Battle Masters
Encyclopedia
Battle Masters is a board game
by Milton Bradley
made in collaboration with Games Workshop
in 1992
. It is a game that simulates the type of battles as seen in Warhammer Fantasy Battle
, but with much simpler game mechanics not based on its parent game. The game, like its sibling Milton Bradley/Games Workshop partnerships HeroQuest
and Space Crusade
, was designed by Stephen Baker, who later went on to design the popular game Heroscape
.
In Germany
it is called Die Claymore-Saga, in France
Seigneurs de guerre and in the Netherlands
Ridderstrijd.
, against the forces of evil, or Chaos, which is a combined army including forces from the Chaos
and Orcs and Goblins armies of the Warhammer Fantasy setting including creatures such as Ogres
.
The game is played on a large vinyl
mat which is painted to look like a battle field with large, almost 8 inch, hexes superimposed on it. A large number of plastic miniatures
included in the game are similar in size and style to the Warhammer miniatures produced by Games Workshop. However, instead of individual bases they are designed to be mounted on unit bases of 5 infantry or 3 cavalry miniatures.
The figures are all unpainted so they are ready for players to decorate any way they wish. Some decals are included that are ready to be used out of the box on the figures. The decals mostly go on the shields of the various units. The miniatures were used by budget-minded gamers for other games as mass production meant they were significantly cheaper than equivalent miniatures.
The miniature units and a few terrain pieces are placed on the vinyl mat based on the setup described in the scenarios booklet.
The game play goes through a series of turns by drawing cards. When a card is drawn the unit or units whose picture(s) is on the card is allowed to first move and then attack (with the exception of archers, crossbowmen and the mighty cannon, who may move or attack). In some instances the card may show multiple units in which case all of those units may move and attack. Two special units exist with unique movement/attack rules, the Ogre Champion (Chaos) and the Mighty Cannon (Empire). They are also mounted as individuals on the unit bases.
The other mounted forces of Chaos are Wolf Riders (2 units). The player gets two wolf rider units. They are extremely weak in combat, but can move quickly. They are most commonly pictured unit in the chaos cards, and their special cards lets them move two spaces instead of one.
When an Ogre Champion (1 unit) card is played the six ogre cards (three saying ogre moves and three saying ogre attacks) are shuffled and drawn one at a time. The ogre must then move in the order of the cards (i.e. if the cards are in the order moves, moves, attacks, moves, attacks, attacks) then the ogre champion must move and attack in that order, but can always choose not to take the action. For every wound the ogre takes, he draws one less card. The ogre champion has 6 hit points, while all other units have only 3.
The second group of mounted units is the Imperial Knights, though they are not quite as powerful as the attack with 4 dice. They also have a special charge card that allows them an extra attack, they make up 3 units of the imperial army.
Men-at-Arms
are the rank and file infantry of the Imperial Army, they roll 3 dice in combat and make up 3 units of the army.
Imperial Crossbowmen are a unit type unique to the Imperial Army. They function the same as archers, as they can only move or attack. However, their range is three spaces instead of two, they make up one unit of the imperial army.
Imperial Archers can either move or attack but not both like other units. They are unaffected by ditches and have a range of two spaces, they make up two units of the imperial army.
The Mighty Cannon also moves and attacks differently than other units. The player who is the empire selects a target (the closer the better) and places the pieces at random between the cannon and the selected target. The cannon tiles are then flipped over if it shows a cannon ball flying, move to the next unit, if it shows a cannon ball bouncing the unit on that square takes one skull token (the wound system for the game) and continues to the next tile. If it shows an explosion the unit is destroyed and the cannon's turn has ended. In the event that an explosion happens right next to the cannon it is a misfire; another cannon tile must be placed on the cannon and its effect applied, it makes up one army of the imperial army.
Imperial knights
Lords of chaos
The *Imperial Lords and *Chaos Lords are new units although they're the same as the Lord Knights and Champions of Chaos units, respectively, except that they take only one hit to kill instead of three. The game also introduced a points system, which was designed to calculate a winner if the game needed to be finished early, somewhat similar to chess. The points for each kill given to the opposing team were:
Imperial Army
Chaos Army
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
by Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
made in collaboration with Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
in 1992
1992 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1992. For video and console games, see 1992 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1992:* Spiel des Jahres: Um Reifenbreite...
