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| Daleks vs Sontarans, a clash yet to be seen on TV |
Before 2006, most Doctor Who fans of a certain type probably wondered who would come out on top in a clash between the show's two highest profile recurring villains, the Daleks and the Cybermen. Despite appearing in the classic series regularly over it's 26-year run, the Doctor's two most formidable opponents never met, and the show's approach to continuity was very compartmentalized: Dalek stories would often refer to previous Dalek stories, but there wasn't really any sense of a larger, coherent universe. The only classic TV story that featured both the Daleks and the Cybermen was 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors, but they're never seen on screen together.
All that changed in 2006 with the new series episode Army of Ghosts, in which the Daleks and the Cybermen finally met. Doctor Who: Exterminate! from Warlord Games allows players to recreate that clash on the tabletop with "epic scale" 38mm miniatures.
A skirmish game may seem like an odd choice for the Doctor Who license, since the Doctor tends to avoid violence and try to think his way out of problems, which is no doubt why the game emphasizes clashes between the more militant villains of the series such as the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Sontarans. However, the game's scenarios do each include a sidebar with suggestions for how to involve the Doctor and his companions in the game, giving them objective-based goals to achieve while trying to avoid getting shot at by Daleks.
The game itself uses a simple symbol-based dice mechanic to determine if attacks are successful, with each player also given a hand of "battle cards" that can be used to supplement the dice results. Common miniatures game elements such as range, obstacles and cover are addressed by adjusting the number of dice rolled for attack or defense. Rather than requiring players to keep track of damage to individual miniatures, the game uses a system of different statuses: figures are either fully operational, shocked (temporarily incapacitated) or exterminated on a particularly good roll of the damage dice. It makes losing figures in battle a bit unpredictable, which I think is okay for a game like this where the emphasis is on narrative rather than cold tactics.
One game mechanic I have mixed feelings about is the concept of being "under fire." If a figure is successfully fired upon (even if it doesn't take any damage), that figure is given an "under fire" token, which means it can't return fire on its turn, and has to roll to remove the token at the end of the turn. This can sometimes result in multiple turns where a player can't really do much with their figures, which can be a little frustrating. It also gives characters whose special abilities allow them to ignore "under fire" tokens (such as the Daleks) a huge advantage.
To add additional flavor, the game includes an "Adventure Card" deck with various events and equipment from the show that players can use. We've found that giving the Cyberleader a samurai sword is a particularly winning combination.
Most miniatures game rules systems are really just an excuse to sell the figures, and that's where this game really shines. Right out of the box you get 12 Daleks and 12 Cybermen, requiring some assembly but cast in gold and silver so you can get to playing without taking the time to paint them (although you will probably want to eventually).
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| A selection of additional figures: an Ice Warrior, a Judoon, a Silent, and a Zygon |
The supplemental figures cover a wide range of both the classic and the new TV series, and they are of exceptional quality. The slightly larger scale allows for a lot more detail, and an apparently rigorous approvals process results in miniatures that are very true to their TV counterparts, and a joy to paint.
Rating: 4 (out of 5) Great miniatures with a reasonably good rules set to go with them.
- Doctor Who: Exterminate! official website
- Doctor Who: Exterminate! on BoardGameGeek
- Doctor Who: Exterminate! Facebook group (very active)