A War of Whispers - RFY / WFY
I first reviewed A War of Whispers in early 2020, long before I started quacking on this website.
The innovative strategy game from Jeremy Stoltzfus and Starling Games did a lot of interesting things, but it suffered from some visual design flaws that might keep some players from fully enjoying what was present.
Since then there have been a couple of different campaigns—introducing new cards for the Empire decks and revamping the production—and the Collector’s 2nd Edition is the best representation of what A War of Whispers is trying to achieve.
With upgraded components, a visually reskinned map, and more variable card options than before, the war has become more pronounced and the whispering more subtle.
Let the game of behind-the-thrones begin.
Overview
Review copy provided by the publisher
A competitive clash for two to four players, A War of Whispers takes a page from the book of area control strategy games, truncates that page into a much smaller one, and then takes players’ allegiances to different factions and hides them in a magic hat.
With empires at war, loyalties are malleable, army movements may be misdirection, and some kingdoms might not survive the torrid conflict. These empires are not controlled by players, though. Those sitting around the table act as spymasters, cult leaders, politicians, and puppetmasters who attempt to manipulate the direction of the war and create a window of opportunity for the kingdoms with whom they are allied.
It’s a game of unknowns. A clash of (puppet) strings. A storm of accords. A feast for those that depose. A dance with wagons (full of supplies for the right army). The winds of… who are we kidding, that other book may never be published. Sigh.
But that’s all you need to know to get started in A War of Whispers.
Theme
War is glorified in many games, stories, and historical accounts. Humans (men?) are seemingly obsessed with the subject, but it’s almost always considered in a close-up fashion. The soldiers who go through hell together—Band of Brothers. The life of the general who inspires the people—Gladiator. The singular hero that becomes a legend—Troy.
But there aren’t many narratives that focus on who makes the decisions in far-flung places with no direct skin in the game. Who are these mysterious individuals that topple kingdoms at a whim?
That’s the question that A War of Whispers answers. In this medieval world, there are empires vying for land and control. Cities will be taken. Fortifications will be conquered. And the ability to resist will be slowly worn away in some regions. But no matter who loses on the field, no one around the table really loses. They aren’t slaughtered in an attack. They aren’t subjugated under new rulers. Every one of these influencers wins; it’s just the degree of difference between them that determines who came out on top.
It’s an unusual kind of war. One of backing the right empires. Making the right moves. And betraying your allies at the right moment, if needed.
Accessibility
In earlier versions of A War of Whispers, I would have mentioned how the design hampers accessibility given the frustration associated with identifying the cities, towers, and supply icons on the map, as well as clear borders between some of the regions.
However, in the Collector’s 2nd Edition, all of those component and design weaknesses have been addressed and resolved, for the most part. The cities, towers, and supply pieces are all plastic and elevate from the board, fixing the issue where players couldn’t see those icons and didn’t factor them into their tactical decisions. The first iteration of the banner minis has been replaced with more durable pieces that won’t break as easily and the throne minis that replace the agent tokens give all players an understanding of who will be controlling empire actions at a glance. Colored borders between the empires more clearly delineate who controls which region. And a 3D hourglass mini helps keep track of what empire action is active for all players around the table.
These may seem small when considered on an individual basis, but they created a larger design blindspot that made earlier editions of the game frustrating for reasons that had nothing to do with gameplay. With the newest edition of the game, those problems have been removed and the gameplay is left to shine on its own.
And speaking of gameplay, one of the core mechanisms of A War of Whispers might appeal to players who typically avoid conflict-heavy area control strategy games. Because players act as the wizards behind the curtain, so to speak, there is no player elimination. If an empire is squashed, it doesn’t ruin a player’s chances of winning necessarily. It may force them to adapt or to switch allegiances, but it doesn’t remove them from the equation. So there isn’t the sinking feeling of having committed multiple hours to a game only to be cast out like flotsam when your position crumbles and strategy falters.
It’s forgiving in a way that doesn’t make you think that the game is helping you. It’s a different approach to the same kind of strategy games. And it works.
Gameplay
There are two layers to the gameplay. The first, action selection, is split between the empires and results in one of three events—the growth of armies, offensive advances into enemy-controlled territory, and the collection of Empire cards. The second part of gameplay is in the combination and use of Empire cards, which is improved significantly once you incorporate the Treasure, Conquest, and Dark Alliance cards that were added since the initial release of the game.
Empire cards can be used to either augment an action that is taking place or creating an additional event outside of the main progression of actions along the rondel path.
The cards are what makes A War of Whispers more intriguing from a strategical standpoint as they create uncertainty among players and allow for surprising maneuvers and fluctuations in the status quo of the conflict. One player might make a lightning strike across the map to seize a city. Another player could massively increase the size of an invading force to push deep into an enemy region. There are a lot of possibilities. And it makes more engaging gameplay when the cards are used creatively.
Those innovative disruptions to the empire moshpit on the board can totally ruin a player’s strength in the allegiances they hold, which is why the power to change loyalties at the end of each round introduces another ripple in gameplay pond. When a player swaps two loyalties tokens, those are then permanently held in those new positions face-up, which informs everyone else of valuable intel.
A War of Whispers gets better as you play it. When people around the table start to recognize the strong combinations that can be made with Empire cards, otherwise normal actions become brutal swings one way or another and the battlefield can be tossed and turned multiple times in a round.
The only time that the gameplay may stagnate a little is when some players inexplicably have similar loyalties and force certain empires to be overwhelmed by a majority around the table. At that point, it becomes more a game of efficiency than clever back-and-forth tactics as players try to maximize their points with the particular order of allegiances they have set up.
Modes of Play
There aren’t any game variants for A War of Whispers that changes the experience from a competitive strategy game, though there is one advanced rule that can definitely change the way that some players focus in the second half of the game. Instead of assigning agents to action locations among the five empires, an agent can be placed on a map region and it will count as an extra city at the end of the game. It further incentivizes players to control those regions with the empires that they value most, as it can be the difference between winning and losing.
Innovation
There are several things in A War of Whispers that aren’t seen in many strategy games of this nature. Having a particular allegiance (or lack thereof) to every faction on the board creates a numerical value that players place on each empire. Helping one has a direct impact on the others in either a significant or mild way. That means players can decipher somewhat accurately which factions to have fight each other in order to benefit the most.
But it’s important to note that players can avoid devastating losses by switching allegiances to empire that other players are almost certainly backing, creating a safety net.
In the games I’ve played, the scores at the end are always pretty close. It’s in the subtle variations of loyalty order that the winner is determined.
Pricing
It’s hard to tell with games that fund on Kickstarter and aren’t as widely available in retail or at your friendly local game store.
The best option would likely be to find an online board game retailer that has it in stock, identify a third-party seller willing to part with the game, or wait for a potential Kickstarter campaign that is focused on a reprint or expansion of some sort.
It’s going to be trickier than other games for sure.
A War of Whispers is…
Right for You!
Check out what the community thinks on BoardGameGeek.
Learn more about other titles from Starling Games.
Check out what GloryHoundd has to say about in her recent discussion.