REVIEW OF Viktory II
Viktory II (Morrison Games, 2006 - Peter Morrison) was first brought to my attention when I saw the history of how the game went from concept to reality at this link - http://www.viktorygame.com/viktoryiihistory/ . When I received the game, I was expecting some nice things, due to my reading the above link, but I was still blown away by this labor of love. With 660 plastic pieces and a ton of cardboard hexes, Viktory II was a visual treat and a component-lover's paradise. But how was the game?
The best adjective to describe the game is "refreshing". Instead of being YARC (yet another Risk clone), Viktory II uses terrain to determine what units can be in play, and games are decided by quick, decisive battle. Games have a quick start, with players immediately rushing their units across the boards and expanding. This isn't a game in which players will send diplomats across the board and make treaties; it's a fast game of fast, furious combat. After playing games that take hours before any action occurs, Viktory II appealed to me greatly; and I was pleased to have a war game of this caliber - short, simple, and fun.
(I'm explaining the basic concepts of the game - there are more rules than I mention)
To play the game, a large hexagon-shaped map is formed of many smaller hexagons - the number determined by the amount of players (a full five or six player game uses 169 hexagons.) The hexagons, which are either plains, grass, mountains, forests, or water, are randomly placed face down, surrounded by a framework of water tiles. Each player takes the units of their color (infantry, cavalry, artillery, frigates, towns, and cities) and starts at one section of the board - again determined by the number of players. Each player turns over the three hexes in their corner and places one of their towns on that space, putting a chip with it to designate that it is their capitol. Each player places a player aid sheet in front of them, and one infantry unit in the "reserve box" on it. Players reveal the hexes adjacent to their capitol; one player is chosen to go first, and the game continues.
The first thing a player does on their turn is build a new town (two or three hexes away from one of their current towns), or upgrade a town to a city. Each new town and city supports new units, which are added to a player's reserve. Each town supports one infantry unit, with each city supporting one infantry unit and one additional unit (plains - infantry, grass - cavalry, mountain - artillery, forest - frigate). The player then moves their units - infantry and artillery two spaces, cavalry three spaces, and frigates five spaces. Some movement restrictions are that ships can only move in water and through towns that are adjacent to water, and all land units must stop when entering forests and mountains. Also, land units count movement from friendly town to friendly town as only one space, as long as they are only two or three hexes apart. As units move next to unexplored terrain, the adjacent tiles are flipped over and revealed. Frigates can be used to carry land units.
Players have two types of combat that they can do - bombarding and normal attacks. Frigates and artillery are the only units that can bombard and can each destroy a unit through the lucky rolling of six-sided dice. Normal attacks consist of enemy units moving into a spot with defenders. Both the attacker and defender roll dice in the battle, depending on the TYPE of units they are using, not the number. If the attacker controls one infantry unit, they get one die; two more dice if they have at least one cavalry joining the battle, and one more die if they have at least one artillery in the attack - for a maximum of four dice. The defender gets one die for each different type of unit defending, plus one die if they have at least one frigate adjacent to them, plus one or two dice depending on the terrain type or if there is a town/city there - for a maximum of six dice. Each "1", "2", and "3" is a hit, with a "1" allowing the opponent to choose the unit that is destroyed. Attacking artillery get one attack die each before combat, and casualties are removed. If the attacker does not retreat, combat continues until one side is eliminated.
Attacks that destroy all units in one of their towns or cities transfer that town or city over to the person capturing it. When cities are captured, the new city owner puts the units that city supports in their reserve, while the own owner must remove the same units. Whenever units are "killed" in battle, they are also placed in a player's reserve. Units are never removed from reserve unless the player loses the supporting cities. One can check at any time how many units they should have on the board/in reserve by counting their cities and towns.
At the end of their turn, the player places the units in their reserve in their cities and towns but can only place a maximum of units in a town/city that equal the amount it supports (i.e. You can place one infantry and/or one artillery unit in a mountain city). Unlimited units can be placed in a player's capitol city, but no units can be placed in a city that has adjacent enemy units. Play continues until one player is the sole survivor, having captured all the enemies' cities. That player is the winner of the game.
