Gladiator Wars with a gritty, over the top twist – Ophidian Wars

Welcome to another edition of A Roll of The Dice with your game master, Adam (me). This week we will be going over a game that I wanted to play when I first heard about it, and was finally given the chance too, Ophidian Wars. A game from the team that brought you The Ophidian 2350, we get a new game which delves into the world of large battles, with either cards or 3D printed mini’s if you’d prefer.

The best way to describe the game is using their own words. “Build a custom team of gladiators, their weapons, and training. Competitive, strategic combat.” That it is. Battling others with your chosen team is always fun, and the fact you can create your own team makes it that much better. Why don’t we take a look and see what we thought of the game itself!

DESIGN – 9

I love the design of this game. Everything from the card box to the card art is amazing. The artist and design team did an amazing job of making the characters bad-ass, but really likeable. With art like that, you can sell a lot of games, even if it wasn’t a fun game to play.

The game dynamics, rules, and overall tone was all well designed too. It is fairly easy to learn, with a lot of twists and turns. It does have the “flow” which is an amazing dynamic for design in a card game. We will speak more of that in a moment.

All in all, really well designed, and one of the nicer concepts I have seen!

REPLAY VALUE – 10

Okay, I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. Card games usually have a lot of replay, as a quick shuffle will change the entire game dynamic. In this case though it is not the shuffle, it is merely the amount of choices you get to make in this game. First by choosing 5 of the 15 gladiators to join your team, then on to 10 of the 18 arsenal items, and finally 25 of the 36 manoeuvres. Each one of these options could help make or break your team choices, and your ability to win/lose the game. This creates an amazing amount of possibilities within the game itself, and increases your replay value exponentially.

Also, just the amount of times you will want to see the new card art, or try a brand new tactic you may have thought of will also add to the replay value. I would say this is one of the best versions of a re-playable game I have reviewed so far.

FUN FACTOR – 9

This game attacks the fun factor in all dynamics. It is fairly easy to pick up and play, the rules are explained really well, and the look of the art is clean and crisp, so you must be wondering if everything is amazing, why not the perfect score? I gave it a perfect score, but some of the others in my group were not as big on the “flow” battle type. In my honest opinion, I thought it was one of the better dynamics to the game. It was original, fun, and brought a life to the game that we did not have in other games. Not everyone can understand it, but I thought it was fairly easy to pick-up on. You will have to judge it for yourself!

Why don’t we see what the creators had to say!

1) Where did you get the idea for the game?

The idea actually originates with something amazing that happened to me about 12 years ago.  Ophidian Wars is a spinoff of Ophidian 2350, a well-received CCG from back then.  I was on a lucky young team of designers that had our game picked up by a publisher, which was essentially the only way to do it before Kickstarter and self-publishing.   And it was even more rare for an unlicensed, original IP, to get a shot.

When Hasbro came after us (commonplace at the time), and our publisher wasn’t financially equipped to back us up, we had to fold just before out first expansion.   The original game had a fantastically bizarre gameworld and a patented turn mechanic (“flow”) that I am so excited to bring back, because I felt like it never had it’s moment to shine.    So this, for me, was a personal labor of love to revise the game in to an ECG format and enhance the visuals, while maintaining many of the great elements of the original.

2) What are your three favourite games? (Besides your own!)

Oh boy that’s tough!   I’d be lying if I didn’t say MtG – while I don’t play anymore, I am not sure the addiction ever really goes away.   I’ve always loved Carcassonne because it can be played with a wide variety of folks, be very strategic, and accessible.   And right now, probably Doomtown.

3) Can you describe your game in a sentence?

Ophidian Wars is a gritty, over-the-top, sci-fan gladiator combat card game.

4) Where can we pick up your game or learn more about it?

The website (www.ophidian-wars.com) is a good place to start, play-before-pay, check out the gameworld, and learn the basics of “flow,” other main mechanics like “Cheer” and combat field rules.   The game can be purchased here https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/ophidian-wars

5) Anything else you want the readers to know?

The greatest satisfaction I get is talking to other gamers and players, so I encourage you to start that dialogue on the website, over email, or on social media.   Ophidian Wars was designed to be an accessible ECG with some uniquely strategic components, and a one-of-a-kind gameworld.   It’s always good to get feedback from the players on whether I’ve hit or missed the mark!

The first expansion is well under way as well, which will introduce 5 new, very nasty gladiators.

THANKS

Thank you so much guys and gals, for taking your time out to talk to us, and let us review your amazing game. We look forward to seeing what the next set brings, as the gladiators are pretty amazing!