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Star Wars: Armada
8.8
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Rebel and Imperial fleets fight for the fate of the galaxy in Star Wars: Armada, the two-player...
Dinosaur Island
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In Dinosaur Island, players will have to collect DNA, research the DNA sequences of extinct dinosaur...
Boardgames JurassicParkTheBoardgame BooksintoGames WorkerPlacementGames
Wisdom Check (Dungeons and Dating #2)
10.0
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Julian’s boss is newly single, ridiculously hot, and looking his way. He’s so screwed. Cal...
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Dexterity Check (Dungeons and Dating #5)
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Eli’s sworn off irresponsible flirts, and Arjun’s one of the worst—aggravating, provoking, and...
Contemporary MM Romance Series
Bellum Magica
7.0
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Each player represents an evil lord. Recruit creatures, ranging from simple goblins to terrifying...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Stellar Leap in Tabletop Games
Apr 23, 2020
You are the member of an alien species, and your mission is to explore the galaxy! Discover new solar systems, build colonies on new planets, and gather resources along the way to sustain your species. Some neighboring alien species have also decided to foray into exploration, and will likely cross your path at some point or another. Are you a friendly race, willing to cooperate and maybe even cohabit a new planet? Or are you more aggressive and less willing to share? Only time, the cards, and the dice, will tell. Put your strategy to the test as you race to become the most prestigious alien species in the galaxy. So suit up and get ready for blast off!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. We do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Stellar Leap is, at its core, a worker placement game with elements of dice rolling, variable powers, and a modular ‘board’ sprinkled in. To setup, each player receives an individual player board and components, while the Galaxy is set up for use by all players. Players then add their home planet, as well as 1 population marker, to the Galaxy, and the game is ready to begin! Stellar Leap is played over a series of rounds in which players take turns performing any or all actions available to them.
To begin a turn, players first recover any Population markers that may have been exhausted on their last turn (more on that in a bit). Next, the player rolls the two dice, manipulating them with Special Dice Powers if desired, and resources are collected. The Galaxy is set up in columns, each column numbered 1-6, to which these dice rolls will correspond. If you have a Population marker on a planet in one of the columns that corresponds to your die roll (you have a Population in column 4 and you rolled a 4), you collect the resources provided by that planet. It is important to note that any player can receive resources from a die roll, even if it is not their turn!
The next phase of play involves three elements: Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions. There is no limit to the amount of Movement you can take on your turn, as long as you have resources available to perform that action. You may take two High Command Actions: Populate (add a new Population marker to a planet), Tax (collect any two resources), Discover (add planets/asteroids to the Galaxy), or Attack (fight an opponent located on the same planet as yourself). The same High Command Action could be performed twice on your turn, but you can only perform two per turn. The Division Actions can each be taken once per turn. Those actions are: Intelligence (complete a Mission), Mining (mine an asteroid for resources), or Labor (exhaust one of your populations on a planet to receive additional resources). Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions can be taken in any order on your turn – turns are not ‘set’ in a specific order and actions can be taken at your discretion. You also are not required to take every available action on your turn if you do not want to – your turns could be as long or as brief as you want them to be, depending on which actions you want to take.
At certain points throughout play, Events will be triggered. When an Event is triggered, draw the top Event card and resolve its effect. Some are resolved immediately, and some remain in play for the rest of the game. The game ends once six Events have been triggered. Players then tally up their Prestige points (earned by completing Missions, discovering planets, winning combats, and fulfilling their secret objectives), and the player with the highest Prestige is declared the winner!
So as you can see, there is quite a bit going on in Stellar Leap. Admittedly, it seemed pretty daunting to me as I first read through the rules. But in all actuality, the game flows pretty efficiently and calmly. How? Player Reference cards! I absolutely looooove a game that includes good references cards for player turns because it makes it so much easier to check instead of digging through the entire rulebook for an answer. The Player Reference cards included in this game are well-written, clear, and concise, and that truly helps the game flow smoothly even though there are many elements to every turn. Another thing that I love about Stellar Leap is that you have so many strategic options. Everyone has their own secret objectives for end-game scoring to complete, but you also have to decide which Missions you’d like to accomplish to earn points as well. And do you want to risk many combats, or would you rather live harmoniously with your opponents? When adding planets/asteroids to the Galaxy, you also have to strategize where you should put them – do you want them close to you for easy access? Or do you want to keep them as far away from opponents as necessary? The modular board makes this a different game every time you play, so you can’t just pick a blanket strategy for every play.
