Coming to Kickstarter on June 8th, AracKhan Wars is a strategic card game based on the Arackhan fantasy setting. It’s designed by Bob Palmer and Mickaël Bour, with detailed artwork that brings to life the four distinct Provinces that compete in an epic battle on the table.

It’s a tactical skirmish game that relies on decks with point maximums, so players will have to devise the best strategy with the combinations they include in the 23-card deck.

There are some unique elements to this deck-dueling card game, though, so don’t assume anything with AracKhan Wars. This is a contest of the mind just as much as the sword.

And the player with the highest value at the end of the game will win.

Alex from BoardGameCo and I have a healthy competitive nature when it comes to the games that we play with each other, so it’s always satisfying to engage in a 1v1 struggle. Our Provinces battled and one came out on top (better luck next time, Alex), but along the way, what did AracKhan Wars do right?

What It Does

Four factions—Provinces of Arackhan—will clash on the battlefield. Two at a time, of course. It would get a little messy if everyone jumped in the fray all at once.

Players will decide what cards from the deck will appear in the game. 23 cards are chosen with a maximum point value of 125. That forces a limit on each player who must determine which cards are better suited for the fight at hand.

Then, over the course of nine rounds, opponents will alternate placing and activating units on the map. With group attacks, penetrating damage, ranged enemies, and tactical auras to exploit, there are a lot of possibilities for players to consider.

Realize, though, that this isn’t an incremental slog across the battlefield, inching forward into no man’s land before confronting the frontline of the enemy. It’s not a gradual push. It’s a heavy hammer blow right to the temple from the outset. AracKhan Wars encourages you to start the fight with a sword in hand rather than a salute to the enemy.

After all, manners are for those who aren’t going for the kill…

How It Does It

Instead of a standstill in the middle of the battlefield, the spatial arrangement of the conflict will morph like blood in the rain, pooling into different splotches of tense combat.

Why You Might Like It

Why You Might Not

Final Thoughts

AracKhan Wars has a lot going on that interests me. I played with a prototype copy, so I’d be interested to see how the final production copies and Kickstarter extras enhance the feel of the game and the longevity of play.

The spatial puzzle that originates from the central deployment mechanism definitely intrigues me as it opens up a lot of tactical nuances that don’t always exist in head-to-head card games.

And the factions, if balanced correctly, could really create a fun atmosphere for players to explore as they discover the strongest combinations betweens cards in the deck. The units, landmarks, and auras also contribute to the variability at play in combat.

As of now, I want to see more. I want to study the factions in-depth and see what other players are able to accomplish when testing out strategies with certain cards. The broad scope of tactical choices gives me hope that this could be a good medium-light card game to bring out when you want to bash in the head of your opponent. But their figurative head that’s manifested in the forms of fantasy creatures on the board in front of you. Not their real head…

If you want to check out AracKhan Wars, you can visit the website or read what the community thinks on BoardGameGeek.

Have you played a strategy card game like AracKhan Wars? What other tactical games do you like?

Let us know in the comments and give a recommendation for other games of which to share our first impressions.