Infinite Armies--Review

        If there's going to be a revolution in the way we look at pdf gaming, Blacksburg Tactical Research Center (BTRC) is leading the charge.  It was my good fortune (and you'll see why) to review an advance copy of Infinite Armies (or iA), the new customizable card game set to debut roughly two weeks before Gen Con '05.

        To be sure, the idea (if sadly, not generally the practice) of low-cost/high-yield pdf gaming is nothing new; Politically Incorrect's line of custom fantasy minis shows this.  Yet, for the card genre, iA takes the concept one step farther and gives us a fully (and boy, do I mean fully) customizable card game that's easy to learn and a blast to design and play.

        iA is, as mentioned, a pdf product.  (You'll need Acrobat Reader 5+ for this game).  Your standard page for iA is a sheet of cards, with picture and stat blocks therein.  Each section--picture, stat blocks, titles--is fitted with a java engine that makes changing any element of the card a snap.  Now, iA comes with a nice little selection of images and skins, but the big draw is customizing your deck.  Within minutes, I had changed the generic default infantry card into a German Panzer unit, using a fantastic black & white photograph I found online.

        (NOTE:  BTRC specifically requests that when using images for iA, you specifically stay away from copyrighted material.  There are some wonderful public domain sites out there, just a Google search away).

        What the heck, I thought, I'll run an Axis/Allied motif, and within 45 minutes, I had assembled an army to strike fear into the hearts of Free Europe.  My friend Ray then came over, and within roughly the same time frame, he had created an Allied army to oppose mine.  It was time for our Shermans, Tigers, and assorted cannon fodder to square off.

        At this point, we dutifully printed out the cards we had created on regular paper.  We put them in some old card sleeves Ray had scrounged up, and I'd  highly recommend folks out there do the same .

        Combat resolution is fun, and is based on sort of a modified rock/scissors/paper concept.  Some units are weaker against other types and stronger against others.  However, it is scaled so that your poor infantry won't croak every single time they face a superior unit--varying firepower and a combination of symbols ensure that.  Combat can range from short-range to long-range and indirect.  Concepts such as mobility and toughness are also taken into account.  Of course, with any unit you create, you can either go with the default values for these or specialize your unit in any way you see fit.  As I said, completely customizable.  All in all, not a complex combat system, but definitely one that works without any major hiccups.

        To go over combat  and play basics for a moment:  a standard army (which, by all means, you can play with less)  is 54 cards.  One card is to be your Staging Area, three are terrain, 45 consist of your main force, and you hold five in reserve.  Your deck will consist of your army and terrain cards, and the area where the game will take place is referred to as the Play Area.  The Play Area consists of Zones--imagine a simple diamond shaped layout with avaiable slots of cards going from 1 pssible card slot, the next line having 3 slots, the next 2 having 5 slots, and back down again to 3 and then 1.  Between each of these possible slots for a card, movement can be taken either up, down, or diagonally.  From your staging area each turn, more of your combat units will roar into battle.  Terrain can be placed to modify available avenues and board mobility to pass through a certain zone, and can either be placed by a player at the start of the game or by an Engineering unit.

        As I was gently reminded, however, the goal with the full 54 cards (or 600 points) is to make your opponent run out of cards.  Ray and I, however, were too busy reverting back to our 12-year old days, artfully describing how his 88s were picking apart the 101st Airborne to worry too much about it.  But for a full game, you will want the 54-card rules followed.

        Point values can also figure in depending on the type of unit employed, but this is hardly a core requirement.  Ray and I simply picked a dozen units each and proceeded to do battle.  Our fight took about 15 minutes, but I could just as easily envision a more drawn-out battle incorporating the aforementioned 54 units.

        I think one of the best features about Infinite Armies was the fact that after we finished our game, we were ready to create entirely new armies!  Ray wanted to do a giant Civil War theme, whereas I leaned towards a WW I design.  The thing was, we could have designed a Post-Apocalyptic force with the same amount of ease as we could have rehashed the Zulu Wars.

        The aspect of this game I want to make the most clear is that ultimately, everything is customizable regarding these cards, while at the same time retaining ease of use and clarity of rules.  Everything.  Titles, stats, name, images--the java engines do it all (well, you need to give your imagination some credit, too).

        The verdict?  Infinite Armies should be a hit at this year's Gen Con (if you can't wait until GC, I'm hearing an August 7 release date at RPGnow). iA takes the term "customizable" and turns it on it's ear.  So long as you have iA, a printer, paper, and an idea, you'll have as many different games as your brain can envision.  iA gets a 5d6/5d6, 5 stars, a 100% with a smiley face, take your pick.  The world of pdf gaming could learn a few things from BTRC and Infinite Armies.

        You can view the free demo for iA right here.

Comments

[Ruddger]

Now this I have to get in on. I'm thinking an entire re-enactment of Gettysburg :)

[Will]

Too cool. Especially since I'm on a budget!