The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Before we start, there is a qualification to this review rating. If you have never read a "Knights of the Dinner Table" comic, and you call yourself a roleplayer, get out to your local games shop and buy as many issues as you can find. Only someone familiar with KODT can truly enjoy this game at every level.

That said, the review can begin. "Orcs at the Gates" is a true beer and pretzels game. It is based off the "Knights of the Dinner Table" comic, and subscribes to the playing style of the characters Bob and Dave, that is, the game is about killing stuff and getting treasure.

Players take on the role of Bob, Dave, Sara or Brian, each with their own special abilities (for example, Dave gets to start with his Hackmaster +12 sword). They can also use the "Black Hands", Newt, Gordo, Stevil, and Wierd Pete.

Play takes place on three of 4 double sided map boards. Each player gets a plastic standup counter representing their character. Characters move around the map, pillaging treasure and killing orcs, trying to get 1000 victory points. There is a catch, however. There is a two hour time limit, and one of the players, rather than having a character on the board, plays the role of gamemaster, as B.A. or Nitro. His goal, (in the spirit of the confrontational attitude between GM's and their players in KODT) is to kill all the players off or prevent them from winning within the two hours, in which case he/she wins!

The comedic value of the game is best show through the Hackmaster cards and Player cards the GM and Players get. These all relate to the comics so players who know the comics will get the most enjoyment (My personal favorites are "Gratuitous Orc Kills: The Haunting" and "B.A.'s Homebrewed Critical Failure Tables").

Besides getting victory points for killing orcs, players get abilities and points for getting treasure cards such as "+6 Gainsu Blades of Sharpness" and "Jug of Healing". There are traps in the treasure deck though, such as "Gnarltooth's Poisoned Spike and Ten Ton Block Trap", which automatically kills the player... twice. However, nobody in Orcs at the Gates is dead forever- a "Beret of Faerie Kin" or "Ring of Resurrection" can bring back a dead player. The GM can only win before the time limit is up if all the players are dead at the same time.

To be the most fun, the players must understand the comic and be in the right frame of mind (i.e. Bob's player saying "I waste him with my crossbow!" and Brian's player saying "A couple of fireballs coming on line!").

So the gameplay is good, but what about style? This is a mixed bag. The plastic standup counters, 8 for the PC's, and 30 orcs, are nice, and colorful. The four mapboards are very nice also, and since they are doublesided, and can be connected in a variety of ways, the odds of getting an identical map twice is very low. The player's victory point record cards are well done, though they are doubleside, so you couldn't, for example, have Newt of the "Black Hands" and Bob of the "Knights of the Dinner Table" in the same game.

Counters are needed to keep track of uses for some cards, recording victory points, and tracking wounds, but none are included. I just used dice as counters.

The game has three dice, two very small six siders and a twenty sider. Unfortunately, corners were cut with the D20. Mine was a bit chipped, and the numbers weren't inked in, making it difficult to read (I inked mine in with a pen, it only takes a few minutes, but still...).

The player, hackmaster, and treasure cards are a bit of a disappointment. While the text is hilarious, and in the spirit of the game, they are very cheaply made. They are printed on thick plain white paper, on perforated sheets that you have to seperate yourself (I cut mine, because there was too much of a danger that the card wouldn't tear along the perforation). The non-text side has a quickly made, rather crude drawing in the case of the treasure cards, and looks photocopied (though I've been thinking this isn't necessarily a bad thing, think about it, you could make your own custom Treasure, Player, and Hackmaster cards to add in).

The rules have problems also- namely, not all of them made it into the rule booklet, such as the number of VP's for killing orcs, and what happens when a critical failure is rolled. It was merely an oversight, and the missing rules, along with some clarifications, can be found at the Jolly Roger Games website, which is linked from the Kenzer and Co. main page. The rule oversights will be corrected in the next print run.

The final verdict is that this game is a must-have for any fan of KODT. If you haven't experienced KODT before, you are missing out on a lot!

