game plays well without any expansions. However, if you are one that doesn't like predetermined scenarios, Call to Arms is a great first expansion. Most of the other expansion give different options for troops. If you like the fantasy aspect, you can add more goblinoid or dwarven troops with each of their expansions. The Hundred Years' War is an excellent expansion if you like using human armies, though there are some human troops in the Scottish Wars expansion. I wouldn't say that Battlelore has a collectible aspect, but some expansion are very hard to find (The Hundred Years's War and promo creatures, in particular). However, FFG is re-releasing versions of the creatures and many are hoping of a re-release of the other expansions.

The recently release Heroes expansion encourages campaign play that focuses on an individual hero on the battlefield. Sort of like a story following a specific character through a series of battles. While the rest of the army can determine the outcome of the battle, the hero is the focus of the action.

The game is mostly played with a starting adventure scenario, which determines the starting set-up of the game. There are dozens of different adventures you can play, which increase with each expansion. However, it can also be played without any predetermined scenario using the Call to Arms expansion rules.

Battlelore can be played with different levels of complexity, so it is easy to introduce to new players. Players can start with the basics, playing with human armies and no lore. After you have a good grasp on the rules you can add specialist units and mercenaries. To further the experience of the game, you can play with creatures and the Lore rules. Finally, you can begin adding expansion to increase options adding more options and themes to the game. The layout of the rulebook is very friendly to those new to the game, first introducing the basics and increasing the complexity when players are ready. Therefore, it makes a good introductory game for non or just casual gamers.

I hope that helps.

Helps ? You're kidding ! Biomage, that was great, thank you ! You really told me more about the game, and now, you convinced me about one thing : I will definitely add this FFG work to mine..... that is, the day I forget about my fear about not finding the expansions that seem impossible to get (so you said, right ? especially since I'm in France). Im a collector type, and if I like the game, I'll have to get the expansions... So, I don't know... should I buy now or wait for a reprint, who knows, I guess a lot of already battlelore-players are going through the same dilemna. Hm... Anyway, thanks !

Since you are in France, I am guessing you would not mind French versions of the Battlelore expansions. Try this site . It is in Canada, so shipping may be an issue. However, they have almost every expansion, in either English or French.

No no no no no no no no. No. Just plain no. I heard the guy (the creator) was american, right ? although he published it at days of wonder (sorry, don't like this brand) he surely thought of his game in english language first, right ? and I only buy ffg stuff. That is, in original. So in english. Nice of you for the tip, still.