Some comments on the game...
1.) Components: Hundreds of components come in the game - tons of miniatures and cardboard hexes. I'm not sure why there are 110 miniatures in each of the six colors, as I can't foresee too many scenarios in which a player needs all of them - but who cares! The models are very well done (even though the towns and cities look like Monopoly houses) and several easily fit onto a hex. The hexes are about two inches in diameter and are held together well with the puzzle-like frame. The hexes hold together loosely, tight enough to keep them from moving around but loose enough to pull them out and flip them over. Everything is bagged and fits well inside a good-sized box. The art on the tiles and box is well done; and while the game initially looks somewhat like Settlers of Catan, the addition of war miniatures gives it a more grandiose feel. When looking at the game, you would not think that it was assembled in a garage - the components are that well done.
2.) Rules: War gamers may scoff at the mere twelve pages of rules, many of which are redundant and merely were printed to clarify. There are two versions of the rules; and while the 1.0 (which is in a few packaged games) are understandable, version 1.1 - also found on the internet - is really well designed. And if even this fails, one can download videos from the internet that explain movement, attacking and even one that demonstrates a complete game! Even though some of the concepts aren't typical to most war-orientated games, I found it easy to teach to those playing, and everyone was able to jump right into it.
3.) Terrain: Having cities on the right terrain is critical, since it's important to have units of all types. Thus, since the board is randomized at the beginning of each game, it's interesting to watch how the game plays out, as perhaps one mountain city will become the focal point of initial attacks, since multiple players will desperately need artillery. With water hexes interspaced throughout the board - sometimes splitting areas into islands - frigates become important, and having them located in the right place is important.
4.) Attack!: If a player sits around, they will accomplish nothing. The only way to build up your forces is to take/build more towns and cities and capture those of the opponent. Capturing a town is also the only way to deplete your enemy of important forces, so a player can't simply "turtle" - sit back and build up. One problem that multi-player war games have is that players tend to sit out and let the others attack each other and then come down on the victor like a vulture on a dying carcass. That won't happen in Viktory II, because every time you successfully attack a city, you get stronger - not weaker. Games like Viktory II and others that push players into attacking (like Nexus Ops) are a lot of fun, as there is no time to simply sit around and wait for your opponent to come to you. This is certainly one of my favorite features of the game.
5.) Elimination: Any game that includes elimination is not always fun for the first person to be eliminated. This can occur in Viktory II, even though the game is much faster. One way to ignore this, if elimination bothers you, is to play with the "Subjugation" variant provided in the rules, which have players whose capitals are captured becoming vassals of the capturing player. This provides some interesting scenarios and even allows a player to attack their own vassal! A player wins once they have forced all the other players to become their vassals. We also added a house rule in the regular rules that stated that the game was over when the first person was eliminated, with the player controlling the most towns and cities winning the game.
6.) Luck: The attack system is a variation of the Risk scenario, with a bit of combat that feels like Glenn Drover was involved (from Eagle Games). It's very critical to have combined arms as much as possible, to maximize the amount of dice used in the game. Capturing cities and towns is difficult, but the rewards are great; and although rolling the dice includes luck, skillful play seems to have won the games I've played.
7.) Players: The map size changes drastically with the number of players, but one can play any number of players on any of the maps. A three player game can be played in only a little over an hour, and every move feels drastically important. A six-player game is longer and more involved but still retains the epic feel in a shorter period of time. I'm beginning to think that four players is the sweet spot for Viktory II, though.
8.) Fun Factor: What kept me interested in the game was how important capturing cities and towns of the opponent's were. If there are only three mountain cities on the map, the fighting over them is critical - players need their artillery! Tying terrain to units produced is a great mechanic and really controls the dynamics of the game. I don't need dozens of charts to keep me interested in a war game - the simplicity of Viktory II is what I'm looking for.
If you are interested in playing a multi-player war game and prefer quickness and simplicity, Viktory II is an excellent choice. With 861 different game pieces, the game is a components treasure trove, and the rules are simple, yet elegant. I am highly impressed with this independent design and hope that it gets more exposure. Folks who don't like to attack one another will probably not enjoy this game, as it can be cutthroat. But it's cutthroat and deadly and rewards good tactics. This is the mark of a good war game - and having 110 pieces on your side certainly doesn't hurt!
