I have been following Chris Brook's blog for a couple years now, as I consider it one of the best on the web. When I heard that he and his fellow gamers were starting a new company and producing a game designed by one of their own, I was fascinated and couldn't wait to see what they put out. The first game, Havoc: the Hundred Years War (Sunriver Games, 2004 - KC Humphrey) was well received by the host of folk who originally played it; and after watching and reading about the design process on the internet, I was glad to get a copy of my own.
Havoc definitely has roots in the game of Poker, as poker hands, albeit on a different scale, are used to determine the winner of battles during the game. But while I merely think poker is a ho-hum affair (I know that poker players are reading this with askance), I found Havoc to be a clever game - one I enjoyed greatly. While using some mechanics of poker that I liked - the hand rankings and the bluffing, much of the luck has been eliminated, and players can better control their games. Havoc demands that players know what battles to get involved with, and which to avoid, and the best player will most likely win each game. Havoc is a clever, short card game that is easy to teach and play, and one that will suggest over poker any time.
A large deck of cards, in six suits, is shuffled with the number of cards in each suit determined by number of players (from eight - with two players, to eighteen - with six players). Each player is given one special "Dog" card, and then is dealt seven cards from the deck. Another "dog" card for each player is shuffled into the deck, which is then placed face down near the board with three cards face up in a "Recruits" area. Nine cards are placed in the middle of the table, in order - each representing a battle from the Hundred Years War. Some of these cards have victory point chips associated with them, which are placed with the corresponding battles. One player is chosen to be the "Peacekeeper", and is given a Havoc/Peace card. That player takes the first turn, and then play proceeds clockwise.
On a player's turn, they either recruit troops or cry Havoc! to start a battle. When recruiting troops, they must draw two cards to their hand, either from the face up recruits area, and/or the discard pile. If the recruit area is full (four or five - depending on players), then the player must draw one from there. The player then must discard one card from their hand back to the recruit area. During recruiting, a player may also discard one Dog card to take an additional card from the recruit area or the draw pile. The player may also discard two dogs, and then search the discard pile and take one non-dog card from it.
If it is the peacekeeper's turn, they must rotate the peace card one turn to show that a year of peace has occurred. If they rotate the card, and there is no higher number to rotate it to, they remove the lowest battle card from the game, and all other players must discard a card from their hand.
If a player cries "Havoc!" on their turn, a battle starts. The calling player takes the Havoc/Peace card and places it Havoc side up, showing that a war for the lowest numbered battle card is underway. The player then must play at least two cards from their hand as the start of their "Battle Hand". Each player, in order, must then either join the battle by playing two or more cards from their hand on the table, or by refraining from the battle, in which case they draw a card from the draw pile into their hand and are out of the battle. Meanwhile, players still in the battle must add at least one card on their turn (up to a maximum of six cards in their Battle Hand), or pass, "locking" in their Battle Hand. Once all players have passed, the Battle hands are compared. Hands are similar to poker hands, with seventeen different rankings, from the highest: a six card straight flush, to the lowest: a high single card. All Dog cards have a value of "0", but are "wild" when it comes to color. The player who has the best hand gets to keep the Battle card, earning the points printed on it. Players who are in second or third place may also get some points if they are indicated on the battle card. These players take the matching victory point chips for the amount they won. Players may use Dog cards that are in the Battle hand to retrieve cards from the table (if they didn't use the Dog card as part of their ranking).
