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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Munchkin in Tabletop Games
Jan 6, 2020
A “Munchkin,” in gamer terms, is someone who is only out to better themselves with treasure and power at the expense of everyone else in their adventuring party. That rings so very true in the Munchkin line of games, as you are trying to be the first to gain 10th Level in a VERY loosely-based RPG setting. OG vanilla Munchkin (pictured above) was my first entry into hobby board gaming. Many many games later I ask myself: How has this system of games aged for me as my gaming tastes have changed? Let’s see.
In Munchkin games, you are trying to become the first player to reach 10th Level. That’s the goal. You take on the persona of a 1st Level basic human (no Starbucks jokes please) who will be adventuring with a party of your opponents through a dungeon. You will be kicking down doors, fighting monsters, placing curses on your fellow party members, and buffing yourself with cards featuring funny art and punny references. Your party mates are also trying to achieve 10th Level and will do everything they can to block your progress, so be prepared!
DISCLAIMER: This review is not for a specific game within the Munchkin universe, but for the system as a whole. All Munchkin games will pretty much use similar, if not exactly the same, rules to play the game with minor variations and different theming. I will be using The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin for my review as it is one of the two versions I still own of the franchise. Also, I will not be detailing every rule in the book(s), but giving a brief overview of how the game plays. -T
Setup is easy: shuffle the deck of Door cards and the deck of Treasure cards. Deal cards to the players for their opening hands and keep the included die handy.
Your turn consists of just a few phases: Open a Door, Look for Trouble, Loot the Room, and Charity. To Open a Door, flip over the top card of the Door deck. If it is a monster you must fight it or run. If not a monster, you can move on to the next phase. If it IS a monster, prepare for combat. Combat is simple in that you add up all your bonuses from your gear cards you have attached to your character and try to beat the strength of the monster. Your party mates can screw with you during combat by adding strength to the monster or adding monsters to the fight to make it a more difficult encounter. If you win, you gain a Level on the spot. Some monsters are worth even more than one Level. If you did not encounter a monster, you will add the non-monster card you drew to your hand and you may Look for Trouble by playing a monster card from your hand to initiate a combat. This fight will work the same way and you will be susceptible to pile-ons as before. You may Loot the Room if you defeated a monster on your turn by drawing Treasure cards equal to the printed reward on the bottom of the monster card you defeated. If you defeated the monster yourself, unaided, these are drawn in secret. If you were given help by your mates then you may have to split up the loot per any agreements made. These cards are usually very advantageous to you so they are usually very valuable to others as they attempt to steal away your goods. If you did not fight a monster yet this turn, you may draw another secret card from the Door deck to add to your hand. Should your hand size climb above your limit (dictated by your Race card, if any) you will slide into the Charity phase to relieve your hand of extra cards. Give all excess cards to the player of lowest Level, or split them among those that share the lowest Level. It is now the next player’s turn and you continue play until someone reaches 10th Level.
Components. It’s a bunch of cards and one die. The cards are of okay quality. Nothing to write home about. The die is nice with one of the faces having the Munchkin logo head imprinted on it. It will also have a color scheme that matches the version of Munchkin you are playing, so it’s easy to match them back up if they become integrated with each other. Overall, the components are fine, but not wonderful. That’s probably why these are pretty inexpensive to purchase.
Okay, so like I said earlier the original vanilla Munchkin was the first hobby board game I ever purchased. My friends and family had no idea hobby games existed, so there was actually a pretty steep learning curve for us. Once we figured it out, however, we began to play it a ton and really love it! The cards are cute, the game play is pretty easy if you have played hobby games before, and the puns kept us rolling for a good while. There was a time when I owned every version of Munchkin in circulation and we never even played half of them. Seeing this I got rid of them through BGG Auctions. I have The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin and Munchkin Zombies right now and I feel that will be plenty for me from here on out – unless they make a Doctor Who or Firefly set or something /*checks warehouse23 to find out if these are available/.
Do I still love Munchkin? No, not really. I LIKE it, but I don’t really want to play it all the time any more. Why? Well, as my gamer experience increases and I level up, my game tastes also level up. I see why people enjoy and even love this game system. I myself loved it for a time. But there are better games out there that accomplish the same feelings without being as sophomoric and have better choices to be made. Will I still play these games? Heck yeah! If someone asks to play a Munchkin game I am all in. I have different tastes and preferences now, but I’m no snob. Just come prepared, because I won’t go easy on you.
We at Purple Phoenix Games give this family of titles a backstabby 16 / 24.
In Munchkin games, you are trying to become the first player to reach 10th Level. That’s the goal. You take on the persona of a 1st Level basic human (no Starbucks jokes please) who will be adventuring with a party of your opponents through a dungeon. You will be kicking down doors, fighting monsters, placing curses on your fellow party members, and buffing yourself with cards featuring funny art and punny references. Your party mates are also trying to achieve 10th Level and will do everything they can to block your progress, so be prepared!
DISCLAIMER: This review is not for a specific game within the Munchkin universe, but for the system as a whole. All Munchkin games will pretty much use similar, if not exactly the same, rules to play the game with minor variations and different theming. I will be using The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin for my review as it is one of the two versions I still own of the franchise. Also, I will not be detailing every rule in the book(s), but giving a brief overview of how the game plays. -T
Setup is easy: shuffle the deck of Door cards and the deck of Treasure cards. Deal cards to the players for their opening hands and keep the included die handy.
Your turn consists of just a few phases: Open a Door, Look for Trouble, Loot the Room, and Charity. To Open a Door, flip over the top card of the Door deck. If it is a monster you must fight it or run. If not a monster, you can move on to the next phase. If it IS a monster, prepare for combat. Combat is simple in that you add up all your bonuses from your gear cards you have attached to your character and try to beat the strength of the monster. Your party mates can screw with you during combat by adding strength to the monster or adding monsters to the fight to make it a more difficult encounter. If you win, you gain a Level on the spot. Some monsters are worth even more than one Level. If you did not encounter a monster, you will add the non-monster card you drew to your hand and you may Look for Trouble by playing a monster card from your hand to initiate a combat. This fight will work the same way and you will be susceptible to pile-ons as before. You may Loot the Room if you defeated a monster on your turn by drawing Treasure cards equal to the printed reward on the bottom of the monster card you defeated. If you defeated the monster yourself, unaided, these are drawn in secret. If you were given help by your mates then you may have to split up the loot per any agreements made. These cards are usually very advantageous to you so they are usually very valuable to others as they attempt to steal away your goods. If you did not fight a monster yet this turn, you may draw another secret card from the Door deck to add to your hand. Should your hand size climb above your limit (dictated by your Race card, if any) you will slide into the Charity phase to relieve your hand of extra cards. Give all excess cards to the player of lowest Level, or split them among those that share the lowest Level. It is now the next player’s turn and you continue play until someone reaches 10th Level.
Components. It’s a bunch of cards and one die. The cards are of okay quality. Nothing to write home about. The die is nice with one of the faces having the Munchkin logo head imprinted on it. It will also have a color scheme that matches the version of Munchkin you are playing, so it’s easy to match them back up if they become integrated with each other. Overall, the components are fine, but not wonderful. That’s probably why these are pretty inexpensive to purchase.
Okay, so like I said earlier the original vanilla Munchkin was the first hobby board game I ever purchased. My friends and family had no idea hobby games existed, so there was actually a pretty steep learning curve for us. Once we figured it out, however, we began to play it a ton and really love it! The cards are cute, the game play is pretty easy if you have played hobby games before, and the puns kept us rolling for a good while. There was a time when I owned every version of Munchkin in circulation and we never even played half of them. Seeing this I got rid of them through BGG Auctions. I have The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin and Munchkin Zombies right now and I feel that will be plenty for me from here on out – unless they make a Doctor Who or Firefly set or something /*checks warehouse23 to find out if these are available/.
Do I still love Munchkin? No, not really. I LIKE it, but I don’t really want to play it all the time any more. Why? Well, as my gamer experience increases and I level up, my game tastes also level up. I see why people enjoy and even love this game system. I myself loved it for a time. But there are better games out there that accomplish the same feelings without being as sophomoric and have better choices to be made. Will I still play these games? Heck yeah! If someone asks to play a Munchkin game I am all in. I have different tastes and preferences now, but I’m no snob. Just come prepared, because I won’t go easy on you.
We at Purple Phoenix Games give this family of titles a backstabby 16 / 24.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Bloodborne in Video Games
Aug 13, 2018
Incredible atmosphere (5 more)
Great variety of enemies
Beautiful art and imagery
Interesting Lore (optional)
Plenty of different ways to play
Great combat mechanics
Can be difficult (1 more)
Not as easy and some people make it look
Challenging and Satisfying
Contains spoilers, click to show
Bloodborne is part of the famous series of games such as Demon Souls and Dark Souls, which if you know those previous games, you'll know that they are infamous for their difficulty, even spawning an entire meme phrase that simply says "git gud".
Bloodborne however, stands aside from the souls series because it's combat mechanics are faster and each enemy requires the player to evolve their skills and tactics in order to progress. The first major difference in Bloodborne that might throw previous souls players off, is the fact that there is no shield. Instead the Hunter wields a right handed melee weapon and in the left hand they wild a ranged weapon in place of a shield. This ranged weapon at first is primarily used not for damage, but for parry's/counter attacks.
The lack of shield helps the player evolve their combat from hiding behind a shield like in the souls games, to being more aggressive in a fight but also tactical because during your first run through of the game, you'll simply be dealing with each enemy through trial and error until you learn their attacks and learn how to defeat them. This is something that has been in every souls game and that is why these games are so rewarding.
The reason Bloodborne is my favourite is because of this speed that makes you evolve in combat. I ran into this game thinking it was like other RPG games where I could pretty much take on any beginning level enemy and even if they packed a punch I'd take out the enemy with a thin line of health left, only to use a few health potions and repeat. But Bloodborne? Good God you can't rush this game!
Every enemy has their own attack system that varies. Some Yarnhamites are more vicious that other, and some are more defensive and cautious. There are also enemies that are deceptive. If you were to come across a large, fat troll in a fantasy world, you'd expect them to be rather slow, especially when swinging a weapon. You'd only expect the force and weight of the weapon to give speed to a swing. But the large troll creatures in Bloodborne are deceptively fast and even if you keep some distance between you, they can leap really quickly and instantly pummel you with a cinder block.
