Force of Will

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Force of Will
Game data
author Eiji Shishido
graphic Various
publishing company Force of Will Co., Ltd,
Amigo
Publishing year since 2014
Art Trading card game
Teammates 2 and more
Duration variable, an average of 30 minutes
Age from 13 years

Force of Will (in short: FoW ) is a trading card game from the Japanese game developer and publisher Eiji Shishido that has been published by Force of Will Co., Ltd, in Saitama , Japan , since 2014 . The cards are designed in the style of a Japanese manga and it is accompanied by a fantasy story. Due to its great success, the game was sold internationally and translated into several languages; in German-speaking countries, the game has been produced and published by the game publisher Amigo since 2015 .

Like other trading card games, Force of Will is produced in series and sold in various card sets. In addition to the classic starter decks and booster packs, this game also features themed boxes known as Vingolf boxes.

Furnishing

The game Force of Will is played as a pure card game, whereby the players put together a deck of cards before the game and then compete against each other. A complete deck of cards typically consists of a game deck of 40 to 60 cards, a magic stone deck of 10 to 20 magic stone cards and a ruler card. The cards are either placed directly on the table or on a corresponding display on which, in addition to the zones for the various decks and discard piles (“graveyard”), an area for the playing field itself is marked. The main difference to Magic: The Gathering is that the energy required for the game is made available via a separate deck and, in principle, an additional magic stone can be called every round via the ruler. The game thus contains a parallel to the online trading card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft , in which an additional energy source is also available in every round.

Structure of the playing cards

Basic structure of a playing card (1: costs, A: name, B: picture, C: description and properties, D: combat values ​​(for resonators), E: additional card information (copyright, card number), F: attribute information)

There are different types of cards in the game, each with different functions and effects. The structure of the cards depends on the specific card type. The following types of playing cards are used in the game:

  1. Ruler / Enforcer (Person): The ruler cards represent the avatar of the player who guides the game. The ruler can summon magic stones or actively participate in the battle as an executor.
  2. Resonator (person): The resonators are supporters of the ruler and are actively used in combat. You can attack and block enemy attacks.
  3. Magic stone: The magic stones generate "will" and thus the energy required by the players to play other cards.
  4. Additional cards: The additional cards are additional protective spells and accessories that affect the entire playing field or individual cards to which they are added.
  5. Magic cards: Magic cards allow a one-time effect in the game and are then discarded.
  6. Insignia cards (since the Alice cycle): The insignia are particularly powerful objects that influence the game.

Depending on the type, the cards contain a card name, the card type and a card text describing the card and the card properties. In addition, there is an indication of the cost of playing with the resonators as well as the additional and magic cards as well as an attack and defense value for the executor and resonator cards. The costs for the various cards must be paid in “will”, there are five specific types of will, which are assigned to the attributes light, fire, water, wind and darkness (attribute costs), plus generic costs that can be paid as required can.

The basic structure of the cards can vary depending on the type, but usually corresponds to a basic structure.

Structure of the playing field

Force of Will: A player's play areas

The Force of Will playing field is divided into different zones. The play deck and the cemetery are placed on the upper right side of the field, the magic stone deck is placed on the upper left side. The lower area is divided into the central ruler zone, in which the player places his ruler, as well as the magic stone zone to the left of it for storing the magic stones and to the right of it the preparation zone in which cards can be prepared for use. The central area of ​​the playing field is the playing zone in which all activated cards are placed. The played resonators are also located here with their corresponding additional cards and, if activated, the ruler card in its function as executor. All battles and other actions of the main phase take place in the play zone.

Style of play

The game is a turn-based card game in which two players compete against each other with their respective decks and it is similar to other games from the field of trading card games or other player-vs-player games.

Game preparation

In preparation for the game, each player has to put together his playing deck and his magic stone deck from the trading cards available to him and his ruler card must be valid. The shuffled deck piles are placed face down on the corresponding zones on the playing field, then each player receives five cards from his playing deck, which he takes up as cards in hand. Each player can now choose any number of cards from his hand and place them face down under his deck and draw the corresponding number of cards (“take a mulligan”). Each player also starts with 4,000 life points, which are noted accordingly.

Game sequence

Game phases per turn
  • Drawing phase
  • Recovery phase
  • Main phase
  • Final phase

Beginning with a randomly determined starting player, the two opponents now alternately carry out their moves, whereby the individual moves are divided into several phases and, above all, the possible actions of the main phase depend on the cards already on display and newly played cards.

