Kings of War Week: Demo Game Part 2!
November 1, 2013 by dignity
Time for the conclusion to what has been an amazing game of Kings of War! Let us see how it all comes to a close and who will stand victorious upon the field of battle!
My final thoughts on the game are that it's light and simple to pick up with a great depth of play and tactics. As your games scale up you'll only find more and more you can do with your armies and it will never feel too heavy unless you go insane and try to play a two player 10,000 point game! Even that could be managed by getting some friends around. That gave me an idea! Could it be done to set a world record for the largest single wargame ever played using Kings of War?
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Kings of war is such a good game,also great game lads, I wasn’t sure about KoW at first but now I really like it
I think your game took a little over an hour. Nice work guys.
Good job guys.
Ok I’ll be honest I’m completely sold on this game now. One self present for xmas is allowed isn’t it? 🙂
Cracking stuff, love this game. Really like being able to finish a game quickly without feeling like anything is missing. Very satisfying!
Looks good. My finally try fantasy.
The game looks like so much fun and easy to get into!! Great demo guys!!
I love Kings of War and this video proves it… a full game in an hour with new players. My group routinely plays 2000 point games (equivalent to 3000+ of WHFB) in two hours… the set up and clear away time is almost nonexistent! And the rules have timed games too.
Nice simple mechanics…no wasted time removing models, and I love the one player, one roller idea. Seems to really speed things up. If there is some depth to this game, I can see it replacing WFB for me.
Thanks guys, Kings of war Week has been great!
Ok, definitely need to start thinking of starting this game
Why not just put army rules into the statlines data as already added in. KoW has a few too many little rules and you just keep adding more with each new book.
Yes, it looks like fun, I think I can get my whole family to play.
It does look like a very quick game, indeed.
Great game, love the rules. Simple rules=higher degree of tactics and strategy, no room for the rules lawyer.
I second that
Epic
Thanks for the video guys.
OK, KoW week is a slam to the dunk however you guys need to start including very convincing reasons why we need to start another game system. At the end of each game week,
To smooth the wife over and make our descent further into the hobby a more trouble free time.
We need a “how to mislead and snow the wife over” section
or
How to deal with wife agro. and shiny syndrome at the sametime” section
in backstage or something 🙂
Buy stuff in Mantic’s video cassette style cases. Just tell her that they’re DVD boxsets.
LOL that’s creative
I guess we will work the details out later I’m thinking full on orc army…
I already got a few in paint with all my armies in paint I need a winter project…
…and yes I am bragging, how many guys here can say that all there armies are in paint for every system they play, not many atleast at my LGS.
Great game week guys love the coverage one of your better ones in my opinion
Just buy and store for a month or two “what this old army dear no no no it’s not new fire sale three months ago…”
Excellent video guys.
Great game , well played by both of you!
Nice straight forward rules that let you get on with playing the game.
Excellent chaps I am all enthused to get that Basilean army assembled now well done!
Wonderfully played game that is a real simple system I am going to have to get it.
Very well presented guys – it is so obvious that Justin really enjoyed such an uncluttered game (the rules are straightforward and make sense). The pace is great, and the accumulation of damage on units is a nice mechanic. I would like to adapt these rules for (ahem) other paradigms 🙂
Loved every second of this batrep, need to see more.
Really like the demos.
I believe the current record for largest KoW game stands at 36,000 points (I assume per side). Having seen the pictures though there was a few unpainted regiments, which I’d say shouldn’t be included in that total.
Still shouldn’t be -that- hard to beat that score if one was to gather enough players.
Something for a future open day perhaps?
Oh and In depth analysis (such as it is), the Mummies could have turned to face the fleabag riders after dispatching the Trolls, which would probably have changed the outcome in the center pretty drastically.
It made little difference, but James forgot, that individuals (such as the Wiz) do not double or treble attacks for being in the flank or rear.
Still, a good demonstration of an excellent system. Be nice to see more like it, particularly as it’s so fast moving (we saw something like 2/3s of the game in this second part once both players knew what they were doing). Wouldn’t expect a new player of a certain other Fantasy game to be proficient in their first turn three! 🙂
No, no more shiny! Stop it! I haven’t even started my SAGA force yet!
In all seriousness I’m practically sold on the game. I drifted away from mass battles due to the time it took to finish a game. This is nice and simple. Complexity is fine for skirmish level games IMHO but can really drag down mass battle.
The other thing that really got me pumped for the game was how flexible the customization of your army can be. KoW seems to really embrace the creative aspect of the hobby which is something I miss these days.
Will have to wait until after Xmas to start seriously considering getting into this game but Mantic may have won me over again.
Great job. Really good demo of the game.
Man! What a clutch draw for Justin! Better than losing! Good game guys!
Looks Good.