But I'm not going to reveal too much about enemies because it's easier and more fun to test out the game for yourself.
Boss fights are the main factor for the infamous difficulty of the souls series and Bloodborne is no stranger to this element either. There are Two bosses in the beginning of the game. One is optional but I would highly recommend facing it. The other boss is your first taste (if you didn't kill the optional boss first) of the challenges you'll face. Both bosses help prepare for later boss fights because of their different combat styles.
The first (optional) boss is the Cleric Beast on the bridge in the beginning level, and it is intimidating as fuck for a beginner of the souls series. If you haven't watched or played a souls game before and you go into Bloodborne (or any of them) with no knowledge of the scale of bosses, then they are intimidating in comparison to your measly character size. However once you learn this boss, and face later bosses, you'll realize that this boss is one of the easiest to face.
The next boss and the main boss of the beginning level, who is not optional as defeating him let's you progress through the story, is Father Gascoigne, another Hunter in the world of Bloodborne and the first of many you'll come across but facing this hunter is by far one of the most painstakingly challenging beginning fights to a game I've ever had to face. In my first run through I died to him so so soooo many times and sometimes it was simply cos he was on low health and I got cocky and fucked up. However defeating this boss, and any boss in this game, really feels like an achievement.
I've realised iv made this review hella long but that's because Bloodborne cannot be easily reviewed in just a few words but I'll do my best to do a quick overall conclusion as to why this is my favourite game:
The level design isn't flawless but it is incredible and the atmosphere created through sound design and soundtrack make this game incredibly in depth and really creepy which I love because even after a few play through I still get creeped out and even jump at some of the jumpscares that I forget about!
The weapons of this game are all well designed aesthetically and though I know certain ones I never use, they are all useable depending on player preference and style of play. There's so much to choose from and learn and every item in this game has a description that teaches the player more about the Lore of the world but that is of course optional and isn't required necessarily to understand the games main quest plot.
This game also requires exploration because the path the player needs to take isn't set out for them which makes the game less linear meaning that you can play this game differently every time you play it. It also might mean that you'll need to look up the paths you need to take online or in a guide in order to just get through the game and complete it. Otherwise it could take you hours, maybe days to figure out where you need to go.
The combat mechanics of Bloodborne are some of the best I've ever seen and played with and that's why it stands out to me above the other souls games.
The boss fights are intense and each new boss helps the player to adapt and evolve their combat skills and tactics in order to overcome the enemy.
The world is very heavily Lovecraftian and therefore the Lore is incredible but also optional. Also, there are easier ways to fight this games enemies including bosses, so if you're struggling, then Google it and there will be hundreds of players in the same boat as you, and in my opinion there's no wrong way to play games like this. If it remains fun and let's me complete the storyline, such as summoning AI for boss battles in offline mode. Then play however you want to because it's you playing the game, not some internet troll who says you're shit and/or cheating the game. If it's possible to do in game, it's part of the game...deal with it!
There are faults such as minor framerate glitches, and glitches with the ragdoll bodies of defeated enemies falling through the environment. There are also some elements that are part of the game such as windows for visceral attacks and hitboxes which sometimes feel like bullshit, but this also helps you evolve so....pros and cons.
My final comment is this;
The best way to learn about this game and enjoy it, is to play it for yourself. It's hard to put into words (even this amount of words in this review) just how incredible this game looks and feels. So if you have a Playstation 4 then grab yourself a copy of Bloodborne and enjoy!
Fear the Old blood!
Bloodborne however, stands aside from the souls series because it's combat mechanics are faster and each enemy requires the player to evolve their skills and tactics in order to progress. The first major difference in Bloodborne that might throw previous souls players off, is the fact that there is no shield. Instead the Hunter wields a right handed melee weapon and in the left hand they wild a ranged weapon in place of a shield. This ranged weapon at first is primarily used not for damage, but for parry's/counter attacks.
The lack of shield helps the player evolve their combat from hiding behind a shield like in the souls games, to being more aggressive in a fight but also tactical because during your first run through of the game, you'll simply be dealing with each enemy through trial and error until you learn their attacks and learn how to defeat them. This is something that has been in every souls game and that is why these games are so rewarding.
The reason Bloodborne is my favourite is because of this speed that makes you evolve in combat. I ran into this game thinking it was like other RPG games where I could pretty much take on any beginning level enemy and even if they packed a punch I'd take out the enemy with a thin line of health left, only to use a few health potions and repeat. But Bloodborne? Good God you can't rush this game!
Every enemy has their own attack system that varies. Some Yarnhamites are more vicious that other, and some are more defensive and cautious. There are also enemies that are deceptive. If you were to come across a large, fat troll in a fantasy world, you'd expect them to be rather slow, especially when swinging a weapon. You'd only expect the force and weight of the weapon to give speed to a swing. But the large troll creatures in Bloodborne are deceptively fast and even if you keep some distance between you, they can leap really quickly and instantly pummel you with a cinder block.
But I'm not going to reveal too much about enemies because it's easier and more fun to test out the game for yourself.
Boss fights are the main factor for the infamous difficulty of the souls series and Bloodborne is no stranger to this element either. There are Two bosses in the beginning of the game. One is optional but I would highly recommend facing it. The other boss is your first taste (if you didn't kill the optional boss first) of the challenges you'll face. Both bosses help prepare for later boss fights because of their different combat styles.
The first (optional) boss is the Cleric Beast on the bridge in the beginning level, and it is intimidating as fuck for a beginner of the souls series. If you haven't watched or played a souls game before and you go into Bloodborne (or any of them) with no knowledge of the scale of bosses, then they are intimidating in comparison to your measly character size. However once you learn this boss, and face later bosses, you'll realize that this boss is one of the easiest to face.
The next boss and the main boss of the beginning level, who is not optional as defeating him let's you progress through the story, is Father Gascoigne, another Hunter in the world of Bloodborne and the first of many you'll come across but facing this hunter is by far one of the most painstakingly challenging beginning fights to a game I've ever had to face. In my first run through I died to him so so soooo many times and sometimes it was simply cos he was on low health and I got cocky and fucked up. However defeating this boss, and any boss in this game, really feels like an achievement.
I've realised iv made this review hella long but that's because Bloodborne cannot be easily reviewed in just a few words but I'll do my best to do a quick overall conclusion as to why this is my favourite game:
The level design isn't flawless but it is incredible and the atmosphere created through sound design and soundtrack make this game incredibly in depth and really creepy which I love because even after a few play through I still get creeped out and even jump at some of the jumpscares that I forget about!
The weapons of this game are all well designed aesthetically and though I know certain ones I never use, they are all useable depending on player preference and style of play. There's so much to choose from and learn and every item in this game has a description that teaches the player more about the Lore of the world but that is of course optional and isn't required necessarily to understand the games main quest plot.
This game also requires exploration because the path the player needs to take isn't set out for them which makes the game less linear meaning that you can play this game differently every time you play it. It also might mean that you'll need to look up the paths you need to take online or in a guide in order to just get through the game and complete it. Otherwise it could take you hours, maybe days to figure out where you need to go.
The combat mechanics of Bloodborne are some of the best I've ever seen and played with and that's why it stands out to me above the other souls games.
The boss fights are intense and each new boss helps the player to adapt and evolve their combat skills and tactics in order to overcome the enemy.
The world is very heavily Lovecraftian and therefore the Lore is incredible but also optional. Also, there are easier ways to fight this games enemies including bosses, so if you're struggling, then Google it and there will be hundreds of players in the same boat as you, and in my opinion there's no wrong way to play games like this. If it remains fun and let's me complete the storyline, such as summoning AI for boss battles in offline mode. Then play however you want to because it's you playing the game, not some internet troll who says you're shit and/or cheating the game. If it's possible to do in game, it's part of the game...deal with it!
There are faults such as minor framerate glitches, and glitches with the ragdoll bodies of defeated enemies falling through the environment. There are also some elements that are part of the game such as windows for visceral attacks and hitboxes which sometimes feel like bullshit, but this also helps you evolve so....pros and cons.
My final comment is this;
The best way to learn about this game and enjoy it, is to play it for yourself. It's hard to put into words (even this amount of words in this review) just how incredible this game looks and feels. So if you have a Playstation 4 then grab yourself a copy of Bloodborne and enjoy!
Fear the Old blood!
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Warhammer: Chaosbane in Video Games
Jul 8, 2019
There have been a lot of Warhammer games released over the past year or so. Everything from managing spaceships, to Real-Time Strategy, to Tactical Combat based games have been represented between the Warhammer and the Warhammer 40,000 universe. EKO Software and Bigben decided to add the action-RPG to the mix with their fun to play Diablo clone Warhammer: Chaosbane.
Much like the games that it takes inspiration from, you have the opportunity to pick one of four characters to battle the Lords of Chaos and bring order to the land. Your standard archetype characters are all here in standard Warhammer Fantasy. The Dwarven “Slayer” class, for those who like a barbarian class to rage havoc upon his foes, The High-Elf Mage who utilizes his magic to bring down the forces of chaos, the ho-hum Imperial Soldier who can take and deal out a huge amount of damage, and the Wood Elf who uses her bow and dagger to deal damage at a frighteningly fast pace.
Each of the characters have their own unique secondary ability that allows them to gain a strategic advantage on their foes. The Slayer can vault himself into enemies (much like the Barbarian class in Diablo), The Mage can control magical projectiles towards his targets, the Imperial soldier can shield bash targets and the Wood Elf can tumble in and out of danger. I played through the vast majority of the game as the Wood Elf and learning to use her tumble ability and stay mobile is some of the best ways to beat the bosses that you will come across.
One area where Warhammer: Chaosbane improves on the standard Diablo formula is how it handles health and energy/mana. Various items you equip can provide health regeneration on their own or you also possess the ability to use a “health Potion” that refills slowly each time you use it. Thankfully this means you don’t have individual health potions cluttering up your inventory. Mana/Energy is used for special attacks and actions…each time you use a skill some of your Mana/Energy is used. There are a few ways you can recoup your energy. The first is to use your general attacks on creatures, as you successfully hit each one your energy fills a little until it tops the meter off. The other way is to reach out to your familiar who follows you around the screen. My familiar was a butterfly that I could run over to when I’d run low on energy and it would fill my meter about half way. When you utilize your familiar in this way they must also recharge, so use them wisely.