After the battle, players discard all played cards, with the winner of the battle following the action listed on the battle card (usually gives the person who cried Havoc an extra card, sometimes everyone an extra card.) The winner also becomes the new Peacekeeper, turning the card over to the Peace side, and starting the next turn. Play continues until the eighth battle concludes - at which point the ninth battle immediately begins (after all players are dealt two more cards, and players may exchange up to two dogs for the same number of cards from the draw deck.), with players making the best card that they can with their remaining cards. After the final battle concludes, players then total their points, and the player with the most points is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: First of all, I simply love the box. It's a long, thin box that has three compartments to hold the cards, and then has a lid that closes firmly, holding everything into place. It's excellent packaging that holds the cards in well, no matter which way the box is stored on the shelf. The cards themselves are of good quality (although I would have picked white borders over black). Each suit is a different color with a symbol next to the number to help differentiate for the color blind. The different numbers have ancient medieval artwork on them, as well as some flavor text about the picture. The victory point tiles are feasible, and everything stores away easily and quickly in the box, covered with yet more medieval artwork.
2.) Rules: The rulebook, long and thin like the box, is eleven pages of rules, although these contain a full two pages of a play example, pictures, and tips. Teaching the game to people already familiar with poker hands is quite easy, they simply have to learn the easy mechanics that have been added. Even people who never have played poker won't have too much of a problem. My wife knows nothing about poker, but with the aid of a reference card that showed the battle hand rankings, and some explanation of what a flush and straight were, easily learned how to play the game. I've taught the game to several groups - all who quickly picked up on both strategies and the rules.
3.) Strategies: Knowing which battles to win, and which to pass on are critical. In my first game, I won as many early battles as I could; but this caused me to lose most of the cards from my hand, so that when the big point battles occurred, I had nothing to play and lost out on a lot of points. At the same time, if a player skips the early battles, they may allow their opponents to gain points for only a few cards. One needn't always play "6 of a kind" to win a battle, they simply need to play better than the next player.
4.) Tactics: Watching what other players discard can give clues to as what is in the hand, and watching what cards they take can help you know what they will play later on. Bluffing is still an aspect in this game, but players will have partial information about other players' hands, which allows them to make spot decisions. Learning how to use the Dog cards is also critical. Having a wild zero to use in a Battle Hand is nice, but retrieving a card from a battlefield could be much nicer. I like how hands are played slowly - only a bit at a time. Why play four of a kind, when three of a kind will do? Is second place worth it, if it allows me to keep most of my good cards? These decisions, which change from battle to battle, keep Havoc fresh and interesting. And someone always ends up singing "Who let the Dogs Out?", or some other song.
5.) Luck: There is a decent amount of luck in the game - but not enough to totally influence the outcome of the game, I think. Yes, it's nice to draw six "14" cards; but if you throw them all away in one battle, did it really do you that much good? The biggest luck factor in the game comes from the cards drawn right before the final battle. But every player knows about this and can plan accordingly. Sure, there's some luck - which in my opinion is nice - but not too much.
6.) Theme: There aren't too many games about the Hundred Years War, and this one does a good job printing information about each battle on the reverse of each battle card and the flavor text on the regular cards. But still, it's simply a card game, and the theme is pasted on. EXCEPT, the dogs of war, with their special powers, certainly fit into the theme well and help translate the "poker" hands into battle formations. But really, in the midst of the game, we forget all about the theme and concentrate solely on the numbers.
7.) Fun Factor: Havoc provides the sort of fun that I most enjoy from a lighter game such as this - a game that provides strategic decisions, while allowing you to surprise the enemy with a killer hand. Unlike Poker, where I have to wait for that hand - and then perhaps never get to play it - in Havoc, I can build up that great hand, and then play it with a flourish. Think it's fun playing four of a kind? Try playing six of a kind - it's immensely satisfying. And when my wife won the final battle with a six card straight flush, we all had to bow to her greatness. She had fun.
If you like poker, and/or are looking for a medium light card game that allows bluffing and planning, then Havoc is a good choice. For me, it's an excellent entry into the market by Mr. Humphrey, and I'm excited to see what will come from him further down the pike. I'm not a gambling man, and many people insist that poker is only fun with money - I don't play with funds, so poker merely seems okay to me. But Havoc is fun regardless and allows me to bluff, plan strategically, and make quick, easy choices. Fun in a thin box.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