Well, I am totally sold. Time to get an order in!
Aha – part2… thank-you
Best mass fantasy battle ruleset out. when I can actually play a 3000 point game in an afternoon without hassle and endless rule nitpicking, you know you’ve done something right.
When James said you are playing against the player instead of their army list. Well that just grabbed my attention.
I have enjoyed Kings of war week.
Send more Paramedics!!!
Such a simple game and lots of fun
Great Demo guys. Very helpful.
Go Orc
Can’t wait to get an army and start playing
Love the game! Smooth and straight forward. I didnt imagine it would end that way however. Fun times!
Great batrep guys. It really highlighted the clean rules sytem and the ease of learning.
You also demonstrated the speed of each turn and the damage accrual system nicely.
I can see this one becoming a tournament favourite.
I honostly thought Justin had it in the bag, but those Werewolves are tough.
An enjoyable week of coverage.
A polite suggestion if I may:
Some articles more focused on the painting and modelling side would have been nice for this system as it lends its self well to the hobbyist, not just the gamer.
Warren’s faction coverage and the amount of ideas coming from them was awesome. Would have been nice to see something geared towards that.
And I just spent 180usd on a starter, some heroes, and all the books… I AM WEAK….
so glad to see a demo of this game, ive had the models for a while, ths is just enough inspiration to crack them open and get playing
Fantastic demo game. Never read the rules but feel like I could play a game from an army list myself now after watching that =)
i whould love free stuff
Very fun, very quick. Loving it!
this series has me hooked already got an undead and basilain army winging its way to me. would like to add more to it though. hint hint
Well I’m going to have to give this game system a really hard think, the time it takes to play a game is perfect for an evening of fun. Mantic has done a fantastic job, very impressed.
Nice Bat-Rep!!! I can definitely see this becoming the major gaming system for big battles. Almost needs a slightly more complicated version for small battles though. Maybe a KoW warbands edition rules set.
quetions: How much damage would those zombies have to do on the Goblin Shaman to kill it outright??? I know there’s no “wound” value but it seems to me a small goblin surviving 4 damage from 20 zombies and then getting disengaged from combat so he can move out of the way completely (AND shoot? I forgot if he got to shoot them in the side or not) seems a little bit buggy.
Also Justin if you can’t outrun the wolves don’t back up! shoot them and make them take a nerve test … you never know 😛
Justin was insanely lucky, that’s all 😉
As in Warren’s ‘off the rebound 4 pointer lucky’? Or just normal lucky?
i noticed he zapped after that, zap is a range attack and you can’t range attack in the following turn after being disrupted by melee 🙂
Simple and straightforward rules. I like it.
Nice and fast gameplay
Can’t wait to see more KoW at the Mantic Open Day at the end of November!
Mantic keeps going from strength to strength. Great coverage guys.
Awesome Demo Game funnily using the forces me and my girlfriend play (me Orcs, her Undead).
Goblins always do it from behind, do they Justin? Oh dear oh dear…
Great game! I’d play the heck out of this game.
Really, really good batrep, fellas. I love the speed of the game, the movement and the simplicity. KoW looks an absolute winner!
Oh, and I saw the open day demo game James and Justin were talking about. It was HUGE! Getting it fought over 4 hours was a hell of an achievement. I was playing Dreadball and just thought the players were having a longish break. I couldn’t believe a game of that size could be played in so little time.
It was a pleasure watching this week. Looking forward to the next
I do like the sound of a huge epic game
These demo games are a great idea. Really help with leaning to play a game – seeing it in action is better than just reading the rule book.
I really love KoW! As the video shows quick and thoughtful play. You can play a large game in a very reasonable amount of time.
Awesome battle. Way to pull out the draw, I thought for sure it was going to be a wipe. Very informative, the game just looks so easy and fun to play.
Kow looks fantastic! Unfortunately my local hobby shop does not stock it, I’ll have to see what I can do to rectify this oversight.
not sure if the mechanics are very friendly or too basic
Very friendly! The game is very tactical and does have a lot of variety.
They are certainly very easy to pick up, but beyond charge reactions and flee and pursuit, there’s not much big stuff you can do in WFB that KoW doesn’t allow you to do.
Positioning and the ability to think ahead are still the key to victory, without having to spend much of the game wracking your brain trying to remember exact rules.
great demo as always!!!
Note to undead Players: ALWAYS Pack your Necromancer!! would have been a completely different Battle Report with a Necromancer Involved!!! – Good Game guys, Loved watching it!
What a finish to the week! It looks like a great system and so quick and easy to pick up. I can’t wait to have a go.
