Anachronism game: Encyclopedia - Anachronism game

Anachronism (game)

Anachronism is a tabletop game with aspects of both miniatures and collectible card genres. The creators of the game, TriKing Games and The History Channel, have dubbed it "The Greatest Game in History".

Anachronism game - Description

The game is a contest of arms between two warriors from numerous historical periods. Each game lasts a maximum of five rounds. The game is unusual for a card game in that it does not use shuffling as a randomization technique. Each player places their chosen warrior card on the playmat and their four support cards, face down, in slots corresponding to the first four rounds. The support cards may be any combination of inspiration, weapon, armor, or special cards. Initiative numbers on the support cards determine which player goes first in each round. The warrior cards may move and be turned (faced) as in a miniatures game. Support cards represent a variety of historical weapons, armor, items, deities, people, places or concepts such as the Norse sverd or Japanese book Go Rin No Sho. The game's name is derived from the ability to mix the various support cards such that the ancient Greek Leonidas wearing a kimono may fight a Japanese ninja who is wielding a gladius. Dice are used by both the attacker and defender to determine the outcome of battles.

Each warrior card has four stats: life, speed, experience, and damage:

• Life indicates the warrior's starting life total. Current cards have values ranging from 5 to 9.
• Speed shows how many moves the warrior can make each round. This is almost always 3.
• Experience has subtle but far-reaching effects as an all purpose tie-breaking stat. It is the most variable of the statistics with current extremes ranging from 1 to 10.
• Damage shows how much damage the warrior deals with a basic attack. This is almost always 1.

Every warrior and weapon card has an attack grid showing what bonus or penalty is applied to attacks rolls to each possible space. Blank spaces on an attack grid indicate that the warrior or weapon can not attack that square. Attack grids are relative the the orientation of your warrior, so skillful management of attack grids becomes very important to successful gameplay.

Anachronism game - First Release

The first release of the game was in three parts. The first part was a free demo consisting of the warriors Miyamoto Musashi, Beowulf, their support cards, and a playmat in the April 2005 issue of Scrye Magazine. The second was a starter set featuring the warriors Spartacus, Achilles, their support cards, dice, and a playmat. The final portion was 16 warrior packs. Each warrior pack consists of one warrior card and their four specific support cards.

Anachronism game - Factions

Ancient Greeks

• Achilles
• Alexander the Great
• Herakles
• Leonidas
• Milo of Croton

Feudal Japanese

• Miyamoto Musashi
• Nakano Takeko
• Ninja
• Oda Nobunaga
• Saito Musashibo Benkei

Norse

• Beowulf
• Canute the Great
• Freydís Eiríksdóttir
• Grettir the Strong
• Harald Hardrada

Romans

• Amazonia
• Julius Caesar
• Marcus Claudius Marcellus
• Maximinus
• Spartacus

Anachronism game - Promotional Cards

Promotional cards based on the first set have been released. The promos include alternate versions of existing warriors and new inspirations.

The promotional cards of Set 1 are:

• Alexander III of Macedon
• Leonidas I of Sparta
• Bushido
• Nobunaga
• Shinmen Takezo
• Canute I of Denmark
• Geat King Beowulf
• Gaius Julius
• Mars
• Spartacus of Thrace

Anachronism game - Set 2

Set 2 was released in June of 2005. It consists of the Britons, Chinese, Egyptians and Mongols. The Promotional Pack associated with this set includes Robin Hood and Yue Fei. The starter set for the 2nd release pits Ramses II against Genghis Khan.

Anachronism game - Factions

Britons

• Alfred the Great
• Boudicca
• King Arthur
• Richard the Lionheart
• Robin Hood

Chinese

• Guan Yu
• Hua Mulan
• Jie the Tyrant
• Sun Tzu
• Yue Fei

Egyptians

• Cleopatra VII
• Horemheb the Restorer
• Ramses II
• Seti I
• Srqt the Scorpion King

Mongols

• Attila the Hun
• Genghis Khan
• Khutulun
• Kublai Khan
• Subedei

Anachronism game - Set 3

The 3rd Set was released on September the 15th, 2005. The 3rd set features the Scottish, Germanic, Native Americans and French cultures. The 2-player starter set for set 3 features Joan of Arc and William Wallace. The German folk hero Siegfried and Makataimeshekiakiak (Black Hawk), the Native American warrior, were the mail in promotional warrior packs for this set, available through a UPC mail-in similar to the Robin Hood/Yue Fei one done for Set 2.

