Disclaimer: this article is about 3 players games for the “A Song of Ice & Fire” miniatures game. For other 3 players types of games, head to “Petyr’s Paradise” on another platform.
Hello Westeros!
While the ASOIAF game is more often played in 1v1, there may be times when 3 people want to play, either because a new player has just been introduced to the game, or one had to cancel (causing his teammate to justly go all Red Wedding on him later), or one suddenly appeared Coldhands style,… the reasons are numerous!
We did play quite a lot of 3 players games in Shanghai last year, and many people have asked details on how to do it, so I figured writing a small helping guide could be useful to some!
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Multi-players Games
First things first, and to make it a bit more “official”, I would advise you to check on page 24 of the rulebook, in which you will find some indications on how to play Team Games and Free-for-all games.
The Team Games section is particularly clear, and the fact that it is for an even number of players make it easier, so you just have to follow what is written.
On the other hand, the Free-for-all one is good for an even number of players, but makes the game very disproportionate for 3 players, especially in terms of game modes and deployment.
There are two main cases which can make 3 players games tougher to enjoy:
- 2 players fight and the last one waits, picking up the pieces after the others destroyed each other
- 1 player is taken in sandwich and destroyed early by both the others
After trying quite a few games, we managed to find an overall satisfying set-up, which limits the two phenomenons above from happening too often. It sorts of force the reluctant player to join in the fight, and keeps the fighting well distributed.
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Deployment Zones and Objectives
The deployment zones of Player 1 and Player 2 are symmetrical, in a rectangle of 11” by 16”. This ensures to be able to put 6 units inside (4 or 5 combat units being the usual standard, with some exceptions in horde factions).
On the opposite side of the table, the deployment zone of Player 3 is a longer but thinner rectangle, 28” by 8”, to ensure that they won’t put all their units on the side of only one of the other players, and allow for 5 infantry or cavalry units, with enough space for solo units behind.
This deployment makes it fairer in terms of distance for each player than a standard “corner box”, which would place the 2 players in diagonal very far from each other and probably taking the last one in sandwich.
Regarding the objectives, follow the same logic: every player should have easy access to 2 of them, with the last one being harder to reach. We found that 3 objectives was the best option for equal opportunities. You can see the distances below:
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Some More Tips
- Playing order:
Similar to the official rulebook ruling, with an alternating playing order between the 3 players.
We usually let the one winning the dice roll to pick the order of the players turns, offering the possibility to play clockwise or counter-clockwise at the start of the game.
Example: The Greyjoy player wins the dice roll. He decides the Lannister player will be First player, Stark second and Greyjoy third. Alternate activating units in this order. The next round, Stark becomes First player, Greyjoy second and Lannister third. Keep going in the same direction during the whole game.
- NCUs:
I would advise you to pick 2 NCUs maximum in your list. A third one will probably never have the opportunity to get on the Tactics Board with each player wanting to put at least 1 of theirs.
- Points Value:
We usually play in 40pts, but it can make for a very crowded battlefield depending on the armies involved. Due to the advised 2 NCUs, you may want to do 30-35pts lists for each instead.
- Game mode:
You can still make use of the official game modes (the only ones really not advised are the “Storm of Swords” and “Honed and Ready” ones). Just try to adapt them to the set-up above in terms of deployment zones and objectives placements.
Example: The game mode “Feast for Crows” uses 2 objectives placed on Corpse Piles. For a 3 players game, use 3 objectives placed on Corpse Piles and follow the rest of the rules of the game mode.
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Conclusion
I hope this small tutorial will help you with your problematic 3 players games, and allow you to have some fun even in different settings than usual! Multiplayer games can lead to very fun situations and intense frustration and backstabbing, so it is a great experience I advise to try if you have the opportunity.
And no, I still haven’t gotten over Tyrion moving my NCU from the Swords to allow the 3rd player to get it, using it to one-shot my Bowmen unit thanks to Theon and his Bastard’s Girls… #reekdeservedit
Stay tuned!
Grob’
Chez Grob 