One of the more unique items that you acquire as you slice your way through the hordes of demons and undead are Blood Orbs. Blood Orbs appear on the battlefield seemingly at random (although the more enemies you cut down the more likely they are to appear). As you acquire these orbs it fills a Blood lust meter and when full imbues your character with incredible power and near invincibility until the meter runs out. The Orbs don’t stay on the battlefield forever however, and they slowly lose power the longer you wait to gather them, so it encourages you to step out of the battle (or in my case roll out of the battle) to gather them as quickly as you can. As you progress your character you’ll be given the chance to upgrade these as well which essentially allows you to fill multiple meters and grants you this special power for longer lengths of time.
Skills are broken down into various types which allow you to outfit your character to best suit your play style. There are literally dozens of both active and passive skills to choose from, and each of these skills can be upgraded as well for improved effects or damage. As the Wood Elf Elessa, I was able to summon dryads to my side to help me deal with the hordes of enemies. In edition there are also God Skills that you acquire as you level up and complete missions. These special skills unlock more powerful abilities but also unlock traits as you apply the points. Traits such as health regeneration or critical hit chances are only some of the ones that you can unlock along the God Skill tree that give you a sense that your character is becoming more unstoppable with every skill acquired.
Unfortunately, the inconsistent voice acting is what relegates Chaosbane to being good instead of great. I made the mistake of choosing the character with the worst voice acting in the bunch and if I had played through with another character I may not have noticed how truly terrible it was. Elessa delivers her lines in an almost wooden (pun intended) manner, almost as if reading directly from a script. This gets even more noticeable when on occasion her voice changes to that of a man. The developers and testers did a good job of catching most of them, but there were at least five or six dialog trees where Elessa’s voice changed completely. I have two theories on this, my first theory (although I hadn’t confirmed this) is that the character was originally meant to be portrayed as a man and was changed to add a bit more diversity to the line-up. Not that there is anything wrong with having the main characters all be male, but it certainly could have limited the appeal of the audience. My second theory is that some of the dialog was simply place holders while they were sourcing out the right voice actors and simply missed replacing the audio bytes.
Either way, Elessa isn’t the only place where the voice acting takes a turn for the worst, other characters suffer from this fate as well. While the Warhammer games have always used bravado to deliver their dialog, it is simply too over the top in most cases. The first boss I encountered sounded like Cobra Commander who had just walked off the set of the latest GI Joe Cartoon to lead the forces of Chaos…Yo Joe! The fact that the game is voice acted entirely is something that I do applaud the developers for insisting on, it’s just disappointing that you find yourself reading through the dialog as quickly as possible and skipping the voices whenever you can.
Even with its flaws Warhammer: Chaosbane is a fun Diablo clone and an absolute blast to play. The story is forgettable, the voices laughable, but the combat scratches the same itch that any other action roleplaying game provides. There’s plenty of loot to acquire, that ranges from common to rare, and your ability to “bless” items to make them more powerful is an added bonus. There are a whopping ten levels of difficulty, each level provides for a more difficult adventure with the promise of even better loot. With both couch co-op and online multiplayer, it even harkened me back to the days of playing the original Gauntlet in the arcades. If you like the Warhammer universe and are looking for a game you can pick up and play with relative ease, then Warhammer: Chaosbane is just the game you are looking for.
What I liked: Fun combat, Amazing selection of skills, Plays equally well with keyboard/mouse or controller
What I liked less: Terrible voice acting, Repetitive loot drops, Forgettable story
Much like the games that it takes inspiration from, you have the opportunity to pick one of four characters to battle the Lords of Chaos and bring order to the land. Your standard archetype characters are all here in standard Warhammer Fantasy. The Dwarven “Slayer” class, for those who like a barbarian class to rage havoc upon his foes, The High-Elf Mage who utilizes his magic to bring down the forces of chaos, the ho-hum Imperial Soldier who can take and deal out a huge amount of damage, and the Wood Elf who uses her bow and dagger to deal damage at a frighteningly fast pace.
Each of the characters have their own unique secondary ability that allows them to gain a strategic advantage on their foes. The Slayer can vault himself into enemies (much like the Barbarian class in Diablo), The Mage can control magical projectiles towards his targets, the Imperial soldier can shield bash targets and the Wood Elf can tumble in and out of danger. I played through the vast majority of the game as the Wood Elf and learning to use her tumble ability and stay mobile is some of the best ways to beat the bosses that you will come across.
One area where Warhammer: Chaosbane improves on the standard Diablo formula is how it handles health and energy/mana. Various items you equip can provide health regeneration on their own or you also possess the ability to use a “health Potion” that refills slowly each time you use it. Thankfully this means you don’t have individual health potions cluttering up your inventory. Mana/Energy is used for special attacks and actions…each time you use a skill some of your Mana/Energy is used. There are a few ways you can recoup your energy. The first is to use your general attacks on creatures, as you successfully hit each one your energy fills a little until it tops the meter off. The other way is to reach out to your familiar who follows you around the screen. My familiar was a butterfly that I could run over to when I’d run low on energy and it would fill my meter about half way. When you utilize your familiar in this way they must also recharge, so use them wisely.
One of the more unique items that you acquire as you slice your way through the hordes of demons and undead are Blood Orbs. Blood Orbs appear on the battlefield seemingly at random (although the more enemies you cut down the more likely they are to appear). As you acquire these orbs it fills a Blood lust meter and when full imbues your character with incredible power and near invincibility until the meter runs out. The Orbs don’t stay on the battlefield forever however, and they slowly lose power the longer you wait to gather them, so it encourages you to step out of the battle (or in my case roll out of the battle) to gather them as quickly as you can. As you progress your character you’ll be given the chance to upgrade these as well which essentially allows you to fill multiple meters and grants you this special power for longer lengths of time.
Skills are broken down into various types which allow you to outfit your character to best suit your play style. There are literally dozens of both active and passive skills to choose from, and each of these skills can be upgraded as well for improved effects or damage. As the Wood Elf Elessa, I was able to summon dryads to my side to help me deal with the hordes of enemies. In edition there are also God Skills that you acquire as you level up and complete missions. These special skills unlock more powerful abilities but also unlock traits as you apply the points. Traits such as health regeneration or critical hit chances are only some of the ones that you can unlock along the God Skill tree that give you a sense that your character is becoming more unstoppable with every skill acquired.
Unfortunately, the inconsistent voice acting is what relegates Chaosbane to being good instead of great. I made the mistake of choosing the character with the worst voice acting in the bunch and if I had played through with another character I may not have noticed how truly terrible it was. Elessa delivers her lines in an almost wooden (pun intended) manner, almost as if reading directly from a script. This gets even more noticeable when on occasion her voice changes to that of a man. The developers and testers did a good job of catching most of them, but there were at least five or six dialog trees where Elessa’s voice changed completely. I have two theories on this, my first theory (although I hadn’t confirmed this) is that the character was originally meant to be portrayed as a man and was changed to add a bit more diversity to the line-up. Not that there is anything wrong with having the main characters all be male, but it certainly could have limited the appeal of the audience. My second theory is that some of the dialog was simply place holders while they were sourcing out the right voice actors and simply missed replacing the audio bytes.
Either way, Elessa isn’t the only place where the voice acting takes a turn for the worst, other characters suffer from this fate as well. While the Warhammer games have always used bravado to deliver their dialog, it is simply too over the top in most cases. The first boss I encountered sounded like Cobra Commander who had just walked off the set of the latest GI Joe Cartoon to lead the forces of Chaos…Yo Joe! The fact that the game is voice acted entirely is something that I do applaud the developers for insisting on, it’s just disappointing that you find yourself reading through the dialog as quickly as possible and skipping the voices whenever you can.
Even with its flaws Warhammer: Chaosbane is a fun Diablo clone and an absolute blast to play. The story is forgettable, the voices laughable, but the combat scratches the same itch that any other action roleplaying game provides. There’s plenty of loot to acquire, that ranges from common to rare, and your ability to “bless” items to make them more powerful is an added bonus. There are a whopping ten levels of difficulty, each level provides for a more difficult adventure with the promise of even better loot. With both couch co-op and online multiplayer, it even harkened me back to the days of playing the original Gauntlet in the arcades. If you like the Warhammer universe and are looking for a game you can pick up and play with relative ease, then Warhammer: Chaosbane is just the game you are looking for.
What I liked: Fun combat, Amazing selection of skills, Plays equally well with keyboard/mouse or controller
What I liked less: Terrible voice acting, Repetitive loot drops, Forgettable story
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Pirate's Mark in Tabletop Games
Mar 29, 2021
I simply cannot get enough of pirate games! I know some gamers are tired of pirates and zombies and Mediterranean trading, and I most certainly understand that. However, I’m just a sucker for some themes, and pirates are one. I am also growing to love press-your-luck style games for that giant helping of luck. I mean, how different is it from rolling a die and basing turns on those results? In this case it is flipping over cards instead of flipping the number of cards rolled. Similar, but different. In any case, today I take a look at Pirate’s Mark from first-time designers, artist, and publisher. Let’s see if I have found a treasure or contracted scurvy from the ordeal.
Pirate’s Mark is a bluffing, bidding, press-your-luck card game about finding treasure in the sea and avoiding contracting the Pirate’s Mark: the mark of death. In it players are pirates searching the seas by boasting about how many treasures they expect they will find, flipping over cards, and dealing with any consequences of their pulls. The last pirate to remain unmarked at the end of the game will be the winner and richest of all pirates on the vast seas.
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
To setup, include the correct number of cards as described in the rulebook for the number of players. Once the cards are shuffled they will be laid out in a 10 x 15 grid on the table, face-down. The Compass Rose card and die are placed near the card grid and the game is ready to begin!
On a turn a short bidding round commences with players announcing how many cards they believe they can pull from the grid without uncovering a Pirate’s Mark card. This bidding goes around the table with bids increasing with each player until one player calls the bluff and forces the last player to bid to take their turn. That player then pulls a number of cards face-up from the sea and resolves any cards that are immediate, stashes cards that are treasures, and holds cards that contain the phrase, “Play this card,” to be used at a later time.
If the turn is uneventful, by not revealing any Pirate’s Mark cards, then the game continues with bidding and pulling. However, once a pirate reveals a Pirate’s Mark card, they are marked and cannot participate in the bidding any longer (unless they find a way to unmark themselves, which IS possible). Marked players can get back in the game by calling another player’s bluff correctly. There is indeed risk here as a marked player that incorrectly calls a bluff is permanently dead and out of the game.
