Fire Tower Review

When it comes to the UK Games Expo, it’s quite easy for hidden gems to get lost in a sea of choice as you peruse the halls. To stand out, you must deliver something unique and memorable. This year I stumbled across such a gem in Runaway Parade Games headliner: Fire Tower.

So, I have a burning question for you, are you ready to go out in a blaze of glory?

Fire Tower invites 2-4 players to take on the roles of fire lookouts overseeing the forest from their watchtowers in this classically competitive game. As a fire breaks out in the centre of the forest, players will manipulate both wind direction and therefore the fire itself to defend their watchtowers and force the inferno towards their opponents.

Gameplay

The initial setup is wonderfully simple, players choose one of the towers in the four corners of the board and are given a hand of five cards as well as the Bucket card which will allow you to dowse a certain amount of fire that may have breached your stronghold as a one-off freebie.

Other cards that may be given to players or drawn whilst playing include Wind Cards which allow for a change in wind direction. Water Cards that provide help in clearing some of the flames that are daring to get a little too close for comfort. Fire Cards that let gamers spread the fire towards their opponents, and finally there are Firebreak Cards. These are used to build defences around your quadrant and ease some of the pressure if you are feeling the heat.

You will also find Event Cards in the deck. These cards add something a little bit extra to the game to throw some curve balls at the players and when drawn must be played immediately regardless of whose turn it may be. Event Cards include Firestorm, Shadow of the Wood and Mutual Aid.  The exact workings of each of these cards are detailed in the instructions and some are optional for the game however each one, when drawn, have unique effects.

Firestorm, as the name implies, sets off a chain reaction to spread the fire on your board even further. The Wind Dice is rolled and each empty space orthogonally adjacent to an existing fire gem in the new wind direction is then filled with another gem. You can see how a fire can quickly get out of hand when this card is drawn! When I played my most recent game, this card knocked out two players in one turn!

Mutual Aid allows the player who drew the card to choose one of three options listed. These include placing a fire gem, placing a Firebreak token, or discarding exactly three cards from your hand and drawing back up to the limit. The twist here is that when that player chooses an option, every other player must also take that action in turn order.

Finally, Shadow of the Wood adds my favourite element of this game. When drawn from the deck it allows any eliminated players to come back into the game and choose an option listed on the card to take their revenge on their adversaries.

Once your board and players are set up, the first player will roll the wind direction dice and set the included weathervane to whichever direction was rolled. This is the direction that the fire will initially travel in. During a turn, players will simply perform two actions in the following order: spread the fire and play a card.

Starting from the blaze in the centre of the board, simply place a fire gem orthogonally adjacent (a frequent term you will see in this game that is wonderfully defined in the instructions!) in the current direction of the wind. You may then play a single card from your hand, resolve the card as necessary and draw back up to the hand limit before play proceeds to the next person. It’s as simple as that!

Use your cards as valuable resources to force the fire towards your opponent’s towers, it won’t be long until your board is consumed by a blazing inferno! The last tower standing is the winner!