It's here! War on Terror Edition 2

Like its real life counterpart, the War on Terror never dies. It persists, doggedly, and will probably still be going strong twenty years from now. What better way to commemorate its never-ending nature than by releasing a new, updated edition?

Some of you may recall we started talking about this "new edition" back in 2008. Unfortunately, also like the real-life War on Terror, our version was beset by numerous intelligence flaws. We had no idea it would take us this long - and then just when we reached the last hurdle, it got further delayed by customs x-raying our container (we're guessing they assumed "War on Terror" was some elabroate double bluff on behalf of the terrorsits). And then snow closed the ports for a week. Still, the important thing is, it's here. Here:

Edition 2: The Tour

Enough waffle! Let's take a look around this bad boy (don't forget to check the gallery too for a more detailed look at the components).

Just take a look at the mountain of crap pile of goodies that comes in the box!

A closer look at the front of the box.

And the back (we're going to be thorough here).

A look at the new cards in edition 2. You'll notice that "God's On My Side" is a card that exists in both the Empire and Terrorist decks.

The new money, starring our Amnesty auction winners!

The "Abu Ghraib guy" points out that War on Terror is now officially for 3 players minimum. 2 player War on Terror doesn't utilise back stabbing and paranoia to the hilt, 3 players makes sure of that joy.

Edition 1 on the left; edition 2 on the right. Past and future, side-by-side. Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon ...

And there you have it. The most obvious thing is that Edition 2 is more compact. We shrunk the volume (by roughly a third) and also removed some surplus plastics to reduce weight, waste and bulk. Retailers have been cursing our oversized box for four years and no one with a sore back has enjoyed carrying the 2.2kg monster home.

There's a new (and spectacular) possible ending to the game, which is the result of using the new "God's On My Side" together with "Nuclear Weapons". There's tonnes of new artwork on the box and board and throughout the game. The box alone contains twice as many illustrations as Edition 1 - and you thought that was crowded! The board also contains a new sea route and some redrawn boundaries.

New elements incldue: ten brand new cards, some of which are duplicated in both decks; "Indigenous Terrorists", where terrorist units are now associated with some oil counters and cannot be removed or moved from the board; "Holy Nuclear Armageddon" - a new (and spectacular) possible ending to the game which is the result of using the new "God's On My Side" together with "Nuclear Weapons". This can lead to a volley of Nukes being launched by all players and is most likely a violent and sudden end to the game.

In terms of rule changes, we went for "tweaking" rather than "rewriting". In short, it's now quicker and more "solid". Games have a more definite and consistent arc to them: peace and prosperity -> first fights -> all-out warfare -> destruction and chaos -> poverty and misery.

Serious gamers have always complained about the game's chaos and it was honestly hard to resist these cries to stablise the game. The vast majority of people who are fans of the game however love the chaos and fun that embody the game. In the end, we opted for a middle ground where some rules have been optimised to improve the speed of the rounds and to reward longer-term strategies. Specifically the rules about turning terrorist, funding terrorism and a terrorist win have been tuned to avoid a too-sudden terrorist win. Now the terrorist player can "steal" oil revenue, they have more strategic choices to make and the terrorist role is more interesting and rewarding. Ultimately, though, we held off completely rewiring the game - nor do we feel there's any need for it.

We're down to the last few hundred Edition 1 games in our warehouse here in the UK (they're completely sold out in the USA) - minus a few for the TerrorBull museum, of course. Bear in mind that this is the version in the Bodleian Library, the Imperial War Museum, the Berlin Academy of Arts, on the IT Crowd and in that infamous police photo. History! We have a feeling that this remaining stock won't last too long now it has become a finite commodity, fixed at 25,000 copies, forever. For those of a collectivist or completionist bent (and let's face it, if you're a board gamer, you are almost definitely both by default) get yours while you still can.

Posted by TerrorBull Games on 13 December 2010 - 21 comments

Comments so far:

1. I want it! Time to wrap my first edition copy in bubblewrap and store it away safely :)Dale from London - 13 December 2010
2. Geez, and I just bought v1.0 a little more than week ago and haven't even played it yet :( Are you going to publish the RoE and Card Appendix again as you did before, and/or do the updated rules as posted on the rules-page apply? Or did you make any more changes? And could you do like a print-out page for the new cards to help us upgrade? Or you could offer upgrade packages, with only the new cards and all that, that would be awesome. This way we wouldn't even have to glue stuff on our cards :)Bertolt from Bavaria - 14 December 2010
3. Mr Brecht! You honour us with your presence ... I'm really sorry about the timing of War on Terror. Yes, we are going to publish the full v2 rules and cards. We don't currently have plans for an upgrade pack but we are working on an expansion that's good for both versions of the game (and would also double-up as an upgrade from v1 to v2). Hope that gives you some consolation!TerrorBull Games - 14 December 2010
4. Yep, that's good enough, I'd say. ;) In any case I can just upgrade with post-its for now, so no problem in waiting for the expansion pack. And I mean, the cool thing is trying around with new rules and cards anyways. Already have a few ideas including the Crotch and Shoe Bombers, and "Sectarian Violence". ;) Btw, Brownie Points for recognizing the namesake my parents chose for me :PBertolt from Bavaria - 14 December 2010
5. cool! how can I buy edition two, or do we have to keep buying edition one until they are gone?justin from australia - 14 December 2010
6. Justin - unfortunately, since you're in Australia, you have to wait until New Internationalist place their next order with us before edition 2 reaches the nether-regions of the planet. That shouldn't be too long though. Sorry! Bertolt - I like the idea of Croth and Shoe bomber cards. And you have cool parents. My favourite Brecht quote is "Hope is just a lack of information". I always remember that when I need cheering up.TerrorBull Games - 15 December 2010
7. LOVE IT - WELL DONE GUYSMaria from round the bend - 15 December 2010
8. cheers but also @#@*it anyway I wanted to by one to send to my brother in Boston for christmas is that going to take just as long or is The US more supply-able?justin from australia - 15 December 2010
9. Justin - that's no problem, we have stock in the States ready to go. Check the message at the top of the shop page for last order dates in N.AmericaTerrorBull Games - 16 December 2010
10. I was one of the first to order WOT1, and Crunch, and have my certificates for both of them! But I don't really want to throw my WOT on the trashpile and replace it completely. So if some sort of 'upgrade' comes out, which is common with board games I'll grab that.Tony from London - 16 December 2010
11. That kid on the 100M note looks like he probably grew up into a handsome and well-adjusted adult ;)Nathan-Madonna from Oxford - 16 December 2010
12. Tony - you've already shown your support above and beyond the call of duty. I'm sorry there's not an upgrade kit to speak of. It could be that we underestimated demand and maybe one will be produced in the future, but more likely is an expansion pack that will serve as an upgrade and be useful to both WoT1 and WoT2 owners. TerrorBull Games - 16 December 2010
13. Nathan - that's funny, he can't be too adjusted if he's the kind of person who forks out good money to get his face on some play banknotes.TerrorBull Games - 16 December 2010
14. WoT1 was wonderful, as have been the printable games. At the risk of turning into a groupie, the website is refeshingly fun to visit too. I like to wander around it looking for tongues-in-cheeks - they're all over the place! Well done for keeping WoT in the news, and up-to-date, and for keeping yourselves out of the grasp of the state police. Oh, and a special well done for keeping Courier current! Keep up the great work. IanIan from Bath, UK - 16 December 2010
15. Another vote for an upgrade pack for v1 of the game! (If it's not worthwhile for you to produce one, I'd settle for a print-your-own upgrade...)Steven Johnson from Oakland CA - 16 December 2010
16. Hey Ian, we are thrilled to have our first official groupie. Welcome! As well as combing the site for witty little comments we put in to keep ourselves amused, your next job will be to check the source code religiously and to sycophantically "lol" at everything we ever post. You start immediately. TerrorBull Games - 16 December 2010
17. And another vote for printable expansion pack, upgrade, whatever there is. Am an English teacher in banks and big businesses in Luxemburg, can't wait to use Crunch in class. Teach them Anglo-Saxon sarcasm!Ant from Luxemburg - 20 December 2010
18. Hello Gents, Been playing V1 today with my power hungry nephew and conniving wife - we brought it for him last year and it is a keen fav after feasting... I'll be investing in V2 very soon - the expansion pack sounds like a great idea.. he'll be well jelous of me having all these global Jihad's on my hands :)Joel from Cambridge/London - 25 December 2010
19. My favourite Brecht quote is "Hope is just a lack of information". Are you sure this really is a Brecht quote? Should I be hoping that you do an upgrade pack in the near future? (oh and I like the war criminal captcha too!)Dubious from UK - 29 December 2010
20. $%@&! Australian Santa delivered me a copy of v1 last week. I'd really appreciate a downloadable print-your-own upgrade pack.simon from new zealand - 2 January 2011
21. Hi Dubious - maybe you're right. I just googled "Hoffnung ist nur ein Mangel an Information" and it came back with Heiner Mueller. But the line appears in one of Brecht's plays too. I now have to work out which one ...TerrorBull Games - 5 January 2011

TerrorBull Games Comment Form (TBG-C3)

Personal Details:

1. Name
2. Location

Personal Expression

3. Comments Mandatory Field
Fax (please disregard this):

 

To make sure you're not a robot or an idiot, we require you to identify the War Criminal from the images below:

Celine Dion

the Great Barrier Reef

Tony Blair

a baked potato

a harpsichord