Playtest Mantic’s new Walking Dead game!

Since we launched The Walking Dead: All Out War back in 2016, it’s safe to say it’s been a massive success. Thousands of Walking Dead fans have been playing through the adventures of Rick, as he wakes up in the hospital before trying to find his family and then facing off against the likes of The Governor and Negan.

While All Out War focuses on narrative play in each of the expansions and gave players a claustrophobic tale of survival, with Wave Five came a change in the storyline. Following Wave Five, as Rick and the gang settle in Alexandria, the story becomes less of a struggle to exist and more of a battle for domination.

With that in mind, the focus switches from small expeditions to gather supplies to pitched gunfights against other survivors. Of course, the Walkers are still an ever-present threat but now the real conflict is between the well-armed Survivors. We wanted to mirror this change in the comic storyline by giving All Out War players the opportunity to play much bigger games with more survivors, more equipment and, of course, more Walkers.

Obviously we still love All Out War and will be releasing more narrative-based expansions down the line but, just like we did with Here’s Negan: The Board Game, this is a chance for us to explore a different part of The Walking Dead. And who doesn’t want the opportunity to get even more of their amazing miniatures on the tabletop?!

Welcome to The Walking Dead: March to War (name TBC)! Designed once again by the hugely talented Mark Latham. This new game allows you to recreate the struggle for survival in a lawless new world. Groups of Survivors must face each other in a desperate fight for resources, all the while trying not to attract the attention of roaming packs of Walkers.

The game is best played with two players taking on the role of rival Survivor groups, while the Walkers are controlled by an innovative AI system that directs them around the board, spelling trouble for both sides!

The aim of the game is to eliminate rival groups, whilst scouring the bleak landscape for vital supplies and objectives. Do this, and your group will thrive – unless the Walkers get you first!

FOLLOW THE LEADER!

One of the key concepts for March to War is the huge influence different leaders have on their group of Survivors. From the heroic Rick, to the tyrannical Governor, each leader has a different method of leading their gang into battle.

March to War is based around different groups (Atlanta Camp, Woodbury Army, Greene Family, Abraham’s Group, Tyreese’s Group, Prisoners, Marauders, Scavengers and The Hunters). Some of these are full factions, whereas others are smaller groups to ally together.

At the heart of each faction is the leader. Something totally new for March to War is the idea of Strategy Points! At the start of each turn your leader will generate Strategy Points that can be used to trigger special abilities or synergies between your gang members. It’s a really exciting new way to play The Walking Dead and we’re sure you’ll all start cooking up some lethal combinations!

GET INVOLVED

But enough talk, we want YOU to get involved with testing March to War. The game is due out later this year and we want to get some feedback on the playtest rules. You can download the rules from here and get a feel for how the game will play. The layout for the playtest document is extremely simple because we just want you to get to grips with the core gameplay, without getting distracted by lots of pretty pictures!

Please play some games and then email any feedback to [email protected] Make sure the subject of your email is ‘March to War feedback’ and give feedback in the following format:
• Factions played (please list survivors and any equipment taken)
• Scenario played
• Time taken
• Feedback

All those that provide useful playtest feedback will be listed in the upcoming March to War book! So you will be a part of The Walking Dead history. The cut off for playtest feedback is 22nd April, 2019. We hope you enjoy the game and stay tuned for more details about March to War as we approach the launch!