Tannhauser is a squad based tactical battle game.

What does it compare to?
Tannhauser is not a collectable miniatures game on the scale (in both size and complexity) of miniatures game offered by Games Workshop and the like. It is certainly much less complex than squad based war games such as ASL. Two of my favorite squad based tactical games, Combat Commander Europe and Duel of Ages, are at least a couple of steps more complex and involving than Tannhauser. It is closer to the scale of Wiz Kids miniatures games, although it is no where near as clunky. All in all, I think that Tannhauser compares in scale, complexity and scope to Heroscape. It uses a flat board instead of 3D terrain, and uses a very streamlined pathfinder system for distances and line of sight.

I must say that I usually prefer a bit more complexity and involvement in a squad based tactical game. Tannhauser is just a little too stripped down and simplistic for my tastes, but that’s just me. Tannhauser fits comfortably into the genre in which it was designed for: Squad based tactical game – lite.

Theme: Love it. Uber cool. I see a lot of story potential in future releases.

Components: Very Nice. I like the look and aesthetics of the bits, figures, and double sided board. It’s gorgeously dark; too dark. Some of the colors on the board are a pain to see, even in good light.

Rulebook: The rulebook does a good enough job of teaching the rules, but there are some noticeable gaps. The rules are written to explain the basic game system only. I found it odd that there is no explanation of the boards or how they apply to a specific scenario. There are other holes: On the setup sequence on the back cover, there is no mention of the step for setting up crates. Overall, the rules make sense if you apply logic to some of the holes, but I was surprised that a game with this much ambition and plans for future releases, did not have a better rulebook.

Gameplay: Sometimes I am excited after reading the rules, but gameplay turns out to be a big disappointment. Other times, after reading the rules, I am a bit let down, but the gameplay turns out to be surprisingly excellent. After six games now, Tannhauser falls into the latter category.

Rules that worried me upon reading the rulebook:

Activation system: I am not a fan of the Igo-Ugo activation system in squad based tactical games. This unimaginative activation mechanic severely dampens tactical and strategic gameplay. It is what hurts games like Mage Knights and Heroscape for me. Often they devolve into simple games of I bash-you bash because that happens to be the best choice each turn. A game that has opportunity fire or off-turn orders allows for much more tactical maneuvering and creative thinking.

Pathfinder system: The pathfinder system is touted on the box and throughout the rules. I actually like the idea and how it is implemented. LOS and distances are all wrapped into a logically and readily viewable mechanism. Characters and objects do not block LOS. If a character is on a colored circle it can see all other characters on that same connected color. Clean and simple. My worry was that this would be way too simplistic to provide for strategic maneuvering.

Weapon minimum firing distances: When I got to the part in the rules on minimum firing distances, I winced. As I got into it further, I visibly cringed. I hate artificially applied minimum firing distances. (pistols = 2 spaces minimum, automatic weapons = 3 spaces min, and heavy weapons and grenades = 4 spaces min). These limits are non realistic. They almost always feel fiddly and forced. They usually take away from tactical gameplay instead of adding to it.

Wonky weapon damage: Most characters have just three or four life levels. Nearly any weapon, depending on the battle outcome, can do no damage at all, or kill a full-health character outright. This seemed to be too much of a wild swing in fortunes, instead of a consistent, more manageable hit point reduction.

I will mention that there are several rules that I really liked, such as the equipment selection system, and how each character feels like a distinct individual, but after reading the rules I was very disappointed. I felt like I had just paid an enormous price for yet another simplistic tactical game with the same copy-cat pitfalls of so many other games in this genre.

Now we get to the actual gameplay:

It took me two or three games, but I have to admit that my first impressions were wrong. I like how the game plays out, due in part to the combination of the rules I questioned!

The combination of the pathfinder system (board design), activation system, and minimum firing range works very well in actual practice. I am happy to report that there is plenty of room for tactical maneuvering. The paths on the board are more confined than in the wide open feel of many other squad based tactical games. This creates the situation where heavier weapons are deadlier, but less flexible. A character with a smaller weapon can take advantage of the path structure to even things out.

For instance, the shock trooper, who, with the right equipment, is insanely deadly at hand to hand combat, can position himself (say behind a door), to where a character with a ranged heavy weapon will either have to face him in hand to hand combat (at a distinct disadvantage), try to bull rush past him, or just go away and find somewhere else on a path where he can use the heavy weapon in all of its glory. I love choices like this and Tannhauser is full of them. Every turn, movement strategy comes into play. I am thrilled that this is not another game of ‘I move forward and attack, then you move forward and attack.’

I was also surprised to find that I like the weapon damage. This is not a game of health management. You have to go into Tannhauser with the mindset that weapons are lethal. You have to assume that if an enemy gets a good shot at your character, then your character is probably going to die, and count yourself fortunate if the character is only wounded.

I have to stress that the rules I pointed out in this review are usually game-killers for me, but with Tannhauser, the combination of how they interact really does make for a game with meaningful tactical gameplay. I don’t know if the designers just threw together well-used (and yucky) mechanics and just happened into this combination on accident, or if they achieved it through design foresight and play testing (especially with the board design); but either way, it works.

I still have my favorite squad based tactical games that I will play before Tannhauser, but this fits a niche. I think Tannhauser outshines other squad based tactical games with the same complexity and time to play (about an hour), and it has potential for the future.