Some of these big games with many moving parts can require your full concentration at all times, and some are good for providing structure to a social experience. The Witcher: Old World lands in my ideal middle ground. In The Witcher: Old World, you become a witcher — a professional monster slayer — and immerse yourself in the legendary universe of The Witcher franchise. In The Witcher: Old World, you become a witcher – a professional monster slayer – and immerse yourself in the legendary universe of The Witcher franchise. But, getting to read flavour text in a variety of funny voices in a group of friends is still fun, even if that flavour text drips with casual misogyny and racism.

There are some games you could play with anyone at any time. This is not one of those games. But, with the right group, you are in for such a good time. The Single-Player Experience It's also worth stating that the base game is available either with or without miniatures. These add considerable cost to the title, but foregoing the large monster figures does reduce some of the title’s visual presence and heft. As the fighting is the core experience of play, the plastic pieces add a sense of presence for the monsters that's otherwise missing.I have a profound bias to The Witcher universe having read and loved Sapkowski's novels and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt becoming my favourite game of all time, so naturally this game got me curious. In this competitive adventure board game, 2-5 players travel across a vast map, embarking on masterfully penned quests, encountering and making ambiguous moral choices, fighting monsters — and sometimes brawling with other witchers to defend their school's honor!

The Witcher Old World is a really good game. It’s not as difficult as it looks, there are a lot of funny moments, and while the turns are unwieldy and can take forever, it gives you an opportunity to socialise with the other people at the table. The first player to acquire 4-6 trophies, with the number being set at the start of play, wins the game instantly. You can obtain trophies by killing monsters, instigating and winning chaotic tavern brawls against another witcher, training attributes to their highest level, and resolving certain quests throughout their adventure.Set years before the saga of Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher: Old World explores a time when monsters roamed the Continent in greater numbers, creating a constant peril that required the attention of expertly trained monsters slayers, known as witchers. Five competing schools trained their adepts through brutal regimes, and once fully prepared, these now-recognized witchers set off to explore the land, seeking trouble and adventures and helping others for coin.

If you enjoy rushing to buff up your combat prowess, and the combat focus of The Witcher: Old World, then this will add at least 7 additional games to the experience, but they can also be combined with the other expansions, providing a lot of extra replayability, if you enjoy the extra complexity of multiple expansions. What Are Our Final Thoughts On The Witcher: Old World Expansions? Old World does an impressive job of putting its players into the shoes of an amoral travelling monster hunter – although some exploration and quest cards can lean a little too hard on the ‘edgy’ side in ways that are at times cringe, and at others, outright problematic. I don't mind games that last a bit longer. And I don't mind games that are a bit more lightweight. And I've already come up with several house rules that will add more complexity after my friends and I have played through the main game a few times.Phase 2 gives you the choice between battling a Witcher or monster at your location (more on this in a sec) or exploring either a city or country location. Exploration is pretty fun because the player to your right reads out the card and gives you options to choose from without knowing the potential consequences. Now, did I enjoy it more because I won? Yes. Winning is an extremely satisfying experience. But I think I would have had a good time even if I’d lost. It’s all about the group that you play with and how invested you’re all willing to be. For a five-player game, and the first time any of us had played it multiplayer, the set-up took a bit over an hour. It’s an ideal way to get a handle on how the game plays before taking it to the friendship group, or maybe to try out some different tactics, or if this is your favouritest game ever and just want to keep on playing. But it’s not a game you’d buy for the solo experience because it’s very one-note. The Witcher: Old World verdict Image provided by Alice Clarke In this competitive adventure board game, 1-5 players travel across a vast map, embarking on masterfully penned quests, encountering and making ambiguous moral choices, fighting monsters — and sometimes brawling with other witchers to defend their school's honor!