Highlander: The Board Game

[Nicholas Ward]

The new game by River Horse.

What do you think about this Game? Would you buy and/or play it?

[dubiousbystander]

It looks promising. I like the figures.

[n107]

This came out of nowhere and I've been looking into it. It looks better than The Duel, entertainment-wise, but not by much. I watched the live-play video and I could see myself enjoying it every once in a while, probably more so if the other players are Highlander fans (not too likely where I live). However, The Gathering phase at the end of the game really kills a lot of the fun factor. It just becomes a crazy dice fest until one player is left. I feel that they really missed an opportunity for making it more thematic or exciting.

Major cons:

-There is too much randomness. Actually, I'd say there is ONLY randomness. Everything you do is based on a die roll. Everything you can do to upgrade your character or hurt your opponent relies on a random card draw. There is no strategy. All decisions are tactical at best and the "decisions" break down to: "will I draw cards from Deck A or Deck B this turn?"

-Player elimination is ever-present AND it's even possible to occur on the first turn, which is not fun for anyone. I say "possible" because, as stated above, player elimination is also random. The odds of it happening increase more and more as the game progresses but whether it happens or not depends on a card draw with no input from the players.

-The Gathering phase, as mentioned above, is just everyone (who has yet to be eliminated) rolling dice at the same time and the highest number decides who is at risk of beheading. No one-on-one combat, no technique, no theme; just everyone rolling dice like crazy hoping to have the highest number so they're safe for the round. Eventually the winner will draw the "Beheaded" card and give it to whoever he wants to kill. No dodging/blocking/ect. (well, slight chance an ally could be sacrificed but, again, that's based on the luck of having drawn such an ally earlier): the player is just dead.

-Seems a bit unbalanced at the end, which suggests that it may be unbalanced throughout the game. What I mean by this is that if you behead someone, you take ALL of their Quickening Tokens (should they have any left) and you get another token for each card the defeated player had. So, it's extremely possible that the strongest player (by virtue of drawing lucky cards) wins the first round of The Gathering with a kill, gets even more powerful because of it, and can just keep spamming Quickening Tokens on the next round, which would all but guarantee another victory. They could conceivably repeat this round after round, steamrolling through the other players. Again, all due to luck of the draw.

Minor cons:

-The character profile samples shared by the designers were full of inconsistencies and flat out wrong information about some of the characters. This has been brought to their attention so it might be changed by released.

-Ramirez is a young, hip guy with a man-bun. Yes, the image for Ramirez is not Sir Sean Connery (no shock there) but instead of finding someone with a Ramirez-look to him, they have a young, hip dude with a friggin' man-bun. I can't confirm whether he equips a Starbucks' latte in lieu of a sword, but I wouldn't be surprised. Actually, the more I think about it, this feels more like a major con.

-Stretch goals include new, never before seen Immortals while others from the original film/screenplay, Yung Dol Kim and Vasilek, are not part of this. Actually, that's not entirely true: the first draft of Iman Fasil incorrectly said he was also Vasilek.

Even though I said I'd likely enjoy this more than The Duel, it's actually less of a mental-exercise than that game. It looks like it is toeing the line of "fun" but it's missing the magic. I'd really like both games to succeed but, sadly, I'd also really like both game to be different than they are currently. It makes me wish I had finished my Highlander board game I designed years ago so that I could have put something a little more involved out there for the fans, too. Maybe my frustration with these games will be the spark that gets me to finally make a physical prototype so I can start playtesting. Hell, even if I never get it published, at least I'd have something truly "Highlander" to play instead of these games.

[Nicholas Ward]

It's not done yet so maybe Osta and Kim will make it into the game? Or maybe they are special cards already?

The endgame does seem a little hectic but that might be part of the charm. It is largely a game of chance but if judged well tactics do matter, using limited resources to better the chances.

[n107]

Sure, it's possible they could be added into it later but I can't judge a game based on things that don't exist. The original promotion suggests that the designers are not that knowledgeable about the details of the lore as they thought Vasilek and Fasil were the same character. This leads me to think they didn't even know about Yung Dol Kim until fans said anything. Combined with completely made up bio details for some of the other, well-known characters shows that research wasn't an important part of this project.

And I really can't say the dice-fest endgame is part of any "charm". Dice rolling is the most uninspired mechanic you can use for combat resolution in a modern game. There is absolutely ZERO theme in that mechanic, particularly for The Gathering phase. It would be like the Kurgan, Connor, Ramirez, Fasil and Kastagir all meeting in a room and swinging their swords wildly like little kids playing with sticks. Then, when one swings the hardest, the combat pauses while he strokes his chin and decides which of the others he's going to hurt. Then they go back to swinging wildly again, repeating this process until all but one is dead.

Does that sound exciting? Does that even sound like Highlander?

No theme. No skill. No thinking. Just mindless dice rolling and fingers crossed that you draw a useful card.

The designer has taken mechanics that he used for one of his more successful games and has copy-pasted it onto the Highlander property and it doesn't quite fit, and this isn't the first time for him to do this. This is an overly casual game that barely acknowledges what makes the licensed property special and it could only excite those who are unaware about the state of modern board gaming and board game design.

[Nicholas Ward]

I'm not much of a board gamer so you're probably right about it being an easily implemented mechanic for board games.
On the other hand it also seems an easy to learn family friendly type of game. And is the dice rolling really that terrible? Correct me if I'm wrong but the chances of rolling higher dice seem significant enough to warrant somewhat tactical play.

The company probably picked up a cheap license and is looking to make a buck. Can't fault them for that and if it's moderately successful it might spawn more projects as well.
Maybe some fan will improve upon it or continue with their own game?

