Wrath of Fire Mountain Review

Premise

Have you ever wondered what the Earth would be like if man and dinosaurs roamed its lands together? Well, wonder no longer! In Wrath of Fire Mountain players pit themselves against each other in a race against Mother Nature, utilising their wits, dinosaurs, and the mercy of the fiery volcano to reach the finish line.

In the deep jungle, the glorious plains, or even the blue lagoons, use your tribes of cave people to explore the shifting terrain as you hatch dinosaurs and learn of their prehistoric power in a fight to control the most land.

With strategy, might, and a bit of fiery magic, will your tribe become the strongest in all the land?

The Game

Wrath of Fire Mountain is a game well suited for 2-4 players. Composing of terrain tiles and a tracker board, players aim to achieve the highest possible score before their opponent: 24pts for 2 players, 20pts for 3 players, and 18pts for 4 players.

This is a beautifully crafted game, featuring well-sculpted miniatures of both the cave people and dinosaurs, dice specific to the game, and cards with vibrant illustrations. All of this is stored within an embossed metal tin, adding a certain level of creativity and attention to detail that is obvious and appreciated by the players.

The set-up of Wrath of Fire Mountain is very simple to follow. Included in the tin is an instructions booklet with clearly labelled steps and images to assist players, especially when playing for the first time. Most players will find themselves ready to play within only a few minutes.

Each play turn follows a system in which the player must work their way through in order. These include: rolling the dice, placing and/or moving figure pieces, checking for volcanic tremors, and finally checking for eruptions.

The dice set is made up of only D6 die, all featuring symbols that instruct the player to perform tasks such as placing a figure piece on the volcano tile, hatching a dinosaur, or moving a tile, among others. These can be rerolled up to three times.

Movement allows the player to make their way across the tile map, therefore building points and holding territory. It is not necessary to move, all actions are optional except for placing figures on the volcano tile.

Hatching dinosaurs is a fun aspect of the gameplay. From family favourites such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops to a more varied species of Plesiosaur and Titanosaur, there is something for all dinosaur fans in this game. Whether it is using a dinosaur to secure a piece of land for its size, or encouraging their – ahem – bloodthirst to take out rival cave people, these dinosaurs prove to be as vital as your tribes when it comes to winning the game.

Finally, we come to the volcano. It wouldn’t be called Wrath of Fire Mountain if this was not going to come into play now, would it? The tribes worship the Fire Mountain and hope for it to show mercy on them in the form of shifting terrain to suit their needs. The more cave people that praise the mountain, then the better for your tribe as you get to control where the tremors cause the land to shift. Once there is no more space to further continue praising the mountain, all the regions are scored and points are tallied on the tracker board.

For rapid, humour-filled gameplay, Wrath of Fire Mountain is an excellent choice. Reminiscent of the games of old, it will make many players take a trip down nostalgia lane as they take in the carefully produced components and simple rules. Depending on strategy, the rounds can feel a little short. As a self-confessed dinosaur fan, I was eager to collect as many species as I could get my hands on but often found that the rounds were over before I had the chance. There is the possibility of staggering rounds through the rerolling option, however, it is tricky.

Continuing with the dinosaurs, players will quickly realise that there are far more species available than will be possible to play in one game. It is noted in the instructions that players are actively encouraged to pick and choose different dinosaurs on replays, so I will try this out to experience the effect it has on gameplay.

A quick, simple to play, and visually appealing game with dinosaurs and competing cave people racing against the Wrath of Fire Mountain – what’s not to like?

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