Fluff wise, the story takes place on an alternate Earth set in the early 1900's. Well, sort of. See, the city of Malifaux actually exists on another world that those from the alternate Earth travelled through thanks to a portal known as 'The Breach'. The story behind all of it is that this alternate Earth had magic, but during the late 1700's it became clear that magic was fading and fear ran ramped that they might loose magic altogether. Many sought a solution and one such lot thought they found it. However, their attempt resulted in a massive explosion and in the resulting crater they found a portal, The Breach. Explorations into the Breach found a city which was similar to their worlds, but not of their world. Translation of the name found it was called Malifaux and the city was empty. Soon they found in the nearby hills a land rich with glowing gems which radiated magic. Calling them Soulstones, they were mined and sent back to Earth. All seemed well, until the blizzards came. Life became increasingly difficult and soon the Breach began to shrink. Those of Malifaux were cut off and as the Breach closed, a single body was tossed out with the words 'Ours' carved on it.
Obviously, with a limited magic source the world leaders began hording what was left and war broke out. In it's aftermath, a new faction emerged, The Guild. So when the Breach re-opened, the Guild took swift action in securing it and when it was clear that there was no invasion, they launched their own to secure the other side. The city of Malifaux, despite looking like conflict was very recent, had not a single body to be found. At this point the Guild sets up base, convinces the worlds governments to supply workers (mostly convicts) and mining resumed. Soon after, new factions emerged and the Guild spends much of it's time trying to destroy them.
The factions themselves consist of the Guild (a group obsessed with Laws and hunting the Guilds enemies), Arcanists (rebels and traitors who have a strong foothold against the Guild. Some see them as heroes, though really they are just as power hungry as the Guild), Resurrectionists (Those who deal with raising and controlling the dead), Neverborn (one of the natives of this world, similar to demons and other horror elements, like creepy children and dolls), Outcasts (mercenaries, seeking fame, fortune or simply achieving personal goals), The Ten Thunders (an oriental themes group who's true goals are unknown) and the Gremlins (small, greenskin creatures who live in the Bayou in an eat or be eaten lifestyle with the large Pigs).
Personally, I really like this fluff, but I do find some parts disturbing. That said, I find games like Bioshock disturbing so what do I know about horror. My favourite faction thus far is the Gremlins, whose mixture of wild west cowboy cross heavy hillbilly theme really appeals to be. They're funny, look good and are enjoyable, with Outcasts a close second.
Game wise it's a skirmish game with missions that can give VP's (Victory Points) for the person who achieves their goal and added objectives that a player can achieve for bonus VPs. Most VP's wins. You don't create characters, but instead you create a crew consisting of a leader and their crew mates who will join them. Each has it's own rules and points and some can be given upgrades at an extra cost. Each turn has one player use a model, then the opposing player uses one and back and forth until all are done, then the next turn occurs. In between all this their are various rules that can affect how it plays out. Most moves involve flipping a card out of your deck and adding into the stat you are using, with your opponent doing the same to counter it. You can cheat by using a card from your hand to replace the one you used, but you do have a limit to cards in your hand so use wisely. Models have defenses and wounds and it does mention that even if you kill all your opponents miniatures, you can still lose if your opponent has more VP's then you, so some strategy is involved.
My only problem is that the rules are a bit all over the place in the book, but I figure after a few games I'll get the hand of it. The fact that you can have a fun game using a few minis, a deck of cards and a few bit's and pieces for scenery is not only great for a miniatures game (take this from someone who had to take a 2000pts+ all over the place on public transport for game....it isn't fun), but that brings me to my final point on this game.
The cost. Even here in Australia the game is much more affordable compared to games like Warhammer 40K. Wyrd Miniatures move from metal to plastic means that they sell their minis in small box sets with one exception. Most leader types come in what are starter sets, with enough miniatures included for both small and medium games and in some cases, even the large games too. If I add postage and handling, these starters can range between $60 to $80. At this price, I can do multiple factions that I can take out of the box and paint & play as a legal crew. This is great as there are a few of these starters packs that I'm very interested in. The problem with GW was that if I wanted to start another army I was looking at at least between $200-$300, a big difference for someone who just wants to play a game.
I'll probably give a more in depth view of the gameplay when I finally get around to playing it. Until then, I'm going to wonder why this game isn't as popular as it should be.
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