[n107]

Definitely it could be a simple, family friendly game. If you have a house full of Highlander fans and an hour to kill, it would certainly scratch that itch. And, yes, it plays tactically as you have to make do with what you are randomly given. But strategy and thought should be a crucial part of a dueling game. There is none of that here; it's 100% luck of the draw/roll.

I'm just speaking from the point of view of an avid board gamer. For someone seriously into the hobby, it is hard to see a respectable game in the box especially with a designer like Alessio Cavatore at the helm. Though he mostly does miniatures games, he should be aware of so many better ways of implementing the elements of this game. In addition to being a board game fan, as a Highlander fan I've been waiting for a true Highlander game. It just breaks my heart to see so many missed opportunities in doing it well. I don't know if I'd call this game a "cash grab"--I don't think people have been waiting to find a way to fleece the fans of a near-extinct property--but it seems a little misguided.

Of the two games, The Duel and this, I'd be far more interested to pick up this one as it still has potential. The Duel may become better by the time it is released, but I'm going to need to see it showcased by a more reputable source than Undead Viking.

And I think I'm going to bust out my designs for the board game I was making and get that prototype finished. Interestingly enough, there are some design elements in this game that I was using in my own project. Slightly different, but I found it amusing that we seemed to be on the same page for some parts.

[Nicholas Ward]

I can't wait to see what you designed.

I disagree about the 100% though, (it's still high) but many games are luck of the draw, utilising it is a different matter.

[n107]

Yes, many games utilize luck and chance as part of it, which is not a bad thing on its own. Very few games have no random elements at all. But this game is close enough to 100% to realize there is no solid strategic element at all. You start everything off with a die roll to choose turn order: random. You can spend points to roll and re-roll, but you can't actually spend them to affect the value; you just roll again: random. You move to one of the two decks to draw cards. How many cards? Roll a die: random. You hope you get something useful but you have no idea what you will pull: random. You find a skill check in one of the decks, which is only solved by rolling a die: random. You get put into a duel with another player, resolved by rolling a die: random. Don't like your roll, so you have a chance to roll again: random. You win the duel so you attempt to kill the player by drawing a card: random.

Every element in the game depends on randomness.

[Andrew NDB]

Seems cool, though I think the chances of me finding someone to play a Highlander board game with me are right around 0.

[Nicholas Ward]

Seems cool, though I think the chances of me finding someone to play a Highlander board game with me are right around 0.

Set up a subforum, chat or video and we could play here.

[n107]

Seems cool, though I think the chances of me finding someone to play a Highlander board game with me are right around 0.

So twice as high as for me.

[n107]

I have to apologize, I had a meeting to go to and didn't finish writing my previous post about randomness. That didn't stop me from hitting "post reply" out of habit, it would seem.

In any case, the random element is extremely high and practically ever-present, as I said in that post. However, that doesn't necessarily kill the fun. There is excitement to be had from relying on luck and making the most of every situation. I just wish the game had a little more decision making. Let the cards have an option on them where you can take a small, temporary reward or you can push your luck and do a die roll for something better. Give some element of strategy to the game play.

Still, the biggest disappointment for me and, honestly, the core of my complaint for the game, is the woefully underwhelming Gathering end game. Just throwing dice, the higher number wins. That's usually how you determine who is going first in a game and should not be the mechanic to determine the winner of The Prize.

That and the potential to get eliminated from the game immediately with no way around it if the dice and cards are not in your favor. Turn 1 eliminations in a game that can last an hour or longer is extremely poor game design.

With all that said, I'm not against this game. I've said I could see myself having fun with it but that doesn't mean it is without flaws. These points should be known and understood by consumers going in.

[Andrew NDB]

Set up a subforum, chat or video and we could play here.

If there is interest, I am 100% down for that.

[dubiousbystander]

Dangit, I've been trying to avoid adding more physical media to my life. Wait, can I be a remote player?

[n107]

For a board game, it's quite cheap. No reason why a big fan such as yourself shouldn't get a copy. It's not like we're drowning in a sea of Highlander merchandise these days.

It looks like the ancient version of Ramirez has been unlocked so the number of bonus figures is really growing. I'm more interested in unique characters and additional cards for the decks so it doesn't get stale too soon. Also thinking of a number of alternative ways of playing the game. I have a few ideas but I need to see the rule book first.

[n107]

Just announced on the Kickstarter campaign that Vasilek will be available as an exclusive add-on for 10 pounds. They got the permission from Studio Canal to use him (since he appeared in photograph form in the film) so they are going to make him an add-on. His characters (ancient and modern versions) will be metallic pieces instead of plastic so that they could get it produced locally compared to the manufacturing of the main game.

Only a week left to support this project for those interested.

[dubiousbystander]

I suppose we have no hope of Yung Dol Kim. Ah, well.

[n107]

Update*

The designers posted information about the add-on. They have no plans of adding Vasilek outside of the Kickstarter at the moment. Though this could change in the future, right now this is the only way to add this character to the game. The figures will be white-metal and they're being made only in a quantity to fill the demand.

*Editor's Note: this entire post should be read in Robert Stack's voice.

[Nicholas Ward]

I'm not getting the Vasilek late pledge, it's too different although I do like the style of both figurines.

[VictorNash1986]

I just got this and I have to say, I do enjoy it. My brothers and I played a few games over a couple of hours last night. Yeah, there is a chance to loose on the first go around, but I'm sure the Chronicles are full of Immortals who leave their teacher and get killed in their first fight. My only problems (and they're minor and based only on my personal preferences) is that the minis are small and I suck at painting, and that they couldn't get a better stand in for Connery. I would also love to have some kind of collector's box. I bought both the base game and the expansion set and wish I had one box to keep everything in. But all-in-all, I'd recommend this game if you haven't gotten it already.