Dirt and Dust puts you in the driver’s seat of a rally car. You must navigate the course to score the most points. As you progress from stage to stage you fine tune your car by adding to your deck.

Dirt and Dust Rules Description:

You start Dirt and Dust with a ten card deck of five starter cards and five cards for your driver. There are four different drivers in the game and each has different cards and a unique play style. You compete across a series of stages while improving your car and rally team. The goal is to earn the most points by achieving the best results across all stages of the rally.

The rally is played over ten rounds represented by stage cards. At the beginning of the game each player prepares their deck of starting cards, places their tokens and boards in front of them, and receives a set of three dice. You track the stage on a main board which also shows Speed, which represents your performance and victory points, and Popularity, which acts as a resource that can be spent on various actions.

Each round begins with the Dice Roll phase. The racing team board has six slots with six on the left down to one on the right. All players roll their available dice and place them on the corresponding spot on the racing team board. These dice determine which cards can trigger actions during the round. Some cards require specific dice results in order to activate their abilities. If one player has the most popularity they roll the popularity die. Although it only has one and two values, this die can give them an extra action each round. After placing the popularity die on their racing team board they subtract the die’s value from their total popularity.

After rolling dice the game moves to the Drive phase. In this phase players take actions in any order using the dice they rolled. They may play cards from their hand into any open slot on their racing team board. Players may also acquire new cards that improve their deck for future rounds. Cards cost wrenches. You may also use wrenches to increase or decrease the value of a die. The other resource in Dirt and Dust is traction. You use it to map out stages on the main board and that lets you score them using traction. This action will cause your car to shift on the course. When that stage card is resolved you gain points based on where you are on the course. You can gain traction from cards or by taking hazard dice. These dice are rolled when acquired and during the Dice Roll phase and slowly damage your car over time. But you have some repair actions to remove them.

Once you have completed all actions the Stage Evaluation phase occurs. The current stage is resolved and you score points based on a few factors. If you are accelerating and in the center of the course you get the most points (four). But someone decelerating and on the edge will score less (two). The stage cards then shift down the track and the next stage becomes active for the following round.

Finally the round ends with the Preparation phase. Players shift all the cards on their racing team board one slot to the right. Then you may discard any number of cards from your hand and draw back up to five.

After ten rounds the rally is complete. Players total their points from the Speed track and any cards they bought worth points. You lose one point per hazard die still in your dice pool. Then the player with the most popularity gets three points and the player with second-most gains one point. The player with the highest total is declared the winner and becomes the champion of the rally.

The solo mode pits you against a ghost driver that rolls three damage dice and three 1d6. Each damage result showing at the end of the round gives them one speed point and they gain popularity as usual. You can spend your action dice to cover their damage dice that have a matching value. For example, if the ghost gets a five that is paired with a damage die showing three damage, you can use a die with a five result to cover that die and ignore the three speed it would get them.

Review of Dirt and Dust:

Dirt and Dust blends deck building, resource management, and push-your-luck mechanics into a fun puzzle game. It’s less about adrenaline and more about execution. There is less “who’s the fastest” and more “who built the best machine.” It is also mostly multiplayer solitaire as there is little interaction as you work to get through the course.

At its core, Dirt and Dust is a really satisfying puzzle. Each turn asks you to optimize your cards, dice, and positioning, and when it all clicks, it feels great. It is fun to develop your “engine” over time by tuning your deck and lining up actions. It is satisfying to meet your goals for a round or stage.

I really enjoy the card system combined with the die rolls. Wrenches help mitigate luck. Cards moving through your board and activating at the right moment creates rewarding turns where multiple effects chain together. It’s the kind of mechanism that rewards planning ahead without feeling completely deterministic.

The four drivers are fun to try. Each one plays differently and encourages you to adapt your play style to them. The same can be said of the included race courses. They require you to maximize your lane position to get the most points while not damaging your car too much. Both these elements add replay value to this box and present opportunities for expansion.

