Banner Saga: Warbands

This is a beautiful looking game with a ton of potential that is really spoiled by a terribly constructed rules book and no online resources giving any in-depth explanation of how a game really plays. It has an incredibly intricate game system (which isn't bad) but the rule book only explains each role and each action separately. If they included an additional booklet/video of how a play though of one mission would go I think I'd give it an additional star. Right now though, the only online tutorials and videos online are of the game creators playing an old, pre-Kickstarter version of the game with differing rules.Another annoying design flaw: Each role's play card has their role's setup on the back side of the play card. This sounds nice but if you want to refer to your role's suggestions and board setup you have to turn your board over... they really should have just included an additional card with this info.Another note: this is a tough strategy game and is not built for casual players. You screw up a fight or choice a couple times in a mission and you're dead so be sure to play with a more hard core group of friends otherwise you'll be wasting your time. Also, think of this game less as a game you can play for a couple hours and be done with, and more as a DnD campaign that you will play over many weeks/months. Don't expect to pick up and play it quickly with different friend groups. You'll be using the same team over many missions and battles.I love the Banner Saga and played this for about 6 hours with a group of 4. That entire time was marred with frustration and we did not really enjoy ourselves. It's more frustrating because I want to love this game and it looks so cool. It feels like there wasn't any testing on people that didn't work on the game, who didn't have intimate knowledge on its mechanics. There needs to be more resources put into its tutorial section. The wording and design of the instruction booklet needs a serious revamp for an easier learning experience. I can't state this enough, if you're going to have a complex rule set, you need very clear instructions.For those of you who have a group of 4 strategically minded friends that are into the Banner Saga that want to play a lengthy campaign and are ready to spend hours pouring over rules and how-to videos, I think this would be a fine game to get. But if you're looking for a fun, more casual board gaming experience I'd wait until they make a revised edition.

I like it. However, the rulebook is very poorly written, and some small details are overlooked in the rules. That being said, it is fun.My rating is inflated though. The game itself is enjoyable. My larger issue is with the company itself, and whether you'd want to purchase this game to support them. I backed this on Kickstarter, and i've copied in below my letter/comment to MERCS regarding my physical rewards shipping and their charging me a second time for a 'wave 2' that was their own fault.As good as i the game is, I cannot recommend buying it if it means supporting this company."""Hi MERCS,As others have commented, it's pretty easy to take our money.After the last update where I read we're getting, again, charged for shipping, I left a comment and sent a message. No shocker that I didn't hear back.So I'm asking again, what's up with this wave 2 shipping charge you're now pinning on us?I paid $200 to back this game. I could have been happy and paid $80 for the game+minis, but I loved the PC game and wanted to throw some extra there. I was annoyed at the extra shipping, but I figured "fine, it's a one time thing to get it all."Now to my surprise you're asking for more money to cover shipping where nowhere in this kickstarter except for updates 64 and 65 have you even alluded to extra shipping charges for "wave 2." Wave 2 wasn't even supposed to be a thing except for you botching your logistics to have the minis all arrive at once.I've checked every update you sent regarding shipping. Numbers 47, 52, 55, 56, and 57 mostly all covered the initial shipping for the game, with allusions to the stretch goal and add-on rewards. Update 60 mentioned you were figuring out how to ship wave 2. Update 62 only addressed you were aiming for the end of the year (another deadline blown by) but failed to mention additional charges. Update 63 alluded to that our missing items were starting to ship, which I took to mean - based off similar messages from the wave 1 updates - that it was getting routed from producer to distributor to me; NOT that it was going to cost me more to get what I've already paid for.CoolStuffInc was selling the base game for $40. Your own store for $80 w/ minis. I paid $200, plus $12 shipping. The project's main page FAQ said shipping would be $15-20, and also failed to mention multiple shipping charges or waves would be required.I understand things come up, but usually good companies eat some costs when they miss deadlines or impose unexpected complications about delivery of their products.What you're doing is wrong and underhanded. Although given how poorly the rulebook is written, the sad state of your communication should be relatively unsurprising."""

The game is well printed but the pros list ends there.You would do better to just buy the banner saga video games that this boardgame was based off of.The rule book is rediculously lacking in depth. Not only does it completely omit certain aspects of the game, but the parts that are explained are often completely misleading. It's as if they didn't have anyone playtest the game. There is so much potential but the developers fail to deliver the basic requirements of a board game. My friends and I sat around this game for four hours and besides the initial look at the art the only time I smiled was when I realized I wasted 40 dollars on what doesn't even qualify to be called a board game. Don't make the same mistake!

I was led to believe by numerous online sources that this included a number of miniatures in this game, but it doesn't include any. It was a little decieving. I may enjoy the board game, but this review is for what is advertised, not for what I got.