You wish to know what part you are to play in The Rise & Fall of Anvalor? Very well. But you should know that prophecy is fickle, and nothing is certain when the Dark Powers warp and twist reality itself. If that is not enough to dissuade you--and well it should be--then listen closely:
In Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, there is a sprawling continent known as the Great Parch. The races of the Mortal Realms have waged war across its surface for millennia. The bastions of Order, the dread citadels of Chaos, the mausoleum-cities of Death, and the great war-camps of Destruction all leave their marks upon the land.And now, once more, the wheels of industry are turning in the Great Parch.
A new bastion of Order, Anvalor, is being raised there. It shall be a mighty stronghold, fit to withstand the eternal, inevitable tides of war. It is yours to oversee its construction, and to ensure that of all the factions of Order, yours reigns supreme in Anvalor. For although many races march under Sigmar’s banner, few among them could be counted as loyal to the God-King.
So raise bulwarks to keep out the swords and axes at your front, but always beware the knives poised to strike at your back…
A new board game has just come out! This one comes from WizKids, and for those of you who couldn’t tell, it’s set in the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar universe. But while AOS is all about miniatures dying en masse, The Rise & Fall of Anvalor concerns the troubled construction of the titular Anvalor. Six different factions of Order are fighting off three different factions of baddies, and they’re all striving against one another to wear the biggest pants in town. Or something like that.
The Rise & Fall of Anvalor costs $59.99 USD. Playtime clocks in at around 60 minutes, 1-4 players can join in the scheming (solo players rejoice!), and it’s recommended that players be 14 or older. Purchase city buildings and fight off invasions with dice rolls. Also be prepared to engage in some friendly “co-opetition” (WizKids, I know you’re not responsible for this horrible chimera of a word, so just tell me who you learned it from so I can hurt them). Over the course of the game, you’ll accumulate Influence for defeating enemies, and the player with the most Influence by the end is the big pants. Er, winner.
You will have to simultaneously cooperate with other players in order to repulse the Enemy and make sure you aren't being subverted and betrayed by those same players. Each turn presents a variety of choices. You'll have to weigh these carefully in order to become the dominant power in Anvalor.
As mentioned, there are six playable factions, each one coming with four different aspects to choose from. Each game will pit you against one of the three enemy factions, with difficulty scaling from a score of 1-4. It boasts 155,000 distinct scenario combinations, so there’s lots of content to chew through.
You can pick up The Rise & Fall of Anvalor at your Friendly Local Game Store.