Besides the lack of player interaction, there are a few things to be aware of in Dirt and Dust. Undoing turns can be difficult, you might start down a path and realize there is a better or more efficient way to play your turn. Rewinding things can be confusing depending how actions you have triggered or resources you have gained or spent. If you do not like iconography, this game might not be for you. I am not a rally racing fan, but to some this game might not feel like racing. There is no board or cars to move. It is more about navigating from stage to stage and scoring as many speed points as possible. If you’re expecting something like a traditional racing game, this might feel abstract.

Being less interactive sets it up for solitaire play and I tried this mode several times. I found approaching the solo race the same way as the multiplayer game resulted in losing. Winning meant playing defensively and using action dice to cover the ghost driver’s dice. This means doing less cool actions on your turn and feels like playing the game less.

Overall, Dirt and Dust is a fun, thinky experience. It will appeal to players who enjoy efficiency puzzles and optimizing systems over direct competition. If that is you pick this up, but if you aren’t sure try this out before buying it.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 2 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6

Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 60-120 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 10-20 min

Boiling Tension marks the fourth wave of expansions for Heroscape: Age of Annihilation, turning up the heat with a surge of new content. This release introduces dynamic new heroes and versatile common units. This gives players even more great figures to add into their armies and experiment with on the battlefield. To top it off, the lava terrain pack brings volatile new environmental threats into play.

Heroscape Age of Annihilation Boiling Tension Expansions Description:

Heroscape Age of Annihilation has had four waves of releases. I got some of the fourth wave, titled Boiling Tension, expansion boxes and this post will be about them. If you’d like to read about the first wave or second and third, check out my previous reviews.

The Molten Crustaceans and Tanuki Tricksters are both common units. That means you may include multiple copies of the same squad (or hero) in your army. The box contains three crustaceans, two tricksters and some lava terrain tiles. Molten Crustaceans are lava resistant and when killed turn into lava fields (or if you roll high enough molten lava). Tanuki Tricksters are able to move enemy units as well as some of your other Vorid and Ninja units. They also can move through all figures and do not trigger attacks when leaving engagement.

Another common army expansion released in the Boiling Tension wave is the Revnan Acolytes and Grave Grim box. It contains four figures, three acolytes and one grave grim. Both are affiliated with Revna. In fact the Revnan Acolytes allow your other Revna units to re-roll one die if they are adjacent to them. Also once per turn one acolyte can return to play adjacent to one of your Revna heroes. The Grave Grim helps you move supporting figures into position before it moves and reduces enemy d20 rolls for special powers by three if they are within three spaces of it.

Scavorith, Lord of Ruin is a single, huge, unique Eisenek hero for Revna. He has a ranged double attack. And you can reveal your X order marker on him to take an additional turn.

The other single unique hero from this wave is Imperator Kayne. He is a Vorid that fights for Volarak. His size is huge and he can stomp one small or medium-sized figure as he walks. They take one wound if you roll and eight or higher on a d20.

Boiling Tension contains a lava terrain pack, The Lava Fields of Valhalla. It features lava fields, molten lava and lava rock outcrops. Entering a molten lava hex forces you to roll a d20. If you roll a 20 you live. Otherwise that figure is eliminated. If you end your turn on a lava field, you must roll an attack die. A skull result inflicts that figure with a wound.

Heroscape Age of Annihilation Boiling Tension Expansions Review:

Boiling Tension introduces common units to the Heroscape Age of Annihilation. Up to this point since the relaunch all the new units have been unique. Like some other waves it also adds terrain. And the unique units in this set add some great options to add to your collection.

The figures and terrain look fantastic. I really like how the Molten Crustaceans in the pre-painted packs are made from translucent red plastic. It gives them a striking, fiery effect. The lava terrain pieces look great, and Scavorith, Lord of Ruin is an especially intimidating figure.

