Quest for the Dragonlords

Fun.

Isn't that what games are about, anyway? I'm not looking for an elegant game every day. Sometimes I want to just have a lot of fun playing a game.

Theme.

There are many great games that have a theme tacked on to them. In fact, it seems that way with most games these days. However, Quest for the Dragonlords is a game with a theme, and a theme full of fun.

The game resembles a cross between a simplistic RPG, Risk, and a little of Battlemist. There are a few weak points to the game, but with a bit of changes, especially with an expanison and advanced rules promised - the game really shines.

The game is for 2 - 4 players, although I would recommend 4 if at all possible. Each player plays a race: Orcs, Barbarians, Dwarfs, and Elves. Not original races, to be sure - but we love 'em anyway. Each race has a slight advantage: Dwarves mine more gold, Orcs are cheap to produce, Elves can sneak attack, and Barbarians are the best attackers. The differences are minor, but even greater differences are promised in the advanced rules. For now, they suffice. Each race has one type of unit, sculpted out of plastic. The colorful plastic units all over the board are very colorful - and the game looks great when set up.

The game board itself has a beautiful map laide out on it, with several land masses separated by oceans. It looks like your typical "Risk" layout, but the game itself plays a bit differently. The goal of the game is to elimnate each other's kings. Each player has 3 plastic disks with a sticker inside each. One is a decoy, and is worthless. The other two are a wizard and king. If your king dies, you lose! So you want to protect your king at all costs. The board spaces are divided up with mountain ranges cutting off access points in some places, castles and gold mines in others. Castles give a defensive bonus, so it's a good idea to put your king in them. It doesn't matter how large your force is - if you lose the king, you're out, so keep him safe. Conquering gold mine spaces is great, because they provide you with more money to buy more troops and ships.

So your troops maneuver around the board across land and ships. Ships can reach all over the board quickly, so it's hard to build defensive lines. Combat is slightly similar to Risk. Each unit has a defensive number (6, usually), and and attack number (3, normally). When you fight a battle, you roll the defense number die. (A 6 defense is a 6 sided die) You have to roll your attack number or less to get a hit. It's a nice system, actually. When the advanced rules add stats, battles should shape up nicely. With wizards being able to cast spells, battles have a nice variety as is. There are currently 6 different spells - some of them rather powerful. The only other unit that takes part in battles is the powerful dragonlords.

And that is where this game goes where very few other games go. Along the sides of the board, there are quest paths. You can send some of your units on (often dangerous) quests to get magical items, spells, and the coveted Dragonlord units. Quests are very simple, you meet some basic requirements, like having a torch, etc. Sometimes you fight a monster using the same combat system as above. The monsters are really difficult, but the rewards are fantastic! And this is where decision making comes into play. The more men you send on quests, the better chances you have of getting great units, etc. However, you are taking men away from the front lines, and battles. It's a fine balance that is a lot of fun.

The Dragonlords are extremely powerful, with a nasty attack, and the ability to teleport around the board, taking troops with them. Critics say that they are too powerful, and that may be true - but they are really hard to get, and so are a nice reward. Games don't take very long, and you have to guard your forces (king) from all directions and prepare for all kinds of attacks.

Some other huge plusses to the game. The game designers are very accomodating. They take feedback and make changes to future editions of the game. (For example, the game was originally released with gold colored rocks to use as money. Many people didn't like the nuggets, as they thought they were unwieldy, etc. The designers changed them to plastic coins in future editions. I personally like the nuggets, but the majority didn't, so they changed the game.) This shows that the designers aren't dead set against change - so if the game has problems, they will fix them. Also, advanced rules will be coming out soon, they assure me. New units unique to each race will come out (i.e. catapults, etc.) in pewter, so the game may get a bit of a "Warhammer" feel. I also appreciate the designers' answering my questions via email. And when I told them about something I wasn't keen on (I thought a card was too powerful) they suggested changes that I could try.

Advanced rules, new units - you can drool while waiting. Meanwhile, there is a perfectly good game here to play. Immerse yourself in a fantasy battle, while delving into strange and wonderful quests. I highly recommend this game as a fun, fantasy-filled, time!