Paul and I have always envisioned Stone Sword Games as releasing high quality historical games as part of the company portfolio- being that, Paul and I are constantly talking about various historical events, their representation as Board Games and often fascinating nuances.
Way back before lockdown we were working on a little game called Shield Wall - a brutally quick and violent Anglo-Saxon/ Viking battle game that hinged around a central line on the board, the "shield wall", in which you would rotate warriors in and out, duel enemy champions and attempt to push their battle line back.
Shield Wall was shelved as Hogs Of War took prominence but some fantastic art from Imad Awan (From the Lord Of The Rings CCG) prompted us to blow off the dust and try again with a different theme, Samurai (and Feudal Japan by extension).
Taking inspiration from Shogun Total War, we expanded the scope of what Shield Wall could be, with an eye on integrating a "Civilisation"-style metagame that would wrap the core battle mechanics. Writing in February 2021, I can confidently say we are definitely rising to the challenge- balancing a colossal wealth of history which we are aiming to incorporate into a game with keeping the project mechanically straightforward.
In this first post I would like to reveal our working cover for the project (below). Next week I will be breaking down the mechanics so far!