The turn begins with a drawing phase in which the active player (except for the starting player in the first round) draws a card from his game deck and takes it into his hand. This is followed by the recovery phase in which all exhausted cards are refreshed and thus brought from the horizontal position to the vertical. After recovery, the main phase of the turn follows, in which the player can play cards from his hand and use cards on display. In principle, there are the following possible actions in any order:

  • Summoning a magic stone: For this, the ruler of the player is exhausted and the top magic stone is placed in the magic stone zone. The magic stone can be used directly to generate will and thus energy.
  • A resonator, an additional card or an insignia can be played, for which the corresponding costs must be paid.
  • A magic card can be played and carried out, for which the corresponding costs must be paid.
  • A card can be played in the preparation area. For this 2 wills have to be paid; the card is activated as soon as its "triggered" conditions are met.
  • An attack can be declared: If an attack is declared, the active player must name an attack target and one of his recovered resonators or his executor who will carry out the attack. The opponent or an exhausted resonator or executor in the opposing playing field can be selected as targets. To carry out the attack, the player exhausts his attacker. The opponent can let the attack go through or exhaust his own recovered resonator or enforcer to block the attack and thus redirect it to this card. As soon as the final target is determined, the fight is resolved. The attacker and the defender attack the respective opponent with their attack values, which are deducted from the defense value of the card. If a resonator takes at least as much damage as its defense value indicates, it is sent to the graveyard after the fight. If the opponent is attacked directly and does not use a defender, the damage equal to the attack values ​​is deducted directly from his life account; if this falls below 0, the player has lost the game.
  • A judgment can be pronounced: A ruler can be converted into an enforcer and placed in the playing field zone, in which he can later become active in battles like a resonator as an attacker or defender. A verdict can only be pronounced on a recovered ruler and the costs indicated for this must be paid. An enforcer can still summon magic stones on the playing field and is exhausted for this. An enforcer who forfeits his entire defense will be destroyed and returned to the ruling zone, where he can no longer be used for combat.

The respective opponent can react to an action with a counter-action, which is carried out before the actual action takes effect (“chaining”). In this way, a defender can, for example, reduce damage, neutralize actions or cause other effects.

After the main phase, the final phase of the turn follows, in which the player removes all remaining damage from the main phase. Then he discards all cards in his hand that exceed the limit of seven cards and ends his turn. The previously passive player takes over the game and now becomes the active player.

Playing

The game can be ended in two ways. Once a player has lost their full 4,000 life points, they automatically lose the game. In addition, a player loses the game if his deck is exhausted and he cannot draw any more cards on his turn.

Publications and series

Force of Will is a trading card game that, in its conception and the way it is played, is very similar to its predecessors such as Magic: The Gathering or the Yu-Gi-Oh! - Trading card game oriented. Like other trading card games, it is released in series, each sold in starter packs, booster packs each containing 10 random trading cards, and larger sets known as vingolf boxes. The following series have been published so far (abbreviation of the series at the bottom left of the trading card):

  • Grimm cycle
    • G1: Legends of the Purple Moon (CMF)
    • G2: The Flying Castle and The Two Towers (TAT)
    • G3: Return of the Moon Priestess (MPR)
    • G4: A Thousand Years Eternity (MOA)
  • Alice cycle
    • A1: The Seven Rulers (SKL)
    • A2: Wanderer in Twilight (TTW)
    • A3: Savior in the moonlight (TMS)
    • A4: Battle for Attoraktia (BFA)
  • Lapis cycle
    • L1: Curse of the Icy Coffin (CFC)
    • L2: Lost Legacy (LEL)
    • L3: Return of the Dragon Emperor (RDE)
    • L4: Echoes of a New World (ENW)
  • Reiya cycle
    • R1: Nights of Horror (ACN)
    • R2: Arrival of the Demon King (ADK)
    • R3: The Time Sorceress (TSW)
    • R4: Breath of the Doom Moon (WOM)
  • New Walhalla cycle
    • N1: The rebirth of Walhalla (NDR)
    • N2: Strangers in Neu-Walhalla (SNV)
    • N3: Awakening of the Gods (AOA)
    • N4: Götterdämmerung in Neu-Walhalla (DBV)
  • Origin cycle
    • U1: Alice - How it all began Part 1 (AO1)
    • U2: Alice - How it all began Part 2 (AO2)
    • U3: Alice - How it all began Part 3 (AO3)

In addition to the cards, the company Force of Will publishes stories accompanying the game, mangas and 4-komas (comic strips made up of 4 pictures) that take up the content and characters of the trading card game and thus put them into context.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Company information on the Amigo website; accessed on June 20, 2018.
  2. ↑ Timm Grandpair: What does Force of Will have that other card games don't? on fowsystem.com, February 17, 2017; accessed on June 21, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Force of Will , rules of the game v3.30 (as of June 1, 2018) on the Amigo website; accessed on June 16, 2018.
  4. ↑ Stories on the English language website of Force of Will ; accessed on June 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ Mangas on the English language website of Force of Will ; accessed on June 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ 4-komas on the Force of Will website ; accessed on June 20, 2018.

Web links