The Battle for Wesnoth

K. Fields
2021-02-19T15:28:02-05:00
Video Games

Several years ago, I played Fantasy General and it was my favorite game of the year. I found a spiritual successor in The Battle for Wesnoth. I've put in over 50 hours with it so far and it has become another favorite of mine. Like Fantasy General it is turn-based, which I usually prefer for strategy games. In version 1.14.15, there are 17 different fantasy campaigns available. They vary by difficulty and length. I started with A Tale of Two Brothers, a short (4 scenarios) campaign for first-time players. Next I tackled Heir to the Throne, which is the game's original campaign. It was longer (two dozen scenarios) and more difficult but not frustratingly so.

Battle for Wesnoth plays like a board game or tabletop wargame with hex maps. At first, the strategy seemed simple and straightforward. As I progressed, however, I learned discovered more depth to it. There is a nice variety of units from various races: humans, dwarves, elves, merfolk, orcs, undead, and many others. Some are melee-focused while others focus on ranged weapons or magical attacks. Units have alignment, specialties, traits, and abilities. They differ in types of damage (blade, impact, pierce, etc.) and defensive bonuses according to terrain. Beyond optimizing your battle tactics, there is also strategy in efficiently spending gold to recruit an army with an effective mix of units. Units earn experience from battle and can level up. As you can recall units from previous scenarios, it is always depressing to lose a veteran unit that has been with you for a while.

The primary protagonist of Heir to the Throne is Konrad, the last surviving nephew of the late King Garard II. He opposes the rule of Asheviere the Dark Queen. Along the way, Konrad receives support from legendary archmage Delfador the Great, Elvish High Lord Kalenz, and the queen's daughter Li'sar. As expected, the story builds up to a climactic battle between the forces of Konrad and Asheviere.

For a free open-source game, I enjoyed The Battle for Wesnoth as much as any commercial game.

Konrad