Mantic: A New ‘Walking Dead’ Game is Coming This Week
Get ready to battle Walkers in a new way. Walking Dead fans are getting a new game this week – Call to Arms has new minis, cards, a unique dice system, and more. The first products will be going up for pre-order this Friday. I’ll let Mantic CEO Ronnie Renton take it from here…
I know skirmish games and low model count games are all the rage – I mean Mantic already have the big skirmish hits, with Vanguard for fantasy and Deadzone for sci-fi.
But while there are several choices for sci-fi and fantasy (well two really, Vanguard and Deadzone), nothing has dominated the contemporary/post-apocalyptic space. That was always where I saw The Walking Dead game offering its unique story to create a new style of larger-scale skirmish experience, which would make for very exciting games. Let me explain why…
It is so well known, on the back of the comics and the TV show. Meaning everyone instantly recognizes the huge cast of characters – and therefore knows how they’ll act and fight, along with which side they’re rooting for.
This means there are so many different faction possibilities. Most IPs have 2 opposing forces but The Walking Dead has Rick’s group (or Shane’s… ahem), The Governor’s Woodbury, Negan and the Saviours, Hilltop, Alexandria, The Kingdom, the Whisperers, and – well no spoilers for those of you not up to date on the comics. All of these could easily have fallen out with each other at any time – so plenty of reasons for them to meet up and have a throw down!
On top of a rich character/faction base, the scarcity of resources means you cannot load everyone up with all the high class weapons (like sci-fi games) so you’ve got to make the most of the equipment you can scavenge. As a result, there are superb opportunities for intricate army list building, as you carefully balance our options.
Be it collecting resources, taking out the enemy leader or raiding their base, the PvP scenarios write themselves! Well, designer Mark Latham might have something to say about that… but the background certainly helps to make it easier. What’s more, interesting varied games with interesting victory conditions make replayability so much more compelling. Call to Arms has it in spades.
The models are fantastic. Well, that goes without saying, I’ll let the pictures on this page do the talking… oh, and models are all cross compatible from across the range – so your existing All Out War minis will all be usable in Call to Arms.
And even more streamlined with the Call to Arms developments. The way Walkers act and the unique dice system (which works across the Walking Dead range – so once you can play one game – you know the basics for them all) makes getting new gamers involved easy. Yet the load outs and faction choices give you endless re-playability.
The character cards also have a similar feel – but with unique touches, so each game plays in its own way.
All this week Mantic will be delving further into Call to Arms and the first products will be going up for pre-order this Friday.
Don’t miss updates on Call to Arms – check out the Mantic Blog!
