I played my first game of Runewars last night. I got the game about three weeks ago but due to the time needed I only played it for the first time yesterday. Overall a solid game.

The Good:

Presentation of the game is great. Players are usually kept busy during the game with very little downtime. (Especially compared to RUNEBOUND) Combat is quick and doesn't bog down play. It's also inovative and fun. (No dice rolling) Multiple ways to win make each game unique. LIttle things like Influence bids keep things from getting repetitive. Heroes and Questing add another layer to the game. Lots of fun!

The Bad:

The mountains won't stay in the boards! Rulebook is not very well organized. An introductory mode could have been given to ease players into the game. A little overpriced for the content given. Why is there a huge empty space in the middle of the box? This should have been about $20 cheaper.

Despite a few problems during my intitial play a GREAT game. I hope I can schedule in a few more hours to play again soon!

I think the Runewars rulebook is very well organized, especially compared to previous games like Descent. I guess that's just a matter of opinion though.

As far as the mountains not staying in the board, I haven't found that to be much of an issue once the tiles are laid out on the table, and it makes storage a heck of a lot easier when you're packing things up again.

I do agree that the box seemed a bit empty for one of FFG's epic boxes when I first opened it, but I got over that once I started playing the game. =)

I agree with Steve-O. I think that the rulebook is very well and clear organized. It always just required a few seconds to find the passage I was searching for.

Moreover, I don't think Runewars is overpriced. The area tiles are very well made, there are nearly 200 figures and lots of cards (although some of that cards could truly have a bigger size).

But I think the Runewars-box is definitely over-sized. You would not need that space to store the game. I think this huge size has been chosen to visually legitimate the price. Imagine Runewars had been published in a smaller box - I think lots of people would not be willing to spend the same money for a game-box that looks like a smaller game (although that amount of money would be legitimated by the game components). It's just a question of the impression the game gives you in the game stores.

Graf said:

True that. I would've preferred the fate deck to be larger cards, honestly, given how much they need to be shuffled and drawn. I'm still considering printing larger copies of the faces and sleeving them to make a bigger fate deck for my game.

To be honest, i think its good that its a big sized box. I have organized everything and i did need the space for it.

I like the box size...although on other products from FF they have been stupidly big such as the Talisman big expansions...Also you may change your opinion of the box size if there is an expansion...

I was very happy with the contents and sorry if I have misread or understood what you said about the mountains but I've glued mine in the sections and they sit fine...

WoW: TBG and Descent had huge half empty boxes at first, but they're comfortably full now with expansions inside them. I can't imagine Runewars being too different.

Keggy said:

Well, I don't think will get nearly as full as Descent - the figures in Descent are a LOT bigger. I actually can't fit everything in my Descent box anymore; I have all the tokens, tiles, and cards in the main box, and all the figures int two of the expansion boxes - one box for the "big" figures, one for the little ones. Those boxes aren't packed full, but they make it easier to find the figures I'm looking for.

With Runewars' smaller figures, I think an expansion or two may end up filling the Runewars box, but it won't overflow it. At least, I'd be happily surprised if it DID somehow.

Although I find the price I paid ok for what I get, the box is, without any expansions, way to empty.

The most obvoious comparison wpuld be for me TI3:

Even though w/o Shatterd Empire the box alsow as reletively empty, it was way more the RW: More Punchboard, more miniatures (200 vs 350) more Cards.

Also, it costs 10 bucks less

BUT! Runewars is visually way more appealing, the Tiles look great, the mountans are a very nice gimmick, and the miniatures are awesome. Compared to teh TI3 Miniatires, I like RW better.

Also I find the Manual better written.

So: Yes the bos is to large, but the content, even though its not as much as in comparable Games, is just great.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. The game itself is GREAT, but just overpriced imho.

I think gamers are just used to paying more for their hobby.

oh also...I was wrong about the mountains. I looked in the FAQ/Errata and they aren't meant to stay in. Oops.

In terms of cost-for-value, Runewars is definitely one of the best values of games in my collection. I spent $80 on it, and have played it at least 30 times (probably more), and still haven't grown tired of it. While I love TI3, I get less play out of it.

Component-wise, yeah, it's probably not as 'worth it' as some. But I think there's more to the cost than just the physical bits; I think it's obvious a lot of time and effort was spent on this game to make it one of the best games out there. Corey and FFG as a whole definitely deserve to be paid for that, and that's where a lot of the cost goes.

While expensive, Runewars is probably, in terms of value I get out of it, one of the LEAST overpriced games I own

RW are not overprized ... i think you havent bought Hellgame. It costs us same money, but it has paper board, low quality tokens (seem to be from a thin harder paper) and a few cards.

Size of a box is i think simply because FFG has two sizes for boxes, and it simply cant fit in smaller one - map tiles are greater, and there is many components, we tried to put it into AH box, not a chance.

Tony P. said:

FFG Rulebooks tend to be...interesting. You should check out the rules for Fury of Dracula and find the section on "attacking Dracula".

qwertyuiop said:

There is something like this in RB ? I find only after a lot of time that you can attack dracula after you resolve ANY encounter, not only minion, and before that, i assumed you can attack him only if there are no encounters in your location .

First game, took some 4 hours. Was GREAT! Even though I lost the moment I began to get really strong...

I think it's worth the 100$, you have to pay not only for the pieces & things, but for the ideas as well.

Just for the record, I agree that $100 is a bit steep. I think that's just inflation, though. Stuff gets more expensive over time and FFG just recently bumped their prices up, so for the next couple years or so probably everything they make is going to seem "a bit too expensive." Best way to deal with that is to look for online stores that sell at a reduced price I think (and try to buy in bulk to minimize shipping costs.)

Having said that, even though $100 is steep, I still feel RW was worth it, personally. I may not feel that way about every game FFG has on the docket for imminent release, but I'll just do my research (try to play in advance of purchase where possible) and only buy the ones I think are worthwhile.

I have played the game several times myself and it is a solid game. But is it just me or does anyone else think that it was super slow? I have played a good ten times and each time it feels like I'm being held back because of just playing one card a turn. Maybe I am just use to Twilight Imperium or Game of Thrones, but all the time you put in this board game it feels like all that time is waiting for your strategy to unfold for that next card you need to lay on your next turn. Have I been playing it wrong?

I think it depends on what kinds of strategies you are trying to implement. This is not a game where you can have long-term strategies and implement them as you go. It's a game of more tactical reaction-style decisions, constantly balancing things out.

By "slow", it may depend on the group. Most games of Runewars I've played have been pretty quick-paced, to be honest.

Tony P. said:

You are forgetting the contents that need to fit in the box before punching them out people. Look at the size of the flats! They had to hold all that card stock that makes up the game board. Having larger box also cuts down chance for broken or bent/warped figs.

I've been eyeing Runewars for a while, having seen some of the video reviews for the game. Thematically, it reminds me of Strategy First's video game Disciples II(similar factions). Seems really interesting. Currently, it's a toss up between this title and another Descent expansion.

The box isn't that empty if you use plastic box to sort/transport counters and figs. Given the frailty of the later I would recommend keeping them in tiny bags. I'd rather have them secured in more solid boxes.