Speaking of Scavorith, Lord of Ruin, he is a great addition to any Eisenek build and his multi-attack forces your opponent to respect his threat range. Imperator Kayne is not as big of a heavy hitter, but he can wound enemies by moving and punishes poor positioning. In the hands of the right tactician he can be impressive.

The common squads can easily be added to any army for support and bring interesting abilities to the table. Revnan Acolytes help your probability with re-rolls and are hard to keep down. The Grave Grim can help you get Undead and Eisenek figures into position. The Tanuki Tricksters are free to move around the map unhindered and that gives them great mobility. But they can also move enemy units into less than ideal (and even dangerous) hexes. While the Molten Crustaceans can change the map and your opponent’s plans. They can excel with proper positioning.

Adding any of these unit or terrain boxes to your collection makes sense. They all add some fun and interesting options for your Heroscape armies. If you do need to choose, you might want to start with the packs that enhance your current army builds, based on their abilities and faction.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6

Stats:
No. of players: 2 or 4
Amount of time to play: 30-45 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: minimal

Zenith is a two player or two-vs-two board game. You (and your teammate in the team mode) are fighting for influence on planets. This is a tug of war type game with a bit of take that too. But you need to manage your resources, play smart and get a bit lucky to win.

Zenith Rules Description:

To win Zenith you must gain three influence disks from one planet, gain four influence disks from different planets or gain five influence disks from any planets. You start the game with four agent cards, twelve credits and one zenithium.

The board has 5 planet tracks, Mercury, Venus, Terra (Earth), Mars, and Jupiter. Each starts with an influence disk in the middle of the track. Each planet track has three spaces toward the edge of the board. To gain an influence disk you must pull it off your side of the board.

On your turn you must play an agent card from your hand to either recruit, develop a technology, or become the leader. Each agent card is color matched to a specific planet. They have a cost in their upper left corner and their type, either human, robot, or animod, in the upper right.

When you take the recruit action you play the agent card by the planet it matches. You must also pay, in credits, its cost. You get a discount of one credit for every agent you have previously played on that planet. Recruiting an agent can be free. Then you apply the agent’s effects at the bottom of the card from left to right. The first of these effects pulls the influence disk of the matching planet one space toward your side of the board. The other effects on the card vary. Some let you move other influence disks, get you credits, steal agents from your opponents, and more.

If you use your played agent card to develop a technology, you discard one card. Then, depending on that card’s type you pay zenithium (based on the tech level from one to five) to move up the corresponding tech track. You apply the effects of the new tech level plus retrigger any effects from the previous ones. Again the effects vary, but you can move influence disks, gain credits, remove your opponent’s agents, and more. If you advance to the same level on all three tracks you also gain additional influence disk movement.

To become the leader you discard a card and take the leader badge. This increases your hand size to five. If you take this action and already have the leader badge you flip it over which increases your hand size to six. You also gain either a zenithium, three credits, or add two agents from the deck into play (without resolving their effects) depending on the discarded card’s type.

At the end of your turn, if you have not won, you draw up to your hand limit and it is your opponent’s turn.

The rules for the 2-vs-2 game are generally the same. One major change is that each player may only play on the two planet tracks by them and Earth. One team takes their entire turns in whatever order they choose. You also share a pool of credits and when taking the leader action you may also give up to two cards to your teammate.

Zenith Review:

Zenith is a lot of fun. It is easy to teach, plays quickly, and I really enjoy the 2-vs-2 mode. There are not many games that have this configuration and Zenith does it well. You need to balance gaining influence on planets with developing technology. Be aware there is a lot of iconography on the cards so playing with the player aids is a must.

The components for this game are very nice. The art matches the whimsical sci-fi world it creates. The chits and cards are durable and the rule book is easy to follow and understand. As mentioned above there is a bunch of iconography that is explained on the player aid. You need this to interpret what the cards do. It is pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it, but there is so much you probably still need to use the player aid in certain situations.