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Orcs at the Gates
Author: Jim Dietz Category: Board Game Company/Publisher: Jolly Roger Games Line: Knights of the Dinner Table Cost: $30.00 Page count: na Playtest Review by Josh White on 05/14/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Comedy	Before we start, there is a qualification to this review rating. If you have never read a "Knights of the Dinner Table" comic, and you call yourself a roleplayer, get out to your local games shop and buy as many issues as you can find. Only someone familiar with KODT can truly enjoy this game at every level. That said, the review can begin. "Orcs at the Gates" is a true beer and pretzels game. It is based off the "Knights of the Dinner Table" comic, and subscribes to the playing style of the characters Bob and Dave, that is, the game is about killing stuff and getting treasure. Players take on the role of Bob, Dave, Sara or Brian, each with their own special abilities (for example, Dave gets to start with his Hackmaster +12 sword). They can also use the "Black Hands", Newt, Gordo, Stevil, and Wierd Pete. Play takes place on three of 4 double sided map boards. Each player gets a plastic standup counter representing their character. Characters move around the map, pillaging treasure and killing orcs, trying to get 1000 victory points. There is a catch, however. There is a two hour time limit, and one of the players, rather than having a character on the board, plays the role of gamemaster, as B.A. or Nitro. His goal, (in the spirit of the confrontational attitude between GM's and their players in KODT) is to kill all the players off or prevent them from winning within the two hours, in which case he/she wins! The comedic value of the game is best show through the Hackmaster cards and Player cards the GM and Players get. These all relate to the comics so players who know the comics will get the most enjoyment (My personal favorites are "Gratuitous Orc Kills: The Haunting" and "B.A.'s Homebrewed Critical Failure Tables"). Besides getting victory points for killing orcs, players get abilities and points for getting treasure cards such as "+6 Gainsu Blades of Sharpness" and "Jug of Healing". There are traps in the treasure deck though, such as "Gnarltooth's Poisoned Spike and Ten Ton Block Trap", which automatically kills the player... twice. However, nobody in Orcs at the Gates is dead forever- a "Beret of Faerie Kin" or "Ring of Resurrection" can bring back a dead player. The GM can only win before the time limit is up if all the players are dead at the same time. To be the most fun, the players must understand the comic and be in the right frame of mind (i.e. Bob's player saying "I waste him with my crossbow!" and Brian's player saying "A couple of fireballs coming on line!"). So the gameplay is good, but what about style? This is a mixed bag. The plastic standup counters, 8 for the PC's, and 30 orcs, are nice, and colorful. The four mapboards are very nice also, and since they are doublesided, and can be connected in a variety of ways, the odds of getting an identical map twice is very low. The player's victory point record cards are well done, though they are doubleside, so you couldn't, for example, have Newt of the "Black Hands" and Bob of the "Knights of the Dinner Table" in the same game. Counters are needed to keep track of uses for some cards, recording victory points, and tracking wounds, but none are included. I just used dice as counters. The game has three dice, two very small six siders and a twenty sider. Unfortunately, corners were cut with the D20. Mine was a bit chipped, and the numbers weren't inked in, making it difficult to read (I inked mine in with a pen, it only takes a few minutes, but still...). The player, hackmaster, and treasure cards are a bit of a disappointment. While the text is hilarious, and in the spirit of the game, they are very cheaply made. They are printed on thick plain white paper, on perforated sheets that you have to seperate yourself (I cut mine, because there was too much of a danger that the card wouldn't tear along the perforation). The non-text side has a quickly made, rather crude drawing in the case of the treasure cards, and looks photocopied (though I've been thinking this isn't necessarily a bad thing, think about it, you could make your own custom Treasure, Player, and Hackmaster cards to add in). The rules have problems also- namely, not all of them made it into the rule booklet, such as the number of VP's for killing orcs, and what happens when a critical failure is rolled. It was merely an oversight, and the missing rules, along with some clarifications, can be found at the Jolly Roger Games website, which is linked from the Kenzer and Co. main page. The rule oversights will be corrected in the next print run. The final verdict is that this game is a must-have for any fan of KODT. If you haven't experienced KODT before, you are missing out on a lot! Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)