2024Kevin Verssen
- Videos
- 24
- Creators
- 6
1 - 6 players30 - 90 minHeavy weight

2024Maël Brunet, Julien Chaput
Mainly reviews. Ironwood is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 35 reviews, 11 how-to-play guides, 5 recorded sessions, 11 unboxings, and 1 other video.
From BoardGameGeek
An eternal conflict for the land of Ironwood is raging between two factions: the stalwart and hard-working Ironclad, settlers of the iron mountains; and the ferocious Woodwalkers, swift and deadly shadows of the forests. Both factions struggle for the ultimate control over the land for its greatest treasure: the Larimor Crystals, a mysterious substance holding immense energy within. It can be found both inside the colossal mountains and scattered across the dense forests. The Ironclad extract the essence of the crystals and process their energy to fuel their machines and mechanical inventions. If they succeed, their giant forges will swarm the land with endless armies, and establish ultimate dominance over Ironwood. The Woodwalkers use the crystals' raw magical power to discover and retrieve three ancient totems from secret ritual sites, hidden in the mountains. Once retrieved, the combined power of these totems will summon the Guardian, the ancient protector of the woods, to wipe out the Ironclad once and for all. One way or another, the eternal conflict is finally coming to an end. Ironwood is a rules-light, highly asymmetric, card-driven tactical game for 1-2 players. Each round, you and your opponent alternate playing a total of 3 of your faction-specific cards for their action effects. These effects include positioning your warbands, initiating combat, extracting crystals, bestowing temporary passive effects, and many more. When combat occurs, you will use the same cards for their combat values instead, in a simultaneous bid to gain combat bonuses, inflict and fend off casualties, and augment the Dominance value of your warbands to win the combat. The two factions are completely asymmetric in their play styles, decks, victory conditions - even in which parts of the map they can access. As the Commander of the Ironclad, your primary goal is to lay down the foundations of your forges in the outer mountains, and once you have collected enough crystals, build forges on the foundations. As the Chieftain of the Woodwalkers, your mission is to locate your people's ancient totems through Vision cards, clear the path to them by defeating Ironclad warbands, and finally securing them in the outer forests, beyond the Ironclads' reach. Once you have retrieved the third totem as the Chieftain, or built the third Forge as the Commander, you immediately win the game. Ironwood also features a low-upkeep solo mode against the Ironclad or the Woodwalkers. Although both solo opponents work on the same main principles, each of them bears its faction's unique aspects and features. -description from the publisher
Ironwood has 63 videos from 46 creators: 35 reviews, 11 how-to-play guides, 5 playthroughs, 11 unboxings and 1 other video. They date from 2023 to August 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Ironwood - Official How To Play" by Before You Play, which runs 18 min. For a quicker teach, "Ironwood - In Focus" by BoardGameGeek runs 6 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Ironwood Review: Metallic Forest" by The Dice Tower. 31 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Ironwood - Teach & Playthrough" by Before You Play, one of 5 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Warfighter: The Vietnam War Special Forces Card Game, Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition), 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta or 52 Realms: Adventures, which share several of its mechanics. It appears in convention videos from UK Games Expo 2024.
8 of 46
2024Kevin Verssen
1 - 6 players30 - 90 minHeavy weight
2016Hermann Luttmann
1 - 5 players90 - 120 minHeavy weight
2020Tristan Hall
1 - 2 players30 - 40 minMedium weight
2024Matthew Dunstan, Rory Muldoon
1 players10 - 20 minLight weight
From BoardGameGeek:
An eternal conflict for the land of Ironwood is raging between two factions: the stalwart and hard-working Ironclad, settlers of the iron mountains; and the ferocious Woodwalkers, swift and deadly shadows of the forests. Both factions struggle for the ultimate control over the land for its greatest treasure: the Larimor Crystals, a mysterious substance holding immense energy within. It can be found both inside the colossal mountains and scattered across the dense forests. The Ironclad extract the essence of the crystals and process their energy to fuel their machines and mechanical inventions. If they succeed, their giant forges will swarm the land with endless armies, and establish ultimate dominance over Ironwood. The Woodwalkers use the crystals' raw magical power to discover and retrieve three ancient totems from secret ritual sites, hidden in the mountains. Once retrieved, the combined power of these totems will summon the Guardian, the ancient protector of the woods, to wipe out the Ironclad once and for all. One way or another, the eternal conflict is finally coming to an end. Ironwood is a rules-light, highly asymmetric, card-driven tactical game for 1-2 players. Each round, you and your opponent alternate playing a total of 3 of your faction-specific cards for their action effects. These effects include positioning your warbands, initiating combat, extracting crystals, bestowing temporary passive effects, and many more. When combat occurs, you will use the same cards for their combat values instead, in a simultaneous bid to gain combat bonuses, inflict and fend off casualties, and augment the Dominance value of your warbands to win the combat. The two factions are completely asymmetric in their play styles, decks, victory conditions - even in which parts of the map they can access. As the Commander of the Ironclad, your primary goal is to lay down the foundations of your forges in the outer mountains, and once you have collected enough crystals, build forges on the foundations. As the Chieftain of the Woodwalkers, your mission is to locate your people's ancient totems through Vision cards, clear the path to them by defeating Ironclad warbands, and finally securing them in the outer forests, beyond the Ironclads' reach. Once you have retrieved the third totem as the Chieftain, or built the third Forge as the Commander, you immediately win the game. Ironwood also features a low-upkeep solo mode against the Ironclad or the Woodwalkers. Although both solo opponents work on the same main principles, each of them bears its faction's unique aspects and features. -description from the publisher
Designers
Maël Brunet, Julien Chaput
Artists
Villő Farkas, Qistina Khalidah
Publisher
Mindclash Games
Mechanics