Fire & Axe Out Of Print

** This thread may equally belong in the Euro category as I understand it's a hybrid and straddles the genres. **

I recently read on the Asmodee site that Fire & Axe is now out of print and will not be reprinted.

The game has been on my wishlist for a while and I'm thinking of bumping it up the priority list while it is still widely available at a reasonable price.

I haven't seen anything on F:AT about this game and was just wondering what the F:ATties think about it. Worth getting despite the lack of direct player conflict? Or potential yawn-fest after a few plays?

Buy it. Good game. I own it and I only have about 6 or 7 of what I call "special collection" games for just me and the boys... This is one.

Shogun, Samurai Swords, Napoleon in Europe, Diplomacy and Conquest of the Empire are the others. I'm down with Vikings, anyway.

Skip it. It's remarkably unremarkable. I really see nothing special about this one at all. There are much better games out there.

I've had mine about five months. It's a gorgeous production. And yet every time I drag it out and read the rules, I'm not inspired to rush it to the table.

The only thing AT about it is the production with plastic figs and ships. The rest is pretty much Euro resource management and VP chasing.

Pretty game, though. Oh, so pretty.

I'll agree with the last two posts. It looks nice, but is completely skippable.

I agree skip it. I dont think there is a decent Norse themed game out there is there? Asmodee has some unique ideas, but the mechanics in this one sees 2 Viking boats passing each other in a sea zone in order to plunder some land based VP. I want Viking Naval Warfare!!!!

It's a good game. I say buy it before the prices go way up.

I was let down by it. There just isn't much anger/rage in Viking Fury. Definite try before you buy.

-Will

I want Viking Naval Warfare!!!!

Then you want a fantasy game! :-P

Wow, we're pretty split on this one...I really liked it, I think it does everything the BLACKBEARD reprint does but in a third of the time and with a quarter of the rules. It's definitely Euro all the way, but I think it's pretty fun...and there is some screw-you to it as well as some bloodshed (even if you're killing villages full of NPCs). Sending your boat out to wreak havoc is a good time to me, I think it's worth owning. And it does look awesome.

I think some folks were disappointed that it tried to be at least a little more accurate in terms of what vikings actually did and it wasn't much of an AT game at all. Part of it was those crazy titles.

I like it. I actually liked the original VIking Fury with the roll up map that I played at a friend's house more, but the copy of Fire & Axe I got for myself does a good job as well. (Same game just different asethetics). The level of player conflict can really vary game to game. IF people don't draw rune cards then there's not going to me a lot of screwage. If they do, then there is. If you have no interest in vikings or history then it's probably a game you can skip. One my favorite games of all time is History of the World. I enjoy watching the ebb and flow of empires as the game progresses. Fire & Axe scratches a little bit of that same itch- as the game plays out the Viking rise up from making raids against Scottish sheep herders to build an empire of trade and plunder that spans from the New World to the Middle East. Mechanically it's a solid game, but I think it really depends on your interest in the subject matter. I'm glad I have my copy.

I played Viking Fury with the rollup map just once, with a group of mostly Euro players. The game looked great, but seemed a little abstract, and definitely light on the interaction. In other words, very EuroGamerish. I came in second, but I did win the Bloodaxe award. Viking Fury didn't suck, but I can readily think of at least two dozen games that I would rather play.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess a split was to be expected for a hybrid. It definitely sounds like it leans toward the Euro sensibilities.

I think I will proceed with getting the game. When I look at my collection, nearly every one is a screw you, in your face combat orientated game. I think this one would be a nice change of pace and the theme definitely appeals to me.

Ryan B mentioned Conquest of the Empire which is another on my wishlist. The local toy store had this one on the shelf for the longest time and I hesitated a tad too long and it was snaffled up by someone else. The store didn't replace it so I will have to order it in now.

I may not get Fire & Axe to the table often, but it sounds like I will enjoy the game when I do. Maybe I could tweak it a little to add more screwage factor if the games seem a bit too quiet. I might be messing with history a bit but that's a small price to pay for upping the fun factor.

The problem isn't so much the screwage factor but that the mechanics are so boring. I can't really remember it but pillaging a village was something like "Roll a die, on a 5 or 6 you get it." and that was it. There was no way to increase your stats (because you don't have any) or increase the pillaging armies size or anything like that. The only way you could effect the roll from memory was that if you had traded with the village previously you could take it on a roll of 4,5 or 6.
Overall boring.

Conquest of empires beats the living shit out of it.

Geez, you've almost turned me Skeletor. Ideally, try before I buy would be the way to go here, but I don't know anyone that has it, so that door is closed. My fear is that if I sit on it, my options for purchase will slowly dwindle until having my wallet raped by eBay is the only one left.

Conquest of empires beats the living shit out of it.

Looks like I'll have to get both then.

If after I've bought Fire & Axe, I play one game and decide one was enough, I guess I can't come crying to you huh?