The Beasts of War early Let's Play video sold me on the mechanics from day one. I couldn't afford the Kickstarter at the time and was a bit gutted. As if Mantic Games read my mind they bought out the March to War pledge towards the end of the Kickstarter with a reduced price (and naturally reduced bonuses) and I dived in. After some saving up and begging I went to the BoW boot camp for The Walking Dead in N. Ireland and it has created friendships and memories I will never forget. Since then I have  completely emersed myself in the TV series and plan to check out the graphic novels that the game is actually licensed to.

• Art Direction

Art from the novels is used, the print quality is high so this never interferes with the enjoyment of the art.  The haunting images of the Walkers definitely puts you in the right frame of mind as you delve into the box.

• Components

There were complaints from a minority that there had been some miscasts and dodgy mold lines, but I was lucky and very pleased with the quality I received and the expansions I have bought since. The Walkers are especially a pleasure to paint.

The card components were all good, but again, others did find that the rulers from an expansion box that were measuring in inches were not the same length as those in the core box.

My only disappointment was how easy to tear the paper grass play mat that came in the main box had been.

• Playability

I have taken great delight in teaching this game to about 6 or 8 people now and it was easy everytime. The core mechanics are gorgeously simple, but once you get playing you realise to play well and survive there is far more to the game than the simplicity of mechanics suggest.

You don't have to love the TV series or horror movies of any kind to enjoy the game. It is a great gateway game where boardgamers or even those not used to tabletop gaming at all can be tempted to play and will generally have an excellent time.

• Replayability

Of all the games I have bought and played, which is an embarrassingly very long list, this has been the game I have been able to play the most and find the most willing opponents on a regular basis. Because I got the big box version from the Boot camp I can turn up and people can play exclusively with my miniatures and components. That said I have a friend at the club, who was able to go all in on the Kickstarter, who has wave on wave of fun additions that have given the group more options to make bigger better survivor group lists.

The game scales well. We have played with 4 players on a 6x4 foot play table, though some of the better games have come from games on a 4x2 foot play area with 2 or 3 players.

I also bought an expansion that includes the solo play rules. This poses you with a slightly different way of playing, but just as fun, with a tailored event deck and some nice narrative scenarios.

• Writing

The game rules are well written and the scenarios give you some interesting more narrative ways to play that don't involve just grabbing the most loot and staying alive.

You do have to be careful not to include event cards and equipment cards that are too advanced for the terrain and level of game you are playing. i.e. If you aren't playing with fire rules or wooded areas avoid having extinguishers or event cards that make special use of woods in the decks before you start.

Overall: If you buy this game you will not regret it. If starting again I would go for the core set and one of the larger expansions to really get a taste for the game (or one of the fast becoming rare kickstarter boxes that give you a great value and great content kick start to playing this game)

P. S. Big luv to everyone I gamed with on the boot camp. Sophie Lives!