Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 45 min
Age requirements: 10+
Set-up time: 10 min

Green Menace Description:

Dwarf King’s Hold: Green Menace is a stand alone game in the Dwarf King’s Hold (DKH) line. You are now orcs or elves looking to loot treasure from the dwarves. Each new race plays differently and adds to the foundation laid in DKH: Dead Rising.

If you have not played Dwarf King’s Hold read my review of the first game Dead Rising. It talks about the basic gameplay which is the same in DKH: Green Menace.

There are some new elements added to Green Menace. Most obvious are the new races, orcs and elves. The orcs are well armored and get better once injured. While the elves are very mobile, can dodge hits and some have a ranged attack.

Ranged attacks work like melee attacks, but the attacker loses a die for each tile they shoot through (not counting their current tile). So the farther away you shoot the less likely you are to hit. Ranged defenders lose a die if they are shot in their rear arc.

The Greatax Warrior is the orcs’ heavy hitter. It reduces a defender’s armor by 2. The elves sabre-toothed pussy cat is Stealthy and can move as many squares as it wants.

Treasure has been added for looting of course. It starts face-down and has a value of 0 to 2. There can even be cave-ins in Green Menace that are determined randomly at the beginning of each round.

There are 6 new scenarios and more dungeon tiles too. Green Menace includes the following miniatures: 6 Orc Ax Warriors, 2 Orc Greatax Warriors, 10 Elf Spearmen, 10 Elf Bowmen and a sabre-toothed pussy cat.

Win conditions are scenario-based, but many in Green Menace involve obtaining the most treasure.

A Quick Review of the Green Menace Expansion:

Dwarf King’s Hold: Green Menace is very similar to DKH: Dead Rising. There are some nice additions and the new races are fun to play.

One thing that has been added are two sets of dice. Now there are 5 green dice for the orcs and 4 blue dice for the elves. This makes comparing them in combat easier.

The box is slightly thinner and the material it is made of still seems slightly weak. The tiles and other components are still the same as in Dead Rising and I really do wish the tiles were a bit thicker.

I also wish there were more player aids. The back cover of the rules has most of the needed information, but a full list of all units and their stats and the effects of damage for each player would be great. It isn’t too much to remember, but if you only get to play the game every once in a while (or for new players) it would be nice to have.

The miniatures look great and the races are very fun to play. They seem a bit tougher to take down than the undead and dwarves from Dead Rising. And I am hoping some scenarios will be released that mix and match all four races.

The orcs are fun as they are pretty dangerous (yet still fragile) once damaged. You’ll have some tense moments as you are attacked and your opponent will be nervous while you attack them.

The elves can dodge and really out maneuver the orcs. If you survive an attack and dodge, you can really frustrate your opponent. They will need to use Follow-up Actions to move next to you instead of attacking again. Both races are fun to play and yet play very differently.

DKH: Green Menace is a nice addition to Dead Rising and adds some fun new elements that flow well with the rules system in place. I actually like it more than Dead Rising. If you are looking for a medium-weight, miniatures war game you should enjoy Green Menace.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6