I just got a chance to play the Dance with Dragons expansion/variant at Days of Ice and Fire and enjoyed it very much.

So, what do people think? I found it to be an improvement on 2nd edition with the following benefits:

1. Shorter game

2. Instant conflict

3. More powerful/intriguing house cards

Did anybody notice any especially bothersome drawbacks? Anything you really liked that I didn't notice?

Please, tell more details. Can't wait to play it.

Is is too early to tell if this expansion is usable with 1st edition & Clash of Kings?

A Dance with Dragons features a six-player set-up scenario that reflects the balance of power in Westeros as it stands at the beginning of the novel of the same name. Most of the empty space on the board is now filled and there is a new set of house cards. Finally, the game must end after only six rounds. Players encounter instant conflict, as the opening portion of a traditional game (in which players capture uncontrolled territories) is unnecessary.

mikko_r said:

I don't have 1st edition or Clash of Kings, but from what I've read, I would expect that if you play by the 2nd edition rules, Dance with Dragons should be workable. It is important to note that it is ONLY for 6 players.

Are the Targaryens a playable faction?

glasswalkerx said:

No. You may choose from the same six houses as always. I haven't finished reading all of the available books yet, but *SPOILER ALERT* I'm pretty sure Danaerys and her army don't arrive on Westeros until the END of A Dance with Dragons . Perhaps that would be a later expansion? Perhaps the game designers are waiting for George R. R. Martin to release the next book? Another important story detail is that *SPOILER ALERT* house Stark has been completely taken over by the Boltons and the Freys, so their house cards are completely different.

Can someone who attended the convention please give us any/all details?

Use spoiler alerts as appropriate, though people should be clever enough to figure out that an expansion set at the end of DWD would contain spoilers.

What are the new house cards? What are the new starting positions? What are the new rules?

It's so long until we get to play this ourselves, so please throw us a bone by providing some proper details.

It won't happen. If you know all the details, who will buy the expansion then?

xBlisxs said:

People who want to play it. Unless if the expansion sucked and knowing all the details proves this, which I don't think will be the case.

xBlisxs said:

Of course people will still buy the expansion. You don't buy it just for the rules, you buy it for the cards, the artwork and the chance to support a company/product you enjoy.

At any rate, I wasn't asking for every detail in order to steal the rules, just want to know if any new mechanics have been introduced, who is on the house cards, some examples of the new card abilities and an idea of what the new starting setup looks like.

I found this to be very helpful, but am still keen for more detail.

Entertainer said:

There are no new mechanics, but some of the new house cards play off of non-combat game elements. For example, house Baratheon has a card that can move the wildling token either one space up or one space down the wildling track (but not to twelve). It also has a card that makes the total combat strength of the Baratheon army equal to the position of the wildling token on the wildling track. House Greyjoy has a card that allows you to spend power tokens to inflate the combat strength of its army. I have a feeling the game designers wanted to increase the influence of house cards on the game and got more creative. There is still another card (I forget which house) that allows you to clone the strength and combat icons of any card in any player's discard pile. House Martell has a couple of cards whose strength and icons change based on the number of cards in your hand/discard pile. Tyrell has a card that allows you to ignore the text abilities of your opponent's house card. Stark has a card that steals support for your opponent and adds that support to its own army instead. House Stark has been taken over by the Boltons and the Freys, however. Similar to the Eddard Stark/Roose Bolton combo, the new Stark cards feature a card that allows you to return Ramsey Bolton to your hand. That card also grants Ramsey bonuses to his strength and sword icons.

These new house cards present every player with important decisions about how to play his hand. I think that they make combat even more of a poker game than it already was in 2nd ed. House cards are still face up except when choosing them in combat, but it seems less obvious which card your opponent will choose.

Finally, about the starting set up: Most players have some of their power tokens already placed on the board to show that they have control of certain regions without any units there. I believe it was a way for the designers to shorten the game by eliminating the first few turns of claiming neutral territory. It also helps balance supply without using units to do so.

If you don't want to buy it by now, I don't know what kind of information will convince you. I don't know what the price will be, but the packaging is minimal (approximately 50 cards in a plastic clam-shell), so it shouldn't be much.

Hi guys, i read the analysis of the ones who have played and made a new setup. Me and my friends are extremely happy with the results. It could hace some unbalanced but nothing that's we can not fix.

If you not finish Feast for Crows dont read ANYTHING (You are on wrong forum xD).

SETUP:

MARTELL -> Raven
KN + FM -> Sunspear
FM -> Ironwood
FM -> Starfall
SH -> Sea of Dorne
SH -> East Summer Sea

Power Tokens in Salt Shore and Prince's Pass
______________________________

TYRELL
KN + FM -> HighGarden
FM -> SEAROAD MARCHS, BLACKWATER, STONEY SEPT.
KN -> Dragonstone (without garrison)
3 SHIP -> SHIPBREAKE BAY

PowerToken in Oldtown, with a ship in port.
_________________________________________________

LANNISTER -> Iron Throne
KN + FM -> Kings Landing
SH + SH -> Blackwater Bay
SH-> Golden Sound
KN + FM -> Lannisport
FM -> Riverrun
Power token Harenrral
___________________________________________________

GREYJOY -> Sword
SH -> Pyke's port, Ironmans Bay, Sunset Sea, West Summer Sea
KN -> Seaguard
KN + FM -> Three Towers
FM + FM -> Pyke
Power Token -> Flints Finger & The arbol
____________________________________________________
STARK:
KN + FM + FM -> Winterfell
SH -> Winterfell's Port
FM -> STony Shore
KN + FM -> Moat Calin
FM + FM -> Twins
Power Token in White Harbor with a ship in port.
____________________________________________________

BARATHEON
KN + FM -> Storms End (with Garrison 2)
FM -> Kingswood
SH + SH -> The shivering Sea
KN + FM + FM -> Castle Black
FM -> Karhold
Power Token in Windows Watch
________________________________________________

IT Track: LAN, TYR, STK, BAR, GJ, MAR
SW Track: GJ, TYR, MAR, BAR, STK, LAN
Raven: MAR, LAN, BAR, STA, GJ, TYR
________________________________________________

I even made some cards (based in the persos) that can be download here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/j94z0f

Join, tell me what you think and discuss about it =D.

Monsterberger said:

Was never a question of convincing me to buy it mate, was always going to do that (whenever it's bloody released in Oz), just wanted a little bit more info on how everything will work.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, much appreciated.

Can this expansion be played with less than 6 players as the basic game can?

Mordante said:

This expansion only works with six players as far as the starting scenario. You can use the new house cards with any number of players you want. I think they only made the starting scenario for 6 players because they didn't want to print a whole new set of neutral force tokens, perhaps. Just a guess.

That's a bummer to hear as we can never scrape up those amount of players.

I love this game and the expansion sounds great! Is there anywhere I can find out the new house card abilities?