Panda Reviews - Puppet Wars: Unstitched

[ThePandaDirector]

I always knew it was going to be hard to review Puppet Wars. Having been involved with it since the first wave of private playtesting 2-3 years ago, I have seen the long journey it has taken and can't help but feel like I have been on that journey too. For this reason I am likely to be a little biased, but will try my best to accommodate all opinions.

Puppet Wars: Unstitched

After the preview of the new PW in Wyrd Chronicles 5, I was more than a little apprehensive. I posted my initial thoughts, and while there were a number of nitpicks, the overall impression didn't fill me with confidence. But because the new models are so good looking and because I still count myself as a PW fanpuppet, I bought it at Salute at a discounted price of £45/$68. I considered not buying it, but I did. Let's see if I regretted it, shall we? =]

Packaging Design and Production

When I posted my initial impressions, I did have my gripes about the box design. It doesn't show all the models you get, doesn't indicate how many of each you get (just an arbitrary 44) and doesn't show the tokens. It's better than the mystery box of the old PW, but still could have been better.

That said, the moment I picked up the box, I could tell it would last a very long time. It's extremely sturdy, while also being significantly larger than the old one (which is due to the larger board). Even when taking the lid off, everything feels sturdy and well made. Inside the rulebook, assembly instruction and counters sit on top of the plastic frames. The frames are on a bed of foam, with two sides of the box lined with thick foam also, which assures me that with a little extra foam this box could happily store your models and keep them relatively safe. To the side is a cardboard compartment. On top is two spaces which the Puppet Decks are slotted into. The compartment has a slight hinge to it, meaning you don't have to pull it completely out. Underneath there is the game tokens and bases, each in a re-sealable plastic packet. The stat cards, however, are in a sticky flap packet which is far too small. I couldn't get the stat cards back in it and it tore quite easily. Thankfully, I own a lot of Puppet Decks and the stat cards fit in their box very easily (with room for expansions). It would probably have been better to have the cards in a box rather than a cheap bag. Overall, I am very impressed with the packaging, the back could have been better designed and the stat cards could do with a better packet, but apart from that it's top notch.

Game Components - board, tokens, etc.

In the box you get:

• 1 board
  
• 22 Workbenches - 4 red, 4 green, 4 yellow, 4 purple and 6 neutral
  
• 15 Impassable Tokens
  
• 15 Exhaustion Counters
  
• 44 models and bases
  
• Rulebook
  
• Assembly Guide
  

The board is around 18"x18", with larger spaces than before. The artwork is great, and a lot more vibrant and eye-catching than the old one, but both are just as valid (the old one is more portable).

The tokens are clear plastic hexes with the workbench/impassable symbol indented in one side (I prefer flat surface facing up). There should be plenty of each for most games, though I'm a little peeved that they provide every colour of Workbench except blue (since I'm a big fan of Marcus and Tomes). While it would have been nice to have proper sculpted terrain, every token needs to be able to have a puppet on top of it (if Moleman doesn't change too much). In that regard they are designed well, big enough to fit a puppet on top easily, but small enough to fit on the smaller board. Overall, good quality and practical.

The Exhaustion Counters are pretty much the same as before; not sure if they are thicker or not. There aren't any other Counters, though they are mentioned in the rulebook. Not sure if any of the puppets actually require them, which would explain their strange absence.

The rulebook hasn't changed a great deal. I'm personally not a fan of the layout, or the production of it (don't know why anyone wants a long flimsy booklet). The Pattern Book has gone, with some of its content dropped into the rulebook. At the end of the rulebook there's advanced rules (firecrackers and sticky fingers), rules for drafting , playing on squares and example maps; the intro games are gone. I suppose when a rulebook serves no purpose other than providing the rules, it isn't that big a deal, but I consider the PW rulebook pretty much disposable.

The Models

Now for the models. Not that the box will tell you, but you get:

• Masters - Lady Justice, Seamus, Pokey Viktoria
  
• Sidekicks - Judge, Bete Noire, Misaki, Rusty Alyce, Hooded Rider
  
• Pawns (x3) - Death Marshal, Guild Austringer, Executioner, Rotten Belle, Nurse, Punk Zombie, December Acolyte, Razorspine Rattler, Silurid, Malifaux Cherub, Ronin, Convict Gunslinger.
  