The only thing that gives me pause with this game are the rules regarding Movement. You pay certain resources to move, but it depends on the ‘threat level’ of the destination as well as its location in your Solar System or a neighboring Solar System. It just was a little tricky to keep track of how many of each resource I had to pay to move, when moving more than just one planet away. That aspect takes a little bit more concentration, but other than that, the game gave me no issues.
Speaking of no issues, let’s touch on components. The player boards are dual-layered and they are awesome. The text is clear, the organization is logical, and they are just of a great quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the ‘meeples’ are cute and chunky, and the cardboard chits are good too. The space theme is definitely translated well in this game, and that adds to the immersion.
Overall, I would say Stellar Leap is stellar. (Ha, see what I did there?) The gameplay is engaging and the strategy is adaptable. Some of the rules seem a little tedious in some aspects, but for the most part, they are logical and easy to remember. Weird Giraffe Games is a publisher that has made a blip on our radar, and we are excited to see what other games they will put out in the future – we’ve been impressed so far! Purple Phoenix Games gives Stellar Leap an other-worldly 9 / 12.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. We do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Stellar Leap is, at its core, a worker placement game with elements of dice rolling, variable powers, and a modular ‘board’ sprinkled in. To setup, each player receives an individual player board and components, while the Galaxy is set up for use by all players. Players then add their home planet, as well as 1 population marker, to the Galaxy, and the game is ready to begin! Stellar Leap is played over a series of rounds in which players take turns performing any or all actions available to them.
To begin a turn, players first recover any Population markers that may have been exhausted on their last turn (more on that in a bit). Next, the player rolls the two dice, manipulating them with Special Dice Powers if desired, and resources are collected. The Galaxy is set up in columns, each column numbered 1-6, to which these dice rolls will correspond. If you have a Population marker on a planet in one of the columns that corresponds to your die roll (you have a Population in column 4 and you rolled a 4), you collect the resources provided by that planet. It is important to note that any player can receive resources from a die roll, even if it is not their turn!
The next phase of play involves three elements: Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions. There is no limit to the amount of Movement you can take on your turn, as long as you have resources available to perform that action. You may take two High Command Actions: Populate (add a new Population marker to a planet), Tax (collect any two resources), Discover (add planets/asteroids to the Galaxy), or Attack (fight an opponent located on the same planet as yourself). The same High Command Action could be performed twice on your turn, but you can only perform two per turn. The Division Actions can each be taken once per turn. Those actions are: Intelligence (complete a Mission), Mining (mine an asteroid for resources), or Labor (exhaust one of your populations on a planet to receive additional resources). Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions can be taken in any order on your turn – turns are not ‘set’ in a specific order and actions can be taken at your discretion. You also are not required to take every available action on your turn if you do not want to – your turns could be as long or as brief as you want them to be, depending on which actions you want to take.
At certain points throughout play, Events will be triggered. When an Event is triggered, draw the top Event card and resolve its effect. Some are resolved immediately, and some remain in play for the rest of the game. The game ends once six Events have been triggered. Players then tally up their Prestige points (earned by completing Missions, discovering planets, winning combats, and fulfilling their secret objectives), and the player with the highest Prestige is declared the winner!
So as you can see, there is quite a bit going on in Stellar Leap. Admittedly, it seemed pretty daunting to me as I first read through the rules. But in all actuality, the game flows pretty efficiently and calmly. How? Player Reference cards! I absolutely looooove a game that includes good references cards for player turns because it makes it so much easier to check instead of digging through the entire rulebook for an answer. The Player Reference cards included in this game are well-written, clear, and concise, and that truly helps the game flow smoothly even though there are many elements to every turn. Another thing that I love about Stellar Leap is that you have so many strategic options. Everyone has their own secret objectives for end-game scoring to complete, but you also have to decide which Missions you’d like to accomplish to earn points as well. And do you want to risk many combats, or would you rather live harmoniously with your opponents? When adding planets/asteroids to the Galaxy, you also have to strategize where you should put them – do you want them close to you for easy access? Or do you want to keep them as far away from opponents as necessary? The modular board makes this a different game every time you play, so you can’t just pick a blanket strategy for every play.
