Runebound: Second Edition

The Necromancer Vorakesh has plagued the lands, raised armies of the dead, caused the houses of men to turn on one another out of fear and paranoia, and laid waste to all in his path. Yet all this pales in comparison to his ultimate goal… You see, for the mad Necromancer seeks to bring back the shadow of the world. An evil long thought to be sealed away in the dark mists of the past. Margath, the High Lord of All Dragonkind. Long thought to be a myth by most of this world, should he return would mean the end of all. In this dire hour, who will answer the call?

Runebound is a fantasy adventure board game for 1-6 players published by Fantasy Flight Games. You and your fellow adventurers take on the roles of Heroes questing across the land in search of adventure. Along the way, you will find magical artifacts and cunning allies to help you in your quest. You will also encounter terrible villains that you must overcome in order to complete your quest, and in doing so gain treasures and experience.  
 
A turn of Runebound consists of a Refresh Phase, a Movement Phase, an Adventure phase/or Market Phase, Experience Phase. The Refresh Phase consists of “untaping” any “taped” cards or discarding of some specific cards, or resolving any effects that occur before your Movement Phase. The game board is divided by hexagonal spaces, each representing the terrain type or city of the game map. Movement is determined by rolling Movement Dice, these dice have symbols of a specific terrain type.

Scattered across the map are Adventure Counters, or event/encounter markers, each color coded by the level of the encounter. An encounter is resolved by drawing a corresponding card of the level. The cards are typically monsters you must fight but can also be personal events or global events as well. Your reward for slaying the monsters are listed on the card and range from gold to powerful spells and always the Adventure Counters, which are used to keep track of XP and to level up your character’s stats.

Should your character chose to end his or her movement in one of the many cities across the board they may enact the Market Phase. In the Market Phase your character can utilize all the precious gold you gained from your adventuring to buy new items or Allies to aid them along their quest, or heal themselves of both wounds and their exhaustion.

And so the game goes on, adventuring, traveling, upgrading, buying, slaying, and morning. The First player to defeat the High Lord Margath or collect three Dragon Runes is declared the winner.
I did not wish to go so in-dept into the rules, as I feel I can not do the mechanics and rules justice in this piece, and rather encourage you to read through the rulebook for a more in depth understanding of the game. Runebound is in my opinion a wonderful adventure game with just the right amount of balance of luck and strategy that keeps it fresh and accessible to a wind range of players.

But not all is perfect in this foray to Terrinoth. The combat system while not difficult to understand by most gamers may be a big struggle for most unexperienced gamers. Also, while dying is always annoying, in this game it does not have so much of a heavy consequence, which can lead some players to play recklessly because a lack of a real consequence other then not progressing at a faster rate. Finally, the lack of player interaction may turn of many people. A common complaint I have heard from gamers is that Runebound is a solo game you play with other people at the same table. While I can see and understand this complaint, it does not phase me in the slightest.

With these minor flaws, I see Runebound as amazing game with a lot to offer for myself and many other gamers. A great adventure, a fun questing system, a unique combat system, great game play, and for  me a perfect balance of luck and strategy. Next time you’re in the market for a Fantasy Board Game and you want something with a great balance of exploration, combat and flavor, I implore you to consider Runebound.

If you enjoy roleplaying, but have trouble finding a Dungeon Master (someone to run the game for you) and you are mostly interested in the combats and encounters this is a game for you!

In Runebound you choose between a lot of characters who each have their own special abilities (and sometimes drawbacks). Your hero can excel at ranged attacks, melee attacks and magic attacks (in that order).

Once chosen your hero can travel across the game board by throwing the right kind of dice (forests to travel through forests, roads to travel over roads, etc.). Some areas have encounters with monsters. The color of the encounter indicates how difficult it will be to beat that monster (green for light monsters, yellow for intermediate encounters and red for the dragons, who are really, really hard to beat).

When you have sustained too much wounds or have the money to spare you can visit the towns to heal and buy new stuff. You’ll need good equipment to win the game, so really start with the simplest encounters first! Of course you have to keep track of what your opponents are doing, for only one can win by beating the great dragon!

I really like this game for its theme, execution and all the fun it brings when playing (e.g. the banter between the characters). The only drawback is its length. The game can last for hours, so be prepared for that. However, as a typical roleplaying session might last a day, you might not think this a problem. Have fun playing it!