Burrows and Badgers is a pretty good package. It’s a great game, with a brilliant miniature collection, powered by a family company that has recently launched its second edition. So, did it need a second edition? And did it need this second edition?
The answer to the first question is simple… absolutely. Over the last few years, the game has evolved massively. Not only have successive kickstarters swollen the miniature range but the creative minds behind the game have tried to breathe life into those miniatures in the game with more factions. This manifested an ever-increasing number of warband rules published in a number of journals that, along with some really fun random event tables, spread the rules far and wide.
Bringing all the factions, with a few minor changes, into one book was definitely needed. It makes life much easier to see what’s available and choose what you want. Whilst there are a couple of different ones I really want to try, like the mage faction, or the road wardens, I’ve decided to make a start with my beloved witch hunters. I’ve already written a bit about the faction in a previous blog, and my first couple of games have led to a few changes being made. The main change to my original line up was to remove three attack grubs because of the control tests that now need to be made which always seemed to fail at the worst moments. Although that has led to the inclusion of my mousketeer though, so now regrets there.
In game terms I think the biggest changes for me, has been that fate points are now assigned to individuals rather than pooled. I really like this, and it has completely changed the dynamic of their use. With Burrows and Badgers I’ve always found myself getting more attached to each warband member than in other skirmish games, where the focus is on just one or two models with the rest of the group being made up of interchangeable retainers and hirelings. So having to think about the fate points of each shrew or mouse builds a bit more personalisation. There’s also a fun mechanic when you roll a one in a roll off that get’s the brain working as well that can increase a creature’s fate points.
The other change that I’ve found fun is the introduction of random charges. It’s still possible to reliably get into combat in a turn, but the new approach builds in a bit of risk and reward decision around getting that all important combat modifier for a charge. The roll off mechanism has always kept combat interesting, this change adds to the fun.
However, it feels that the decision to go into combat in the first place has gotten a bit harder. This is due to changes in the way long term and serious injuries are assigned to combatants at the end of the game. The campaign system is my favourite of any game, and I’m really excited by the way it’s been expanded. Whilst the injury tables feel far more brutal that they were previously, new wandering tables that allow characters to explore between games to find riches, artifacts and adventures (not always to their benefit) enrich the post-game phase. To offset the added brutality of the injury tables there is now a pension system, making additional funds available to a warband to replace injured members.
The final thing I wanted to mention are the new scenarios and secret missions. It’s great to have a few more options for scenarios and the enhanced list of secret missions is brilliant. In the last game I played the scenario was to take ownership of a building at the centre of the table, however my opponent had a secret mission to set fire to buildings, which led to some fantastic drama in the central objective building as my fearless mousketeer parried the blows of a smoke intoxicated badger, whilst a racoon with a packet of matches and a wicked grin escaped from the flames. This sort of chaos is exactly what keeps me playing the game.
I love a new edition that builds on the success of its predecessor, and this one certainly does. I’m now wondering if it’s the right time to think about releasing the moles?
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