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1,2,3,4...Hey, Ho, let's go! Wroth is a lightning quick one to four player area control game with bombastic visuals, asymmetrical faction powers, and some brilliant mechanisms that keep the game moving at a blistering pace.
The factions are all pulled from High Fantasy. (High Fantasy is still High Fantasy, even if the names are changed). The Guild are obviously thieves/assassins, Runen are Dwarves and (I apologize in advance because once you see it, you can't unsee it) The Ooglan are Orcs...in ties.
Every faction consists of Basic Troops and Elite Troops. Each faction's basic troops have different names (and different mini sculpts) which, while appreciated for lore sake, can be unnecessarily confusing when learning the game. They are grunts with a single hit point/stamina and when they are eliminated, they are removed from the game forever. Elite Troops vary by faction and are represented by Dice, have variable stamina, and, when eliminated, return to your faction board where they can be purchased again.
Part of the Asymmetrical aspect of the Factions is that each one has unique Feat cards (3 available feats per faction). At the beginning of each game, you will select one of these Feats and be able to use it during the game. These range from one time actions that come off as tactical nukes while others are persistent powers that boost your faction the entire game. Remember then I mentioned Basic Troops being forever eliminated from the game? Some Feats allow you to pull those completely, totally, and absolutely dead troops back into the foray. Necromancy or Asymmetrical Power? You decide.
One of the brilliant aspects of Wroth is that each faction has a landing zone located in The Shores region of the map. This is a area that is adjacent to six of the eight regions on the map, giving you access to the vast majority of regions from what is your Staging Area (since troops can't be attacked here and you can only move troops out of the Shores and never back into it). It's one of the key aspects to a great Area Control game- you are never too far from any other area if you plan nimbly.
Actions that you take on your turn are selected via a dice draft, where a set number of dice are rolled before each round (depending on the player count) and drafted by the players. Toss in the “All Seeing Die” that each individual player rolls before that start of each round and you have the actions you will take during the round laid out before you with the exception of one action “Exodus.” Exodus may translate to “Way Out” but it's your way in with Wroth. It allows you to discard two dice (From your selected Action Dice and/or your All Seeing Die) and move any number of troops from one zone into an adjacent region or regions. Since the majority of the time you deploy multiple troops to The Shores (and remember, The Shores is adjacent to six of the eight regions), it's obvious how powerful of a action Exodus can be. Suddenly, you'll be in four or five regions and then be able to use your Extend action to deploy troops to regions where you have one or more troops.
The All Seeing Die adds another strategic layer to turns. It includes special faces like a double attack face and a X2 face (which let's you execute any action die twice on your turn). The hook is that the All Seeing Die can be used any time on your turn IF you have an action dice to use that turn. So, no hording the ASD until you have used all of your action dice. If you have no action dice left, you can't use it at all. The sole resource in Wroth is the gems called Corra. It appears on both the dice you draft and the All Seeing Die and are used to purchase Elite Units and to power certain abilities on your Faction player mat. The game has that great balance of agonizing decisions of Should I get Corra to get my Elites out or should I draft dice that allow me to use the troops that I already have deployed?
And while it is implied when saying entire games of Wroth can go as quickly as 30 to 60 minutes, the game ramps up exceptionally fast. The game is a race to 30 Victory Points and each region has a random token placed that will give you VP or VP and an action at either the Victory Point or Spoils phase of the round.
I will say that Wroth has one of the most “Interesting” rules ambiguity issues I've come across and that in in regards to The Elites that score VP. A number of clans have elite units that state that they score X number of VP when they are in a region. What isn't exactly clear (but has been addressed in the Errata) is that these VP are only scored if the Elites are in an area where that player has a majority. So, it is in addition to the region majority VP that is scored, NOT just for having them out on the board. Feel free to play it wrong for a legitimate 'Interesting”experience. Actually, almost every rule ambiguity question is in regards to Asymmetrical Faction powers, which are only explained/summarized on the individual faction boards and not in the rulebook itself.
Wroth is not only Player versus Player but also includes Solo and Cooperative Modes. Let me just state here that this is not what attracted me to Wroth, I wanted a super quick PVP Area Control game, so these modes are more of an “In addition to” case for me. Most Solo/Cooperative games rely on the Deck of Many Bad Things to throw in the secret weapon of randomness. Well, that doesn't really work for an Area Control game, with the Automa needing to be more focused, so the game uses a Threat Level mechanic where the A.I. will concentrate their attacks/reinforcements to the zone with the most focused power. That means, in solo Wroth, you will know what actions the Automa will take. It's just up to you to stop them from doing it effectively.
Wroth's “Style” of souping up the A.I. opponent (doubly effective actions and compounding Chaos Dice Actions) and putting you in uphill battles that can be virtually unwinnable with specific clans might not sit well with some players. These scenarios are definitely puzzles and, if that isn't what you are looking for, you are going to be disappointed. Plenty of times you will be taking what would be considered sub-optional moves in the PVP game (like reinforcing a low VP area so that the AI will focus it's actions there because of the way Threat Level works). So, Solo/Co-op isn't even a good tool to allow you to test factions for how they would play in the PVP version of the game. And, Even if you are OrczNties4life, be prepared to switch factions in order to win some scenarios. With three Solo/Co-op scenarios included for each faction (as in, you'll be fighting against that faction as the big bad), there is a worthy number of challenges included in the base game.
As long as you are playing Solo and with the “I'm going to solve this puzzle” mentality firmly in place, it's a entertaining mode. Even the two-player co-op version is passable. But the lack of a robust way for the game to make the Automa play “smarter” means that the three and four player co-op experience is mainly just frustrating, since it relies on multiplying the Automa's power by the “Number of Human Players” that can lead to three or four unanswered turns of the A.I. devastating the human opponents and the artificial limit on the number of grunts the players can deploy hamstringing the ability to respond.
So, what has Chip Theory Wroth? An Blitzkrieg Area Control game that plays great PVP at two, three and Four players. The Asymmetrical powers are diverse, the entire aesthetic is stunning, and it's both super quick to teach and play. Highly recommended if fast, frenzied and furious is how you like your Troops on a Map...or if you like Orcs in Ties.
A review copy of this release was provided by the publisher. Therewillbe.games would like to thank them for their support.
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