Review copy provided by Starling Games
A War of Whispers is the latest strategy game from Jeremy Stoltzfus and Starling Games. The competitive tabletop experience requires players to control the fate of armies and kingdoms as spymasters and politicos and religious leaders who influence the empires in a bid for power.
It’s an excellent game, and you can read the GameTyrant review if you missed it.
Now there’s the Dark Alliance expansion that provides ten new cards to complicate and enhance the gameplay experience with dramatic exchanges of power. While ten cards might not seem like a meaningful addition, these temporary alliances can drastically affect a single action and the course of a round depending on how the players negotiate terms.
GAMEPLAY
When playing A War of Whispers, the five empires each possess a deck of cards that enables players to perform actions during the Empire Turns phase.
There are 40 Empire cards, 10 Treasure cards, and 10 Conquest cards. And you may not use the Treasure and Conquest cards, depending on the edition of the game you own or player preference. That means each empire has between 8 and 12 cards in the deck.
Adding the Dark Alliance expansion will noticeably affect the rhythm and potential in a game because 14% to 20% of an empire’s deck will be these powerful compromises between players.
It’s worth mentioning that players have to agree to the terms. These aren’t one-way transactions that neutralize someone’s turn or dismantle an attack. It’s a pact. I get something I want and, in return, you get something you want.
Need extra banners for your attack? Fine, but it’ll cost you. Maybe one of your other agents has to be removed. Maybe I get to add banners elsewhere on the map. Or they reveal a bet on an empire. No matter what happens, it’s a substantial agreement that other players will feel the effect of.
Everything comes with a price, but depending on the state of the game, it’s a price that players might be very willing to pay.
What’s exciting about the Dark Alliance expansion is that it further invests everyone in the game, even when it’s not their turn.
Previously, players would look on during a round of A War of Whispers with a mix of trepidation and barely-concealed glee. Was another player going to align with your goals and guide an empire toward conquest? Or would they undo all of your progress and dash your hopes?
When your agents were ready to act, then you could influence the movements of the five empires on the board. And Empire cards, Treasure cards, and Conquest cards all assisted in making your turn more effective.
But Dark Alliance cards are played on an opponent’s turn. That introduces another layer of strategy and possibility. You can strengthen another player’s attack, but you can also take the action yourself. You might have to remove one of your agents or sacrifice somewhere else, but it might be worth it.
No need to wait for your turn. You can alter the course of the round by interrupting the gameplay with sinister machinations.
It’s a worthwhile addition, the impact of which can be felt in every game.
EXPECTATIONS
The Dark Alliance expansion is not going to change your mind about A War of Whispers. But it will change your games. Probably for the better. There aren’t very many cards but played in the right circumstances, they can be especially influential. Played in conjunction with the active player’s Empire cards, it can turn an ordinary action into a sweeping attack. Or it could reverse the fortunes of an empire.
I like what I’ve seen so far, and I’ll definitely be incorporating the ten new cards in my games from now on.
CONCLUSION
I want to see more content for A War of Whispers, but the Dark Alliance expansion is a great start to enhancing and enriching the gameplay. It’s more strategy, more manipulation, and more sly maneuvering in a game that already did that well.
