Entering its final three days on Kickstarter, and still in need of some support if it’s to meet its goal, is Ether Wars, a dice-based tabletop game that is made to emulate an RTS game.
Full disclosure, I have not been able to give this game the kind of thorough play-test that I try to give to most Kickstarter games I review, due to timing of the game’s arrival. What I have played, however, shows that Ether Wars is a complex and multi-faceted game where players rely on both strategy and resource management in order to best their opponents.
Rated for 2-4 players, Ether Wars is one of those rare games that plays well with 2 players (although not as well as with 4) without seeming overly simple. While it claims to emulate an RTS, due to the constraints of being a tabletop game, it’s a far closer relative to a turn-based strategy game (as, I would assume, veteran board game players would already have suspected). This isn’t, however, a bad thing. The turns happen roughly at the same time, giving some of that RTS feel without the chaos of an unorganized game.
The quality of the game, even in the promotional version I received, is fantastic. The cardboard pieces are thick and feel sturdy and the art work is both skillfully done and printed at a very high quality. The box is among the most striking I’ve seen for artwork, and the same attention to quality obviously went into all of the game’s art.
I look forward to playing this game in much more depth, and I hope you get the opportunity to do so as well. If you’re a fan of RTS games, or are just looking for another high-concept strategy board game, please consider giving to Ether Wars before the time runs out.
I must be getting old–remind me what an RTS game is again? May want to describe that in the article–unless you only want folks who catch that reference to back the Kickstarter.