The only thing that gives me pause with this game are the rules regarding Movement. You pay certain resources to move, but it depends on the ‘threat level’ of the destination as well as its location in your Solar System or a neighboring Solar System. It just was a little tricky to keep track of how many of each resource I had to pay to move, when moving more than just one planet away. That aspect takes a little bit more concentration, but other than that, the game gave me no issues.
Speaking of no issues, let’s touch on components. The player boards are dual-layered and they are awesome. The text is clear, the organization is logical, and they are just of a great quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the ‘meeples’ are cute and chunky, and the cardboard chits are good too. The space theme is definitely translated well in this game, and that adds to the immersion.
Overall, I would say Stellar Leap is stellar. (Ha, see what I did there?) The gameplay is engaging and the strategy is adaptable. Some of the rules seem a little tedious in some aspects, but for the most part, they are logical and easy to remember. Weird Giraffe Games is a publisher that has made a blip on our radar, and we are excited to see what other games they will put out in the future – we’ve been impressed so far! Purple Phoenix Games gives Stellar Leap an other-worldly 9 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Hit the Silk! in Tabletop Games
Mar 9, 2021
Ok here’s the deal. You and your buddies have gone in deep with the casino and they are out to ice you if you don’t pay up. You have secured the funds to repay your debts and have hijacked the plane needed to get back to settle up. There’s just one problem: there are 3-6 of you and only 2-5 parachutes on board this plummeting aircraft. With whom to ally and can you make it off the plane with enough parachutes and money to make this run worth it?
Hit the Silk! is a semi-cooperative game about hidden information, strong and weak alliances, bluffing, and negotiation in the skies where the plane WILL go down. Players will be trading information with others in order to figure out which players they will unite with and which they will deceive to win the game. Not all players can win, and some players may not even survive the flight. WHO DO YOU TRUST?
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. For this preview I will be describing the Standard game mode. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the Altimeter board on the table and set the needle to the correct altitude per number of players. The card organizer board is setup near the Altimeter with the Flannel cards on the Laundry space, the draw deck on the left space, and the discard pile between the two. Four cards are randomly placed face-down onto the Lockbox space on the Altimeter board, and six cards are dealt to the players. They will choose four to keep and discard the other two. Place all remaining components on the table. A first player is chosen and the game is setup to begin!
On a turn a player may do any or all of the following: Change a card, Take actions, Trade with another player. To change a card the current player will choose one card from their hand, either discarding face-up to the discard pile or to the Laundry if it is a Flannel card, and then drawing a number of cards pertaining to the altitude level on the Altimeter board (the higher the plane the less cards can be drawn). The player chooses one card to keep and discards the others.
Many cards will be action cards, so during a turn the active player can use as many action cards as they wish. To take an action the player simply notes any altitude adjustments printed on the card, adjusts the Altimeter needle by that much, then plays the card for its action. Some action cards allow players to Steal cards from another player (blocked by a Knife card), Spy another player’s hand, Handcuff two players together (or a player to a briefcase of money), use Key cards to unlock Handcuffs or to pilfer one card from the Lockbox on the Altimeter board, Poison another player (cured with the Antidote card), kick a weapon out of a player’s hand by using a Kung Fu card, or blatantly attacking a player by using both a Pistol and a Bullet card. Players will take one wound from the first bullet and will be permanently slain by taking another bullet wound.
The final action that can be taken on a turn is trading with another player. This is a risky action to take as players are not bound by their verbal agreements. Therefore, a player may offer to trade a Bullet and a Knife in exchange for a $10,000 and a Key card. However, neither player is REQUIRED to trade these exact items during the trade, and alliances weaken over trade disputes.
