This new re-themed version of Battle Line is a two-player strategy card game built around the theme of Medieval warfare. This re-themed version of Battle Line features 60 beautiful new cards by illustrator Roland MacDonald, as well as 10 full-color tactics "wildcards" that give players extra flexibility and choices and help make each new battle wildly different from the last.
Battle Line takes about 30 minutes to play. To win, you must create powerful formations along your side of the line of battle that are superior to those of your enemy. Victory goes to the player who wins 5 of the 9 battle flags (an envelopment) or three adjacent flags (a breakthrough). Based on Reiner Knizia's original design published in Germany as Shotten-Totten, Battle Line enhances and expands that game system to give players even more tactical options and gut-wrenching decisions.
Battle Line places you in command of your army's strategies. How will you muster your formations? Will you use your powerful KingsGuard to vanquish your enemy, or perhaps send the King of England or France to the front to win a critical flag? Or perhaps you"ll rely on your spies to determine the enemy"s strengths and weaknesses before committing your best forces. You'll always have plenty of choices. With every card play, you'll determine the strength and direction of your attack while plotting to fend off your enemy's advances.
In Battle Line, you and your opponent lead the combined arms of the greatest units of the era. Will you, like the great Kings of yore, reign supreme? Play Battle Line, and find out.
-description from publisher's website
- great aesthetic and components
- compact and accessible
- expansions add value
- some may feel shallow compared to heavier euros
- tactical card-driven line battles
- medieval battlefield duels
- abstract tactical play
- Gandhy in the original Battle Line
- Totten
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-driven actions — play one-time action cards with unique effects
- modular expansions — additional cards and modules improve depth
- tie-based victory checks — cards must tie with opponent's to be used effectively
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's so simple to play where you are literally you've got a spread of five tiles at your disposal
- the board looks absolutely fantastic and you are trying to do lots of different things
- this is the living game where the next setup is based on how you played the prior game
- the engine-building in Deus is really tight and rewarding
- the app integration in Chronicles of Crime adds ongoing content and keeps the game fresh
- Deep Sea Adventure is charming and tense with the oxygen mechanic