Well, they're amazing. I own Misaki and Mei Feng, and these puppets, though thicker and less fragile, are arguably superior in quality. They just reflect the artwork so well, and are filled with character. They are larger than the metals, which is most prominent where proportions have changed (Executioner is the most notably larger model). That said, the metals are in no way invalidated as the scale isn't too off. The slight increase in size however means that in spite of all the detail crammed into these models, they look like they'll be much easier to paint than the metals. There is about the same level of mould lines as the Malifaux plastics, so pretty minimal, and I don't see anything on the frame that I'm afraid to break when I remove it.

In terms of assembly, I haven't put any together yet. I have heard from some who have assembled them that some are easy and some are pretty fiddly. In particular the Silurid, who has an essential plug which can mistaken for flash and causes problems if removed. There are a ridiculous number of parts to some (seven for Death Marshal, including separate belt badge), I don't know why Rusty Alyce needed two little bits of hair to be separate when Lady Justice is one piece. Thankfully there are assembly instructions and the frames are numbered so you know which parts are which. Considering the quality of the models, and the time required to put them together, these will appeal more to wargamers than casual players. That said, once they are assembled they are likely to impress just about anyone and their panda.

The Rules

The core rules have barely changed, if at all, from the Beta. The four main changes from the original are:

• Aces count as double suit.
  
• At the start of an animation round you draw a card into your hand and the play any one as your animation card.
  
• Removed Blocking Rule
  
• Puppets may attach friendly upgrades for free anywhere on the board
  

Now most of you will recognise these from the Beta, and any other changes are also in there.

I personally supported the changes to the core rules. I never really liked the blocking rule, the animation card change seemed so obvious I kicked myself and the change to aces is no longer a contradiction of the rules. I'm not sure how I feel about how upgrades work, but I've already designed a cool house rule I want to try out. Overall the core rules make the game run a lot smoother (from playtesting the Beta).

The Puppets

As for the Puppets, well this is probably the most controversial topic of Puppet Wars. In the Beta, the Puppets were dumbed down till there was nothing left but pointless stat lines. I for one hated it, because Puppet Wars is all about the individuality of the Puppets (even when you take multiples) and if they're all the same then there's no point making so many of them, when you could just have five models representing each suit.

However, I don't agree with people who say that the originals were perfect either. The old cards were often convoluted walls of text (and I know a thing or two about those =P) and a number of rules were either pointless or were rarely ever used. My main issue was that there were a lot of things that slowed the game down, and most upgrades went unused.

So how are the puppets looking now?

Umm.... It's actually quite hard to say =P

They've changed from both versions, that much is clear.

Some haven't really changed at all though, mostly because they never had to. Death Marshal is still Ranged 2, Executioner still has Powerful +1 and his cool ability "Not So Fast!" Their upgrades are the same too.

Rotten Belle and Ronin are the only two Puppets that have no abilities or actions, I suppose because they have the increased stat (stitches and movement respectively). This is still a bit of a shame, especially since Rotten belle has gone down from having three abilities that made her quite fun. Now, however, she (like Marshal and Ronin) has an AR of 1 Crow, meaning that it's really easy to animate her. The lower animation requirements of the Beta are present, but there has been some changes.

The two Puppets that received some completely new abilities/actions are Punk Zombie and December Acolyte. Punk Zombie has "He Started It!" which allows him to instantly attack an opponent after they cause a rip on him. December Acolyte has the brilliant "Filled With Needles", which costs double tomes and requires you to tear Acolyte apart, after which all adjacent puppets suffer two rips (ouch!) Also Convict Gunslinger, who basically became a suitless Death Marshal during the Beta has replaced Ranged 2 with Puppet Roulette. Guild Austringer still has Ranged 3 and no LoS, but has an upgrade limit of 0.

Upgrades

Speaking of upgrades, they are what really separates this version from both the original and the beta.

In whichever version you looked at before, upgrades seemed to mostly be about increasing stats or making a puppet more like multiple puppets in one rather than something original.

In Unstitched, every upgrade has an ability/action, every single one, most of which aren't on the Puppet side of the cards, and I think it is this that really saves it from being like the bland Beta.

Some are old, Punk Zombie, who loses Built of Strong Stuff, can still get it by attaching another Punk Zombie's Upgrade.

Now here's a little game. I'm going to list the ability/action (removing costs, etc) from some of my favourite upgrades, and you have to guess which puppets they belong to (you're banned Clousseau!):

• Who Was That Masked Puppet? - Place Target Impassable Token in any Unoccupied Space within Range 2 of this Puppet. All Puppet's adjacent to the Token's new location suffer one Rip.
  
• Versatile - This Puppet may ignore any Suits in its Animation Requirement while Animating.
  
