This weekend I had a chance to play a prototype version of new <PERSON> game - The Witches, based on the Discworld environment by Sir <PERSON>.
At the outset I need to state that I am already a huge fan of <PERSON> and own every one of his novels, mostly hardcover first editions, a lot of them signed by the author. Therefore, I'm always going to be predisposed to anything in the Discworld realm, so when an opportunity to play this game at the Sydney Toy and Game Expo (and to talk to <PERSON>), I leapt at it. Being a fan of co-ops, this game was already likely to tick several boxes for me right from the outset.
The Game
The Witches is the second in a series of three <PERSON> published under license granted <PERSON>. Discworld: Ankh-Morporkis the first game in the series. A third game is in development, due for publication in 2014, I believe. I had a chance to discuss the third game with <PERSON> directly but it is not my place to divulge any details until <PERSON> is prepared to announce himself. That said the third game definitely maintains the Discworld theme and storyline.
The Witches is largely a co-operative game for 1-4 players that plays in around 60 mins. The game can also be played competitively but still requires a degree of co-operation to succeed against the game.
Aimed squarely at the family market, the game is much lighter than Discworld: Ankh-Morporkand has a gentler feel to it. As a gateway game, I can see this being a real winner for the simplicity of design, theme and artwork. Meshing into the massive Discworld sub-culture should guarantee a wide distribution.
Overview
Players are trainee witches, learning their craft and dealing with local problems in the magically charged land of Lancre. Each of the witches has a unique ability that helps them do their job and the game allows them the develop and compete with each other as they undertake various tasks - enabling them to face greater challenges like the frightening elves and Vampires. Most tasks are completed alone, but a helping hand from other players is often required to keep crises from worsening, making the game harder for everyone. All the humour of the <PERSON> novels is there - healing a sick pig, treating a fevered child, dealing with a pregnancy or with a Death, and meeting to have a cup of tea to support your colleagues resolve shared crises. 504
All the major witch characters are included; <PERSON>, <PERSON> and <PERSON>, as well as a rich supporting cast of familiar faces from the Discworld series, each of whom lend a hand along the way, using Headology (common sense) and Magic (if you can't avoid it). Not knowing the characters or the Discworld setting does not diminish overall game itself because the game is enjoyable to play, but being familiar with those characters adds so much more flavour to the game.
Components
Although the board was merely a paper paste-up, the artwork was definitely 100% complete and is utterly gorgeous. The board is a map of the Lancre region, situated in the mountainous terrain of the Ramtops. The main geographic towns and regions are described well and you really get a feel of the countryside. Initially, locating some of the towns and landmarks on the map is difficult due to the detail on board, but once familiar, this is likely to be less of a problem.
The cards also use original Discworld art and are lovely. Each card serves multiple purposes as characters, locations, skills and special bonuses.
Dice are solid and straight forward 2-6 with one side having a witches hat symbolising a "cackle". Accumulate too many cackles and you progress toward the dark side (becoming a bad witch like <PERSON>), which deducts from your overall score.
Tokens are solid and fairly easy to differentiate and the art fully supports the game play. Green tokens are easier problems and purple are more difficult tasks you need to complete. Crisis tokens (-2 difficulty for a problem) and cackle tokens complete the set.
Setup
Initial problems are seeded around the board to start and the problem tokens are placed in a distribution section of the board to accommodate the number of players. These tokens will populate the board with challenges and problems you must complete to win. Green tokens (easier) are face-up, purple tokens (harder) face-down, so you don't know which difficult ones are coming-up. Once all the tokens have been exhausted (after 8 rounds) the game ends and the winner declared.
The cards are shuffled and drawn. The location on the card used populate problem locations.
Game Play
Your aim will be to collect the most victory points throughout the game. 755