Kris Hall: A Rules Preview of War of the Roses

I like to keep an eye out for Euro-wargame hybrids, and so when Z-Man Games posted the rules for Peter Hawes’ War of the Roses, I was quick to take a look at this upcoming game.

War of the Roses is primarily intended to be a four-player game, although it can accommodate two and three players as well.  Each player represents a faction in England’s War of the Roses, a medieval civil war among noble houses that were battling for control of the throne.  The gameboard features a map of England divided into six areas.  Each area contains one royal castle, one cathedral town, one port, one bishop, and one ship.  Each area is also associated with two specific nobles who consider that area their home turf.

Each turn, a number of cards are turned face-up to form a draw line, and players select these cards one at a time.  Each card represents one of the towns, nobles, castles, bishops, or ships on the board, and players mark ownership of their assets on the board with cubes or discs.

After players have chosen the available assets for the turn, they collect income from towns, bishops, and ships.

Next, players secretly and simultaneously plot their moves on player boards that are hidden from other players by screens.  Players may buy troops, move ships and nobles to other regions, and try to bribe enemy nobles or counter-bribe their own forces to ensure their loyalty.

After planning, players reveal their player boards and execute their moves.  Opposing troops at castles and towns negate each other until the side with superior numbers wins (it is possible that both sides will wipe each other out, and a targeted town or castle will become neutral). Bribe attempts are automatically successful unless the defending player has placed a counter-bribe.  It should be noted that any bribes against a particular noble or ship are twice as expensive as counter-bribes.

After players have resolved their moves and any resulting combat, a Parliament (scoring) phase begins.  Control of each area is determined by tallying the control points each player has.  First and second place players earn victory points.  It is then determined which of the two major factions has enough points to make their contender the king.  The player who controls the king gets victory points as well.  Players also score victory points for having the most ships, castles or ports.

Of course, I have simplified the rules a bit, but you should have a good idea of what the game is about.  War of the Roses looks to be a medium-complexity area-majority game in the tradition of Shogun/Wallenstein.  By avoiding undue complexity, Mr. Hawes may have created a highly playable game.

What he has not done is create a simulation of the War of the Roses.  The game may have some medieval flavor, but it could just as easily be about internal conflicts in France, Germany or Spain.  I say this as an observation and not as criticism.  Mr. Hawes decided to favor playability over theme, and thereby probably increased the audience for his game.

Gamers who enjoyed Shogun/Wallenstein will probably find something to like in War of the Roses.  Grognards who are looking for a detailed military simulation should look elsewhere.

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