By Craig Woodfield

Observant Area 52 browsers will note that the store now stocks a small range of the French Rackham miniatures plus the rules for the Confrontation skirmish game. This is a brief review of both.

Overview
Confrontation is a skirmish level fantasy game set in the world of Aarklash. Game play is fast and can probably be best described as a mix between Warmachine and Mordheim. Each blister pack and box set contains a basic rule book, as well a stats card for the miniature or unit and details of unique spells, equipment or abilities that the miniature might have. The larger rule book is essential for serious players as it contains spell lists, errata and most importantly, numerous examples of game play. Confrontation has been translated from French, and so the language used is occasionally a bit confusing. Perseverance is required!

Miniatures range
The main attraction of Confrontation is the very large and varied miniatures range. There are 15 races, some with more than 30 troop types. Special characters are common place and add much flavour to the game. Note that not all miniatures are available in Australia, as some are mail order exclusive and some are out of print. But there is still a bewildering range of miniatures to choose from. Ask Heath for a look at the catalogues next time you’re in store.

Rules
Confrontation plays pretty much like you would expect for a skirmish level fantasy game, though there are a few intriguing variations that I will touch upon here. The first of these are the special rules, to which about 20 pages of the rulebook is devoted. Most troop types have at least one special rule, and characters may have 4 or 5, which gives the game a lot more character than you would normally expect. Secondly, the stat cards play an important part in the game itself. At the start of each turn, players must arrange their cards in the order in which their troops will be activated. Players then take turns flipping over the cards and activating the model or models that this card represents. This adds an interesting tactical edge to the game. The third interesting issue is the accrual of wounds. As models are damaged, their principle statistics decrease, making them less effective and more prone to damage. This way even the toughest fighter can be brought low by a series of minor wounds. Finally, more a comment on the presentation of the rules than anything, Confrontation is unique in games that I have encountered in that there is no published army list containing details of the models. This is less of a problem than you might imagine, as restrictions on what you can actually field are very few. Nonetheless, one must scour the web if one is to get a clear idea of the range of troops available and their stats. Or just buy a bunch of cool looking models and then discover how they play!

Building an army
The recommended size for a game is 400 points aside, though smaller games are quite feasible. With miniatures ranging from 5 to 300 points in value, quite varied warbands can be built. A 400 point Wolfen warband might only have 5 models in it, whilst the same sized goblin warband might have 20 or more. 400 points can cost you as little as $100, depending on army type. There are very few restrictions on warband composition aside from the obvious one of only having one of each named character. It has obviously been designed to play off the shelf without any prior knowledge of the game.

Gameplay
Gameplay is pretty quick once you have got a handle on the special rules of your troops. Before that happens, an awful lot of checking and cross-referencing goes on. As mentioned, characters and small groups of models are activated one at a time and then move shoot, cast spells etc before the next model or group is activated. All combat is conducted at the same time, with each model having the opportunity to make one or more attacks on enemy models in base contact and/or parry attacks directed at them. As mentioned, wounds accrue, and even highly resilient troops can be brought down eventually. Once experienced, players should be able to knock over a 400 point game in around an hour.

Conclusion
A fun and interesting game, with a superb range of miniatures. Well worth a look for anybody wanting to try something a little different.

Links
Rackham Miniatures and Confrontation Information
Wikipedia entry on Confrontation