BattleLore, designed by Richard Borg and published in 2006 by Days of Wonder, is a two or four player, war-based strategy board game set in alternate, fantasy version of the Hundred Years War fought between the medieval English and French. Set primarily during the events leading up to the Battle of Agincourt, English and French Human forces call upon the aid of Goblin and Dwarf warriors, mythic creatures, and the four magical Lore Masters.
The Battlefield
The board consists of blank, green field laced with hexagons for movement. The board can be flipped over and combined with a second for larger Epic battles between individual opponents or four people playing doubles. The game comes with several two-sided hex tiles painted with trees, hills, and rivers that allow the players to recreate scenarios found in the book or online, or construct battlefields of their own design. Each terrain type comes with unique movement and battle restrictions. The field is also separated into three equal sections which coordinate battle.
The Dogs of War
Units are divided into two categories, mounted and foot; and are further split into the classes of green, blue, and red based on the tradeoff between mobility and strength. While most of the units are used in melee, there are archers that can attack at range. A player’s tactics are decided through command cards drawn from a community deck which direct how many troops can be activated in each section. Once orders are given, combat is decided by the attacker’s dice where hits are usually scored (barring some special ability) by matching the dice to the color of the target’s class. Victory is awarded in most scenarios to the first to destroy a given number of enemy units.
The Lore Masters
At the beginning of the game, the players arrange their war council, determining which Lore Master? the Wizard, Cleric, Rogue, or Warrior? will be the strongest, or if power will be diversified equally. Each player has a community pool of Lore, or magic points, that are continuously replenished after each turn. These are the currency of the Lore Masters to cast their spells or to use their special abilities which are drawn from a community deck just like the command cards. The Wizard and Cleric generally cast spells like Fireball and Heal while the Warrior and Rogue give players the ability of added strength or extra movement.
Expansions
Since its initial release, BattleLore has spawned six expansions. Most of these offer new kinds of units with special properties such as the defensive Spearmen and Halberd troops found in the Hundred Years War expansion. The game’s designers have also delved into the Dwarf and Goblinoid races with creative additions such as Dwarven Bagpipers and Goblins on hyena mounts. The latest expansion, Call to Arms, provides new cliff and marsh terrain tiles and troop placement cards for more randomized setup.
Review
BattleLore provides enough depth for the strategic mind to revel in the chess-like gameplay, but its atmosphere is not bogged down with troop deployments and reinforcements as to dissuade the light gamer. The combat system is well balanced with no unit, save the earth elemental creature, overpowering the others. The Lore Masters’ magic adds a fun dynamic that can lead to some unexpected changes in the tide of battle, although the Rogue is not as useful as the others. Each expansion adds enough new content to make it worth the investment. Finally, with its changeable terrain, fully customizable troop combinations, and player-managed war council; the replay value on BattleLore is extremely high.
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