Intermittently throughout the game, as altitude drops, players are given the task to vote whether to keep flying or to hit the silk (which means to jump out of the plane with a parachute in hand)! Should players vote by majority to continue playing the game keeps going as before. If the players vote by majority to hit the silk!, then all players with parachutes reach the ground safely and pool together their money in hopes of reaching the goal amount determined at the start of the game. Those who jump without a parachute sadly perish, but those who are able to stay on the plane without being handcuffed to a jumping player may attempt the very difficult task of landing the plane (which involves the dice shown, but I will let you discover the method on your own).
Should the landing party have gathered enough money to pay the debt, those players win! If the player lands the plane correctly they win! If a player dies, well, they lose.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so components shown are probably going to look differently as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, I want to first applaud Escape Plan Board Games for their usage of “eco-conscious production.” The component materials we received are certainly unlike any I have felt or played with in the past. They feel different, and I assume it is due to this new eco-friendly material they are using. I also want to point out the art style of Hit the Silk! It is fabulous and definitely gives off that jetset vibe. I love it! I do hope the dice will be getting an upgrade in the final version, as stickered dice are rarely in style. I have not seen or heard of any plans for upgrades or final components, but I hope a nice eco-friendly upgrade option exists for this game.
So here’s the rub. I truly like this game quite a bit. I do have issues with player elimination games, personally, because for whatever reason I am always the first to be targeted for elimination. While it’s funny at first, I despise having to be left out of the rest of the game. That said, I still very much enjoy this game. Yes, I don’t like being targeted, but I am able to take one for the team, and then ask players to try a different strategy the next playthrough. Being able to make loose alliances and just break trades by giving the other player two Flannels instead of the Parachute and Key is just fun times. I enjoy the ever-decreasing altitude of the plane that stresses players to get things done quickly without having the needle dip too far for comfort. I like that a lot.
I wish the dice were used more in the game (at least in Standard mode), as I love nice chunky dice, but I can look past this because the rest of the gameplay is so solid. I still have yet to figure out the best way to use the Handcuffs, but the weapons and Kung Fu are just so ridiculous and amazing simultaneously that I like using them as soon as I get them in hand. So if you, like me, have a hole in your collection for a game taking place in the skies featuring a gang of casino-chased hoodlums, then I urge you to take a look at Hit the Silk! Just know that if you handcuff yourself to me, you can bet on me making some very inappropriate comments.
Hit the Silk! is a semi-cooperative game about hidden information, strong and weak alliances, bluffing, and negotiation in the skies where the plane WILL go down. Players will be trading information with others in order to figure out which players they will unite with and which they will deceive to win the game. Not all players can win, and some players may not even survive the flight. WHO DO YOU TRUST?
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. For this preview I will be describing the Standard game mode. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the Altimeter board on the table and set the needle to the correct altitude per number of players. The card organizer board is setup near the Altimeter with the Flannel cards on the Laundry space, the draw deck on the left space, and the discard pile between the two. Four cards are randomly placed face-down onto the Lockbox space on the Altimeter board, and six cards are dealt to the players. They will choose four to keep and discard the other two. Place all remaining components on the table. A first player is chosen and the game is setup to begin!
On a turn a player may do any or all of the following: Change a card, Take actions, Trade with another player. To change a card the current player will choose one card from their hand, either discarding face-up to the discard pile or to the Laundry if it is a Flannel card, and then drawing a number of cards pertaining to the altitude level on the Altimeter board (the higher the plane the less cards can be drawn). The player chooses one card to keep and discards the others.
Many cards will be action cards, so during a turn the active player can use as many action cards as they wish. To take an action the player simply notes any altitude adjustments printed on the card, adjusts the Altimeter needle by that much, then plays the card for its action. Some action cards allow players to Steal cards from another player (blocked by a Knife card), Spy another player’s hand, Handcuff two players together (or a player to a briefcase of money), use Key cards to unlock Handcuffs or to pilfer one card from the Lockbox on the Altimeter board, Poison another player (cured with the Antidote card), kick a weapon out of a player’s hand by using a Kung Fu card, or blatantly attacking a player by using both a Pistol and a Bullet card. Players will take one wound from the first bullet and will be permanently slain by taking another bullet wound.