There are some more rules for the end of the game phase called, “Duel Mode,” but I will let you discover those on your own. Play continues in this fashion until one player is standing and unmarked. This player wins the game and the others need to pack up the 130 cards that were setup. Okay, I added that last part.
Components. This game is a ton of square cards and a fantastic d12 that is only used for the two-player variant. The cards are all glossy, but good quality, and feature photos (akin to screencaps from movies) instead of illustrations. I find the theme to be very present in not only the press-your-luck and bidding/bluffing mechanics, but also in the design of the cards and the photos used. It feels like a piratey game and plays like a piratey game. Like I said, the d12 is fabulous, and I actually happen to own a set of dice that I use for my RPG campaigns… sometimes. All in all the game has some good components and looks great on the table.
So I have some good AND bad news to deliver. First the bad. Some cards that are pulled are way too overpowered. One is called “Blackbeard’s Sword.” It allows the player to “peek under the number of cards left in your bid.” I used this card on a bid of 22 cards and was able to pull all safe cards because this allowed me to see 22 cards and avoid any Pirate’s Marks. Super OP if you ask me. The only other bad I have here is setup. There are 130 cards to be sorted, shuffled, and laid out in a nice-looking grid before the game can be played. For those of us with slight or full-blown OCD that is a nightmare. Luckily, I only stress if the cards are way out of whack instead of just slightly askew.
Now for all the good. I like this game quite a bit. To offset some of the OP of the aforementioned card, the game comes with some pretty great Lucky and Curse cards to be pulled. A couple Lucky cards are, “Drop Anchor,” which ends the player’s turn when revealed, thus negating any Mark pulls, and “Flying Dutchman,” which can be played on a marked player to instantly kill them. Now, I do not condone murder normally, but when playing a pirate game, it is to be expected. The Curses pulled are equally unlucky. “Winds of Fate” allows the person who called the bluff to choose the rest of the cards to be pulled for your turn. OUCH! Especially if they had used “Blackbeard’s Sword” and know where one or more Pirate’s Marks are hidden. Similarly unlucky is “Isla Muerta” which penalizes the player if they have 10 or more treasure cards and pull a Pirate’s Mark – they die instantly from the curse! These are just a few examples of some cards that can be encountered during play, and there are a whole lot more of them included.
I do so enjoy bluffing and luck-based games more and more, and Pirate’s Mark certainly gives it to me on those fronts. Being able to just whisk away 20 or more cards because you happen to have that coveted card you used is devilishly fun. Watching the other players seethe with envy as you pull treasure after treasure and avoid Marks is like winning $20 on a scratch-off. It won’t change your life, but it will give a shot of adrenaline and euphoria for a few minutes. I think Pirate’s Mark fills a void of straight bidding, bluffing, and luck that certainly matches the theme perfectly, and remains a good game as well.
Also, if you happen across one of the expansions, “Parrghty Mode,” it adds another five players to the game and bumps up the count of cards in play from 130 to a whopping 168! This is not for the small of table. I wish there was room inside the base game’s box to fit these extra cards, but alas, there is not.
So if you are like me and enjoy games on the lighter side that perfectly match game to theme, then you have to check out Pirate’s Mark. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a haunting 8 / 12. I certainly recommend it and will now be finding a place in my main shelf unit for it. Hmm, which game do I make walk the plank…?
Pirate’s Mark is a bluffing, bidding, press-your-luck card game about finding treasure in the sea and avoiding contracting the Pirate’s Mark: the mark of death. In it players are pirates searching the seas by boasting about how many treasures they expect they will find, flipping over cards, and dealing with any consequences of their pulls. The last pirate to remain unmarked at the end of the game will be the winner and richest of all pirates on the vast seas.
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
To setup, include the correct number of cards as described in the rulebook for the number of players. Once the cards are shuffled they will be laid out in a 10 x 15 grid on the table, face-down. The Compass Rose card and die are placed near the card grid and the game is ready to begin!
On a turn a short bidding round commences with players announcing how many cards they believe they can pull from the grid without uncovering a Pirate’s Mark card. This bidding goes around the table with bids increasing with each player until one player calls the bluff and forces the last player to bid to take their turn. That player then pulls a number of cards face-up from the sea and resolves any cards that are immediate, stashes cards that are treasures, and holds cards that contain the phrase, “Play this card,” to be used at a later time.
If the turn is uneventful, by not revealing any Pirate’s Mark cards, then the game continues with bidding and pulling. However, once a pirate reveals a Pirate’s Mark card, they are marked and cannot participate in the bidding any longer (unless they find a way to unmark themselves, which IS possible). Marked players can get back in the game by calling another player’s bluff correctly. There is indeed risk here as a marked player that incorrectly calls a bluff is permanently dead and out of the game.
There are some more rules for the end of the game phase called, “Duel Mode,” but I will let you discover those on your own. Play continues in this fashion until one player is standing and unmarked. This player wins the game and the others need to pack up the 130 cards that were setup. Okay, I added that last part.
Components. This game is a ton of square cards and a fantastic d12 that is only used for the two-player variant. The cards are all glossy, but good quality, and feature photos (akin to screencaps from movies) instead of illustrations. I find the theme to be very present in not only the press-your-luck and bidding/bluffing mechanics, but also in the design of the cards and the photos used. It feels like a piratey game and plays like a piratey game. Like I said, the d12 is fabulous, and I actually happen to own a set of dice that I use for my RPG campaigns… sometimes. All in all the game has some good components and looks great on the table.
So I have some good AND bad news to deliver. First the bad. Some cards that are pulled are way too overpowered. One is called “Blackbeard’s Sword.” It allows the player to “peek under the number of cards left in your bid.” I used this card on a bid of 22 cards and was able to pull all safe cards because this allowed me to see 22 cards and avoid any Pirate’s Marks. Super OP if you ask me. The only other bad I have here is setup. There are 130 cards to be sorted, shuffled, and laid out in a nice-looking grid before the game can be played. For those of us with slight or full-blown OCD that is a nightmare. Luckily, I only stress if the cards are way out of whack instead of just slightly askew.
Now for all the good. I like this game quite a bit. To offset some of the OP of the aforementioned card, the game comes with some pretty great Lucky and Curse cards to be pulled. A couple Lucky cards are, “Drop Anchor,” which ends the player’s turn when revealed, thus negating any Mark pulls, and “Flying Dutchman,” which can be played on a marked player to instantly kill them. Now, I do not condone murder normally, but when playing a pirate game, it is to be expected. The Curses pulled are equally unlucky. “Winds of Fate” allows the person who called the bluff to choose the rest of the cards to be pulled for your turn. OUCH! Especially if they had used “Blackbeard’s Sword” and know where one or more Pirate’s Marks are hidden. Similarly unlucky is “Isla Muerta” which penalizes the player if they have 10 or more treasure cards and pull a Pirate’s Mark – they die instantly from the curse! These are just a few examples of some cards that can be encountered during play, and there are a whole lot more of them included.
I do so enjoy bluffing and luck-based games more and more, and Pirate’s Mark certainly gives it to me on those fronts. Being able to just whisk away 20 or more cards because you happen to have that coveted card you used is devilishly fun. Watching the other players seethe with envy as you pull treasure after treasure and avoid Marks is like winning $20 on a scratch-off. It won’t change your life, but it will give a shot of adrenaline and euphoria for a few minutes. I think Pirate’s Mark fills a void of straight bidding, bluffing, and luck that certainly matches the theme perfectly, and remains a good game as well.
Also, if you happen across one of the expansions, “Parrghty Mode,” it adds another five players to the game and bumps up the count of cards in play from 130 to a whopping 168! This is not for the small of table. I wish there was room inside the base game’s box to fit these extra cards, but alas, there is not.
So if you are like me and enjoy games on the lighter side that perfectly match game to theme, then you have to check out Pirate’s Mark. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a haunting 8 / 12. I certainly recommend it and will now be finding a place in my main shelf unit for it. Hmm, which game do I make walk the plank…?
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Neon Knights: 2086 in Tabletop Games
Sep 10, 2020
Some of us actually lived through the 1980s. Just barely, but I certainly remember the neon stylizations, the hair, the tight-rolled pants. It’s not a look I ever hope to reincarnate. However, what if the style of the 1980s reappeared in the future? Like in the 2080s? That would be kind of awesome, actually. Or maybe it would be more bodacious or tubular. In any case, some things never go out of style. Things like attacking your fellow racers as they try to pass on the left with their NOS and dangling repair arms. Just me?
Neon Knights 2086 (here forth known as NK) is a car racing game of customization and street battle. The game essentially takes place over three race weeks (rounds) with each week being divided into a preparation period and then the race day itself. The winner of NK is not necessarily the driver who crosses the finish line more often, but rather the driver who wisely invests in upgrades and tempts Lady Luck to be on their side during crucial dice rolls.
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
To setup, separate and shuffle each different-backed deck of cards, set them on the board in their places, and display the number of cards equal to the card spaces on the board. Give each player components in their character color, the matching play mat, and starting car parts to be tucked under their mat. Determine the starting player who will construct the first race course out of the provided map chunks and the game may begin!
Again, I will not be explaining every rule in the game as there are just too many to cover, but the game is played over three weeks. During the preparation days leading up to the race on day 7 (Sunday I guess), players will be taking actions to draft upgrades to their cars, or implants into their driver’s BRAIN, getting themselves sponsored so they can make bank come pay day, and also accepting bets on how each driver can earn a little extra on the side come race day.
Each day leading up to the race will allow players to complete one action, and pay day is on Day 5. This is when players will be paid out by their sponsors thus allowing players more spending power at the various upgrade shops. However, Race Day looms ahead and drivers will be making sure they have the best car they can afford because racing is a matter of life or death.
During a race, players will be choosing their initial speed and traveling the course attempting to finish first to gain points, but also to inflict damage on opposing cars and trying to complete their bets they’ve made. Cars will typically travel the number of spaces that the driver has chosen as the speed for the turn, but along the way the cars will be passing over neon lights in the street that are colored according to the suggested speed to overcome them. Go too fast and players will need to roll damage dice to simulate clipping a curb or smashing into a building corner. Go the correct suggested speed or less and pass over the lights no problem and with no damage dice to roll. Of course, car upgrades can assist with this.