. It is a game that simulates the type of battles as seen in Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop. It is the origin of the Warhammer Fantasy setting....
, but with much simpler game mechanics not based on its parent game. The game, like its sibling Milton Bradley/Games Workshop partnerships HeroQuest
HeroQuest (board game)
HeroQuest, sometimes also written as Hero Quest, is an adventure board game that was created by Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company Games Workshop and set in the latter's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, as shown by a map of the Warhammer 'Old World' being printed on the...
and Space Crusade
Space Crusade
Space Crusade is an adventure board game produced by Milton Bradley in conjunction with Games Workshop and was first made in 1990. While produced in the UK and available in some other countries including Finland, Ireland, France, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand, it was never sold in North America...
, was designed by Stephen Baker, who later went on to design the popular game Heroscape
Heroscape
Heroscape is an expandable turn-based miniature wargaming system originally manufactured by Milton Bradley Company, then shifted to Wizards of the Coast, both subsidiaries of Hasbro, Inc., and discontinued by Hasbro in November 2010...
.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
it is called Die Claymore-Saga, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Seigneurs de guerre and in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Ridderstrijd.
Gameplay
Battle Masters focuses on a battle between the forces of good, or The EmpireThe Empire (Warhammer)
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, The Empire is one of the human political factions and armies, and is featured in many games and novels. In terms of location, language, culture, and society, it bears a strong resemblance to the Holy Roman Empire...
, against the forces of evil, or Chaos, which is a combined army including forces from the Chaos
Chaos (Warhammer)
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes, Chaos refers to the often stereotypically malevolent entities which live in a different timespace, known as the Warp in Warhammer 40,000 and as the Realm of Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy...
and Orcs and Goblins armies of the Warhammer Fantasy setting including creatures such as Ogres
Ogre (Warhammer)
An Ogre is a large humanoid creature in the Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe. They are based on the ogres of mythology.Prior to the release in 2005 of Warhammer Armies: Ogre Kingdoms for Warhammer Fantasy Battles tabletop game Ogres appeared only as mercenaries or Auxiliaries to other armies...
.
The game is played on a large vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
mat which is painted to look like a battle field with large, almost 8 inch, hexes superimposed on it. A large number of plastic miniatures
Miniature figure
A miniature figure is a small-scale representation of a historical or mythological entity used in miniature wargames, role-playing games, and dioramas. Miniature figures are commonly made of metal, plastic, or paper...
included in the game are similar in size and style to the Warhammer miniatures produced by Games Workshop. However, instead of individual bases they are designed to be mounted on unit bases of 5 infantry or 3 cavalry miniatures.
The figures are all unpainted so they are ready for players to decorate any way they wish. Some decals are included that are ready to be used out of the box on the figures. The decals mostly go on the shields of the various units. The miniatures were used by budget-minded gamers for other games as mass production meant they were significantly cheaper than equivalent miniatures.
The miniature units and a few terrain pieces are placed on the vinyl mat based on the setup described in the scenarios booklet.
The game play goes through a series of turns by drawing cards. When a card is drawn the unit or units whose picture(s) is on the card is allowed to first move and then attack (with the exception of archers, crossbowmen and the mighty cannon, who may move or attack). In some instances the card may show multiple units in which case all of those units may move and attack. Two special units exist with unique movement/attack rules, the Ogre Champion (Chaos) and the Mighty Cannon (Empire). They are also mounted as individuals on the unit bases.
Chaos
The Champions of Chaos (1 unit) unit is the Chaos general, Gorefist, himself. It is the main cavalry of the Chaos forces. It has the highest dice rating and its special card is a Charge, where it can roll one extra die.The other mounted forces of Chaos are Wolf Riders (2 units). The player gets two wolf rider units. They are extremely weak in combat, but can move quickly. They are most commonly pictured unit in the chaos cards, and their special cards lets them move two spaces instead of one.