The final action that can be taken on a turn is trading with another player. This is a risky action to take as players are not bound by their verbal agreements. Therefore, a player may offer to trade a Bullet and a Knife in exchange for a $10,000 and a Key card. However, neither player is REQUIRED to trade these exact items during the trade, and alliances weaken over trade disputes.
Intermittently throughout the game, as altitude drops, players are given the task to vote whether to keep flying or to hit the silk (which means to jump out of the plane with a parachute in hand)! Should players vote by majority to continue playing the game keeps going as before. If the players vote by majority to hit the silk!, then all players with parachutes reach the ground safely and pool together their money in hopes of reaching the goal amount determined at the start of the game. Those who jump without a parachute sadly perish, but those who are able to stay on the plane without being handcuffed to a jumping player may attempt the very difficult task of landing the plane (which involves the dice shown, but I will let you discover the method on your own).
Should the landing party have gathered enough money to pay the debt, those players win! If the player lands the plane correctly they win! If a player dies, well, they lose.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so components shown are probably going to look differently as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, I want to first applaud Escape Plan Board Games for their usage of “eco-conscious production.” The component materials we received are certainly unlike any I have felt or played with in the past. They feel different, and I assume it is due to this new eco-friendly material they are using. I also want to point out the art style of Hit the Silk! It is fabulous and definitely gives off that jetset vibe. I love it! I do hope the dice will be getting an upgrade in the final version, as stickered dice are rarely in style. I have not seen or heard of any plans for upgrades or final components, but I hope a nice eco-friendly upgrade option exists for this game.
So here’s the rub. I truly like this game quite a bit. I do have issues with player elimination games, personally, because for whatever reason I am always the first to be targeted for elimination. While it’s funny at first, I despise having to be left out of the rest of the game. That said, I still very much enjoy this game. Yes, I don’t like being targeted, but I am able to take one for the team, and then ask players to try a different strategy the next playthrough. Being able to make loose alliances and just break trades by giving the other player two Flannels instead of the Parachute and Key is just fun times. I enjoy the ever-decreasing altitude of the plane that stresses players to get things done quickly without having the needle dip too far for comfort. I like that a lot.
I wish the dice were used more in the game (at least in Standard mode), as I love nice chunky dice, but I can look past this because the rest of the gameplay is so solid. I still have yet to figure out the best way to use the Handcuffs, but the weapons and Kung Fu are just so ridiculous and amazing simultaneously that I like using them as soon as I get them in hand. So if you, like me, have a hole in your collection for a game taking place in the skies featuring a gang of casino-chased hoodlums, then I urge you to take a look at Hit the Silk! Just know that if you handcuff yourself to me, you can bet on me making some very inappropriate comments.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Shadows of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game in Tabletop Games
Sep 3, 2020
Have you ever sat down to read a rulebook and had to split it up into several reading sessions? I have multiple times. This happened just recently when I sat down to learn Shadows of Kilforth. Granted, I have two kids that take up the majority of my time and they provide plenty of adorable distraction, but even still, this absolute unit of a rulebook took me a good few days to actually finish. Was the time and effort worth it in the end? Yes. Absolutely. Keep reading.
Shadows of Kilforth is subtitled, “A Fantasy Quest Game.” Right there in the title you find out exactly what you are up against in the very foreboding but unassumingly-sized box. A game set in a fantasy world that is focused on questing. I have to admit up front that this review will be treated a little differently as the rulebook is hefty and nobody wants to read a thorough rules essay on Shadows. So I will give you a very high-level overview of the main steps and then give you my thoughts on how it all works together.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Shadows of Kilforth is essentially a card and dice RPG-esque adventure game with an Asian-style theme but set in a fantasy world where locations will be devastated into gloom (building upon the first in the series Gloom of Kilforth). The players, as the heroes, have the daunting task of journeying throughout Kilforth’s 25 locations to collect items, allies, spells, and titles to overcome main quests and subquests before every location falls into gloom. These quests usually have the players gathering specific card types to satisfy and complete. Once main player storyline quests, called Sagas, are completed the hero levels up and when they complete their fourth quest in their main Saga they may attempt their Finale and then may finally assault the big boss, the Ancient.
