I have, at various times, been a player of World of Warcraft, and more frequently, a avid fan of the rich game universe. Sure, Blizzard produces well-designed, balanced games. But they’ve also led the pack in creating strong characters and epic plot arcs that exemplify the gaming-as-storytelling function that makes certain games and game universes far more compelling than movies, music, and television. I haven’t been an active WoW player in awhile, but I’ve kept an eye out for some of the geeky licensed junk that I find fun; for example, I collected some of the cards from the collectible card game and my fianceé bought me a book of WoW art.

I heard about the World of Warcraft Miniatures Game months ago, forgot about it, then got really excited when I saw a wall full of miniatures at the local GameStop. So my fianceé and I picked up a WoW Minis Core Set Starter from Gamescape in San Francisco. Here are photos of the unboxing:

My fiancée and I have played two games so far with the starter set characters and have really enjoyed it. (The rulebook is here if you’re interested in such details.) The characters have only a few action options per turn, so the gameplay isn’t too overwhelming. However, having the miniatures move around on the game board adds real richness, with ranged and melee attacks, line of sight, and minor terrain bonuses. Combat is resolved by rolling variable numbers of 10-sided dice — and die rolling in games is always fun.

The game also features a sharp “clock” system that makes good use of the rotating bases beneath the figures. Actions cost “ticks,” which determine the next time the character acts — bigger actions (more damage, stronger effects) generally cost more “ticks,” which may result in your opponent getting a chance to act before you do. I figure that players familiar with World of Warcraft will appreciate the strong correlation to the video game’s combat mechanics.

If I could make the time, I’d be interested in playing casually against others and maybe even in some kind of organized play… But my main fear is that the game will grow unbalanced. There are “boosters” available (for $15.00, natch) to give players more miniature characters and action cards — and like collectible card games, some miniatures are more rare than others. In my experience, this can lead to a “race to the rare,” where the game ceases to revolve around ingenuity and luck and instead transforms into shelling out the dough to obtain benefits that are made artificially scarce. On the other hand, I think that most modern organized play is based on draft rounds where choice and strategy still matters and the role of rarity is diminished.

Otherwise, for mass-produced plastic, the miniatures are surprisingly detailed, brightly colored, and well-scaled. Even off the board, I’m enjoying having a little row of recognizable characters to glance at near my desk at home.