As Manchu says, it depends on if you like the Poker based mechanics as that is the heart of the system. I got it pretty cheaply and my goal is to spur my own game design thought process, so it was worth it to me to see an alternate take on mechanics using cards.
However, for playing it would probably be for a short 6 game campaign and then be done for the year. There is not the investment in models and gang growth that other more robust skirmish games provide. However, i could see you having a small fantasy gang for this, using it as the base for a Frostgrave force, building it up for Dragon Rampant, which you could also then use for Kings of War. If you are into Fantasy it is a nice supplemental game to take a short break from your main games.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Manchu wrote:This was the first "blue book" I didn't pre-order, as the poker stuff didn't interest me. The past few years have seen a lot of attempts to eject dice, or at least the ubiquitous
d6, but none of them seem to "stick." I guess Malifaux is the most successful (but as I recall that uses
d20s in addition to poker decks).
Yes, there has been a push in the indie market to push the direction of games away from basic
d6 as the core number generator to resolve actions. I have seen this with the rules I have reviewed. Many designers prefer cards for the ability to hold a "hand" and make decisions on when to use certain cards from your hands to allow additional agency of the action on the board. A roll of a
d6 does not allow for that level of "player agency" as you get the results you get.
Personally, I prefer to add decision making by allowing a player to game the number of dice they can roll in order to increase probability, in essence creating a dice pool (which could be considered equivalent to a hand of cards) that can be used and banked. The more dice you roll, the cleaner the probability of results. You can still use a core
D6 for such a system.
Ultimately, I prefer dice in my games but I can see the appeal of cards.