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A couple of BattleLore-related things |  |
First off, I’ve recently discovered a program called VASSAL via Board Game Geek that allows me to play BattleLore online with other people. Sweet. After trying it out and playing an entire scenario (which I lost), I have a few thoughts.
- The overall design is pretty good. The graphics are clean and attractive, and they convey everything they need to fairly well.
- That said, playing BattleLore via VASSAL is a little bit clunky, when compared to the real thing. Sure, the setup time is significantly reduced, but space constraints apparently necessitate your command and lore cards being kept in a separate window from the actual board, making it very, very difficult to see both your options and the battlefield at the same time. When playing BattleLore, I like to be able to get the whole picture, and that’s very difficult to do in VASSAL.
So, all in all, while VASSAL does provide a good alternative to playing the actual game when you can’t find a physical opponent, it’s really no substitute for playing with the actual product. I should mention that, while VASSAL and the accompanying BattleLore module are free downloads, they do not come with the rules for the game. So, unless you already know all the rules, the program doesn’t actually allow you to have the game for free, as all rules adjudication is left up to the players, not the game engine.
In related news, I just received my Earth Elemental figure for BattleLore. The package comes with the actual Earth Elemental figure and creature flag (a blue one), a terrain tile depicting a Circle of Summoning (which you use to summon the Elemental), and three reference cards displaying rules for using both the Elemental and its accompanying Circle. The whole thing cost me $4.00 in shipping, and is free to anyone who already owns BattleLore (though there is a one per game limit). So, now I’ve got two creatures in my game. Cool!
