by sigmazero13
I don't know if I agree that BattleLore is just a simpler Runewars. They are VERY different games. They use the same factions (well, BL has 2 of the factions, but if Rune Age is any indication they may add the others later, one can hope), but that's about where the similarity ends.BattleLore is a tactical game involving a single battle/skirmish. It's direct head-to-head destruction, trying to achieve your scenario goals (usually VP) first.
Runewars is more of an empire/conquest/area control game. Battles themselves are a bit more abstracted, but the overall game is more geared around grand strategy and resource management.
Runewars is definitely the more complex of the two, but it also, in my opinion, has far more depth to it. Runewars plays excellently with 2, but it has the advantage of being scalable up to 4. BattleLore is 2-player-only right now (and maybe forever). There are a lot more moving parts to Runewars, but it also means a lot more strategies for winning. So it all depends on what you are looking for.
If you can handle the intricacies of StarCraft, you can handle Runewars. However, if you are looking for a more direct head-to-head battle game, BattleLore fits that bill better.
Both are excellent games. However, they are both so very different that it's hard to really compare them in more than superficial ways. I'd recommend getting both eventually. However, if you are limited to one right now, as much as Runewars is one of my favorites, I may recommend BattleLore first, because Starcraft can scratch a similar "grand conquest" itch that Runewars does in the meantime, where BattleLore will give you a much more unique experience from the get go.