I like how easy Zenith is to get to the table. It is straightforward and can be explained in minutes. It is not too complex so new gamers can enjoy it. There is some take that in the card actions and just in the nature of the tug of war mechanic.

In my first few games I did not think the technology was worth climbing. But the compounding way you get the new level you research plus all the previous ones again can make it payoff and swing outcomes. You might regret ignoring the technology track as it could cost you the game.

Playing with two or four players is fun. It is different from many four player games in that it is two-vs-two. I really like the team play. It can make getting the right cards a bit more important but it makes the leader action better by letting you give cards to your teammate.

If you are looking for a fun game that is easy to teach and learn and can be enjoyed by gamers and non-gamers alike, try out Zenith.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6

Stats:
No. of players: 1-4
Amount of time to play: 45-60 min
Age requirements: 10+
Set-up time: 5 min

Wispwood is a tile laying board game that is easy to teach, accessible to a lot of gamers and looks great. It’s whimsical looks belie the thinky, puzzle board game that it is.

Wispwood Rules Description:

Wispwood is played over three rounds. In the first round you create a 4×4 grid of tiles. In the second it grows to 5×5 and for the last round the goal is 6×6. There are goal cards that give VPs based on the placement of four different wisp and tree tiles.

To begin you fill the pond with eight random wisps, put out five goal cards (one of each type) and take a cat marker. The backs of the tiles show a tree and are considered tree tiles. You take one tree tile and put your cat on it.

On your turn you take one wisp from the pond and add it to your grid. Each wisp space in the pond has two patterns (reminiscent of Tetris) next to it. When you place the wisp in your grid you must use an adjacent pattern. The wisp can be anywhere in the pattern and the rest of it is made up of tree tiles. You can use your cat to take a wisp and use any pattern in the pond. But when you do this you must flip your cat to its inactive side.

You can flip your cat to its active side by taking a tree turn. In addition flipping your cat you may take up to three tree tiles and place them in your grid. This can be helpful for filling in holes.

There is one other use for your cat. At the end of your turn, you don’t refill the wisps. If at the start of your turn there is only one type of wisp in the pond you may discard them and refill it. You can flip your cat to discard the wisps in the pond and refill it.

Once a player completes their grid play continues until the starting player’s turn. Each player gets an equal number of turns and then the round ends. Between rounds you score based on the goal cards and if you completed your grid. Then you may move your cat and remove any tree tiles from your grid. Wisps stay in their spots from round to round, you do not refill the pond and inactive cats stay facedown.

After three rounds of scoring you tally the points and the player with the most wins.

Quick Review of Wispwood:

Wispwood is a great looking, tile-laying game that is more thinky than it might seem on the surface. You need to think about what wisps will score you the most points and where to place them and the trees to not block future placements. It is easy to teach and accessible to a wide range of ages and gamers. You can even play it solo.

Like I said above, the game looks very nice on the table. The whimsical art might be misleading about the game’s depth, but it looks great. It even uses UV reactive ink which makes the game look even better under a black light. The rulebook explains everything well too. There is also a learn to play video from CGE.

Wispwood has lots of meaningful choices like which wisp to take, where to put it and which shape to place it with. Depending on the wisp and state of the game this decision could change. Is the wisp you want next to a shape you can place? Does that shape keep you from filling spots you might want for another wisp? Are you trying to fill your board and want a shape with more trees? Do you draft a wisp another player really needs?

Your cat can grant you flexibility for getting a wisp you want by refreshing the pond or for placing the shape you want by using any shape no matter where the wisp you took was in the pond. It is a nice wrinkle you can use to mitigate the randomness or the pond. And refreshing the cat is not hard. In fact taking a tree turn might even help you score for trees or fill in holes in your grid.

If you are looking for a fun tile-laying board game that looks great, is easy to teach and can be enjoyed by both casual and hard-core gamers, pick Wispwood up.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 3 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6

The digital version of Set A Watch is fun and challenging. It has a nice interface, good tutorial and looks excellent. The app does all the booking keeping so you can concentrate on eliminating the horde and keeping the Unhallowed at bay.

Set A Watch Digital Rules Description:

In Set A Watch you play a party of four adventurers trying to stop evil acolytes from summoning the Unhallowed. To do this you must visit nine locations and defeat the minions there that are trying to break the seals that are containing their evil master.

To begin you select four of the six available adventurers to add to your party. There is a warrior, cleric, ranger, beast master, rogue and wizard. Each adventurer has unique abilities that pertain to their class. Some adventurers have ranged attacks that let them attack the first two minions in the line while melee attackers may only attack the first one.

Each location you visit will have its own unique effects. It will also determine the number of monsters you need to defeat there.

Next you roll three dice for each adventurer. Some classes roll d8s and others roll d6. These results determine the strength of your attacks and other actions.

Before facing off against the monsters you must select one adventurer to rest. They will spend dice to take actions in the camp, like chopping wood for the fire (which determines how many cards in the line of monsters are revealed). Other camp actions include healing someone, swapping their skills, choosing the next location card or scouting ahead to see and arrange the incoming horde. Each adventurer also has a unique camp ability they can utilize. Each adventurer may only rest twice per game. In camp the resting adventurer can also spend two matching dice to trigger runes. One rune lets you discard the top monster in the Horde from the game. Another lets you re-roll dice for adventurers that are on watch. And the third lets you put an Unhallowed card in the graveyard to the bottom of the Unhallowed deck.

The remainder of your party must fight. You spend dice to attack monsters and do damage equal to the die’s value. Dice may also be spent on your special abilities. As you kill a monster another is revealed. Some monsters have abilities that trigger based on their place in the line or when they are revealed. Once all monsters are defeated you end the watch phase and move to the next location. If you are unable to defeat all the monsters, any remaining in the line will attack you. Taking damage removes special abilities and once all three are removed that adventurer dies. These monsters also go in the Horde deck.

At the ninth location all adventurers go on watch. There is no camp phase. After creating the line of monsters any Horde cards are added to the end. To win you must have at least one adventurer alive and no monsters in the line.

Quick Review of Set A Watch Digital:

Set a Watch is a fun, tactical, puzzle. You need to manage your dice well and have some luck to win. I have never played the physical version of the game, but from what I have read and seen, this digital adaptation is a good translation of the board game. After playing the digital version I am happy it takes care of all the bookkeeping for you.

The app looks great and the controls are intuitive too. The tutorial does a great job helping you understand the rules and they are readily available to review from the main page.

Set a Watch is a tough game. You can set the difficulty and even on normal mode it is not easy. Each decision matters and you can feel the tension as you try to survive the night. The aesthetic and music add to the immersiveness of the game.

If you like the physical board game, you will like the digital adaptation. If you are looking for a fun, solo puzzler, pick this up.

Set a Watch Digital is available on iOS and Google Play

Stats:
No. of players: 1-5
Amount of time to play: 60-90 min per quest
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

HeroQuest First Light is an introductory version of the HeroQuest game system that includes new quests and is compatible with all HeroQuest expansions. With the companion app available you may play this fully cooperatively or solo. It is very accessible and can be enjoyed by anyone looking for a rules light dungeon crawler.

Heroquest First Light Rules Description:

In HeroQuest one player takes on the role of the evil sorcerer, Zargon. The rest of the players take on the role of one of four heroes; the barbarian, dwarf, elf or wizard. First Light contains ten quests to play through with different goals. There is also an app that plays as Zargon and allows for a fully cooperative or solo experience.

The Zargon player is responsible for controlling the monsters and setting up the map with items and monsters as the heroes explore the board. Hero players begin the game with their starting gear and the elf and wizard gain spells. They also fill out their character sheet to help them track items, treasure, and health.

Each round the player to the left of Zargon goes first. Turns continue clockwise until the quest objective is achieved. On their turn a player moves their miniature and then takes an action or takes an action and then moves.