Each turn players have Action Points (AP) to spend on doing different actions: movement, discovering rumours (yes, I know it’s the Queen’s English), confrontations, and regaling a Saga chapter, among several others. Some actions are free actions, called Deeds. These include resolving loot tokens, assaulting an ancient, exchanging items between players, and several others. By using combinations of Actions and Deeds players will be able to travel around collecting those items, allies, and so forth needed to complete their Saga chapters.
To complete objectives and quests, players will typically be rolling dice to meet requirements on the cards. This, as all role-players know, can be either supremely lucky or incredibly and predictably debilitating. Skill checks are abundant in Shadows and diversifying characters may or may not have advantages by being able to complete Fight, Study, Sneak, and Influence tests. Players will win if they can complete their Sagas and defeat the Ancient before all of the locations fall into gloom, signaling the end of the game.
All this, again, is very high-level and there are many intricacies in Shadows that I just cannot go over for the sake of time and the health of my typing fingers. But, the game can be played solo, cooperatively, or competitively. So depending on the mode of play and number of players Shadows can range from a 45 minute foray to multi-hour epics. This is why I have played this solo with one character for my plays.
Components. Shadows of Kilforth is very card-heavy, but also includes other goodies. The cards themselves are firstly quite numerous, but also good quality. I can see myself sleeving this and loving every minute of that process. Aside from the cards, the game includes standees for player pieces on the card map, wooden components to track HP, AP, Fate, Obstacles, Gold, Hidden characters, great swirly 6d6, and also cardboard chits for Loot tokens. I haven’t even mentioned the art yet and that may be the most stunning component in this game! I LOVE a game with great art, and Shadows has simply amazing art. This is not usually my style of game art either, but it is so pleasing and everything makes sense and gets me immersed in the game. Everything provided is wonderful quality and an absolute joy to use during play.
Ok so like always, we place our ratings graphic right at the top of our posts so our readers can see right away what we think of the game. As you can tell, I love Shadows of Kilforth. It has essences of so many games I enjoy pieced together in a very attractive and captivating package. The movement and subsequent destruction of map-cards are reminiscent of Forbidden Island/Desert and Tiny Epic Defenders, which I really love (don’t hate – it’s a good game). The gathering of select card types and returning to a location to complete feels like fetch quests in MMORPGs (Final Fantasy XI being my main squeeze for many years). Obviously dice skill checks and level ups from tabletop RPGs are in there as well.
Shadows is just such a great collection of mechanics that I love that I can see myself playing this game over and over and over. Caveat: I will never play this any way other than absolutely solo. My first play, yes a learning session, was just shy of two hours from setup to tear-down. Adding players will increase game length, and playing with AP-prone friends is a no-go for me on Shadows; I had to reference both the excellent provided cheat sheet and the rulebook throughout the play but I eventually got the hang of it and was able to fly through. I may play this solo but with multiple characters cooperatively someday, but I do not wish to play this with other people. Ever.
So here’s my final thought. Shadow of Kilforth is a beefy game, but is well worth the time and effort to learn and play a couple times before passing judgment. It has everything I love in a game and I can’t stop thinking about it. I want to play all the different Race/Class combinations and just dunk on all the Ancients. If only my dice didn’t hate me so much. I will certainly be keeping this one forever, and if you are a fan of fantasy themed adventure card games with heavy use of dice and cool components, DEFINITELY take a look at Shadows of Kilforth. As I am the only one who has played this, I speak for the team in saying Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a 6 / 6. Treat yoself to this one, folks.
