This is the fourth part of my review of Steve Barber's Prehistoric Settlement game. This review covers the second expansion set, Out of the Wilderness.
The expansion booklet is the same size as the basic rulebook and the first expansion -- 5"x8", with a color cover and stapled in the center. The book is 20 pages long and the interior is all black and white. Like the other books, it contains an index on the last page which is very helpful.
This expansion introduces ten new figures. On the animal side, there is a cave bear which is a tougher opponent than a saber-toothed tiger. Two other predators include a Tasmanian wolf ( a lightweight, but they travel in packs ) and poisonous snakes. There are four new herbivores that can be hunted -- a diprotodon, glyptodon ( which looks like a mammalian ankylosaur ) , a macrauchenia, and a megaloceros. Only the latter is any real threat when hunted as it has a good melee score and multiple attacks.
The new human figures add completely new dimensions to game play. First there is a shaman who has magical powers ( more on that later ) , but only appears in the game after a burial mound or temple has been built ( more on that later, too ) . Associated with the shaman is the "captive". The rules now allow enemy figures to be captured instead of killed; such captives are represented by an appropriate prisoner model that can be used for a variety of things by the captor. And the final new figure is a slinger. In the basic game, missile troops are at a premium, requiring both flint and food to construct. The slinger gives a missile capability comparable to a spearman but without the melee capability but at no cost in flint. So, even those settlements that are short on flint now have some kind of affordable ranged combat capability.
The expansion introduces cannibalism as a source of food. This is one of the things that the "captive" figure is used for. It isn't a huge source nor a regular source but it can serve to tide the tribe over during hard times.
The most interesting addition to the rules is shamanistic magic. There are no battlefield spells here, though. All of the spells focus on improving the harvesting of resources or healing damage, again showing the emphasis the game places on logistics. Only five spells are available and only one spell can be cast per turn. One of the interesting spells is Fire -- the ability to produce a burning fire. It isn't used as a weapon but rather to ignite something like a campfire. Strategically placed fires will prevent animal stampedes from wrecking the settlement or predators from attacking the village. Spells are generally automatic but have a limited number of uses. The player is required to expend food, flint, and sometimes human sacrifices in order to cast a particular spell. But the value received is generally worth it -- doubling the output of mines, the productivity of tents, etc. There is a catch, though; a tribe can only ever have one shaman; if he dies, he cannot be replaced.
And that leads into the creation of the shaman himself and changes to game play. First, the shaman is free ( no resource cost ) when a temple or burial mound is built. In the basic game, when the mound or temple is built, the game is over. Not so with this expansion. In fact, the expansion recommends starting with all buildings built and a core force already in place. The shaman is then available immediately. And this change puts the game squarely into a logistics mode moreso than a combat mode. With all the buildings already built, most of the tribe's activity will now center around combat rather than building up the settlement. Given the ebb and flow that battle takes ( as I described in an earlier review ) , having a sound logistics base is critical in order to keep combat going. And there is now no game-ending event like building the mound or temple is in the basic game. I think most players will be much more familiar with playing this way although the logistics is still the most important part of the game.
The expansion contains new encounter charts to account for the new creatures. It also includes a table of figure maximums; for example, a tribe can only have 4 archers in play at a time. In the games we've played, we haven't come close to the maximums yet. Given how the author encourages customizing the game, I think we'll end up ignoring the maximums.
There is now a page of rules governing "army" battles. It lists the points costs for the different figures, maximum number of units of each type, etc. If you were counting the number of new figures ( above ) , here is where the tenth one comes in: the standard bearer. He is of value only in the army battle game and is used in a unique way. Instead of conferring a bonus or having a command radius, the standard is the army's rallying point; when a unit breaks, it retreats toward the standard. In my mind, that is an interesting and excellent use of a standard for this sophistication of combat. And mentioning sophistication, remember that the game is oriented around logistics. At the army battle level, that is irrelevant; the army battle stands alone. I think that most experienced gamers will find this part, though, to be unsatisfying as it is, literally, too primitive: roll to hit, if successful, the target dies. Everything is IGOUGO, although you could change that very easily. The simplicity of the combat system feels exactly right when playing the skirmish-style combat that results from the economic game but is probably too simple at the unit battle level. On the other hand, it is something that is easily grasped by non-wargamers and, like the game itself, can be used to attract new players.
The author devotes a couple of paragraphs to suggestions for scenarios and game alterations. He mentions Trade and Amazons, both of which we'll probably add to our game.
One of the aspects of play that is not mentioned in the rules but many wargamers think about is campaign play. We haven't actually tried that yet, but I think it could work very well. What matters is not so much the actual placement of "things" on the board as the amount of "things" available. I can easily see, at the end of the evening, toting up the amount of accumulated resources, buildings, and figures that each player has and then, next time, starting with those numbers again, but randomly placed as one would during the initial placement at the start of the game. In that regard, I think the game has, not only replay value, but continued play ( campaign ) value.
One thing I need to mention: although I've noted that this expansion introduces new figures, no figures are included with the expansion ( which is just the rule booklet ) . The only thing that contains figures is the basic boxed set ( see previous review for contents ) .
All in all, Out of the Wilderness is an interesting and challenging expansion to add to the Prehistoric Settlement game, with or without the first expansion, The Savage Seas. We are currently using both in conjunction with the basic rules and producing very satisfying games. I introduced one person to the game, and he immediately came back for a second, and then a third. In the third game, we introduced another player and he is equally eager to come back for another round.
Again, I cannot speak highly enough of this game as it offers sufficient combat to satisfy the wargamer's bloodthirstiness. Yet the challenges of the game are completely different than what we gamers usually experience. It is of value in introducing non-gamers to the miniatures world because of its simplicity and elegance. And it has enormous replay and campaign play value. The rules contain just what you need to play and are as simple as the period they cover while still being subtle ( hint: turn sequence is really important; be sure to have a good handle on it ) . And the models are very serviceable, with sufficient detail to depict exactly what they are ( my personal favorite is the shore fisherman with the flopping fish on the point of his spear ) .
Value for the cash outlay is good, although a bit on the high side. But that is attributable to the exchange rate right now. Nevertheless, even at that rate, I've still got a buying plan laid out for the next four months for additions to the game, and I'm painting figures as quickly as I can ( even put my DBM stuff on hold for the time being ) .
The game, models, and expansions can be had, in the US, from RLBPS at rlbps.com.
All the components can be seen on Steve Barber's website at link
My previous reviews can be seen at:
TMP link ( June 30 )
TMP link ( June 15 )
TMP link ( June 11 )
If anyone would like more information about gameplay itself, I'd be glad to do another review ( or a battle report, if you will ) .
experiments with 3Dprinting tiles.
