It didn't seem like a busy year of gaming but while chatting post-game last week I came to the realisation that I have played thirty games of Malifaux this year. You can read a lot about them here. I even managed to play through two campaigns using the beta rules. Despite SAGA making a late resurgence it would seem that Malifaux has won out as the game of 2015. I am still really enjoying the game and the VASSAL module makes it really easy to get a game in. I probably played a slightly lower number of games of Malifaux in 2014 but I still guess around twenty. It also has to be said that this was with a very limited variance in crews and always against the same opponent. It is very intriguing as to why a game would be able to hold my interest for so long.
So what is it that makes the game so enjoyable for me? It is the asymmetric victory conditions I think. The game also rarely focuses on the killing of enemy models. There is a huge amount of replayability and often quite a lot of tension generated by this asymmetry. It is definitely something I would like to see more games embrace and I do believe that Warmachine is bringing out a system for this soon. That would definitely respark my interest in all things Privateer Press. I would definitely consider such a system as almost required for skirmish gaming at this stage and Age of Sigmar would benefit strongly from it. It does require a flexibility in army composition and by determing the Strategies and Schemes in Malifaux prior to building a crew allows this. It would have to be included in games featuring asymmetry and this is where I think Privateer Press will fail. I look forward to seeing what they come up with though.
I completely agree with you, Malifaux became my game of the year in 2015. Although I love playing Warmachine I felt it stagnate for me as every game seemed to feel the same. Malifaux injects some narrative into the mechanics through the Strats/Schemes and attacks/abilities while keeping the gameplay smooth.
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