Wizard Kings: When Block War Game Meets Fantasy RPG

Photo: Wizard Kings 2nd Edition by Columbia Games

What happens when you combine the theme and diversity of a fantasy RPG with the game mechanics and elegance of a block war game? You get Wizard Kings, Columbia Games unique fantasy-based block game (1st Ed. published in 2000, 2nd Ed. in 2006). From Columbia’s website:

Wizard Kings is an exciting fantasy battle game with armies of elves, dwarves, orcs, undead, and three human armies (feudal, barbarian, amazon). Players customize their armies and fight for control of strategic cities and terrain on geomorphic maps. 

The base set for the game includes:

• 4 geomorphic maps which connect in hundreds of different ways. 
• 7 Armies: Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Undead, Barbarians, Feudals, Amazons. Base game comes with an assortment of all armies.
• Wizard Kings Rules     
• 4 dice     

 

            

 

Game turns are standard fare for those already familiar with other block games. They are made up of the following four phases: 

• Initiative Phase 
• Move Phase
• Combat Phase
• Build Phase

The game itself is fast-paced, with shorter scenarios often lasting only 10 turns and requiring about an hour to complete. There is also a solitaire scenario included in the base set, though the game is designed for 2-7 players.        

      

Wizard Kings should appeal to both fantasy RPG fans as well as block war gamers. With its armies of orcs, elves, and dwarves (to name just three), the game captures the spirit of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, or possibly even Chainmail, Gary Gygax’s miniatures & fantasy precursor to Dungeons & Dragons. 

However, Wizard Kings still employs the tried and true Columbia block system for combat with its step losses, combat ratings, fog of war, and dice rolls for resolving battles. Additionally, each army is equipped with their own unique Wizard, capable of spellcasting in either the Move or Combat phase. 

Wizard Kings introduces players to an entertaining game system, but one which also has great versatility and replayability thanks in part to expansion sets containing 21 additional blocks each. While the base set contains 4 geomorphic maps which allow for mixing and matching and customizing scenarios, Columbia Games also sells three additional map packs with 4 maps each to further increase versatility.  

  

At this point I have only tried a few basic two player scenarios, both of which are available in the 8 page rule book. Each one has been outstanding so far. There are real strategic decisions to be made: coordinating movement and attacks; use of build points to either strengthen existing blocks or to introduce new ones onto the board; when (and how best) to use your wizard, as each spell cast also results in at least one step loss; and how to maneuver across the geomorphic map(s) with all of their terrain effects, stacking limits and hexside limitations.  

After only a few games in and this has already become my son’s favorite block war game. The theme is perfect to capture his young imagination, aided by the quality of the components, particularly the outstanding block label art and detailed maps. Wizard Kings is a game that will no doubt get a great deal of table time in our house.  

Photo credit: Brian Williams 

Holdfast EastFront: When a Great Design Meets History’s Biggest Battle

In a secret meeting with the German General Staff held less than 3 months before the launch of Operation Barbarossa, Adolf Hitler told those assembled:

“The war against Russia will be such that it cannot be conducted in a knightly fashion. This struggle is one of ideologies and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented, unmerciful, and unrelenting harshness. All officers will have to rid themselves of obsolete ideologies. I know that the necessity for such means of waging war is beyond the comprehension of you generals but . . . I insist absolutely that my orders be executed without contradiction.”    

Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in the early morning hours of June 22,1941 has been the subject of many classic war games, including block games such as Columbia’s epic, EastFront. Regarding Operation Barbarossa, Brittanica online notes:   

For the campaign against the Soviet Union, the Germans allotted almost 150 divisions containing a total of about three million men. Among those units were 19 panzer divisions, and in total the Barbarossa force had about 3,000 tanks, 7,000 artillery pieces, and 2,500 aircraft. It was in effect the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history...the invasion along a 1,800-mile (2,900-km) front took the Soviet leadership completely by surprise and caught the Red Army in an unprepared and partially demobilized state... 

With Worthington Publishing’s Holdfast EastFront (a reimplementation of their 2014 game Holdfast Russia), the largest battle in human history is presented in a surprisingly economical fashion. Even war gamer and popular reviewer Marco Arnaudo was blown away by the game’s ability to capture the essence of the Eastern Front in so few blocks (less than 50) and such minimal rules (less than 8 pages).                           

  

 

   

            

The game itself plays fast, though it’s by no means a quick game. Holdfast EastFront consistently requires tough choices to be made, forcing players to choose between fighting now or resupplying, particularly for the Soviet Union early on. It’s an asymmetrical game, as the (initially) stronger German player has to move fast and make his push early before the harsh Russian winter hits, and before Russian reserves come into the game later in 1942. Tension and difficult decisions face both sides on every turn. As Worthington notes in their description of the game: 

As the German player you must push rapidly east trying to capture the key cities of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad, not only fighting the Russian army but the winter as well.  And as the Russian player you must withstand the German sledgehammer attacks as you trade ground for time, marshalling your forces for the counterattack that will drive the enemy backwards. Russia ended up winning but history did not have to end like this, can you do better?

The 1941 scenario covers from July ‘41 through January ‘43, for a total of 19 turns, with the game running a solid 2.5 to 3 hour game. Each turn, however, moves very quickly as (first) Germany and then Russia run through their respective Resource Points. These points are the engine which drive Worthington’s Holdfast system.            

  

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the quality of the components, most notably the mounted mapboard. Containing vibrant colors and useful tables (for Resource Points, years & months, dice hits, terrain effects, etc.) it is as appealing as it is practical. There is also plenty of room as the board (which is 20”x 30”) is big enough for the blocks in play while still fitting the standard game table. And of course, the game includes wood blocks which help to create fog of war and track step losses through their counter clockwise rotation.  

  

  

 

While I have only played the 1941-42 scenario, it is important to note that the game does cover the entire eastern campaign, including: 

• Fall Blau and beyond 1942-1945
• Kursk 1943-1945
• The destruction of Army Group Center 1944-1945

For a full run through of game play, go to Worthington’s website and check out the rule book which is available for review. You can also find an outstanding walk through of Holdfast EastFront by designer Grant Wylie at Worthington’s YouTube channel. 

Photo credit: Brian Williams