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
The best adjective to describe the game is "refreshing". Instead of being YARC (yet another Risk clone), Viktory II uses terrain to determine what units can be in play, and games are decided by quick, decisive battle. Games have a quick start, with players immediately rushing their units across the boards and expanding. This isn't a game in which players will send diplomats across the board and make treaties; it's a fast game of fast, furious combat. After playing games that take hours before any action occurs, Viktory II appealed to me greatly; and I was pleased to have a war game of this caliber - short, simple, and fun.
(I'm explaining the basic concepts of the game - there are more rules than I mention)
To play the game, a large hexagon-shaped map is formed of many smaller hexagons - the number determined by the amount of players (a full five or six player game uses 169 hexagons.) The hexagons, which are either plains, grass, mountains, forests, or water, are randomly placed face down, surrounded by a framework of water tiles. Each player takes the units of their color (infantry, cavalry, artillery, frigates, towns, and cities) and starts at one section of the board - again determined by the number of players. Each player turns over the three hexes in their corner and places one of their towns on that space, putting a chip with it to designate that it is their capitol. Each player places a player aid sheet in front of them, and one infantry unit in the "reserve box" on it. Players reveal the hexes adjacent to their capitol; one player is chosen to go first, and the game continues.
The first thing a player does on their turn is build a new town (two or three hexes away from one of their current towns), or upgrade a town to a city. Each new town and city supports new units, which are added to a player's reserve. Each town supports one infantry unit, with each city supporting one infantry unit and one additional unit (plains - infantry, grass - cavalry, mountain - artillery, forest - frigate). The player then moves their units - infantry and artillery two spaces, cavalry three spaces, and frigates five spaces. Some movement restrictions are that ships can only move in water and through towns that are adjacent to water, and all land units must stop when entering forests and mountains. Also, land units count movement from friendly town to friendly town as only one space, as long as they are only two or three hexes apart. As units move next to unexplored terrain, the adjacent tiles are flipped over and revealed. Frigates can be used to carry land units.
Players have two types of combat that they can do - bombarding and normal attacks. Frigates and artillery are the only units that can bombard and can each destroy a unit through the lucky rolling of six-sided dice. Normal attacks consist of enemy units moving into a spot with defenders. Both the attacker and defender roll dice in the battle, depending on the TYPE of units they are using, not the number. If the attacker controls one infantry unit, they get one die; two more dice if they have at least one cavalry joining the battle, and one more die if they have at least one artillery in the attack - for a maximum of four dice. The defender gets one die for each different type of unit defending, plus one die if they have at least one frigate adjacent to them, plus one or two dice depending on the terrain type or if there is a town/city there - for a maximum of six dice. Each "1", "2", and "3" is a hit, with a "1" allowing the opponent to choose the unit that is destroyed. Attacking artillery get one attack die each before combat, and casualties are removed. If the attacker does not retreat, combat continues until one side is eliminated.
Attacks that destroy all units in one of their towns or cities transfer that town or city over to the person capturing it. When cities are captured, the new city owner puts the units that city supports in their reserve, while the own owner must remove the same units. Whenever units are "killed" in battle, they are also placed in a player's reserve. Units are never removed from reserve unless the player loses the supporting cities. One can check at any time how many units they should have on the board/in reserve by counting their cities and towns.
At the end of their turn, the player places the units in their reserve in their cities and towns but can only place a maximum of units in a town/city that equal the amount it supports (i.e. You can place one infantry and/or one artillery unit in a mountain city). Unlimited units can be placed in a player's capitol city, but no units can be placed in a city that has adjacent enemy units. Play continues until one player is the sole survivor, having captured all the enemies' cities. That player is the winner of the game.
Some comments on the game...
