Board game publisher Dire Wolf has had huge success partnering with Legendary on board games based on the Dune films, and the company was working on an adaptation of Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time series when the show was canceled. But rather than scrapping the project or limiting it to the events the show covered, Dire Wolf secured the license for the books from Robert Jordan (completed by Brandon Sanderson) to see the fantasy series through to its epic conclusion. Fans will be able to play through the end of the Third Age in the War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time, which lands on Kickstarter on May 27.
“We’re getting all 14 books in here, with an emphasis on leading up to and fighting the Last Battle,” Dire Wolf director of design Andy Clautice told Polygon via email. “This lets us show off so much more of the series with many deep cuts for fans. You get to see more characters, more of the world, more moments.”
Clautice designed War of the Dragon along with Mike Mihealsick and Ryan Schoon, who have been working on the game since 2018. He said the biggest challenge was managing the scope of the series — which has more than 2,700 characters ranging from farmers to immortal mages.
“We meet so many characters that they can’t all be the main focus throughout a single game, but we do want them to have opportunities to shine from game to game,” Clautice said. “Figuring out how to balance all those things was certainly a puzzle.”
The asymmetric game is played between two players, one representing the Dragon Reborn Rand al’Thor and the forces of the Light, and the other controlling the Forsaken and the forces of the Shadow. Both are trying to conquer the Westlands through mechanics that Clautice said are most reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings board game War of the Ring.
“They’ll each have many characters on their side, and even add more as the game progresses,” Clautice said. “Who you send where, who’s strong enough to get done what you need — that’s part of the strategy of play.”
Each turn, a player takes a single action to progress in one facet of the game. That can involve gathering new allies, conquering part of the map, or fighting over a mission — big contests that last throughout a whole round of play. They also play cards from their hand that can enhance their main action. Once both sides have played all their cards, they resolve the mission and score their progress for the round.
“A major challenge was finding the right size for each type of beat — giving the right amount of attention and impact to things when you encounter them,” Clautice said. “There are the Forsaken, these mighty villains who want to make big splashes when they impact the game.
But there are also smaller moments from the story that you get to touch briefly and then move on.”
The series ends with the Last Battle, an apocalyptic clash between massive armies, and you can play through that conflict in Epic Mode or keep the focus on individual characters by sticking to Hero Mode.
“The original version of the design was only what’s now what we’re calling the larger, Epic Mode, but that mode of play can be a daunting experience if it’s your first time out, or if you’re not ready to commit to a few hours at the table,” Clautice said. “Hero Mode is really about making the game more approachable, especially for folks who are fans of the series but not as deep into board gaming.”
A crowdfunding campaign for War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time is running on Kickstarter now. The $90 base game uses cardboard standees to represent characters including Rand, the Forsaken Lanfear, and the bard Thom Merrilin, though Dire Wolf is also releasing a $123 version with 40 miniatures. A $289 Last Battle bundle includes a playmat, card sleeves, metal coins, acrylic tokens, and a poster map of the Westlands.
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