My friends and I have had TI:3 for a couple years now, and we love it. I'm looking at this and thinking it's a fantasy verion of that game. How true is that, I ask people who've played both? Also, I've read some reviews that say that the game seems too short - basically that there is too much about the game that is useless because you can win quickly by pure luck, getting the right card draws or something. The reviews gave me the impression that there were some cool ideas, but the developers seem to have feared that people wouldn't want a long game, and shortened it. To people who've play both this and TI:3, does this game seem short? How true is it that you can win quickly by pure luck? I also heard that there are quests to send heroes on, and if you get anything other than some kind of shard, that it was a waste. Is that the case? I'm looking at buying this, but it's expensive, and I'd rather save myself the disappointment if it's inferior to something I already own. Thanks for the replies

As a rather avid TI3 player myself, here's my thoughts.

There are a few similarities between this an TI3, but this game is different enough where it's not just a "fantasy TI3". The resources and unit building are very different, though I guess in some ways it can feel like a streamlined version of TI3. The battle system is VERY different - rather than all units firing simultaneously, each unit type fires in different orders, making army composition important, weighing "weak but fast" vs "strong but slow". The battles are also more offensively-oriented than TI3, which can often be a "hunker down and defend" situation.

As for the length, I don't really feel it ends too fast. Most of my games, however, have been 2-player, with a few 3-player games mixed in. I haven't tried it 4-player yet (hopefully tomorrow). The 2-player games seem to always be just the right length - it ends at a good point, not too early, not too dragged on. The 3-player games have also felt that way - they haven't felt like they end just when they are getting good. One thing about Runewars, though, is that it seems to be geared towards a fast and furious game. Unlike TI3, where the first few rounds are spent expanding and building infrastructure, in Runewars you really need to start being aggressive early.

There is some luck involved with it, but unless one side or the other has a REALLY lucky streak, I don't think it becomes a "who gets lucky the fastest" game. Where you move your units and heroes is very important, as is the planning involved in deciding which orders to play. Overall, in the games I've played, the victor is usually the one who has truly outplayed the other. The luck factors in the game seem to balance themselves out nicely.

Overall, as a TI3 player, I think this complements the TI3 playstyle well. It's not quite as "deep" as TI3 with the diplomacy and political aspects, but at the same time it's much shorter in length. I feel the game length is pretty good for what you get, and I haven't yet played a game where I've felt that it ended far too soon.

sigma is right. There are a few things that you can compare between them, but even then the ways of using them are different. It's totally worth trying and youi won't feel like you spent money on a repackaging of the same game, I'd say; go get it.

I think it's much fairer to say that Runewars drew on many of the mechanics in TI that worked, just like it did from a variety of other games. Honestly, given the choice I'd rather play Runewars than TI, partially because it's a quicker game, but largely because it's more focused and, I don't know... sharper. I would love to see a sci-fi version of Runewars, even set in the TI setting that has the same focus.

I find TI too long to play at a single games session. Runewars does (mostly) finish in 3-4 hours. For that reason alone I'd choose runewars over TI.

If I wanted a game that lasted the whole weekend, 6-player runewars playing the "epic" optional rule. Would probably be as good as TI.