Preamble.
This game was something of a rare treat for me: I usually read lots of reviews and session reports before I decide whether to buy a game or not, but Thud was given to me as a birthday present so I knew nothing about it. My initial joy was somewhat tempered by the fact that I’m not a fan of Discworld. My fears grew when I opened the box and saw something reminiscent of chess because I’m not a fan of that either.

Components.
The game comes in a square box that is roughly the same size as the standard box used for Zooloretto etc, albeit not as deep. Inside is a very nice velvety insert that houses the components. There are 8 trolls, 32 dwarves and a couple of stone obelisks (in case you lose one?), all made from some kind of resin or synthetic stone. They are nicely moulded and have a dark grey/black appearance a little reminiscent of coal, which gives them table presence. The board is like a chess board, but with the corners cut off. It is too shiny and it has a tendency to warp because the card that it is mounted on card is not thick enough. The square rulebook is reasonably well written and illustrated.

Overall then, the components are okay. The pieces are very nice but the board could be better.

Gameplay
This is a two player game that lasts roughly an hour (sometimes less, but sometimes much longer). Game play takes place as a pair of battles. Each player uses either the trolls or dwarves first, and then swaps over. Set up involves placing a stone in the centre square and surrounding it with the 8 trolls. The Dwarves are then placed around the periphery of the board, with gaps in the centre space on each of the north, south, east and west edges.

Dwarves move first. They move any number of squares in a line (forwards, backwards, orthogonally or diagonally). They can’t move through other pieces. Dwarves capture trolls by forming unbroken lines and hurling the front dwarf at the troll. The number of dwarves in the line dictates the range of the attack e.g. if there are 3 dwarves in a line, they can attack a troll up to 3 squares away. The troll is removed and the dwarf that was hurled at it is placed in the vacated square.

Trolls move only one square in any direction. They capture one or more Dwarves by moving into any square adjacent to them (note: they must move in order to capture). Trolls can also capture by shoving, which is where they make a line of trolls and then move the front troll up to a number of squares equal to the number of trolls in a line. The front troll captures any dwarves that it lands next to.

Play continues until both players agree that they can’t make any more captures, at which point scores are tallied. Dwarves count as 1 point, trolls as 4 points. The players then swap sides and play again, and the winner is the player with most cumulative points after this second game.

There are also a couple of variants included. Koom Valley Thud involves the dwarves trying to steal the central rock. It starts with one dwarf next to this rock and then 15 other dwarves on one side of the board and the 8 trolls on the other. Dwarves move first and move as normal, except that if a dwarf is next to the rock, the dwarf player can elect to move the rock one square instead of moving a dwarf. Dwarves capture trolls by moving so that a troll is trapped between two dwarves in a straight line. Trolls move up to three squares in a straight line. They now capture dwarves by trampling over them i.e. starting adjacent to a dwarf, moving over it and landing the square beyond. Crucially, if a troll captures a dwarf it is allowed to keep moving (even with a change of direction) if a further move would allow it to trample another dwarf. As before, captures require pieces to move.

The Kings Game is a specific set up shown in the rulebook where players must work out the winning move for the dwarves.

So, What Do I Think?
Sadly, although it was a nice surprise to receive this game ‘unseen’, my initial fears were well-founded. I really dislike this game, and find it tedious in the extreme. I just don’t get enough fun in return for the time and brain power invested. Its only saving grace is that it looks nice when set up on the table! Once play begins, I either get frustrated, bored, or (usually) both. I’m terrible at seeing patterns and consequently I’m rubbish at Chess. Playing Thud becomes an exercise in seeing how long I can last out before I lose. I have played it about a dozen times in the hope that I might get into it or start to see patterns and strategies, but I just can’t! Not only is it frustrating, but it is also really boring. It takes much too long to play, partly because of the horrible ‘stop when you both agree’ ending condition, and partly because most of my opponents seem to take an age working out their best move. I just can’t be bothered to sit and analyse it to try and work out what to do. I usually end up finishing the first round so far behind that the second round is a moot point or so bored that just don’t want to keep playing. In short, it is just not a gaming experience that I want to invest any of my time or brain-power in.

Overall then, I give this game a paltry 3 out of 10. I don’t think it is broken, it is just not for me! If you like Discworld and you like Chess, then you will probably enjoy this game, and no doubt you’ll rate it higher than I do. If like me, you aren’t a fan of either and you’re not particularly good at recognising patterns and planning moves accordingly, then do yourself a favour and steer well clear.