Your movement is determined by rolling 2d6. The six actions you may take are attack a monster, cast a spell, search for treasure, search for a secret door, search for traps or disarm a trap.

A hero may attack orthogonally and you roll a number of combat dice equal to the attack dice stat on their card (or their weapon’s card). Each skull you roll is a hit. Zargon rolls defense dice based on the monster’s defense stat. Each shield result blocks one of your hits. Any unblocked hits remove body points from the monster and once at zero body, it is eliminated. Heroes that are reduced to zero body are dead but may be renamed and begin in the next quest. Their friends should grab their equipment to give to their heir or monsters might take off with it.

The wizard and elf may cast a spell on their turns. Follow the text on the spell card to resolve it and then discard the spell card. You may only cast each spell once per quest.

If there are no monsters in your current room you may search for treasure. Zargon will let you know if there is a specific item in that room. But you might need to draw from the treasure deck. This might trigger a hazard or introduce wandering monsters to the board.

In order to search for a secret door in your current room you must be out of the line of sight of any monsters. Zargon will announce any doors you might have found, but they enter play closed.

When you search for traps you must again be out of sight from monsters. You then search your current room and Zargon will tell you if and where you found traps. Disarming traps takes another action and requires a toolkit unless you are the dwarf. A die roll determines if you are able to disarm the trap without suffering damage from it.

On Zargon’s turn they move and attack (or attack then move) with each revealed monster based on the stats on their specific monster card.

The quest ends when all heroes are dead or when its goals are met. Between quests you may visit the armory to buy and sell equipment to gear up for the next challenge.

Quick Review of Heroquest First Light :

HeroQuest: First Light is a great introduction into the HeroQuest game system. It has everything you need to start playing at a lower price point than the 2022 relaunch of the base game. This game is very accessible and appeals to non-gamers and gamers, young and old. It is easy to teach, learn and play.

The components for this game are really nice. The art on the cards, standees and books look great. One of the major differences between First Light and the original re-release is the standees for monsters and doors and the flat cardboard furniture. They still look great and the heroes and dragon are plastic miniatures and this is what allows it to sell at the lower price point. But something buyers should be aware of. The other major difference is the double sided map. The rulebook is well laid out and easy to follow. My only minor issue is that some rules for items are only found in the quest booklet.

There is a lot to like about the HeroQuest system. You get to kill monsters, explore dungeons and collect treasure and items. Your character will progress as they finish quests and find loot. And though the monsters also get harder, it is always fun to get better items and new ways to attack and eliminate them.

First Light contains a lot of content that will provide hours of fun. But it is very expandable by purchasing official expansions or using your imagination to create new quests. There is even a design you own Quest Adventures section in the book to help you do just that. A quick google search will get you access to fan made quests you can try too.

Another game changer is the companion app that runs Zargon and the monsters. It comes loaded with additional quests. It also allows you to play fully cooperatively or solo. This adds a lot of flexibility to how the game is played and how often it hits the table.

My only knock on the game is that by being super accessible, it is less complex and can feel repetitive at times. More modern designs offer more options and nuance, but have a steeper learning curve or require you to remember a lot of rules. It is a tradeoff. That said, many players have created house rules and home brewed this system.

Should you buy HeroQuest First light? If you are looking for an accessible dungeon crawler that you can expand and even home brew, pick this up. If you own the base HeroQuest game, you might want this for the double-sided map, additional quests and dragon miniature. That decision might be based on your disposable income.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 3 of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6

The latest starter set for DnD 5th edition includes updates from the 2024 Revised Core Rulebooks. There are a lot of board game elements in the box to help new players learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons. This includes pre-printed maps, tokens for monsters, cards for NPCs and more. The included adventure is for one to four characters plus one Dungeon Master.