When cars end their turn on a space with another car, a battle ensues and damage is calculated. Also, either before or after movement a car can decide to use a weapon on a rival car in range of their weapon to inflict extra damage. After all, a well-damaged car must screech to a halt and possibly use precious resources to repair the damage. Races are flat out bonkers but are the crux of NK. The winner of NK is the player who can amass the most VP at the end of the game and will be able to run a victory lap in the streets.
Components. This game is one of those hefty 12×12 boxes that is packed with goodies. The board is huge. The player components are beautiful and amazing. The player mats are great and laid out really well. The big chunky street map tiles are big and chunky. The colors are perfectly ’80s and perfect for a board game. I have no issues at all with the components. Oh wait, just one little eensy weensy complaint. I wish the font in the rule book was something of the serif variety instead of block all-caps. I felt as if I were being scolded for reading the rules.
All that said, I find Neon Knights 2086 to be a beautiful and relatively quick-playing racing game with the added bonus of car customization akin to that of creating an RPG character (and everyone knows that’s the best part of RPGs). The prep days are super fast to play through because you are basically just taking cards from the offers or drawing cards from the face-down decks to improve your ride, or repairing your car from previous races, and negotiating with sponsors to get those sweet gigs.
The racing, however, is where the game play takes off. It’s here that all the planning and optimizing is put to the test. It’s here where you discover that some of your “upgrades” just ain’t cuttin’ it, and need to be upgraded further. Hopefully a new sweet (and affordable) weapon will come out during the week. Maybe a new sponsor will enter and entice you with tons of money. And then it’s Race Day and you can take your rig out to demolish the competition. Ahh sweet demolition.
This game was a big surprise for me for several reasons. First, I didn’t realize how much I actually enjoyed some of the things from the ’80s. Those colors are just so dang beautiful. That design. So good. But also I just don’t play a lot of car racing games so I was skeptical at first. I’m not a fan of NASCAR so obviously I won’t like any car racing game, right? At least that was my initial thought. Neon Knights 2086 may just have piqued my interest in trying out some other racing titles in the future. For these reasons, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a bruised 8 / 12. If you are aching for a racing game with battles in the streets and customization in the sheets, check out Neon Knights 2086. I am now a believer, and can’t wait to play this one many more times.
Neon Knights 2086 (here forth known as NK) is a car racing game of customization and street battle. The game essentially takes place over three race weeks (rounds) with each week being divided into a preparation period and then the race day itself. The winner of NK is not necessarily the driver who crosses the finish line more often, but rather the driver who wisely invests in upgrades and tempts Lady Luck to be on their side during crucial dice rolls.
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
To setup, separate and shuffle each different-backed deck of cards, set them on the board in their places, and display the number of cards equal to the card spaces on the board. Give each player components in their character color, the matching play mat, and starting car parts to be tucked under their mat. Determine the starting player who will construct the first race course out of the provided map chunks and the game may begin!
Again, I will not be explaining every rule in the game as there are just too many to cover, but the game is played over three weeks. During the preparation days leading up to the race on day 7 (Sunday I guess), players will be taking actions to draft upgrades to their cars, or implants into their driver’s BRAIN, getting themselves sponsored so they can make bank come pay day, and also accepting bets on how each driver can earn a little extra on the side come race day.
Each day leading up to the race will allow players to complete one action, and pay day is on Day 5. This is when players will be paid out by their sponsors thus allowing players more spending power at the various upgrade shops. However, Race Day looms ahead and drivers will be making sure they have the best car they can afford because racing is a matter of life or death.
During a race, players will be choosing their initial speed and traveling the course attempting to finish first to gain points, but also to inflict damage on opposing cars and trying to complete their bets they’ve made. Cars will typically travel the number of spaces that the driver has chosen as the speed for the turn, but along the way the cars will be passing over neon lights in the street that are colored according to the suggested speed to overcome them. Go too fast and players will need to roll damage dice to simulate clipping a curb or smashing into a building corner. Go the correct suggested speed or less and pass over the lights no problem and with no damage dice to roll. Of course, car upgrades can assist with this.
When cars end their turn on a space with another car, a battle ensues and damage is calculated. Also, either before or after movement a car can decide to use a weapon on a rival car in range of their weapon to inflict extra damage. After all, a well-damaged car must screech to a halt and possibly use precious resources to repair the damage. Races are flat out bonkers but are the crux of NK. The winner of NK is the player who can amass the most VP at the end of the game and will be able to run a victory lap in the streets.
Components. This game is one of those hefty 12×12 boxes that is packed with goodies. The board is huge. The player components are beautiful and amazing. The player mats are great and laid out really well. The big chunky street map tiles are big and chunky. The colors are perfectly ’80s and perfect for a board game. I have no issues at all with the components. Oh wait, just one little eensy weensy complaint. I wish the font in the rule book was something of the serif variety instead of block all-caps. I felt as if I were being scolded for reading the rules.
All that said, I find Neon Knights 2086 to be a beautiful and relatively quick-playing racing game with the added bonus of car customization akin to that of creating an RPG character (and everyone knows that’s the best part of RPGs). The prep days are super fast to play through because you are basically just taking cards from the offers or drawing cards from the face-down decks to improve your ride, or repairing your car from previous races, and negotiating with sponsors to get those sweet gigs.
The racing, however, is where the game play takes off. It’s here that all the planning and optimizing is put to the test. It’s here where you discover that some of your “upgrades” just ain’t cuttin’ it, and need to be upgraded further. Hopefully a new sweet (and affordable) weapon will come out during the week. Maybe a new sponsor will enter and entice you with tons of money. And then it’s Race Day and you can take your rig out to demolish the competition. Ahh sweet demolition.
This game was a big surprise for me for several reasons. First, I didn’t realize how much I actually enjoyed some of the things from the ’80s. Those colors are just so dang beautiful. That design. So good. But also I just don’t play a lot of car racing games so I was skeptical at first. I’m not a fan of NASCAR so obviously I won’t like any car racing game, right? At least that was my initial thought. Neon Knights 2086 may just have piqued my interest in trying out some other racing titles in the future. For these reasons, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a bruised 8 / 12. If you are aching for a racing game with battles in the streets and customization in the sheets, check out Neon Knights 2086. I am now a believer, and can’t wait to play this one many more times.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Asator in Tabletop Games
Oct 20, 2020
Vikings. Raiding and pillaging and dragon riding. That’s about the extent of my knowledge of the ancient(?) civilization that so many people go bonkers romanticizing. Okay, so they didn’t REALLY ride dragons, but How To Train Your Dragon is great and the game I am previewing today also includes dragons, so I’m rolling with it. But how does this Viking game play and compare to its inspirations?
Asator is a head to head (or teams) game of troop maneuvering and attacking using 30 identical miniatures on each side. Each mini acts as a platoon of three different kinds of armies, plus a Chieftan, Master, Wizard, and Dragon that all have different special abilities. The winner of Asator is the player who can eliminate their opponent’s leadership (Chieftan, Master, and Wizard).
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I know that the final components will be slightly different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. 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 battle mat on the table, and then players will place groups of minis on the field within the closest three rows of hexes in alternating turn fashion. Players will also take the two large Battle Sheets and a dry-erase marker to keep track of every one of their minis’ stats throughout the game. Each player will also choose five of the given 10 Wizard spell cards to use for the game, and each spell may only be used once during the game. Once all army minis are placed, the first player will move up to 20 units on the battlefield and attack opponent armies if possible. The game is now on and decimation is the goal.
Each mini type corresponds to a different group of armies, plus the dragon and three leader pieces. All armies of the same type have the same stats for movement, hit points (HP), armor rating (AR), and attack weapons. Also each mini is labeled on the bottom so keeping track of each unit is made a little easier. Obviously the leader pieces are more powerful and each has a special style of combat. The Master wields an axe and shield (which is broken after one hit) to increase AR and dole out the damage. The Chieftan wields a spear, twin axes, a bow, and a shield. Similar to the Master, the Chieftan’s shield is broken after an attack against him, and his spear is broken after a missed attack. The Wizard is not at all strong in melee, but has powerful spells at his disposal to be used for the disposal of enemy units.
Besides the leadership trio each side also brings a Dragon to the battle. Dragons can move slowly by land, but quite quickly by air. Once in the air he or she may deliver a Fire Blast that causes huge damage, but then the Dragon must ground themselves to regain stamina for flight. In addition, each player will have access to Cavalry, Infantry, and Bowmen, each with their own stat blocks and abilities.
This is all well and good, and is somewhat similar to the strategy one would use in Chess. Combat, however, is much more involved than that of simply moving into an enemy’s space and automatically overtaking it. In Asator combat victory is decided via a VERY pared down version of D&D combat. It uses a simplified d20-based attack versus the enemy Armor Rating (AR). Rolls over the AR of the enemy is a success and damage is dealt. Done. Some attacks require a roll of 2d6 for damage amount, like spells and Dragon attacks. That said, combat is decided using 1d20 and 2d6. That’s it.
The game continues in turns where the first player will move their pieces and attack, and then the next player will do the same until one player has defeated all three enemy leaders and earned the title of Asator – Master of War.
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of the game, but most of the components are what will be received when the game is backed or purchased. That said, the game utilizes a cloth battle mat that folds into the box, four dry-erase Battle Sheets, two dry-erase markers, dice for both players, Wizard spell cards for both players, and 60 miniatures. The battle mat is great fabric quality with minimal art that doesn’t get in the way of play (much appreciated). The dry-erase components are good. The card quality is fine. The dice are black and white dice to correspond with players using the black or white minis, and are of normal quality. The minis are great and I enjoyed playing with them.
Now for the negatives of what is included in the box. First, the art. Now, there is very minimal art used throughout the game. It’s just not a focal point, and it shows in the game’s production. I found the sketch on the cover of the rule book (which is the same as the watermark on the Battle Mat) to be very cool, but the box cover art leaves some to be desired. Similarly, the Wizard spell cards use very generic-looking art icons with text for explanation. I am most certainly being hyper-critical here because flashy art on these components are certainly not needed to play or highly enjoy the game. For my tastes, though, I would like to see more polished art on these pieces as the art is so sparse throughout.
But how does the game feel? It’s truly quite good. I don’t play many wargames or 1v1 skirmish style games, so to present me with something like this and for me to enjoy it as much as I have has to be a sign of something good. Again, I am no strategic war general, but being able to employ different strategies every game is exciting. Testing out the different combinations of Wizard spell cards is fun for a tinkerer. And, of course, playing with a bunch of minis is always good fun.
