A Game For Quarantine Times - "The Burning Of Prospero"

"The Burning of Prospero" - Miniature board game released by GW in 2016. Perfect for Quarantine!

With nearly one third of the world's population living under some manner of public health restriction or "lockdown", chances are you are not getting much gaming done! We certainly have not here in Winnipeg. Many folks have tried to use assorted video platforms for everything from completing courses and business meetings to keeping in touch with friends during this quarantine/lockdown period. So, we thought, why not gaming? We used "Zoom" for such a gaming attempt last week - playing GW's "The Burning of Prospero" - and I think it went quite well...it is, in fact, a perfect game for Quarantine Times - and in general, a really excellent game.

The forces laid out for the game's first scenario - "Shatter The Perimeter".

"The Burning of Prospero" was released by GW in 2016. The game is set amid the assault on the Thousand Sons' homeworld of Prospero by the combined might of the Space Wolves and The Emperor's Custodian Guard and Silent Sisters. The box comes with a variety of map tiles, 2D card scatter terrain and effect markers, rules, stats and cards. It also comes with some fantastic multi-part plastic miniatures! You got 30 Mark III Space Marines, five Tartaros-pattern Terminators, five Custodes, five Silent Sisters, and two characters - Azhek Ahriman of the Thousand Sons and Geigor Fell-Hand of the Space Wolves. The figures are all multi-part plastic, and are generally amazing sculpts and kits, all really, really, really nice.

GW has form here - their non-core offerings are often fantastic! The rules for 30k/40k are a calcified collection of endlessly competing circular special rules wrapped tightly in near-ancient IGOUGO rusty chains. GW, however, has shown time and again its ability to publish fantastic rules and games outside of its mainstream products. Their boxed games have a great tradition - I think of games like "Space Hulk" - that combined nice miniatures with card terrains and clever rules mechanisms to create fantastic wargaming experiences. There have been many others.

The Space Wolves ready to move out...

A deadly fire team from the Thousand Sons prepares to defend Prospero...

And yet, for my part, I was originally keen to get this box because it offered a relatively cheap means to acquire to acquire the plastic Mark III Space Marines. In the 30k setting there is a wide assortment of armour variants to choose from, and for my part I generally find the Mark III set looks the coolest...so I was glad to get the plastic marines. I was indifferent to the game itself, and I did not really look at the rules or the game in general. The Marines were allotted to the various existing parts of my collection, and I did not consider ever painting the Thousand Sons or the Space Wolves for the Horus Heresy.

The heavy bolter and the melta gun cover one flank of the advance...

Reading the novel "Prospero Burns" by Dan Abnett caused a total 180 on my thinking (it is a great novel - you should read it!). I painted up a few of the models, and then looked again at this boxed game, found that it might be fun, and suddenly was painting up all of the models for the game. I tried rules out a few times over the years, and found them to be quite fun. We did not play it with the group though - and I never really pushed to. I tend to prefer full, 3D terrain tables etc. and I am very fortunate to game with a group that offers so many choices in that regard.

Given the limitations of trying to game via Zoom, however, I thought "The Burning of Prospero" might just be ideal. Measuring "range" is easy, the board is not huge and would fit (mostly) in camera range for my iPad. The dice used are common among most participants in our group. I dug out the box and the rules, and we set things up to see if this would be workable...

The forces of the VI Legion fan out, preparing for heavy fighting...

And it was! My miniature gaming seldom involved the "board game" approach, and I had never really given this game its due. This is a fantastic game - this is why I think so...

First of all, the quality of the "terrain" panels is really, really top shelf. It is easy to set up on a kitchen table and, while we would all probably recognize/prefer 3D terrain as a superior wargaming experience (YMMV), the bits you get with "The Burning of Prospero" are top shelf - especially if using miniatures is something that is new or different for a gamer. After all, board games are huge, massive! They are just getting better and better all the time, so for board game players, this would be an interesting way to move toward miniature wargaming...

Confrontation in the corner...little did the Imperial side suspect how hard it would be to truly finish off this group of Thousand Sons...

Second - the rules are simple, but fun! There is more abstraction than in a regular game of 30k in the 7th or 8th edition, but subtle differences exist to provide an engaging tactical challenge for players. In particular, I love the use of different dice (note - NOT special, game specific dice). One of the (many) things that so impairs and limits 30k/40k is the fixation on using only the D6. Not so with this game!

In "The Burning of Prospero" players use D6s, D8s, D10s and D12s depending on the armour and weapons involved in a given situation. This is something I wish GW would explore more for 30k/40k rules generally. A further benefit - the combat phase is NOT IGOUGO, but it is still straightforward. I don't see why these concepts cannot jump to the full 30k/40k game.

Psychic powers for the Thousand Sons player...that regeneration power would sure come in handy...

Third - the way psychic powers are handled is fantastic. The use of these powers is key for the Thousand Sons side - psychic abilities are central to the nature and character of the Thousand Sons legion (it's their "thing"), and without them they would have little chance of prevailing against the onslaught of the coalition of The Emperor's executioners featured in the game. The powers are managed via card decks that become a "game within a game" - and are a lot of fun, as some powers drive the Imperial player crazy, and others fizzle, causing heartbreak to the Thousand Sons player. These "magic" type situations are difficult to manage for rules - it is easy to make the spells/power too strong or too weak, but the designers here have it just right, in my opinion.

The "enumeration phase" where the Thousand Sons attempt their psychic powers...the card decks are used to see if the powers are cast, and there is a lot of subtlety (and great fun) to be found - this is well done.

Last week a group got together via Zoom and we played the first scenario in the game, "Shatter The Perimeter". Geigor Fell-Hand and a Silent Sister Superior lead a veteran squad of Space Wovles against a squad of Thousand Sons, supported by a veteran Terminator sergeant. The goal of the Imperial side is to exit at least one model off of the board at either of two designated exit points. Success would represent the Imperial forces pushing further into the city of Tizca, the fantastical capital of Prospero.   

A "lone Wolf" makes his escape...

Over six rounds of play there was a furious battle that saw the Imperial side lose 90% of their troops - ouch! They gave as good as they got, however, and more so - their task made more difficult by the Thousand Sons' success with a particular psychic power that brought models back from the dead. There was one Thousand Sons legionnaire who was resurrected twice. Both sergeants also reappeared on the table after being cut down...and it is hard enough to knock out a Terminator once, never mind twice!

Geigor Fell-Hand and the Sister Superior make their escape at the right of the photo. Maybe we will be able to try the second scenario sometime soon...

In the end, it was a victory for the Imperial side - Fell-Hand was able to lead the Sister Superior and a single surviving Space Wolf off of the board and to victory. Further mayhem awaits in Tizca...

Gaming via Zoom will never replace the real thing. I miss my friends and the chance to get together, push miniatures around and roll dice very much. But this was great fun - many thanks to Dave V, Dallas, Mike F, John and Curt for joining the game. Also, it was great to discover how fun this GW game is - more than fit to follow in the tradition of classic games like "Space Hulk" - something we should play when we get the chance to gather again.