DnD Starter Set Heroes on the Borderlands Description:

Heroes on the Borderlands contains contains a quick-start guide, a play guide reference booklet, three adventure booklets, eight player class boards (for Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, and Rogue), over 200 game cards, 11 dice, over 20 poster maps, and over 200 tokens (including monsters, resources, and terrain). It also includes a combat tracker and in-world handouts to help immerse players into the world.

Creating a Player Character (PC) is done by selecting one of the player boards, choosing a species and background card, and then gathering the equipment and spell cards you might need. You place any power tokens that are removed when you use your PCs abilities. And you get hit point tokens equal to your starting health and gold tokens equal to your starting gold.

The quick-start guide walks you through unboxing things and who needs to read what. There is a QR code that links to a couple intro videos by Becca Scott. These give players an idea what to expect and the basics of how to play Dungeons and Dragons. For more information PCs can use the play guide to help them.

The Dungeon Master (DM) and players can choose which adventure book to start with but it is suggested newcomers start with the Wilderness booklet. It has a series of encounters that highlight different aspects of the game like meeting an NPC, exploring regions and combat. You can use the included maps and tokens or try theater of the mind but again newcomers might find the physical representation helpful. Any items or cards the DM needs are listed in the scenario booklet.

This starter set uses milestone experience which means you level up at certain parts of the campaign. When you level up you simply flip your playboard over and place any additional cards or tokens as necessary. There is enough adventure material to get your PCs to 3rd level.

Dungeons and Dragons Heroes on the Borderlands Review:

Heroes on the Borderlands is a starter set for the Dungeons and Dragons that features the updated 2024 rules. It is different than previous starter sets as it includes a lot of helper elements and items you’d find in board games. In fact this starter set is listed and sold as a board game.

There is a lot to like about this starter set. The quick character creation is better than pregenerated characters. Most new players will appreciate the choices they can make but won’t be overwhelmed starting from scratch.

The NPC and monster cards look great and have useful information on them. These give DMs something to show players when they encounter an NPC or monster. It has a brief description of the NPC’s ways they might talk and what they might know or say.

All the maps and tokens you get help your group see combat and encounters. They look great and you can use them for other adventures. Miniatures are great but can be expensive. Having these maps, tokens, and standees is a nice jump start.

[asa tpl=”flat_box_vertical”]B0FDJFR245[/asa]
Some other nice to have items are the player aid which details what players may do one their turn. And the combat tracker. It reminds me of the initiative tracker in Roll20 but with even more helpful information.

Not everything is perfect though. Though character creation is streamlined you may only have one PC of each class in your party. If two players want to be wizards, too bad.

Another small nitpick is the cards having the monster/NPC name on the side with the art. It is less of an issue for NPCs, but for monsters you lose some of the mystery and discovery of encounters. This is especially true for new players. It is awesome being able to show them the scary thing they see, but I would like to retain the unknown aspect of what it is.

You might be wondering who should buy Heroes on the Borderlands. It’s a great question. Obviously anyone interested in trying out Dungeons and Dragons for the first time. This is an excellent introduction to the game and how to play it. It also might make sense for newer groups or DMs that would like the maps, tokens, and other elements to include in their games. If you are a veteran DM or experienced group there is probably less in this starter set for you.

Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 60-120 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 10-20 min

Expansions for Heroscape Age of Annihilation are available. Both Revna’s Rebuke (Wave 2) and Rising Tide (Wave 3) add new figures, factions, and unique special abilities. They even offer additional terrain.

Heroscape Age of Annihilation Revna’s Rebuke (Wave 2) & Rising Tide (Wave 3) Description:

Previously I reviewed the Heroscape Age of Annihilation Master Set. Shortly after its release Waves 2 and 3 hit the market. Wave 2, named Revna’s Rebuke, introduces two army expansion packs. Wave 3, named Rising Tide, consists of six army expansions and two terrain expansions. I did not get all of these expansion boxes and am only giving details and reviewing the ones I have.

One Revna’s Rebuke (Wave 2) expansion box adds five Kyrie figures: Queen Qhyrion, Xiamara, Glinerva, Mielki, and Kilkorax. The other contains the Iron Lich Viscerot and Necrotech Wraithriders.

