Wrath of Fire Mountain is an area majority, dice-rolling game.

Title: Wrath of Fire Mountain

Year Published: 2024

Designer: Eric M. Lang, Phil Walker-Harding

Publisher: Gamewright

Players: 2-4

Game Time: ~45 minutes

Set-up Time: ~5 minutes

Ages: 10+

Theme: Cartoon pre-history.

Mechanisms: Area majority, dice rolling.

How to win: Score points by having the majority in areas on an ever changing board and having the most cave people on the volcano.

Game Description

Welcome to the land of Fire Mountain, a primordial land of ever shifting terrain where tribes vie for control using the power of their dinosaurs and the blessing of the volcano.

How to play Wrath of Fire Mountain

Learn how to play Wrath of Fire Mountain in this short video.

Main mechanisms

Area majority for scoring both the land tile areas and he volcano. That pushes the game forward and is 100% of the scoring.

There is also the Yahtzee style dice rolling mechanism.

USP

Nothing really, the moving and shifting board things has been done.

I’m not sure area majority for areas that move and change as the game goes on has been though?

Theme

It doesn’t really work for me. I understand worshiping the volcano as cave people did but are you supposed to feel like you control tremors if you worship more? No idea.

Setup & Rulebook

Setup is easier after the first games. The first few games you have to setup the tiles and the dinosaurs in a certain way. One you’ve played a few times it’s all random and therefore, quicker.

This is the first game in a long time where I came away from playing with no questions. There aren’t many rules but the ones that are there and any caveats are covered in the rules. Nice job!

Components & Artwork

The little cave people come in two sculpts and are quite fun. The dinosaur minis are cute although one fell off the base after one play.

The tiles were bigger than expected which was a nice surprise.

The art is cute.

Ease of Teaching

The game is easy to teach. There are only 5 options on a turn and 3 of them (Hut, Cave, Volcano) could not be more straight forward.

Similar Games

I joked that it’s like a more fun Blood Rage. Only because it’s area control, the board disrupts and you can recruit powerful allies. They’re both designed by Eric Lang too.

Ethnos and El Grande are my favourite area control games.

Wrath of Fire Mountain Review

Positives

It looks good on the table with it’s bright colours and multiple mini sculpts.

The minis are cool and the dinosaurs are recognisable on the table.

Speaking of Dinosaurs, using 4 of the 8 in the game will add variety to gameplay.

As simple as it is, you need to play well to win points.

Simple and quick gameplay, even on rounds with both Tremours and Eruptions.

As simple as it is, using Dinosaurs and Tremours to score points requires some clever play…

Negatives

…but luck is required from the Yahtzee style dice rolling mechanism.

Tremors can be awkward if your table isn’t perfectly flat.

Wrath of Fire Mountain Round-Up

A very fun and tactical area control game that you can play without taking it too seriously.

Rating

I give it 7/10