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In the five centuries since the Wound was closed, the kingdoms of Kalar have struggled to rebuild their shattered societies. A resurgent Empire spread across the great sea, bringing civilization to the untamed eastern continent of Kheros. But Lilith, one of the immortal sorcerers responsible for the Worldwound, arrived first, preparing the way for the return of her dark mistress. For nearly six hundred years she has plotted and schemed. In 588 (2023 Gregorian), the wait is over.
Burning Banners: Rage of the Witch Queen is a fantasy wargame for two to six players. Fast playing and intuitive, a whopping 29 scenarios range from short campaigns with 2 Kingdoms and one map, to the entire 12-year war, in which 6 kingdoms battle over four maps. The rules include a quick-playing Basic Game as well as an Advanced Game which introduces Magic, Heroes, and Monsters guarding powerful treasures.
March 1” Armies and Heroes through huge, lovingly detailed hexes. Explore a vast, detailed fantasy world encompassing four mounted game maps with six unique kingdoms and dozens of troop types. Designed and illustrated by acclaimed fantasy artist, Christopher Moeller!
—description from the publisher
- Stunning map art and map integration
- Spell cards mitigate luck and add depth
- Theme is strongly integrated with the maps and worldbuilding
- Maps can be combined to form a larger board
- Designer and artist collaboration yields cohesive design
- Long turns and significant downtime
- Complexity may deter casual players
- May require a large table and time commitment
- Historical reenactment within a fictional fantasy universe
- Fantasy world with historical reenactment vibe
- Maps and world-building units tell stories that evoke a fictional history
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dice combat resolution — Combat is resolved with dice; hits require high rolls (five or higher) on exposed units.
- hand management — End of round discard phase replenishes up to three spell cards; discard count tied to magical world state.
- hand management and replenishment — End of round discard phase replenishes up to three spell cards; discard count tied to magical world state.
- map-driven play and narrative through maps — The game uses multi-map boards that can merge; maps provide thematic storytelling and strategic depth.
- spell cards as luck-mitigation — A large pool of spell cards lets players mitigate dice luck and gain other powers.
- world magic tokens and dynamic magic — Tokens representing magic per round affect how many cards can be discarded; magic presence fluctuates each turn.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a historical reenactment game but in a fantasy universe.
- I love the world. I love how the theme is integrated into this game.
- the maps lived up to my expectations and even exceeded them.
- my favorite mechanism in the game has to do with the spell cards.
- the game not only gives you a way to mitigate that luck, but also the game gives you a lot of spells.