The Kyrie warriors are flying melee units. And though they have pretty run-of-the-mill stats, it’s their special abilities that set them apart. Queen Qhyrion has an attack that reduces the opponent’s defense dice to one if she rolls a 12 or more. Xiamara reduces the wounds taken by other Ulnaar Kyrie within six spaces of her to one. Glinerva can conceal friendly units within five spaces of her from ranged attacks. Mielki has a double attack and can heal some friendly units when she eliminates an enemy. Kilkorax can pull figures within five spaces of her toward her.

Debuting in this expansion are the Eisenek, a faction of cybernetic beings. Iron Lich Viscerot is a huge figure that can ignore smaller units when moving around the map. He can also increase another Eisenek’s move and attack by two up to three times per game. Also when he acts you may take a turn with another Eisenek unit. That might include the Necrotech Wraithriders. They are a squad of three figures and have an eight move, but they cannot go up more than two levels. Their chain grab ability can help them pull enemy units from up to three spaces away next to them.

Rising Tide (Wave 3) has an army expansion with Sonlan and Halushia. Two large figures from the Ullar faction. Sonlan can heal friends while moving over them and has a double attack. Halushia can have a beast figure act on his turn, removes one defense die from enemies next to forest spaces, and can attack as he runs past enemy figures.

The Knight Primus Adelbern & Ordo Borealis box adds four more ursine Jandar figures. One unique champion and a squad of three. Knight Primus Adelbern can wound small and medium enemies just by walking up to them. The Ordo Borealis squad has a range of six (instead of one) if they don’t move.

There is another Eisenek unit in Wave 3, the Hellforge Mandukor. It is a huge figure that has a chance to inflict a wound on any figure it moves adjacent to. Figures adjacent to it that are destroyed give it a chance to heal. Also on turns when only Eisenek figures have order markers the Hellforge Mandukor may move four spaces after order markers are placed.

One of two army expansions that introduce the Skordyre faction is Oathbound Phalanx and Oathbound Legionnaires. They work in conjunction with each other. The huge Phalanx figure needs the Legionnaires to shrug damage or perform an impactful multi-attack. The Legionnaires are a four figure squad that can attack on their own or join with the Phalanx from turn to turn.

The Queen Maladrix and Festering Honor Guard is a six figure army expansion box. Queen Maladrix is a huge Skordyre figure with double attack. When she activates her Honor Guard does too. She also lets you place destroyed Honor Guards on enemy heroes cards. Then each turn there is a chance the Honor Guard parasite will destroy that enemy hero.

Heroscape Age of Annihilation Expansions Review:

The new units introduced in the Revna’s Rebuke and Rising Tide expansions are welcome additions to the Master Set and Battle Box. They are affiliated with a variety of factions and generals so you can pair them with old and new units. They offer a bunch of new special abilities you will want to try too. Some are paired well with other units released in their wave (like the two Skordye boxes), some pair well with units from the Age of Annihilation line (like the ursine Jander box) and others pair with figures from the original Heroscape (the new Ullar Kyries strengthens older Ullar units).

As with the other releases in the Age of Annihilation line the figures look fantastic. The sculpts have detail, look impressive and have good paint jobs (if you get the pre-painted sets). Just the size of the larger figures is daunting. They look scary on the table. The army cards have great artwork and special abilities are well explained and easy to understand.

Should you pick all of these (plus the other wave 2 and 3 expansions) up? Some of them? While this is a pretty individual question, I am going to propose some guidelines. First, what do you already have? Do these army sets work with units you already play and enjoy? Have you played a lot of games with your current figures and want to mix it up? And I guess there is always, I must get everything to complete my collection. People in the last group can just buy away and enjoy having everything. Others will probably want to focus what they get on what they like or the type of variety of units they want to bring to their game. What is nice is you can pick and choose or add expansion boxes over time.