Last modified April 30, 2025 by jarjar

Overview
Created by the designer of the excellent PARKS, Defenders of the Wild is a cooperative game featuring woodland creatures fighting against the senseless destruction of their habitats. You play as one of four unique factions and assemble your team of defenders from a variety of animal characters to resist the machines on a modular map that changes each game.

First impression
Reading the rules, one gets the impression that Spirit Island, populated by imaginary characters trying to regain their territory, but with a different visual under autumnal colors and simpler mechanics. The game tells a beautiful story of fighting against a seemingly invincible threat, which was confirmed after my first playthrough. The game remains quite difficult. Throughout the game, it feels like with every step towards victory, the machines take two. You destroy a factory? The machines build a new one. You eliminate countless mechas and accumulate damage? The machines send more after you. You clean up pollution? The machines generate more.

What first caught my attention was the production quality of this game, it's really well done and very cute. A very pretty compact box (thank you!!), with a beautiful illustration and beautifully illustrated cards (in the style of ROOT). The theme is also very catchy, for those who know me! The result makes us want to buy it with our eyes closed and take the time to enjoy the rulebook and discover the game. And I confirm, it was a real pleasure, author and publisher, a very good example to follow!

I've only played the game solo so far, but I can definitely see the sense of collaboration the game can create, where you support other players by providing them with a much-needed item when they're in a tight spot or when you're attacking a factory together. It's a cooperative experience I don't think I've seen in other games yet.

On the other hand, rules-wise, oh my!! There's still work to be done I think, what's most disturbing is that they're not intuitive and are full of ambiguities, such as the use of tokens in general, a toxic terrain appears as soon as 3 pollution tokens are present, while a defender dies if he receives a 4th token. Or, some actions must only be used with the color of your defender while others can be used regardless of the color (healing wounds for example). Once you get over the rules, you end up with a fun game that flows very well and offers a good puzzle. The more the game progresses, the more the puzzle becomes tough, it's really delicious 🙂

BEGINNER VARIANT
One suggestion during this game's Kickstarter campaign that didn't make the cut but is still relevant in my opinion: simply remove the last camp from the player board so there's one less camp to place.

Coming soon
An expansion is in the works and a role-playing game based on the universe, called Defenders Almanac, is about to hit the market! I'm thinking of buying it even if I won't play it, just for the pleasure of discovering more about this world!

SOLO MODE

The single-player mode is simple: you play with two factions, and each turn, you choose which one you play with. It's a good little puzzle... but with one less head :) The turns are quick and fluid. I really enjoyed it!

TECHNICAL SHEET
Number of games played: 3
Best player configuration: 2
Level: experienced player (BGG complexity: 2.9)
Price paid: CAD 90
Kickstarter campaign funding: $163 (and the game was reportedly delivered on time!)

MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS
  I loved :
>> Beautiful visual, despite the autumnal colors, there is something refreshing!
>> We really feel like we're making good progress with each round.
>> Fun resistance simulation.
>> Despite the difficulty in defeating the machines, the game runs smoothly and remains accessible.
>> A new collaborative gaming experience.
>> A good balance between luck and strategy.

I liked less :
>> Although the rulebook is nice and well laid out, it is difficult to assimilate, lacks clarity and the rules are not intuitive.
>> Even though there are 4 factions and the board is modular, I doubt the long-term replayability because we seem to often repeat the same sequences (movement + removal of tokens) and the machine cards are limited. To be seen with more games.

RULES POINTS
Lots of notes here as learning the rules is harder and not super intuitive.
Travel:
>> Players cannot enter the Machine Core hex.
>> Moving within your camp gives an item (but not if you do the regroup action).
Damage:
>> You roll the damage die after performing the action; whether you roll damage depends on the state of the board before the action; and you only roll damage once per action, even if multiple mechs are in range. So, before your action, if you are in the same location as a mech or next to a sniper, you roll for damage.
>> Take 1 damage each time you clear a toxic area.
Pollution:
>> Pollution is spreading beyond the hexagons which already have toxic terrain.
>> You can only build a camp in your faction's original habitat hexes or in a renaturalized factory.
Camps:
>> When building a camp, you draw a number of cards equal to the newly visible number.
>> Heal action: in a camp of any faction.
Objects :
>> Gain 1 support even when using items.
>> Potions allow you to clear pollution without taking damage. Clearing a toxic site always deals 1 damage, whether or not you use potions.
Defenders:
>> On the 4th damage to your organizer, a defender dies, which is randomly chosen from your hand.
>> It is possible to play other defenders as reinforcements, they must be the same color as the defender played, and give an additional action per card.

This game offers an engaging cooperative experience in a visually stunning world with fluid gameplay. The story unfolding before our eyes is a poignant reminder of how we humans are wrecking our poor planet!

FUN FACTOR 🙂🙂🙂🙂