Review | The Battle of Five Armies | Ares Games | The Players' Aid

[@josephbromley3364]

Masterpiece of a game… great to see you covering it! The tracking of damage is made a lot less fiddly if you grab some coloured cubes for each side, we use some red and blue ones from Pandemic Legacy. The weird triangles ain’t helpful. I’ve thought about the 4 player idea too, particularly as War for Arrakis has done something similar. The 4 player War of the Ring is really great. I reckon you might appreciate War of the Ring all the more when you revisit again having played these other two.

[@SoloBattles]

I agree on the triangular counters! I just use them to mark hits on the forts, and I bought some red crystals from a craft store to mark damage.

[@clockmonkey]

I've two small biscuit tins full of dice. I will get more and will get excited about getting them but have probably already gotten enough. Nice looking game and a splendid review.

[@bibleboardgames]

I bought WOTR and received 5 Armies as a gift. I would like to do a Middle Earth weekend. The rules in 5 armies are a bit easier and more streamlined than WOTR, but I still like the grander scale of WOTR which is a richer experience and has more variability to choose where they go. I do like how the Free People's track unlocks more heroes. One of my Large Orcs in WOTR is missing part of his face so I call him 'Scar'. I might let him cross over to 5 Armies to give the Shadow an extra villain and add to his back-story.

[@SoloBattles]

Great review! I love this game and have played it hundreds of times. I may have played all 15 turns, but I don't remember. It's usually pretty short because once the eagles come out, the Dark forces player can't win unless he is really close! I have had Beorn come out exactly once. You pretty much have to have it won by the time the eagles show up, or you've lost, as the Dark forces player. I agree that the combat is very putsey. Once you're very familiar, it really helps, but in the end I don't think the game balance is altered. Next time, maybe I'll play without the combat cards, just use the faction specific cards. Then I can just use the dice as good/evil!

[@josephbromley3364]

I’mma say, I suspect Roberto di Meglio is the secret sauce that’s missing from Hunt for the Ring, War for Arrakis, Jonathan Strange, etc. No shade on Francesco and Marco, but I’m pretty sure the genius at the heart of these systems is Roberto.

[@JM16714]

Yeah war of the ring is really underrated as an accomplishment. These guys are right that the theme is on point, but they are vastly underrating the mechanics. It's because the rules are hard for English speakers imo, and it's a little daunting at first because you have so many options. I have been fortunate enough to play it dozens of times.

[@henriwhitehead]

Great review!

[@williammyles]

Really enjoyed your video of this great game thanks so much team 😊

[@Pepsimaxfresh]

When is your may 2024 recap coming up ? Thanks !

[@ThePlayersAid]

We're recording it tonight, so it'll be next week - things have been a bit hectic lately!

[@PMMagro]

To me this is wargame version of War of the Ring. Local detailed map, force composition and exhaustion/partial losses also recuitting is two steps. War of the Ring has the ring part and politics (important here too but only the Fellowhip has any) covering a strategic map. I am very found of the whole picture but for a good fight with more militrary tactics this is better.

[@CBs_Bill_from_Montana]

Thanks! Maybe you could review WOTR?