The Fantasy Trip: Melee pocket game

The Box is Bigger - is the Game Better?

Only time will tell - but it'll be a GOOD time!

Back cover shows it all quite nicely. It's an arena game, with historical / realism goals for man to man combat. Or...for the fantasy inclined Woman or Man or gargoyle or Giant combat!

The map is larger if not more substantial [unmounted heavy paper] but the counters are 1" and the thicker cardboard type instead of the heavy paper of the original - much easier to pick up.

My son and I put together some figures. We both picked ones we thought looked cool, then created a stat line and armed them - only hand weapons, shields and armor, no missiles. Harnulf on the right does have a Javelin that counts as a Pole Arm and can be thrown, which seems pretty versatile. Mr. Winkie picked "C" on left, thought of his name and armed hime with Rapier and Cloth Armor. 

Overall, Yun can inflict a bit more damage and hit more often, while Harnulf should last longer due to both his Strength and his Large Shield. The Elf is 2 hexes faster, which translates to 1 hex for the 1/2 Move you can use and still fight in Combat: move farther and you can't Attack.

Turn 1. Each fighter starts in his 4-hex "corner".

Turn 1. Elf wins Initiative [IN] and has Harnulf go first. He move 5 hexes out, a 1/2 Move, and can fight. This is stupid b/c he is fighting someone who moves faster and has the counter-move, but the repurcussions will be small...this time.

The Elf just goes straight at him [Mr. Winkie is feeling pretty blood-thirsty]. If he ran behind him, he would be on his Rear, BUT would have moved too far to fight. Both are now Engaged and are limited to a 0-1 Hex Shift each Turn unless they Disengage from the fight. They fight inconclusively.

I'm going to focus on IN and Movement to show the movement mechanics.

Turn 2. Elf wins and chooses to Move second so he can react to Harnulf's move. This is called a "Counter-Move" in some wargames.

 Harnulf Shifts left, hoping to get onto Yun's Side later.

 Yun isn't falling for that, and Shifts over to compensate.

Turn 3. Harnulf wins and has Yun move first.

Yun shifts onto Harnulf's left Side, a +2 to his adjusted Dexterity [DX]. Dexterity is adjusted down for Armor, Shields, and as a result of Combat. You must roll it or less to Hit in Combat, so it is the most important stat, IMHO.

Harnulf responds by a Shift left. Clearly, IN isn't going to make much of a difference with only two fighters involved, especially when you are Engaged with less Move options.

In Combat Yun goes first due to higher DX. Both hit but roll low on damage, so the Turn 3 state of things is that Yun has lost 3/9 Hits, and Harnulf 5/12. Still quite close!

Turn 4. Harnulf wins IN, but it's not going to matter much. They square off and have at it!

Turn 5, they are at 6/9 and 8/12 for Hits - identical 2/3 losses! As neither weapon does a lot of damage [1d6 for Rapier, 1d6-1 for Javelin] it's been a fight of attrition in which Harnulf has a slight edge with a few more Hits than Yun.

Turn 6 - 7. They peck away at each other, getting hits but low Damage rolls. Looks like 6/9 and 9/12. With 3 Hits left each, they are both -3 DX. A single lucky roll on either's part will end it, most likely. Odds are probably with Yun since he always strikes first with the higher adjusted DX of 11 v. 8.

Turn 8. With hitting getting pretty unlikely, and a desire to start again fresh, we call it a draw. They can shake hands and go have a brew in the pub where they'll be interviewed.


When interviewed after the bout by The Town Crier, Harnulf said: "Hey Yun's a great guy, and I really respect his race and his abilities. He may be a poncy, pointy-eared green-blooded creep in tight pants, but he's OUR poncy creep! He used his speed with that rapier to good effect, but had trouble getting past my large shield, a family heirloom with fortune in it. I see us being back in the Arena with some new tricks soon."

When similarly interviewed, Yun stated, "Harnulf has a savage energy, just what you'd expect from a human. He's a good fighter, but could use a bath."

Well, there you have it folks!  Some lessons learned:
- with 2 fighters, maneuvering isn't that important.
- light weapons make for good training and low-risk bouts.
- I dislike a weapon with a d6-1 penalty. I'll be shifting soon to at least a 1d6+1 or so unless the Pole Arm or throwing rules make a difference. With a 2 weapon restriction and a shield counting as a weapon, throwing one weapon doesn't seem like a great idea.

This was a good start to the game in our house. Mr. Winkie and I awarded some experience for the bout to each fighter, and I scribbled down a few ideas for our family pit-fighting league. Would like to see some of the locals try this game out soon!  It is sort of addictive to keep trying out different builds with your figures - different stats for Strength and Dexterity, trying to get the best level of damage and survivability, but you also need to hit so a low DX isn't that great.

The pdf is now FREE from Drive-thru RPG [CLICK]
or from SJG's Warehouse 23 [CLICK] and if you don't download it, I'd have to say "I pity the fool!"  At $15, the game is still a great deal with tons and tons of replay. I think to get proficient and deadly you'd have to play it 10-20 times at least.

Lots of info at BoardgameGeek [CLICK]

Overall, this is a 2-Thumbs Up reissue!