Anachronism game - Factions

The names listed are those which appear on the cards, common Anglicized names follow them in parentheses:

Scots

• Calum III (Malcolm III)
• Raibeart Brus (Robert the Bruce)
• Rob Ruadh MacGriogair (Robert Roy MacGregor)
• Sgàthach an Eilein Sgiathanaich (Scathach of Skye)
• Ullium Uallace (William Wallace)

Germanic Tribes

• Alarich
• Arminius
• Fredegunde
• Siegfried
• Theoderich Der Grosse (Theodoric the Great)

French

• Charlemagne
• Charles Martel
• Roland Le Paladin (Roland the Paladin)
• Sainte Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc)
• Vercingetorix

Native Americans

• Maĥpíya Lúta (Red Cloud)
• Makataimeshekiakiak (Black Hawk)
• Tecumtha (Tecumseh)
• Tĥašúŋka Witkó (Crazy Horse)
• Tĥatĥáŋka ĺyotake (Sitting Bull)

(Note: The names of the Native American Warriors appear to be printed in Americanist phonetic notation. This list uses an h marked with a circumflex to represent an h with a caron.)

Anachronism game - Promotional Cards

A second batch of promotional cards for tournament players was released for Set 3. This set of promos added additional new warriors and support cards to existing cultures rather than adding alternate versions of existing warriors. The Set 3 promotional cards are:

• Hattori Hanzo
• Seth
• Chan Zhang
• Stone of Destiny
• Batu Khan

Anachronism game - Set 4

Set 4 will be released in November, 2005, according to a press release from Triking. It will feature warriors from the Maori Islands, Russia, Ireland, and Persia. The starter set will feature Irish King Brian Boru vs. the Russian Tsar Peter the Great. The mail-in promotional warriors for this set are the Maori Maui Tiki-tiki, and the Persian Darius the Great. The mail-in offer begins on December 1st, 2005. Starting with this set, the number of UPCs required to be mailed in has been increased from 3 to 4 per warrior, but the shipping and handling cost of $1.99 US remains the same.

Anachronism game - Factions

Maori

• Ariki Te Wherowhero
• Hatupatu
• Kupe
• Maui Tiki-tiki
• Te Raupraha

Persian

• Apranik
• Cyrus the Great
• Darius the Great
• Mithridates VI
• Shapur I

Russian

• Catherine the Great
• Ivan the Terrible
• Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky
• Peter the Great
• Saint Alexander Nevsky

Irish

• Benrig Medb
• Brian Boru
• Cu Chulainn
• Donal McCarthaigh Mor
• Finn MacCumhaill

Anachronism game - Set 5

Set 5 is set to release sometime in Febuary 2006. It will feature the Aztecs, the Spanish, the Saracrens, and a revisiting of the Japanese. The starter set for Set 5 will feature Moctezuma II vs. Hernán Cortés. The promotional warriors for Set 5 will be Sanada Nobushige and Tariq ibn Ziyad. Presumably they will be obtainable via a mail in offer like that of Sets 2, 3, and 4.

Anachronism game - Set 5 Warriors

Aztec

• Auítzotl
• Cuitláhuac
• Itzcóatl
• Moctezuma II
• Tlacaelel

Japanese

• Hijikata Toshizo
• Minamoto no Yoshitsune
• Sanada Nobushige
• Takeda Shingen
• Uesugi Kenshin

Saracen

• Amr ibn al-Aas
• Harun al-Rashid
• Mavia
• Salah ad-Din
• Tariq ibn Ziyad

Spanish

• Charles V
• El Cid Campeador
• El Gran Capitán
• Hernán Cortés
• Isabella I of Castile

Anachronism game - Competitive Play

Anachronism features a series of tournaments with high-profile prizes, such as a trip to one of various destinations in Europe. However, in September 2005, Mattieu Brochu won a new MINI Cooper as the grand prize of the first Anachronism World Championship held at Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Anachronism game", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki