Quarriors! Rise of the Demons Review

So I'm a little behind on reviewing some new expansions and games, but when I saw this one came in I had to crack it open and check it out.  I was so excited to see Quarriors when I was at Gen Con that I had to pick it up then.  I had heard that there was going to be an expansion before the holidays, but I had not had a chance to grab it. 

Opening the small black and green box reveals a small rules insert.  The rules add-on to the game are fairly simple and are about half a sheet of paper.  Below that there are new dice and new cards.  There are 20 new dice and 19 new cards.  The new dice come in three different varieties, including a Corrupted Quiddity (10 dice), Demonic Overlord (5 dice), and Corruption Spell (5 dice).  The cards offer some fantastic new variants to old favorite creatures as well as some new to this set cards.  The old favorites from the original game are all "Corrupted" versions and use the original dice.  For the original monsters there 10 cards, and for the new Demonic Overlord there are 4 different cards.  The Corruption spell also has 4 different levels.  The most interesting card is the Corrupted Quiddity.   It is the first die to give you the chance to get a 0 for Quiddity on the roll... so you can roll and get nothing!

Well I'm looking forward to sitting down and playing this expansion with my play test group, as they are always up for a game! They loved the original and a chance to play with some new spells and monsters will get them excited to play again!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Quarriors the Dice Game by Wizkids

While out at Gen Con this year, I had the chance to try a new DICE building game so similar to all the great DECK building games called Quarriors by Wizkids! So let's open the box... or in this case the tin, and see what's inside.

Inside the box:

The first thing you notice with the collector's tin is that it is shaped like a die and has the markings on each side corresponding to the Dragon die in the game.  It is a very nice look, and I think will appeal to many players and collectors.  Once you open it up, you find 4 dice bags of different colors (Black, Blue, Green, and Red).  The dice bags are the same color as the tokens used per player to track victory points.  The next item is the rule book.  The rules are very straight forward and easy to understand, so easy in fact that my 8 year old was playing in no time!  Further down is the tracking card used for keeping track of victory points.  The victory points vary depending on the number of players; 12 for a 4 player game, 15 for a 3 play game, and 20 for a 2 player game. The tray below the rule book and tracking sheet contains the ability cards for the dice. There are 3 different types of cards; Basic, Spell, and Creature.  The cards represent different levels for the dice, so that they can make promo cards that will change the way the dice results are seen.  There is also a small area for the tracking cubes, again in matching colors to the dice bag.  The final thing in the tin are the dice! There 130 dice in 15 different varieties.  The dice correspond to the cards, and the cards represent different levels of the dice.

Playing the game:

So now that we have pulled apart the box, lets look at the game.  If you have played any of the deck building games, then you have an idea of how to play Quarriors... just think dice instead of cards.  You start the game with the 3 basic resource cards, 3 different spell cards, and 7 different creature cards.  Remember to shuffle the groups of cards separately so you can draw from each group.  Next have each player chose a color for their dice bag and victory point token.  Give each player 8 Quiddity Dice (the basic die), and 4 Assistant Dice.  This is your starting allocation of dice.  Each players turn will follow the same steps, so I'll detail one player from the beginning:

1. Score Creatures
2. Draw and Roll Dice (Remember to shuffle... shake the dice bag) (Draw 6 without looking)
3. Ready Spells and Summon Creatures (Optional)
4. Attack Your Rivals
5. Capture 1 Quarry Die from the Wilds (Optional)
6. Move Dice to Your Used Pile

So then all you have to do is pass your turn to the player on the left and repeat! One key rule, just like with the deck building games, you don't gather and reshuffle your dice until you need to draw a die and you can't.  You just wait until then and then pick them all up and put them back in the dice bag.  Continue playing until you reach the correct number of victory points.

So I've had a lot of fun playing this game so far, and I can't wait for it to become available... or is it??? We are hoping to get this great game in at the store, we are just waiting to learn about availability.  As it looks like they will have an expansion out this fall, I'd like to see both in the store soon.

I'd like to thank my little group of play testers... also know as Alex, Aiden, and Emily.  They were great, and really enjoyed the game! With and age range from 8 to 16, they picked up the rules and concept quickly, and ask to play the game frequently.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks