World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – Pandemic System Board Game Review

The World of Warcraft universe has been constantly expanding since its launch nearly 15 years ago, adding many new characters, lands to explore, and enemies to conquer. However, one of his most popular stories follows the fall of the hero Arthas and his subsequent rise to become the Lich King. For those who want to return to Northrend and storm Icecrown Citadel one more time, this board game will definitely have them drawn to you.

Based on the expansion of the same name, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – A Pandemic System Board Game (wow, that’s a mouthful) is a cooperative board game for up to five players that includes all the trappings of the popular MMO. . It has iconic heroes, unique abilities, battles against the Scourge and missions with your party, all uniquely based on the foundation of the popular Pandemic board game series. However, this is not just a simple renovation, as all elements of the game have been faithfully adapted to make you feel at home within the popular Blizzard universe.

What is in the box

From the moment you open the box, you can tell that this board game was created with attention to detail and great care in every component. The sprawling game board measures approximately 20 “x 30” and features dozens of familiar locations from across Azeroth, including Naxxramas, Dalaran, Ulduar, and more.

It also features seven iconic characters from the Warcraft universe: Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore, Sylvanas Windrunner, Varian Wrynn, Tirion Fordring, Muradin Bronzebeard, and Lady Liadrin. Each playable character comes with a detailed minifigure to represent them during gameplay. Of course, there is also an incredibly detailed figure of the Lich King himself, as well as his horde of undead cronies that includes three abominations and dozens of little demons. One thing to keep in mind is that there are a lot of incredibly sharp points on some of these figures, and after prodding myself too many times I had to be extra cautious when grabbing them.

Each playable character also comes with a hero sheet, complete with unique abilities, a health bar, and some story on the back. As with everything in this game, the hero sheets are adorned with beautiful original artwork from the folks at Blizzard. There is also a deck of 63 hero cards that are used throughout the game, all with detailed illustrations. I was surprised that almost none of the artwork was reused from Hearthstone, Blizzard’s popular deck-building game based on the World of Warcraft universe, making it feel like a whole new adventure and not just a repackaged reward.

In addition, you will find 10 mission sheets, 30 Plague cards, reference cards to help players during the game, various markers and a pegboard containing high-quality cardboard cutouts to build Fortresses and a large replica of the Citadel. of the Icecrown. Snap-in seal bags are included to store everything between game sessions and, as with many of the other games in the Pandemic series, I am amazed at how little space is wasted in the game box.

Rules and how to play

The goal of the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King board game is simple: complete three missions to earn unique rewards before storming Icecrown Citadel and taking down the Lich King once and for all. However, the Plague of the Lich King is constantly sweeping Northrend and you must complete your task before it consumes you and your party.

Each player begins by selecting one of seven heroes to play, all with unique abilities that can contribute to the overall success of the team in some way. Each hero sheet has a set of numbers across the bottom representing that character’s health, which players must handle with care as they explore and fight across the map.

It turns out that it plays out similar to the original Pandemic board game, with each player taking four actions in total including moving around the game board, fighting enemies, performing missions, or healing. However, rather than simply curing illnesses, players are much more engaged in the game from moment to moment. Players will also accumulate a hand of cards such as attack and defense to aid in battle, healing cards to replenish health, or travel cards to move quickly around the board. There are also a limited number of Fortress cards that can be added to the deck that allow you to place Fortresses around the map to act as a kind of “fast travel” location for you and your team.

As the Lich King’s undead army spreads across the map, players can choose to fight the Scourge as one of their turn actions. By rolling two dice, players can deal damage or block incoming attacks, as well as play cards from their hands to aid in battle. Characters in the same space can even band together in battle, making it really feel like they’re at a party together taking down waves of enemies.

In addition to fighting, players can also choose to participate in a mission as one of their turn actions. Since completing missions is a key component of the team’s victory condition, it is important to always keep an eye on the progress of the party’s mission. The game board is divided into three regions, indicated by the color of the spaces within. Each region contains one of three quest sheets (with a total of nine available) that the team must work together to complete during the course of the game. The missions will be completed in multiplayer turns using a combination of dice rolls, cards from their hands, and help from teammates, and require a lot of coordination.

Each mission sheet has a unique boss enemy that deals damage to the player performing the mission, as well as some kind of mechanics that players will need to strategize, such as reducing the number of dice that can be rolled, avoiding healing, and more. Once players reach the end of the Quest, a unique reward is revealed that provides a powerful single-use card that the team can use to help turn the tide in their favor.

While the Quest system definitely works well, I would have liked to see it a little more developed. It basically comes down to moving a marker along a linear path and doesn’t feel as active or engaging as battles. It feels like a missed opportunity to have all these iconic raid bosses on the quest sheets and never actually interact with them in a meaningful way. That also applies to the final Lich King encounter, which is effectively a longer “Quest” that doesn’t raise the stakes as much.

That said, the moment-to-moment gameplay of strategizing with your teammates as you push back the invading Scourge on the board as you attempt to complete Missions perfectly encapsulates that trademark stress you feel while playing other Pandemic board games. Every action you take must be carefully thought out, as things can get out of control very quickly and one wrong move could lead to your inevitable defeat.

I found the board game Wrath of the Lich King to be a bit more difficult, even on the easiest difficulty, than the traditional board game Pandemic … and that was with a full group of five players. The spins are a bit trickier as you are not only managing the game board, but also the health of your own hero. As with most games, I imagine that as your group gains more experience, you will be able to anticipate setbacks and plan for the future accordingly. And, for those willing to take on a bigger challenge, there are three growing difficulties that make the Scourge more powerful and reduce the number of Fortresses available. There’s even a solo game mode, which I still found an engaging experience. However, the fun of this game really lies in making team decisions.

With seven unique heroes and nine missions in total, there is plenty of replayability here that will provide fun for dozens of play sessions. The cooperative nature of the game, along with the dice-based battles and missions, makes the board game Wrath of the Lich King feel like a very lite version of D&D that can be completed in about an hour.

Where to buy

The World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King board game has an MSRP of $ 59.99 and is available at the following stores: