Warzone (game)

Infobox Game
title=Warzone
image_link=
players = 2 or more
setup_time=variable
playing_time=> 1 hour
complexity=Expert
strategy=High
random_chance=High
skills=Strategic thought
bggid=9296
bggxrefs=yes
designer=Bill King
publisher=Target Games

"Warzone" is a tabletop miniature wargame based on the Mutant Chronicles universe and role-playing game. It features squad-based combat at a skirmish level, although vehicles and large models were introduced in later supplements to the main rule book.

Warzone was originally produced by the Swedish company Target Games Adventure ABFact|date=February 2007, a now-defunct child company of Target Games. The rights to the Warzone brand were acquired by Paradox Entertainment in December 1999 in the wake of a complicated restructuring of Target Games and its child companies.cite web| url=http://www.mobygames.com/company/paradox-entertainment-ab |title=Paradox Entertainment AB |work=MobyGames] Warzone has since gone out of print.

There is still an active discussion forum of gamers promoting Warzone and its sister game Chronopia.

etting

Warzone takes place in a fictional cyberpunk future in which a space faring humanity has explored beyond Pluto and has uncovered artifacts which unleashed an evil force known as the "Dark Soul". This is a force which corrupts both man and machine, and has sent its own minions, consisting of legions of undead and aliens in an attempt to conquer humanity. In light of the corruption, human technological and social progress has largely halted. Most people are citizens of one of the major megacorporations, who have colonized the inner planets of the solar system, and who fight against each other when not fighting the evil forces of the Dark Soul. The Earth has become known as "Dark Eden" following global apocalypse, and is home only to tribal survivors. This background is intricately tied to that of the Mutant Chronicles role-playing game.

Gameplay

Warzone is a tabletop miniature wargame in which players take turns issuing orders, moving model troops on a model battlefield, and resolving combats that occur by rolling dice. It is played at the skirmish scale, where one model represents one soldier. The game became gradually more complex with later editions and expansions adding more detail and special abilities.

Warzone is often compared and contrasted to Warhammer 40,000, which targets the same market audience, and has similar gameplay, although Warzone never reached Warhammer 40k's volume of market penetration Fact|date=July 2007. Warzone aims for a more realistic feel, being set more closely in the future, with recognizable weaponry, megacorporations that represent modern-day nations, and a focus upon the power of units of soldiers, while Warhammer 40k has aimed for more of a fantasy feel, with a greater variety of weapons and aliens and a focus upon the power of individual heroes.

Editions

There have been three editions of "Warzone" produced: the original "Warzone", "Warzone 2nd Edition", and "Warzone: Universe Under Siege". All have since gone out of print.

The original "Warzone" was released in 1995 by Target Games. Though based on Mutant Chronicles, the universe of "Warzone" differed from the source material as presented in the role-playing game.Fact|date=February 2007 The release of "Warzone 2nd Edition" in 1998 was intended to address a number of shortcomings perceived by players and designers alike in the original rules. This edition also saw the rewriting of the background according to Nils Gullikson's original vision of the Mutant Chronicles universe, to a mixed reception by established players.Fact|date=February 2007

During the production of the third supplement for "Warzone 2nd Edition", Target Games underwent a significant restructuring which resulted in the establishment of Paradox Entertainment as an independent company and the license for Warzone being sold to Paradox Entertainment. Development and production of the Warzone line was not resumed after the disruption and a license to use the Warzone brand in the context of miniature wargaming was awarded to Excelsior Entertainment (as well as licenses for the related Chronopia brand).Fact|date=February 2007 The resulting edition was "Warzone: Universe Under Siege", released in 2004. Excelsior Entertainment went out of business during production of "Warzone: Universe Under Siege". This last version was called "Ultimate Warzone" while in production.}Fact|date=February 2007

Warzone figures are now being produced by Prince August.

References

External links

*bgg title|9296|Warzone|4978|Warzone 2nd Edition|13553|Warzone: Universe Under Siege
* [http://forum54.oli.us/index.php Warzone and Chronopia forums]
* [http://www.mutant.it Italian Unofficial Mutant Chronicles Community]
* [http://www.mutantpedia.com/eng/index.htm Mutant Chronicles Online Encyclopedia]
* [http://forum54.oli.us/index.php Excelsior Entertainment Official Forum] — small but active (as of 2008) Warzone community
* [http://greywolf.critter.net/warzone.htm Greywolf's Warzone 2nd Edition Page] — the largest individual fan site for Warzone
* [http://www.princeaugust.ie/target_games/index_warzone.html Prince August] — a shop in Ireland that is selling Warzone and Chronopia miniatures purchased from Target Games in 2006.