There is a good game here, and I absolutely love the combination of Chess maneuverability with the simplified RPG d20 battle system. It works well in a game like this where each piece owns a stat block of which players will need to be mindful. I didn’t quite mention my favorite part of the rules yet either: natural 20 on a combat roll equals insta-death. Yes, even to the Dragon, which happened in my very first game. THAT is a cool rule that tripped up tactics quite often in my plays.
All in all this game is a great example of combining a couple sets of mechanics that wouldn’t be expected and creating a great gaming experience from them. I invite you to back the game on Kickstarter when it goes live if you are looking for that special game that is unlike many others you currently own. If the art were spruced up a bit I would be fawning all over it, but even without impressive art I still find I have the twitch in my brain to play it again and again. I wonder how many natural 20s I can roll in a game. Great, now I want to set it up and see…
Asator is a head to head (or teams) game of troop maneuvering and attacking using 30 identical miniatures on each side. Each mini acts as a platoon of three different kinds of armies, plus a Chieftan, Master, Wizard, and Dragon that all have different special abilities. The winner of Asator is the player who can eliminate their opponent’s leadership (Chieftan, Master, and Wizard).
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I know that the final components will be slightly different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. 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 battle mat on the table, and then players will place groups of minis on the field within the closest three rows of hexes in alternating turn fashion. Players will also take the two large Battle Sheets and a dry-erase marker to keep track of every one of their minis’ stats throughout the game. Each player will also choose five of the given 10 Wizard spell cards to use for the game, and each spell may only be used once during the game. Once all army minis are placed, the first player will move up to 20 units on the battlefield and attack opponent armies if possible. The game is now on and decimation is the goal.
Each mini type corresponds to a different group of armies, plus the dragon and three leader pieces. All armies of the same type have the same stats for movement, hit points (HP), armor rating (AR), and attack weapons. Also each mini is labeled on the bottom so keeping track of each unit is made a little easier. Obviously the leader pieces are more powerful and each has a special style of combat. The Master wields an axe and shield (which is broken after one hit) to increase AR and dole out the damage. The Chieftan wields a spear, twin axes, a bow, and a shield. Similar to the Master, the Chieftan’s shield is broken after an attack against him, and his spear is broken after a missed attack. The Wizard is not at all strong in melee, but has powerful spells at his disposal to be used for the disposal of enemy units.
Besides the leadership trio each side also brings a Dragon to the battle. Dragons can move slowly by land, but quite quickly by air. Once in the air he or she may deliver a Fire Blast that causes huge damage, but then the Dragon must ground themselves to regain stamina for flight. In addition, each player will have access to Cavalry, Infantry, and Bowmen, each with their own stat blocks and abilities.
This is all well and good, and is somewhat similar to the strategy one would use in Chess. Combat, however, is much more involved than that of simply moving into an enemy’s space and automatically overtaking it. In Asator combat victory is decided via a VERY pared down version of D&D combat. It uses a simplified d20-based attack versus the enemy Armor Rating (AR). Rolls over the AR of the enemy is a success and damage is dealt. Done. Some attacks require a roll of 2d6 for damage amount, like spells and Dragon attacks. That said, combat is decided using 1d20 and 2d6. That’s it.
The game continues in turns where the first player will move their pieces and attack, and then the next player will do the same until one player has defeated all three enemy leaders and earned the title of Asator – Master of War.
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of the game, but most of the components are what will be received when the game is backed or purchased. That said, the game utilizes a cloth battle mat that folds into the box, four dry-erase Battle Sheets, two dry-erase markers, dice for both players, Wizard spell cards for both players, and 60 miniatures. The battle mat is great fabric quality with minimal art that doesn’t get in the way of play (much appreciated). The dry-erase components are good. The card quality is fine. The dice are black and white dice to correspond with players using the black or white minis, and are of normal quality. The minis are great and I enjoyed playing with them.
Now for the negatives of what is included in the box. First, the art. Now, there is very minimal art used throughout the game. It’s just not a focal point, and it shows in the game’s production. I found the sketch on the cover of the rule book (which is the same as the watermark on the Battle Mat) to be very cool, but the box cover art leaves some to be desired. Similarly, the Wizard spell cards use very generic-looking art icons with text for explanation. I am most certainly being hyper-critical here because flashy art on these components are certainly not needed to play or highly enjoy the game. For my tastes, though, I would like to see more polished art on these pieces as the art is so sparse throughout.
But how does the game feel? It’s truly quite good. I don’t play many wargames or 1v1 skirmish style games, so to present me with something like this and for me to enjoy it as much as I have has to be a sign of something good. Again, I am no strategic war general, but being able to employ different strategies every game is exciting. Testing out the different combinations of Wizard spell cards is fun for a tinkerer. And, of course, playing with a bunch of minis is always good fun.
There is a good game here, and I absolutely love the combination of Chess maneuverability with the simplified RPG d20 battle system. It works well in a game like this where each piece owns a stat block of which players will need to be mindful. I didn’t quite mention my favorite part of the rules yet either: natural 20 on a combat roll equals insta-death. Yes, even to the Dragon, which happened in my very first game. THAT is a cool rule that tripped up tactics quite often in my plays.
All in all this game is a great example of combining a couple sets of mechanics that wouldn’t be expected and creating a great gaming experience from them. I invite you to back the game on Kickstarter when it goes live if you are looking for that special game that is unlike many others you currently own. If the art were spruced up a bit I would be fawning all over it, but even without impressive art I still find I have the twitch in my brain to play it again and again. I wonder how many natural 20s I can roll in a game. Great, now I want to set it up and see…
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Questeros in Tabletop Games
Jan 21, 2021
You know that messed up deal when you are just chillin’ in the forest doing goblin-y things when you are caught and forced into a life of servitude by the king of the realm, and then when he needs someone to go on a dangerous quest he calls upon you, the now court jester, to fulfill said quest? Doesn’t that just chap your hide? Such is exactly the setting in which our hero(?) finds themselves in Questeros, or more fitting, Ero’s Quest (the solo adventure variant).
Ero is the goblin court jester from the open who has been “chosen” to quest about the land to rid it of the ne’er-do-wells of the realm. In this solo adventure mode of Questeros the player will be donning the visage and character of Ero as they travel about developing their skills and having encounters with powerful beings. It is up to the player to guide Ero through the kingdom and rid it of the foul that is plaguing it.
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. 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 the solo game, fondly and ingeniously-named “Ero’s Quest,” follow the rulebook to divide the tarot cards into their specific stacks and splays so that it roughly imitates the photo below. Draw a hand of five cards from the deck and the game may begin.
On a turn the player has a choice of seven actions that may be performed in any order. Each action may only be performed once per turn and when the turn is over the final action is Rest. To use the Develop action the player will place a card from their hand onto the Blades, Staves, or Orbs stacks in next-numerical order. This increases Ero’s attack and spending power. To Puchase cards Ero will spend Orb cards to look at the spent Orb value worth of cards from the draw deck, add one to their hand, and place the others at the bottom of the draw deck. At times Ero will need to Forget cards from hand in order to make room for more cards to enter it via the Learn action. Forgetting simply discards cards from hand while learning draws cards into hand from the draw deck. Recover is used to stand any kneeling/turned/rotated cards into an unused state by destroying cards of higher value from hand. As stated previously, to Rest is to end the turn by discarding the top card of the draw deck to setup the next turn.
I purposely left out the final action choice, Encounter, for a specific reason. Ero’s Quest is won when the entire deck of 21 Encounter cards is defeated. Each of these cards depicts a person or persons that Ero meets in his travels. Some require Ero to give them cards in order to pass. Some require Ero to succeed in battle against them in order to progress. In either case, Ero will need to get through the entire deck before his draw deck runs out in order to win the game.
Battle in Ero’s Quest is turn-based, where the Encounter persona attacks first, thus handing Ero wounds immediately. Wounds are suffered by spending Cups cards in value of the wound taken. For example, the Assassin is a value of 12, so they immediately wound Ero for 12 damage at the start of the encounter. Ero will spend a value of 12 Cups cards to simulate damage taken. Ero may then attack with a combination of available Blades, Staves, and any Ally cards obtained – one of each per attack turn. If the Encounter is defeated, Ero lives on. If the Encounter is not yet defeated, the battle continues with the Encounter card dealing damage and Ero responding with damage until one is defeated.
As mentioned earlier, the Encounter deck contains 21 cards with six of these being combat encounters. Ero has a ton of work to do and when each turn requires a card to be discarded before a new round may begin, they also have an in-game clock ticking and ticking each turn. However, if Ero is able to Develop their skills and overcome all the Encounters, the game is won and Ero becomes a Hero.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, and many items are not fully completed in this version. That said, what we were provided is a large stack of tarot-sized cards, a first player Ero token (for multiplayer games), and a large pad of scoring sheets (also for multiplayer use). The cards are great quality and feature some really excellent artwork (on the cards that have the completed artwork on them). I do like the art style employed here, as I am a fan of fantasy themes, and I know that the game will probably ship with similar iconography, but may also be color-coded for ease of reference. All in all I believe Questeros is headed in the right direction for components, and a successful Kickstarter campaign may improve that even further.
The gameplay for the solo adventure of Ero’s Quest is really decent and engaging. So often I have found myself crunching numbers in my head and attempting to utilize my horrible card-counting “skills” to determine my next actions to take. Turns can be very intense and fruitful, or very frustrating and minimal, especially when you are waiting to draw that 3 of Blades so you can place it on the 2 of Blades sitting there, but it just won’t come up. And here you are sitting with the 4, 5, and 6 of Blades in hand and a Necromancer staring right at you awaiting combat. That is the definition of frustrating, but games usually take less than an hour, so even if an entire game is chock full of these turns, you can always setup a new game quickly and hope for better luck.
I like this one. I really do. It is interesting, has a great theme, so many delicious choices, and multiple ways to use the cards for game modes or tarot decks or even RPG FATE decks! On versatility alone I would rate this one high. If you are looking for a little card game to satisfy your mid-weight solo thirst, then check out Questeros. If you need a tarot game in your collection (as I look at mine and see no others), consider this one. It takes up very little shelf space, but looks great on the table and offers a great little solo experience. I have yet to beat the solo adventure, but Ero is calling my name for another go, and I might just have to give in. Again. And again.
