Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 75-90 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 5 minutes

Confrontation is the first expansion for Titanium Wars. It adds new cards to outfit your fleet, new planets to fight over and new leaders. It also introduces 1-vs-1 and 2-vs-2 game variations.

Titanium Wars: Confrontation Rules Description:

If you have never played Titanium Wars you can read my basic overview and review here. This post will focus on and highlight some of the new elements introduced in the Confrontation expansion.

New units include a ship, the Corvette and a Defensive Turret. The Corvette requires Tech level 1 to build and has 2 attack and 7 defense. It costs $300 with two upgrade slots. It is a light-medium class ship that fits right in between the Fighter and Cruiser. The Defense Turret has 3 attack and 8 defense. It inflicts 3 damage to one ship that just attacked you.

The Orbital Platform has three additional building slots and behaves like a planet. The Recycling Facility gets you 50¢ each time one of your units or upgrades is destroyed. Both of these new buildings are limited to one per player.

Flagship and A.I. are the new upgrades included in Confrontation. The Flagship increases you Tactics hand size by one and grants the ship it is on +1 attack and +5 defense. A.I. lets you resolve your Tactic before other players in a simultaneous attack. It also keeps you safe from the Diversion Tactic.

There are four new leaders, Bormi, Lord Erizio, Lucida Hollow and Duchess Von Stahl. Bormi lets you pay 150¢ to inflict 2 damage on a player that withdraws from a conflict. Lord Erizio forces others players you bribe to keep their word. Lucida Hollow lets you examine the discarded Tactics cards for 150¢. If Duchess Von Stahl has only one ship left in her fleet, she can pay 150¢ to remove 2 damage from it.

Two new game modes are introduced, 1-vs-1 and 2-vs-2 along with the Mercenaries ship. This new ship does not count against your fleet limit and acts like a cruiser. You get this ship in these new modes when you (or your team) have less captured planets than your opponent(s). If both players (or teams) have captured the same number of planets, no one uses the Mercenaries. Both these modes require 10 Titanium deposits to win.

Quick Review of Titanium Wars Confrontation:

Titanium Wars: Confrontation adds some fun new cards and two new ways to play. There are no major rules changes so it should be easy for fans of the game to just pick it up and play.

The components for this expansion are well-done. The art and cards are high quality. The rules are succinct and easy to read and follow. The only thing that I am not happy about is that the money from the base game was not upgraded. It is not a big deal or a must-have but it would have been nice.

The new 2-vs-2 team game is really fun. It removes some of the negotiation and makes this game feel more like a space fight. I am sure some groups enjoy the politicking and negotiation from the base game. But many in my group have played together a long time and know each other’s negotiation tactics and tricks. We just don’t enjoy it as much. Also being able to play with just two players is nice.

The new ships and cards are fun and expand some of the strategies in the game. The Orbital Platform planet can be used to add Spaceports and a bunch of fighters for a swarming fleet. Or add Planetary Supports to the Orbital Platform to do even more damage with Planetary Fire and Massive Attack tactics.

The new leaders are ok but nothing spectacular. In particular Lord Erizio seems like a better fit for the base game. If you are playing with the new modes there is really no need to bribe players.

If you enjoy Titanium Wars, Confrontation is a must-buy expansion. There is a lot to like in this small box. And fans will like the newly introduced units, buildings and play modes. If you are thinking of buying the base game you might just want to add this expansion too. Especially if your group does not enjoy negotiation games.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6