It is my favourite game ever 🙂
Kings of War would be a perfect game for those getting started in the hobby. My younger brother wants to start wargaming and was looking into Warhammer Fantasy. Just to get started by buying a Battalion, army book, and rulebook it was going to be $243.75US! He’s just in high school with a part time job washing dishes; that would be about a month’s pay just to get into the game. With Kings of War he could get a full army with FREE downloadable rules for $74.99US! That’s just a little more then the cost of an Xbox 360 game for comparison.
Curse you – just ordered the rule book. Good job on the whole series of videos
Really enjoying this themed week, it’s convinced me that I need to check out some KoW so I’ll be ordering the rule book, I’ve talked some of my gaming group into it too so they’ll be checking out some of Mantic’s finest as well.
Cheers BoW! 🙂
Great demo game!
This game rocks thanks BoW for introducing us.
I really like this game now that I have watched this battle report might just have to get into it..now to deiced which faction? hmmm
it looks interesting, I went off wfb because it took ages and there where always arguments about the rules. This seems simpler and at the same time a tighter rule set. It might be worth dusting off he fantasy mini’s and giving it a go.
love this game so much and such a great demo , keep it up BOW and KOW
Nicely done boys. Good to see Justin playing for a change – He’s a canny player and James’ enthusiasm is infectious.
The game really whips along and I’d be quite happy now to join in at a convention despite not being very experienced with mini wargames.
Demo games are surely my favourite BOW content.
agree’d! its great to see how these games might be played, i’ve been intrigued about kings of war for a while now, its certainly got on my “to do list” when i’m done with my current projects
A good finish to a good game.Mmmm maybe yet another gaming system to delve into.
The speed and ease of this game is impressive. Maybe I need to give it a try.
Games of KoW can be so very fast – very little time wasted looking up rules, and less wasted on arguments.
Great game.
The Auld Grump
such a fast fun game love it thanks guys 🙂
That was awesome. Kept me on my seat till the last roll, exactly as a wargame should.
“what’s your dr?” & “luckily they’re not exploding 6’s…”, love the dystopian wars references
I’m not sure that I like the whole units only fighting on their own turn. It seems like the skeletons or mummies should have been able to fight off the units on the side.
Oh the power of advertising! I’ve been watching these videos all week and yesterday I succumbed to madness and bought the two player starter set.
I furiously glued the models together and just finished playing my first game – just solo, to get the hang of the rules. I’ll sum everything up with some pros and cons.
PROS:
Cheap! 75 bucks for a decent starter set with plenty of models.
Gorgeous Undead models. All of them. I was particularly blown away by the tiny individual fingers on the ghouls and zombies.
Easy to learn, intuitive rules.
Quick to play. Everyone got stuck in quickly and the carnage ensued!
CONS:
My only real beef is with the uninspired Orc and Goblin models. They’re good quality, just kinda Meh. I guess the boar riders are ok, but whatever they’re made of needs to be washed several times to get the residue off.
As a starter set, I feel it’s not aimed at someone completely new to wargaming, but to someone who’s played other wargames and wants an alternative. The models aren’t snap-together and I was thinking if I just bought the “this is all you need to play” thinking this really was all I need – no glue, clippers, rulers, tokens etc, I’d be disappointed.
I’ll reserve judgement on this for now, but perhaps the rules are a teeny bit too simple for their own good.
Odd choice of armies for a starter set. Two evil factions?
Great game guys! I’d love to see a big game going as well, get Warren in the mix!
Nice conclusion
Well I know what game system I’m buying into next
Nice Game!
I have been looking at this game for a while, will definitely have to get started in it now!!!
could be an interesting game
nice game will definitely be contacting the locla pathfinder to look into this…wonder if he has ogres?
Another Kings of War battle video would be awesome 🙂
Really want to see more videos like this- KoW is a great game for showing in reports like this, as it doesn’t drag on and on and on for ages like other games can. Need more Pathfinders playing in those reports though 😉
Wow! What an elegantly simple rules system!
There is clearly ample room for strategies and tactics, without becoming overbearing. Special rules to differentiate unit capabilities is not new, but clearly effective.
The single attack in a turn way of doing combat (rather than the traditional Warhammer way of both sides getting to attack in a single combat phase) would seem to favour a devastating cavalry charge; if you can pull it off..
Brilliant demo game !
Cheers BoW. 🙂
This is a really quick (and fun ) set of rules to play.
i hope people download the free rules (from Mantic ) and give them a try.
Aw I wish we had that heat now
Great Demo Game! Thanks!
This is looking better and better. I need to get some bases and try this out…
this game demo is great! i wish there were more like this about
Quick game.
I think you’ve convinced me to take up KoW. I have a few “Twilight Kin” compatable models which i think will work nicely 😉
I like the simplicity of the game mechanics.
Enjoyed the video. Still in the process of painting up my Ogres for my first game.
This has made me want to rush to finish my Samurai KOM army.
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