Stats:
No. of players: 1-4
Amount of time to play: 60-120 min (depending on the scenario)
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

Widower’s Wood is a cooperative, adventure game set in the wilds of the Iron Kingdom. You and up to four friends must work together to investigate and defeat an evil that is growing in the woods.

Widower’s Wood Rules Description:

Widower’s Wood is a follow-up game to The Undercity. In fact the games are compatible and you can use heroes from either game in the scenarios for both games. The general rules and flow of Widower’s Wood is similar to its predecessor. If you are unfamiliar with The Undercity and how it plays, you can read my overview and review here. The rest of this post is going to focus on what is new in Widower’s Wood.

There are new terrain tiles. Characters cannot move into or through Obstacle tiles. Tree tiles gains cover versus ranged attacks and cannot be shot through. And Water tiles are considered rough terrain but amphibious characters gain cover in them.

There are many different scenarios included in Widower’s Wood. In some you are looking to just incapacitate all enemies and survive. While others take more finesse like gaining a tribe’s trust and helping them escape. In this and other scenarios there are times villains might attack each other and rules are included for this interaction.

Generally you lose if the entire party is incapacitated. But if you meet the scenario’s goals you win. Some scenarios include bonus objectives that grant you extra XP and the outcome of one scenario can affect another.

Quick Review of Widower’s Wood:

Widower’s Wood is an excellent follow-up to The Undercity. It introduces the savage wilderness of the Iron Kingdoms with fun scenarios and storyline.

Like its predecessor, this game looks fantastic and the components are top-notch. The miniatures, cards and map look impressive on the table. Once again there are two books, one for the rules and another for the scenarios. The rules are well written but you’ll find some rulings in the scenario book or stashed in the keyword glossary. You must read both books and familiarize yourself with the keyword glossary before you start.

This latest edition of an Iron Kingdoms Adventure Board Game is more challenging then the first. The scenarios feel more urgent and tougher but that makes winning even more rewarding.

New heroes mean new options and new ways to play them. I like the new options that come when playing an amphibious character and how they can interact with the terrain. But these new options come with greater complexity. It is not that Widower’s Wood is a ton more complicated than its predecessor, but having one player that knows the rules and keywords well makes playing more enjoyable for everyone.

Widower’s Wood is another excellent cooperative adventure game. If your group liked The Undercity and is ready for a bigger challenge, or are looking for a fun dungeon crawl, pick this one up.

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