• Game: War of Honor
• Publisher: AEG
• Designer: Bryan Reese
• Genre: CCG
• Players: 2-4 (more with additional starter decks)
• Playtime: 90-120 minutes



• What's Hot: Great CCG mechanics in an interesting setting; comprehensive and low-commitment way to check out the L5R franchise; lots of depth/variety including potentially endless expansion with existing cards; supported as part of the very successful L5R product line



• What's Not: Rulebook isn’t comprehensive enough; board game elements are overstated and in a two player game almost irrelevant; could turn into a money pit for players that decide to go beyond the boxed game

by: Michael Barnes

AEG’s Legend of the Five Rings collectible card game has been on the shelves for 16 years. To put that in perspective most games of this type have a couple of years before they flicker out of existence, with player communities migrating elsewhere and display boxes of boosters marked down to pennies on the dollar. Only Magic: The Gathering has had greater longevity. The game has enjoyed continued support including organized play and events where the outcomes of games affect the lore and meta-story of the Rokugan setting, wherein clans resembling the warring factions of Feudal Japan battle for imperial dominance and the titular Five Rings, attempting to maintain honor while dishonoring others. Although it’s hardly a household name like Magic, it has a large fan base and it remains successful and widely played today.

And until AEG’s recent release of War of Honor, I had never played a single game of it. When the game first released, I was neck-deep in Magic cards and shortly thereafter the late-90s Eurogame invasion. By the time I became somewhat interested in trying the game, several sets had come and gone and it seemed as if the complexity of the backstory and hundreds of cards were insurmountable barriers to entry. I’ve always sort of admired the game from afar, aware of its quality and compelling gameplay aspects but never quite drawn in enough by it to get involved with another collectible game.

In a sense, this makes me- and others like me- the perfect customers for War of Honor. The game is a single-purchase, self-contained multiplayer game with a couple of multiplayer-specific tweaks and the addition of a minor tile-based board gaming element. Two to four players can join the battle for Rokugan with the included starter decks, but additional starters can be purchased for other clans and most existing L5R cards can be used in the game, introducing the possibility of real, free-form deckbuilding. Smartly, the game includes all of the additional components needed to support the extra decks. Effectively, this product is a kind of “super starter” but the changes to the game will also appeal to both lapsed L5R players and current enthusiasts looking for a better way to play the game in a multiplayer setting.

Each player controls a clan attempting to achieve one of four victory point-generating objectives keyed to military conquest, playing Ring cards, dishonoring other players, or gaining honor for their clan. The four included clans are each keyed toward one of these goals, and all are fairly balanced and feature some interesting strategic nuances. Players play with two decks divided between two types of cards. The Fate cards generally act as action cards, counters, special abilities, and other one-shot effects. Dynasty Cards are played face up in to four “Province” slots, which form a kind of purchasing menu each turn. These cards are permanent characters, resource-generating locations, and occasional events. Cards don’t tap and untap in this game, they bow and straighten.

Combat between clans is governed by the geographic proximities described very abstractly by the tile-based map. Each player has a couple of tiles including fortresses with which to build the contested area of Rokugan, but this game element is very minor. It’s necessary in a multiplayer game to manage conflict and prevent gang-up situations and encourage alliances, but in a two player game it’s almost completely unnecessary. When a battle is joined, players send out characters to do battle over another player’s provinces. Card play may result in characters leaving the battlefield dishonored or damaged, and the results of battle are often brutally punishing with entire armies wiped out and players losing provinces, thus limiting the array of cards they have to choose from during their turn.

The large rulebook mostly acquits itself nicely as a précis of process and flow, but inevitably it sometimes creates more questions than it answers and ultimately it comes across feeling like a quick start guide more than a comprehensive how-to document. This is understandable given that its aim is to compress a fairly complex game with practically infinite card interactions and mutable situations into something that a player completely new to the game can apprehend while also introducing the new material to existing players. The first couple of games are very touch-and-go and most players will need a little internet assistance, but when it comes together a rather great card game emerges.

And let’s be clear about that—this is a card game, not a board game. The only board included is an arbitrary scoreboard to track acquisition of victory points. I initially thought that the game was intended to be an L5R board game that just used repurposed cards from the CCG, and I was a little disappointed at first by what seemed to be little more than a repackaging job. But when I realized that War of Honor represents a low-commitment way to check out L5R in a self-contained environment without the need to make sense of all of the different card sets, rules changes, storyline elements, and so forth I really came to appreciate what AEG is trying to do with this product.

Nonetheless, I don’t find myself compelled just yet to dive into the larger game. I’ve been quite satisfied with War of Honor as it stands and I think most casual gamers will find plenty of value here without cracking open a single booster pack. AEG was kind enough to include an extra starter deck (the Mantis Clan) with the review copy they sent, and I really enjoyed the five player game it allowed although it was rather long. I’ve thought about buying the remaining clan starters to add some variety, but I believe that’s where my commitment to the game would likely end.