When an Ogre Champion (1 unit) card is played the six ogre cards (three saying ogre moves and three saying ogre attacks) are shuffled and drawn one at a time. The ogre must then move in the order of the cards (i.e. if the cards are in the order moves, moves, attacks, moves, attacks, attacks) then the ogre champion must move and attack in that order, but can always choose not to take the action. For every wound the ogre takes, he draws one less card. The ogre champion has 6 hit points, while all other units have only 3.
- Chaos Archers (2 units) are the only ranged units in the Chaos Army. They can only attack or move and they are unaffected by ditches.
- Chaos Warriors (2 units) are powerful infantry for the chaos army. They can roll combat dice of four, where most infantry can attack with only three.
- Orcs (2 units) are standard infantry for the chaos army. They roll three dice in combat.
- Beastment (2 units) are standard infantry for the chaos army, they are identical to orcs in all but the model used.
- Goblins (2 units) are weak infantry for the chaos army. They roll two dice in combat
Imperial Army
The Lord Knights unit is the equivalent to the Champions of Chaos. They have five attack dice, plus they their own Charge card, and one that they share with the Imperial Knights, they make up 1 unit of the imperial army.The second group of mounted units is the Imperial Knights, though they are not quite as powerful as the attack with 4 dice. They also have a special charge card that allows them an extra attack, they make up 3 units of the imperial army.
Men-at-Arms
Man-at-arms
Man-at-arms was a term used from the High Medieval to Renaissance periods to describe a soldier, almost always a professional warrior in the sense of being well-trained in the use of arms, who served as a fully armoured heavy cavalryman...
are the rank and file infantry of the Imperial Army, they roll 3 dice in combat and make up 3 units of the army.
Imperial Crossbowmen are a unit type unique to the Imperial Army. They function the same as archers, as they can only move or attack. However, their range is three spaces instead of two, they make up one unit of the imperial army.
Imperial Archers can either move or attack but not both like other units. They are unaffected by ditches and have a range of two spaces, they make up two units of the imperial army.
The Mighty Cannon also moves and attacks differently than other units. The player who is the empire selects a target (the closer the better) and places the pieces at random between the cannon and the selected target. The cannon tiles are then flipped over if it shows a cannon ball flying, move to the next unit, if it shows a cannon ball bouncing the unit on that square takes one skull token (the wound system for the game) and continues to the next tile. If it shows an explosion the unit is destroyed and the cannon's turn has ended. In the event that an explosion happens right next to the cannon it is a misfire; another cannon tile must be placed on the cannon and its effect applied, it makes up one army of the imperial army.
Terrain
There are several obstacles and markers the players can add to the board to change the layout of the battlefield. Tiles that can be included are marshes, ditches, extra river fords. The tower can also be added on most game spaces to be used as an added bonus to the army that controls it.Expansions
Two expansion packs were released for the game Imperial Knights & Lords of Chaos which were meant to be used as reinforcements, however no new playing cards were introduced meaning these were moved using existing cards, the extra units were:Imperial knights
- 1 unit of Imperial Lords*
- 1 unit of Imperial Knights
- 1 unit of Men-At-Arms
- 2 units of Archers
- 1 unit of Crossbow men
- 1 extra mighty cannon unit
Lords of chaos
- 2 units of Chaos Lords*
- 5 units of Beastmen
- 2 extra Ogre units
The *Imperial Lords and *Chaos Lords are new units although they're the same as the Lord Knights and Champions of Chaos units, respectively, except that they take only one hit to kill instead of three. The game also introduced a points system, which was designed to calculate a winner if the game needed to be finished early, somewhat similar to chess. The points for each kill given to the opposing team were:
Imperial Army
- Mighty Cannon 10pts
- Lord Knights 9pts
- Imperial Lords 8pts
- Imperial Knights 8pts
- Archers 6pts
- Crossbows 5pts
- Men-At-Arms 4pts
Chaos Army
- Champions of Chaos 9pts
- Chaos Lords 8pts
- Ogre 8pts
- Wolf Riders 5pts
- Chaos Warriors 5pts
- Orc 5pts
- Beastmen 4pts
- Goblin 4pts
- Archers 4pts