Shadows of Kilforth is subtitled, “A Fantasy Quest Game.” Right there in the title you find out exactly what you are up against in the very foreboding but unassumingly-sized box. A game set in a fantasy world that is focused on questing. I have to admit up front that this review will be treated a little differently as the rulebook is hefty and nobody wants to read a thorough rules essay on Shadows. So I will give you a very high-level overview of the main steps and then give you my thoughts on how it all works together.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Shadows of Kilforth is essentially a card and dice RPG-esque adventure game with an Asian-style theme but set in a fantasy world where locations will be devastated into gloom (building upon the first in the series Gloom of Kilforth). The players, as the heroes, have the daunting task of journeying throughout Kilforth’s 25 locations to collect items, allies, spells, and titles to overcome main quests and subquests before every location falls into gloom. These quests usually have the players gathering specific card types to satisfy and complete. Once main player storyline quests, called Sagas, are completed the hero levels up and when they complete their fourth quest in their main Saga they may attempt their Finale and then may finally assault the big boss, the Ancient.
Each turn players have Action Points (AP) to spend on doing different actions: movement, discovering rumours (yes, I know it’s the Queen’s English), confrontations, and regaling a Saga chapter, among several others. Some actions are free actions, called Deeds. These include resolving loot tokens, assaulting an ancient, exchanging items between players, and several others. By using combinations of Actions and Deeds players will be able to travel around collecting those items, allies, and so forth needed to complete their Saga chapters.
To complete objectives and quests, players will typically be rolling dice to meet requirements on the cards. This, as all role-players know, can be either supremely lucky or incredibly and predictably debilitating. Skill checks are abundant in Shadows and diversifying characters may or may not have advantages by being able to complete Fight, Study, Sneak, and Influence tests. Players will win if they can complete their Sagas and defeat the Ancient before all of the locations fall into gloom, signaling the end of the game.
All this, again, is very high-level and there are many intricacies in Shadows that I just cannot go over for the sake of time and the health of my typing fingers. But, the game can be played solo, cooperatively, or competitively. So depending on the mode of play and number of players Shadows can range from a 45 minute foray to multi-hour epics. This is why I have played this solo with one character for my plays.
Components. Shadows of Kilforth is very card-heavy, but also includes other goodies. The cards themselves are firstly quite numerous, but also good quality. I can see myself sleeving this and loving every minute of that process. Aside from the cards, the game includes standees for player pieces on the card map, wooden components to track HP, AP, Fate, Obstacles, Gold, Hidden characters, great swirly 6d6, and also cardboard chits for Loot tokens. I haven’t even mentioned the art yet and that may be the most stunning component in this game! I LOVE a game with great art, and Shadows has simply amazing art. This is not usually my style of game art either, but it is so pleasing and everything makes sense and gets me immersed in the game. Everything provided is wonderful quality and an absolute joy to use during play.
Ok so like always, we place our ratings graphic right at the top of our posts so our readers can see right away what we think of the game. As you can tell, I love Shadows of Kilforth. It has essences of so many games I enjoy pieced together in a very attractive and captivating package. The movement and subsequent destruction of map-cards are reminiscent of Forbidden Island/Desert and Tiny Epic Defenders, which I really love (don’t hate – it’s a good game). The gathering of select card types and returning to a location to complete feels like fetch quests in MMORPGs (Final Fantasy XI being my main squeeze for many years). Obviously dice skill checks and level ups from tabletop RPGs are in there as well.
Shadows is just such a great collection of mechanics that I love that I can see myself playing this game over and over and over. Caveat: I will never play this any way other than absolutely solo. My first play, yes a learning session, was just shy of two hours from setup to tear-down. Adding players will increase game length, and playing with AP-prone friends is a no-go for me on Shadows; I had to reference both the excellent provided cheat sheet and the rulebook throughout the play but I eventually got the hang of it and was able to fly through. I may play this solo but with multiple characters cooperatively someday, but I do not wish to play this with other people. Ever.
So here’s my final thought. Shadow of Kilforth is a beefy game, but is well worth the time and effort to learn and play a couple times before passing judgment. It has everything I love in a game and I can’t stop thinking about it. I want to play all the different Race/Class combinations and just dunk on all the Ancients. If only my dice didn’t hate me so much. I will certainly be keeping this one forever, and if you are a fan of fantasy themed adventure card games with heavy use of dice and cool components, DEFINITELY take a look at Shadows of Kilforth. As I am the only one who has played this, I speak for the team in saying Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a 6 / 6. Treat yoself to this one, folks.