Ero is the goblin court jester from the open who has been “chosen” to quest about the land to rid it of the ne’er-do-wells of the realm. In this solo adventure mode of Questeros the player will be donning the visage and character of Ero as they travel about developing their skills and having encounters with powerful beings. It is up to the player to guide Ero through the kingdom and rid it of the foul that is plaguing it.
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. 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 the solo game, fondly and ingeniously-named “Ero’s Quest,” follow the rulebook to divide the tarot cards into their specific stacks and splays so that it roughly imitates the photo below. Draw a hand of five cards from the deck and the game may begin.
On a turn the player has a choice of seven actions that may be performed in any order. Each action may only be performed once per turn and when the turn is over the final action is Rest. To use the Develop action the player will place a card from their hand onto the Blades, Staves, or Orbs stacks in next-numerical order. This increases Ero’s attack and spending power. To Puchase cards Ero will spend Orb cards to look at the spent Orb value worth of cards from the draw deck, add one to their hand, and place the others at the bottom of the draw deck. At times Ero will need to Forget cards from hand in order to make room for more cards to enter it via the Learn action. Forgetting simply discards cards from hand while learning draws cards into hand from the draw deck. Recover is used to stand any kneeling/turned/rotated cards into an unused state by destroying cards of higher value from hand. As stated previously, to Rest is to end the turn by discarding the top card of the draw deck to setup the next turn.
I purposely left out the final action choice, Encounter, for a specific reason. Ero’s Quest is won when the entire deck of 21 Encounter cards is defeated. Each of these cards depicts a person or persons that Ero meets in his travels. Some require Ero to give them cards in order to pass. Some require Ero to succeed in battle against them in order to progress. In either case, Ero will need to get through the entire deck before his draw deck runs out in order to win the game.
Battle in Ero’s Quest is turn-based, where the Encounter persona attacks first, thus handing Ero wounds immediately. Wounds are suffered by spending Cups cards in value of the wound taken. For example, the Assassin is a value of 12, so they immediately wound Ero for 12 damage at the start of the encounter. Ero will spend a value of 12 Cups cards to simulate damage taken. Ero may then attack with a combination of available Blades, Staves, and any Ally cards obtained – one of each per attack turn. If the Encounter is defeated, Ero lives on. If the Encounter is not yet defeated, the battle continues with the Encounter card dealing damage and Ero responding with damage until one is defeated.
As mentioned earlier, the Encounter deck contains 21 cards with six of these being combat encounters. Ero has a ton of work to do and when each turn requires a card to be discarded before a new round may begin, they also have an in-game clock ticking and ticking each turn. However, if Ero is able to Develop their skills and overcome all the Encounters, the game is won and Ero becomes a Hero.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, and many items are not fully completed in this version. That said, what we were provided is a large stack of tarot-sized cards, a first player Ero token (for multiplayer games), and a large pad of scoring sheets (also for multiplayer use). The cards are great quality and feature some really excellent artwork (on the cards that have the completed artwork on them). I do like the art style employed here, as I am a fan of fantasy themes, and I know that the game will probably ship with similar iconography, but may also be color-coded for ease of reference. All in all I believe Questeros is headed in the right direction for components, and a successful Kickstarter campaign may improve that even further.
The gameplay for the solo adventure of Ero’s Quest is really decent and engaging. So often I have found myself crunching numbers in my head and attempting to utilize my horrible card-counting “skills” to determine my next actions to take. Turns can be very intense and fruitful, or very frustrating and minimal, especially when you are waiting to draw that 3 of Blades so you can place it on the 2 of Blades sitting there, but it just won’t come up. And here you are sitting with the 4, 5, and 6 of Blades in hand and a Necromancer staring right at you awaiting combat. That is the definition of frustrating, but games usually take less than an hour, so even if an entire game is chock full of these turns, you can always setup a new game quickly and hope for better luck.
I like this one. I really do. It is interesting, has a great theme, so many delicious choices, and multiple ways to use the cards for game modes or tarot decks or even RPG FATE decks! On versatility alone I would rate this one high. If you are looking for a little card game to satisfy your mid-weight solo thirst, then check out Questeros. If you need a tarot game in your collection (as I look at mine and see no others), consider this one. It takes up very little shelf space, but looks great on the table and offers a great little solo experience. I have yet to beat the solo adventure, but Ero is calling my name for another go, and I might just have to give in. Again. And again.
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.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Xuan Yuan Sword 7 in Video Games
Oct 4, 2021
Beautiful looking world and nice graphics (2 more)
Pretty enjoyable story and gameplay
Interesting mix of fantasy and history
Lacks the polish that could have made it great (2 more)
Too linear and doesn’t open up enough
Combat could have been further refined
Interesting and Ambitious but Ultimately Average
So to start this review I got to say that I'm pretty mixed on how I feel about this game. For one it definitely has a lot of potential and enough going for it that it could have been a really good. But on the other hand it had a lot of things that I feel could have been done better and falls far from being a great game to just around average for me. The story itself isn't terrible but it suffers from bad writing and performance of the voice actors. The world itself seems like it could have been a lot more interesting but it just wasn't engaging enough half the time.
It seemed like it was going to be an open world game but wound up being very linear in nature although it had aspects of an open world game like side quests, fast travel, and even treasure chests scattered throughout the game world as well. There's a climbing mechanic that seemed kind of pointless because it was pretty much just a cut scene of in game graphics of you climbing a little cliff or sometimes it would turn into an interactive part where you had to move the analog stick to move the character. Still it was better than these weird times that the game gave you control of the character for a scene in which your only movement was preset like a ride on a rail that couldn't veer off a road.
I liked that it was an action-RPG meaning instead of turn based combat like most RPG's it had an active combat system where you could move at your own leisure and consisted of hack and slash combat with some martial art skills, blocking, dodging, and some riposte (parrying). There are four basic martial art skills which can be learned as you progress through the game, Bull, Wolf, Bear, and Tiger. They become stronger and increase the length or hits of their combo the more you use them. A big draw back is that you could only equip or use two at one time although they can be changed at anytime through the talent menu. Then there are three special martial art skills which are Taowu, Tundou and ?
The combat was one of the things that had me really conflicted. A cool thing I liked about the combat was that there was a meter that would go up when you would attack an enemy and if it filled all the way you could perform an execution on them. Otherwise it was very unresponsive most of the time making dodging and parrying really hard and kind of useless. I found the blocking especially useless because of how much damage you still incurred. There is a skill tree for new martial arts and you can create and upgrade structures in Elysium that can enhance various things, such as weapon, armor, accessories and more. You can also use the fusion to capture the souls of enemies in combat and fuse them together in Elysium to equip them for bonus stats and effects.
Your able to carry items in your inventory which are mainly objects like items that don't do anything except advance the story or quest and some like healing weapons. There is an equipment screen for weapons and accessories but you only stay with one weapon the whole game. It does change and become stronger and its appearance changes too. You can even change outfits. I'm not sure if you get any in the game as the version I played came with a couple of additional weapons/costumes. You do wind up getting some party members which is customary of some RPG's and they help out by attacking enemies on their own. You can control them by activating some abilities or special attacks that have cooldown times for when you can use them again. There's a minigame called Zhuolu chess and it can be pretty fun and a nice change of pace but not what you were looking for when you bought the game.
You can save your game and recover health at random campfires throughout the game world as well as listen to some party dialogue when you choose to rest. The dialogue tends to repeat often and doesn't really advance the story much or fit where you are at in the story that often. These game mechanics are similar to Dark Souls as resting respawns enemies when you save at a bonfire and get healed too. As I mentioned earlier the game employs a fast travel system consisting of waypoints called guard stones that you can activate when found. There is an element of puzzle solving in the game but they don't seem to be that hard to figure out and some can even be skipped if you don't want to bother with it.
The graphics were pretty solid and the game surely looks good for the most part. The textures are sometimes rough in the environment and sometimes there's very noticeable instances of "pop-ins" but overall aesthetic and style is beautiful. You really never get to play games where you get to see ancient Chinese castles, cities, or kingdoms so that was nice. The leaves in the trees are even ruffled by the wind, which is a nice touch. The main characters like Zhao and his sister Xiang look great and so do most of the secondary characters like Chu-Hong and Mo Huang. It just makes it that more disappointing when you see sub-par detail in the NPC's and stiff cutscenes because you know they could have done better on those too. Maybe they didn't have enough time, man power or budget.
The music was probably one of the best additions to the game as a whole. Containing traditional Chinese sounds and instruments befitting the setting the music was great. There are some instances where there is no music and the void is filled with nothing but awkward silence or the sound of footsteps. Only the subpar voice acting fills the dead air and background music would have added more depth to certain parts and scenes of the game. There's no English dubbing for the voice acting in the game it's only in Mandarin/Chinese which isn't bad in itself except the performances are kind of hit and miss and not very balanced.
Verdict: [5/10]
The game seemed very rough around the edges, it lacked that "polished" feel that it would have gotten if it had been a "AAA" game instead of a "AA" game. It's linear aspects left little to no deviation for exploring the world other than the main quest making it feel like going through a tunnel from location to the next. The distances between the towns and villages also made the world feel really small which it probably was. The story and gameplay were enjoyable enough but writing and especially acting/voice acting in key cutscenes needed work. The combat was was so uninspired I felt like I was doing the same sword attacks the whole game and they never really changed. And last thing, even if it doesn't help or is in any way useful, I like to be able to make my character jump and this game didn't let you do that either. So in conclusion I have to give Xuan Yuan Sword 7 a 5/10. It's an average or ok game, which has it's moments but nothing to write home about. However if they make a Xuan Yuan Sword 8, I'd be looking forward to see what kind of improvements they would make in the next installment.
It seemed like it was going to be an open world game but wound up being very linear in nature although it had aspects of an open world game like side quests, fast travel, and even treasure chests scattered throughout the game world as well. There's a climbing mechanic that seemed kind of pointless because it was pretty much just a cut scene of in game graphics of you climbing a little cliff or sometimes it would turn into an interactive part where you had to move the analog stick to move the character. Still it was better than these weird times that the game gave you control of the character for a scene in which your only movement was preset like a ride on a rail that couldn't veer off a road.
I liked that it was an action-RPG meaning instead of turn based combat like most RPG's it had an active combat system where you could move at your own leisure and consisted of hack and slash combat with some martial art skills, blocking, dodging, and some riposte (parrying). There are four basic martial art skills which can be learned as you progress through the game, Bull, Wolf, Bear, and Tiger. They become stronger and increase the length or hits of their combo the more you use them. A big draw back is that you could only equip or use two at one time although they can be changed at anytime through the talent menu. Then there are three special martial art skills which are Taowu, Tundou and ?