• Walk on the Weary - While inflicting Rips from an Attack, this Puppet gains Powerful +1 for each Exhaustion Token on the Puppet it is Attacking.
  
• Flutter - During this Puppet's Animation, instead of Moving you may Place this Puppet in an Unoccupied Space adjacent to your Master
  
• Infested - Whenever any other Puppet within Range 2 Dodges, that Puppet immediately gains an Exhausted Token. No LoS required.
  
• Spiteful - After this Puppet is Torn Apart, all adjacent Puppets suffer one Rip.
  

As you can see, there's quite a lot of cool stuff that can be done when you start attaching Upgrades. It really reinforces the idea of "Upgrading", since if you're already pretty awesome at doing stuff then there's not much reason for it. Now there's a lot more incentive to attach upgrades and try out different combos, plus they now have a notable effect and aren't just adjusting numbers.

Overall, I don't think the Puppets are as detailed as the original or as bland as the beta. The upgrades are an improvement on both versions imo, and I think with some of the rules changes games should play a lot quicker and be more brutal. Also, the size of the cards are a big improvement. Since they're smaller (stitches along the left side of the image, stats below the image, upgrades now laid out vertically) they take up less space, can be stored easily (in a different packet) and can even me shuffled for fun drafts =]

Conclusion

Well! =D

A pretty mixed bag...

On one side I think that Wyrd could have afforded to add a little more depth, but more than anything their lack of public attention to Puppet Wars is a little insulting (it wouldn't happen with Malifaux), so for the most part I think PW needs Wyrd to give it a bit more attention and try and get an expansion out as soon as they can, because currently it is at a disadvantage since the original had far more variety and options, plus the new shiny models are still quite familiar. Looking at the puppets now, I'm glad to say they aren't as bad as the Beta ones, but for some they might still be too simple. The upgrades are now an integral feature and save it from being just another miniature-based boardgame. The production value is better than most established miniature games, but quite inaccessible to non-gamers.

I wasn't expecting Puppet Wars: Unstitched to be very good, but that was more a result of the lack of faith I had in Wyrd after their handling of it. However, I have to hand it to them, it's good. Not exactly what they want it to be, not exactly what any one group wants it be, but as far as compromises go, this is the best. Once we have an expansion we will see what Puppet Wars: Unstitched can really do, but until then I think I will quite enjoy playing with my dolls once again.

Oh, and if you're wondering if I regretted my purchase, the answer is-

To be continued...

Well actually the answer is no i didn't regret it... End of story. Now go home, go on now.

Edited April 22, 2013 by ThePandaDirector

[Clousseau]

I think that your list of puppets in the box is wrong - by 100% - either that or there are 2 different sets!

Enjoyed the review. Can't comment too much as I haven't actually played a game yet - too busy helping others at Salute!

Some useful (I hope) pics

[ThePandaDirector]

I accidently copy-pasted the wrong list, the list that is there now is what you get (which I'm 100% sure on)

I'll try and get my puppets assembled and get some pictures too.

[Pinocchio]

I assume that the only way to get hold of the new rules/stats/etc. is to purchase Unstitched?

[ThePandaDirector]

As it stands now, yes, but it's highly likely that after the game is officially released the website will be updated with the rules, stats, and hopefully some extra content.

I would say the only real reason to buy PWU is for the models. If you love the metals, then there's no point. When buying PWU you're really just buying the models, with the bonus of a nice board and better tokens (or at least that's how I view it). I for one love the new models, and am perfectly content with the rules atm. That said, I can see lots of potential for experimenting with house rules and homemade expansions.

[Jonasty]

Super excited for this to be released. Only managed to get 2 games in with the original PW so I don't have the built-in attachment which makes for pure excitement only on this one.

I will say that I'll be looking forward to the expansions coming quickly as well but only because the 3 included masters happen to be my least favorite in Malifaux so I'm not really all that excited for them in PW either. I just find the minis boring fluff/appearance-wise which kinda salts my opinion on them in PW. I want to see Pandora in puppet form or Levi or Colette. Even so, still super excited to finally getting a chance to add the PW to my collection.

[ThePandaDirector]

@Jonasty: I think you'll be pleased with PWU =]

As for the Masters, they look great in Puppet form. Gameplay-wise I think Seamus is the most interesting (requiring a lot of positioning). I expect Pandora and Marcus in the expansion, but don't expect them to be as intricate and complex as in first edition, but still they should be fun.

[Jewomie]

Colette.

Me too!

but i like Lady J almost as much. So i am just a bundle of excitement

[yetischool]

As always Panda, your review is greatly appreciated. From the sound of it, I am right there on the fence with you.