Paul Kellett (118 KP) rated Shadows of Malice in Tabletop Games
May 8, 2019
Great framework for narrating an adventure (2 more)
Good solo game
Interesting mechanisms
A lot of fiddly tokens (1 more)
Slightly heavy rules
A different take on the adventure board game
Shadows of Malice is an interesting take on the adventure game. Aside from the introduction explaining that you are heroes on a quest to find and activate mystical light wells and defeat the demon and his shadows before they can break through from the shadow realm and capture the wells for evil, there is no fancy artwork, immersive flavour text or even the well known fantasy monsters.
Instead, you get plain cards with simple line art and either just an icon/dice modifier or a short line of text explaining the effect. These cards are items of armour, weapons or other loot, potions, skill masteries, fate effects or abilities. A selection of these make up your character. Again, there are no defined heroes, you can be whatever you fancy being.
When you encounter a monster you roll 3d6 against a chart which will define the creature's species and its strength. Creature types are things like "Avian" and "Reptilian" so you can imagine fighting a dinosaur, a giant eagle or whatever fantastic creature you desire.
This makes the game a great framework to roleplay in. You are never stuck encountering the same things again and again. On the minus side, if you don't have a good imagination, it boils down to just rolling dice and beating target numbers. If you want a game to give you a story to follow, SoM is not that game.
The rules are good, if a little heavy but after a game or two it should soon click and it's mostly straight forward. The designer has recently just uploaded a revised rulebook to BGG which streamlines a number of things.
SoM comes with 4 large landscape hex tiles plus a shadow realm tile and you can choose any number of tiles to arrange in any position around the shadow realm tile. Each tile is divided into a number of smaller hexes with varying terrain and locations printed on them. This is the world you will be exploring and, despite being tiny compared to other game boards, each tile adds about an hour to the play time.
Gameplay involves exploring the land fighting creatures, gaining loot, visiting cities to trade goods or mystic seers to buy potions while searching for the special light wells that you must take control of.
In between player turns, the shadows act. They begin confined to the shadow realm but as the rounds progress, barriers fall and the shadows are more likely to find a way out to manifest in the land. Once there they start searching for the light wells and it's game over if they get to them first .
This makes for a tense cat and mouse with your heroes racing to either get to a well or intercept the demons on route.
Instead, you get plain cards with simple line art and either just an icon/dice modifier or a short line of text explaining the effect. These cards are items of armour, weapons or other loot, potions, skill masteries, fate effects or abilities. A selection of these make up your character. Again, there are no defined heroes, you can be whatever you fancy being.
When you encounter a monster you roll 3d6 against a chart which will define the creature's species and its strength. Creature types are things like "Avian" and "Reptilian" so you can imagine fighting a dinosaur, a giant eagle or whatever fantastic creature you desire.
This makes the game a great framework to roleplay in. You are never stuck encountering the same things again and again. On the minus side, if you don't have a good imagination, it boils down to just rolling dice and beating target numbers. If you want a game to give you a story to follow, SoM is not that game.
The rules are good, if a little heavy but after a game or two it should soon click and it's mostly straight forward. The designer has recently just uploaded a revised rulebook to BGG which streamlines a number of things.
SoM comes with 4 large landscape hex tiles plus a shadow realm tile and you can choose any number of tiles to arrange in any position around the shadow realm tile. Each tile is divided into a number of smaller hexes with varying terrain and locations printed on them. This is the world you will be exploring and, despite being tiny compared to other game boards, each tile adds about an hour to the play time.
Gameplay involves exploring the land fighting creatures, gaining loot, visiting cities to trade goods or mystic seers to buy potions while searching for the special light wells that you must take control of.
In between player turns, the shadows act. They begin confined to the shadow realm but as the rounds progress, barriers fall and the shadows are more likely to find a way out to manifest in the land. Once there they start searching for the light wells and it's game over if they get to them first .
This makes for a tense cat and mouse with your heroes racing to either get to a well or intercept the demons on route.