In the realm of epic fantasy, few names garner as much respect as Robert Jordan and The Wheel of Time. The beloved fantasy epic spanning 15 books follows Rand al’Thor, Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al’Vere, and Nynaeve al’Meara – young villagers from the Two Rivers whose fates are all woven into the fate of the very world itself. Now, the epic Final Battle is moving from your bookshelf to your tabletop with the upcoming War of the Dragon board game, currently on Kickstarter from Dire Wolf Games.
The War of the Dragon is a game for 2-4 players where you will play either as the forces of Light, working to prepare yourself for the final battle by gaining allies and strengthening yourself, or the forces of the Shadow, spreading corruption across the lands and working to bring the powerful Forsaken back to the world. Inside the box, you almost get two separate games: a shorter Heroes game variant that supports up to four players, and the grander Epic Mode, which is limited to two players but lets each player control armies rather than individual characters. Regardless of which version you play, both sides will play slightly differently from the other, providing an asymmetric experience that players can enjoy.
War of the Dragon is, at its core, a mix of area control and tableau building. Players will be competing to complete missions and expand their influence across the map, empowering their forces along the way, be it with individual heroes in Hero Mode or whole armies in Epic Mode. On your turn, players will pick from a host of different actions to help them in these endeavors, some of which include recruiting more allies to their player board for various effects, moving units around the board, empowering units that are out, and even manipulating the One Power and Weave itself to grant you benefits and help complete your mission.
Needless to say, there looks to be a lot to this game, so we wanted to go to the source to get a better idea of things. IGN had a chance to speak with Scott Martins, President of Dire Wolf Digital, and Andy Clautice, the Director of Design, to learn more about not only how the game plays but also where it fits into the larger Wheel of Time story.
The Dire Wolf Interview
IGN: Can you elaborate more on where the game takes place in the book timeline and why?
Andy: War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time starts in Book 4, The Shadow Rising,
when the heroes are spreading across the world after taking the fortress of the Stone of
Tear, and multiple Forsaken have been established as active. Taking the Stone of Tear at
the end of Book 3 kind of marks when the scale of the conflict really steps up to the level
that we use in the game, where the whole world is in play, and entire nations can be
affected by your actions. Although events from the earlier books are still referenced and
even given the chance to play out as if they were happening a bit later. The story we’re
reflecting here really is supposed to be a new turn of the Wheel, and a lot can happen
differently.
The game then carries through the entire rest of the series, to the end of the storyline at
The Last Battle. That conflict is the focal point for the characters themselves and all their
actions, all the preparations and maneuvers that lead up to it, and we wanted to match
that importance.
IGN: Does War of the Dragon include any elements from other Dire Wolf games?
Scott: Sure, but not directly. Mike (Mihealsick) and Ryan (Schoon) started the project
before Dire Wolf got involved on the design side, and it has a pretty different skeleton
from other games of ours.
Andy: There’s some tableau building and light character progression like in Invincible,
along with a deck of cards with special abilities, which is something you can see in
IGN: How much do rules and mechanics carry over between the Hero and Epic modes?
Will folks know how to play both games by learning one of them, or is War of the
Dragon functionally two different games in a single box?
Andy: The rules carry over pretty substantially between the two modes. Epic Mode adds
more systems to interact with, and it adds a much deeper battle experience, and all of
that goes on top of the basics that you learn in Hero Mode. They might feel like different
kinds of games because of the length and the depth, but the rules are very much shared.
We think of Hero Mode as the way to learn and explore some of what’s possible in the
game, and Epic Mode is where you can really dig in and see your strategies take shape.
IGN: How did War of the Dragon come about? Was it always planned to have these two
game modes?
Scott: The two modes weren’t always planned, but as we got further into development,
we knew that the deep strategy game we were making probably wasn’t going to be as
accessible as it could be to fans of The Wheel of Time who were less hard-core board
gamers. A game on the scale of Epic Mode is an experience! And not everyone is
necessarily ready to jump straight into the deep end. In exploring how we could offer a
better entry point, we took particular inspiration from the Character Game from SPI’s
classic 1977 War of the Ring board game, where you zoom in from the big epic conflict
to really focus on the heroes and villains at the center of it all. Having an experience
that’s easier to get into – or easier to fit into your schedule – lets more folks get in on the
fun.
As for how the whole thing came about, well, it was a lot of love and a bit of luck. Mike
and Ryan had been working on their project, we had been involved with the property,
and we fell together at the right time with the chance to actually execute.
IGN: In developing this game, are you working with or have consulted with Harriet
(McDougal) – Jordan’s wife and editor – or Brandon Sanderson at all? And if so, to
what extent?
Scott: We have not, but we’ve had the benefit of a great lore team and a collaborative
approvals process to make sure that our representation of The Wheel of Time is faithful,
thorough and exciting for fans.
IGN: Dire Wolf is a pretty big name in the board game space, with the likes of Dune:
Imperium, Clank!, and others and The Wheel of Time is a big name too. With that
all being the case, what was the decision to go the crowdfunding route for this
title instead of direct to retail / game stores? Is this Kickstarter serving more as a
pre-order or is it to get the game actually made?
Scott: For us, Kickstarter offers a great way to reach fans – particularly internationally –
and some valuable insights into what demand looks like in different parts of the world,
which helps us manage shipping logistics and keep costs down for everyone. For a lot
of publishers (including us), crowdfunding is an important way to build community and to
get early feedback from some of your most passionate fans; “dollars raised” is an
exciting benchmark, but it’s really only one of the considerations that go into the
decision to go the crowdfunding route.
IGN: Are there plans for a digital adaptation of War of the Dragon?
Scott: We’re pretty well-known for our digital board game adaptations, but War of the
Dragon is a tabletop-only project for now. We never say “never,” but at this stage, we’re
focused on delivering the physical game to Kickstarter backers.
IGN: Any chance we can get an expansion someday that sets the game during the
events of the Breaking of the World?
Andy: Ha, no promises! The Breaking would need its own entire map, since it changed
the world so much! But really, there are still pieces of the current-era story that we haven’t
touched on much, and we’d probably start with those. The Breaking might have to be a
totally different experience… Wait – you can’t distract us like that! We’ve still got this one
to finish!
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
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