[ThePandaDirector]

@Jewomie: Colette would be fun =]

@yetischool: I think PWU will come to win people over as it gets expanded. The starter for the first edittion got pretty repetetive quickly (but had the boosters to make it fun, if rather expensive). At least this has more options with the triple pawns (plus Viktoria and Hooded Rider). In time, I think the apparent simplicity of PWU will make it easier to expand, add advanced rules too and customise. So long as Wyrd give it the time and attention it deserves (which for me is core remaining issue here) then I think the Puppets will do just fine =]

[Omenbringer]

Can you confirm if the ridiculous Lady Justice/ Guild Austringer combo from the beta test made it in there?

Also do the Advanced Rules still offer an oprotunity to use the Terraclips system for games?

And lastly, is there any official mention of the Puppets being legal malifaux Proxies? I still think that including two playable Malifaux crew card sets would have been a great "extra" and tie in to their main game system.

[Justin]

Can you confirm if the ridiculous Lady Justice/ Guild Austringer combo from the beta test made it in there?

Also do the Advanced Rules still offer an oprotunity to use the Terraclips system for games?

And lastly, is there any official mention of the Puppets being legal malifaux Proxies? I still think that including two playable Malifaux crew card sets would have been a great "extra" and tie in to their main game system.

1) No. Although you can do something similar, it's not nearly so easy. Lady J's ability became an action, requiring her to animate first and buff them. Also the Austringers went up from AR 5 to 7, and they have a UL of 0, which is a fairly big disadvantage with the new upgrade system. So, it's balanced.

2) Yup, still have rules for using squares.

3) Don't know myself.

[Omenbringer]

Thanks Justin.

I recall (hazy but there) reading/ hearing somewhere (from an official Wyrd source not the threads that have asked this) that the Puppets were legal proxies for Malifaux events. Could we get a definitive ruling on that if the reference doesn't exist.

[Doctor Lucky]

please tell me they had the foresight to have enough room for future expansions in the new base game.....I don't wanna make another box no matter how much I like the one I made.

I disliked the beta rules, for reasons I gave in the play-test thread. There were a few redeeming factors that I really liked, so I will be playing with the old rules while adopting the two changes that make the game flow better.

IMHO without the blocking rule alone, its an entirely different game. I really admire the brilliance of the chess-like thinking mechanics that the old rules have. Without the blocking rule a lot of that is missing- a lot of the elegance is lost, so I hope they at least leave up the old rules online as an option to new players.

[ThePandaDirector]

Yeah Austringers not too bad anymore. The model I'm interested in trying out is December Acolyte since it can effectively Tear Apart all adjacent 2 Stitch Puppets with the one use only Filled With Needles. You could also give it the Bad Attitude Upgrade to ensure even if it gets Totn Apart it causes 1 Rip to all adjacent Puppets (just keep your own Puppets away). I'm glad Wyrd went away from the stat-based focus of the beta (and in many ways first edition) and created more interesting abilities/actions on both the puppet and upgrade side of the card. Already, there's lots of things I want to try out.

Pretty sure it was always said that since puppets are produced by Wyrd then they are legal proxies, within reason. Therefore you could use Puppet Lady Justice as Lady Justice, or some form of Doll (Wicked, Voodoo, Marionette), but not as Seamus or some completely different model. Naturally you'd have to state before the game starts what each puppet is, and you couldn't have two of the same puppet proxying for two different models (e.g. two Puppet Death Marshals, one proxying as a Wicked Doll, the other a Marionette).

@Doctor Lucky: I can see where you're coming from, but I for one hated the Blocking Rule. Chess has a brilliant simplicity, whereas Puppet Wars has a lot more going on. I felt the BR really slowed things down, and made fighting Crow Puppet downright boring (and fighting Masks both refreshing and frustrating). The BR was also extremely difficult to teach people, or rather for people to teach themselves, and there was constant confusing surrounding it. Not saying you shouldn't use it if you enjoy it, but I think it is best left as an optional, advanced rule.

[JohnHwangWM]

On one side I think that Wyrd could have afforded to add a little more depth,

their lack of public attention to Puppet Wars is a little insulting (it wouldn't happen with Malifaux), so for the most part I think PW needs Wyrd to give it a bit more attention and try and get an expansion out as soon as they can,

It is harder to write a smoother, simpler game versus kitchen-sinking things with lots of rules and exceptions. Given the choice and scale, simpler is better.

An expansion would be nice, even if to just complete the set based on everything previously released as part of the original PW. PWU + PWUx = PW.