1.) Components: Hundreds of components come in the game - tons of miniatures and cardboard hexes. I'm not sure why there are 110 miniatures in each of the six colors, as I can't foresee too many scenarios in which a player needs all of them - but who cares! The models are very well done (even though the towns and cities look like Monopoly houses) and several easily fit onto a hex. The hexes are about two inches in diameter and are held together well with the puzzle-like frame. The hexes hold together loosely, tight enough to keep them from moving around but loose enough to pull them out and flip them over. Everything is bagged and fits well inside a good-sized box. The art on the tiles and box is well done; and while the game initially looks somewhat like Settlers of Catan, the addition of war miniatures gives it a more grandiose feel. When looking at the game, you would not think that it was assembled in a garage - the components are that well done.
2.) Rules: War gamers may scoff at the mere twelve pages of rules, many of which are redundant and merely were printed to clarify. There are two versions of the rules; and while the 1.0 (which is in a few packaged games) are understandable, version 1.1 - also found on the internet - is really well designed. And if even this fails, one can download videos from the internet that explain movement, attacking and even one that demonstrates a complete game! Even though some of the concepts aren't typical to most war-orientated games, I found it easy to teach to those playing, and everyone was able to jump right into it.
3.) Terrain: Having cities on the right terrain is critical, since it's important to have units of all types. Thus, since the board is randomized at the beginning of each game, it's interesting to watch how the game plays out, as perhaps one mountain city will become the focal point of initial attacks, since multiple players will desperately need artillery. With water hexes interspaced throughout the board - sometimes splitting areas into islands - frigates become important, and having them located in the right place is important.
4.) Attack!: If a player sits around, they will accomplish nothing. The only way to build up your forces is to take/build more towns and cities and capture those of the opponent. Capturing a town is also the only way to deplete your enemy of important forces, so a player can't simply "turtle" - sit back and build up. One problem that multi-player war games have is that players tend to sit out and let the others attack each other and then come down on the victor like a vulture on a dying carcass. That won't happen in Viktory II, because every time you successfully attack a city, you get stronger - not weaker. Games like Viktory II and others that push players into attacking (like Nexus Ops) are a lot of fun, as there is no time to simply sit around and wait for your opponent to come to you. This is certainly one of my favorite features of the game.
5.) Elimination: Any game that includes elimination is not always fun for the first person to be eliminated. This can occur in Viktory II, even though the game is much faster. One way to ignore this, if elimination bothers you, is to play with the "Subjugation" variant provided in the rules, which have players whose capitals are captured becoming vassals of the capturing player. This provides some interesting scenarios and even allows a player to attack their own vassal! A player wins once they have forced all the other players to become their vassals. We also added a house rule in the regular rules that stated that the game was over when the first person was eliminated, with the player controlling the most towns and cities winning the game.
6.) Luck: The attack system is a variation of the Risk scenario, with a bit of combat that feels like Glenn Drover was involved (from Eagle Games). It's very critical to have combined arms as much as possible, to maximize the amount of dice used in the game. Capturing cities and towns is difficult, but the rewards are great; and although rolling the dice includes luck, skillful play seems to have won the games I've played.
7.) Players: The map size changes drastically with the number of players, but one can play any number of players on any of the maps. A three player game can be played in only a little over an hour, and every move feels drastically important. A six-player game is longer and more involved but still retains the epic feel in a shorter period of time. I'm beginning to think that four players is the sweet spot for Viktory II, though.
8.) Fun Factor: What kept me interested in the game was how important capturing cities and towns of the opponent's were. If there are only three mountain cities on the map, the fighting over them is critical - players need their artillery! Tying terrain to units produced is a great mechanic and really controls the dynamics of the game. I don't need dozens of charts to keep me interested in a war game - the simplicity of Viktory II is what I'm looking for.
If you are interested in playing a multi-player war game and prefer quickness and simplicity, Viktory II is an excellent choice. With 861 different game pieces, the game is a components treasure trove, and the rules are simple, yet elegant. I am highly impressed with this independent design and hope that it gets more exposure. Folks who don't like to attack one another will probably not enjoy this game, as it can be cutthroat. But it's cutthroat and deadly and rewards good tactics. This is the mark of a good war game - and having 110 pieces on your side certainly doesn't hurt!
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