The combat was one of the things that had me really conflicted. A cool thing I liked about the combat was that there was a meter that would go up when you would attack an enemy and if it filled all the way you could perform an execution on them. Otherwise it was very unresponsive most of the time making dodging and parrying really hard and kind of useless. I found the blocking especially useless because of how much damage you still incurred. There is a skill tree for new martial arts and you can create and upgrade structures in Elysium that can enhance various things, such as weapon, armor, accessories and more. You can also use the fusion to capture the souls of enemies in combat and fuse them together in Elysium to equip them for bonus stats and effects.
Your able to carry items in your inventory which are mainly objects like items that don't do anything except advance the story or quest and some like healing weapons. There is an equipment screen for weapons and accessories but you only stay with one weapon the whole game. It does change and become stronger and its appearance changes too. You can even change outfits. I'm not sure if you get any in the game as the version I played came with a couple of additional weapons/costumes. You do wind up getting some party members which is customary of some RPG's and they help out by attacking enemies on their own. You can control them by activating some abilities or special attacks that have cooldown times for when you can use them again. There's a minigame called Zhuolu chess and it can be pretty fun and a nice change of pace but not what you were looking for when you bought the game.
You can save your game and recover health at random campfires throughout the game world as well as listen to some party dialogue when you choose to rest. The dialogue tends to repeat often and doesn't really advance the story much or fit where you are at in the story that often. These game mechanics are similar to Dark Souls as resting respawns enemies when you save at a bonfire and get healed too. As I mentioned earlier the game employs a fast travel system consisting of waypoints called guard stones that you can activate when found. There is an element of puzzle solving in the game but they don't seem to be that hard to figure out and some can even be skipped if you don't want to bother with it.
The graphics were pretty solid and the game surely looks good for the most part. The textures are sometimes rough in the environment and sometimes there's very noticeable instances of "pop-ins" but overall aesthetic and style is beautiful. You really never get to play games where you get to see ancient Chinese castles, cities, or kingdoms so that was nice. The leaves in the trees are even ruffled by the wind, which is a nice touch. The main characters like Zhao and his sister Xiang look great and so do most of the secondary characters like Chu-Hong and Mo Huang. It just makes it that more disappointing when you see sub-par detail in the NPC's and stiff cutscenes because you know they could have done better on those too. Maybe they didn't have enough time, man power or budget.
The music was probably one of the best additions to the game as a whole. Containing traditional Chinese sounds and instruments befitting the setting the music was great. There are some instances where there is no music and the void is filled with nothing but awkward silence or the sound of footsteps. Only the subpar voice acting fills the dead air and background music would have added more depth to certain parts and scenes of the game. There's no English dubbing for the voice acting in the game it's only in Mandarin/Chinese which isn't bad in itself except the performances are kind of hit and miss and not very balanced.
Verdict: [5/10]
The game seemed very rough around the edges, it lacked that "polished" feel that it would have gotten if it had been a "AAA" game instead of a "AA" game. It's linear aspects left little to no deviation for exploring the world other than the main quest making it feel like going through a tunnel from location to the next. The distances between the towns and villages also made the world feel really small which it probably was. The story and gameplay were enjoyable enough but writing and especially acting/voice acting in key cutscenes needed work. The combat was was so uninspired I felt like I was doing the same sword attacks the whole game and they never really changed. And last thing, even if it doesn't help or is in any way useful, I like to be able to make my character jump and this game didn't let you do that either. So in conclusion I have to give Xuan Yuan Sword 7 a 5/10. It's an average or ok game, which has it's moments but nothing to write home about. However if they make a Xuan Yuan Sword 8, I'd be looking forward to see what kind of improvements they would make in the next installment.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Hiding Hitler in Tabletop Games
Apr 6, 2021
Adolf Hitler was an abomination of a person, can we all agree? Now that THAT is out of the way, let’s talk card games based on a character from history named Hitler. This game is based on a historical figure, but once translated to cardstock becomes simply the target of victory. When I heard the pitch (I paraphrased by quite a bit) for Hiding Hitler I immediately winced, as the subject matter makes me wince. But I took a chance on the game, and I am here to let you know that it will be okay, this is merely a card game, but if you are offended by the subject matter, please check out any of our other reviews that contain zero references to horrible people.
Hiding Hitler is a hand management, take that card game for four to six players. In it, players are trying to end the game with either the Hitler card in their hand or the Death token in their possession. The game is played over a series of turns and ends once the final turn has been taken, following the draw of the final card from the draw deck.
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. 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, shuffle the deck of cards and deal six cards to each player. Set the draw deck in the middle of the table, along with the other components. The left of the deck is considered the “Graveyard” and the right side of the deck is the “Action Pile.” Depending on the game mode chosen to play, the Hitler card may be in one of the players’ hands (Blitzkrieg mode – faster because Hitler is already in one player’s hand) or possibly in the draw deck (Strategic mode – slower if Hitler starts in the draw deck). The first player is now able to begin taking their turn and the hunt (or hiding) of Hitler may begin!
On a turn a player may play any amount of Action, Attack, or Instant cards from their hand, resolved one at a time. Action cards are just that: cards that allow for some type of action, be it drawing more cards, or having the entire table draw more cards. Attacks are targeted at a specific player and that player will need to roll the die in order to achieve the Attack card’s victory condition. For example, the Attack card may instruct the attacked to roll higher than value 2 on the die. If they beat that number nothing happens. However, should they roll a 1 (or simply not meet the number on the card) the failing player will need to discard Hitler to the Graveyard if they have it, or discard any other card to the Action Pile. Finally, Instant cards can be played AT ANY TIME, even if not on the player’s turn. These can negate actions or modify die/roll results. Once a player has no more cards to play (or cards they wish to play), the turn ends by drawing one card from the draw deck. It is now the next player’s turn.
Play continues in this fashion of players taking turns playing cards from their hands to attack each other, bolster their hands, and affect each other in various ways until the last card is drawn from the deck. This signifies one final turn for all players. When the final turns are over the winning player is they who either have the Hitler card in hand, or was the last player to send Hitler to the Graveyard, thus collecting the Death token. This winner may now awkwardly congratulate themselves on winning a card game based on eliminating or Hiding Hitler. Yay?
Components. Again, this is a prototype version of the game, so the components may be different as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, this game is a bunch of cards, a small die, and a plastic token with Hitler stickers. The cards are all fine, the die is a smaller size than your typical RPG set, and the plastic standee token is fine as well. I do need to address the art style on the cards. It is quite cartoony and really isn’t my style, but for this type of game it works just fine. I am not really excited by it at all, but there is nothing gruesome or triggery in the artwork. FOR ME. I do not speak for everyone though, so if you have issues with it, you are more than entitled to your opinions.
It is difficult to review, or even play for that matter, a game with such an emotionally charged central character. However, this is meant to be a lighthearted card game with a wonky theme. And it most certainly is that. Players are playing as many cards as they dare trying to find out where that Hitler card is residing so they may Attack and send it to the Graveyard. This earns the Death token. But can you hold onto that token until the end of the game? Depending on how far through the deck the game currently is, other players still may have chances to bring the Hitler card back to life. When this happens that Death token is surrendered and available to be earned again. I like that. Now, obviously, the whole zombie thing is weird, but the game is weird in itself, so that fits. Want to throw some achievements into your game? See how many times a player can send Hitler to the Graveyard. You can do that, and it would be a fun way to spice up the game for everyone.
At the end of the day, again, this is a card game with a Hitler theme. In it, Hitler really doesn’t DO anything. He just hangs out in players’ hands, gets sent to the Graveyard, possibly is resurrected, and the cycle continues until the end of the game. The theme may be off-putting for some, but I have no problems with it after having played it several times now. I cannot stress this enough: if you or any of your playmates MAY be offended by the theme, please do not pull this out at game night. It works best with players who can see it and appreciate it for what it is.
Now that the disclaimers are hopefully done, I can explain what this reminds me of, and give you some thoughts. Have you played Munchkin before? You know the part of the game (which we lovingly refer to as “the second half”) where one player is on 9th level attempting to win the game and everyone is ganging up on them to prevent the victory? Hiding Hitler feels a little like that scenario, but throughout the entire game. So many cards can be played on one turn and some cards are played out of turn to increase or decrease the die rolls, and when all players know exactly who has Hitler and they gang up on that player, it’s just Munchkin all over. Now, I feel like here in Hiding Hitler it doesn’t seem to be SO hurtful toward other players as it is in Munchkin, but I get that same vibe. It should be restated that I like Munchkin, so comping this to that game doesn’t necessarily mean it is at all a bad thing. It just gives me that same feeling.
So if you are looking for a possibly quicker and smaller card game to replace your copy of Munchkin, then check out Hiding Hitler. Yes, this is SUPER niche with the gameplay and theme, but with the right crowd I do believe it would be a hit. It has its flaws, but does also offer a rewarding gaming experience that I think about for hours after the game is over. When games can create lasting fond memories of the experience, then it has graduated into a good game. And I think Hiding Hitler is a good game. If you like the sounds of this one, I invite you to consider backing it on Kickstarter when the campaign launches. Find some friends ahead of time that may be into the theme, or can look past it, and prepare them for what is about to come: a game about keeping Hitler safe. Or murdering him. Either way.
Hiding Hitler is a hand management, take that card game for four to six players. In it, players are trying to end the game with either the Hitler card in their hand or the Death token in their possession. The game is played over a series of turns and ends once the final turn has been taken, following the draw of the final card from the draw deck.
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. 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, shuffle the deck of cards and deal six cards to each player. Set the draw deck in the middle of the table, along with the other components. The left of the deck is considered the “Graveyard” and the right side of the deck is the “Action Pile.” Depending on the game mode chosen to play, the Hitler card may be in one of the players’ hands (Blitzkrieg mode – faster because Hitler is already in one player’s hand) or possibly in the draw deck (Strategic mode – slower if Hitler starts in the draw deck). The first player is now able to begin taking their turn and the hunt (or hiding) of Hitler may begin!
On a turn a player may play any amount of Action, Attack, or Instant cards from their hand, resolved one at a time. Action cards are just that: cards that allow for some type of action, be it drawing more cards, or having the entire table draw more cards. Attacks are targeted at a specific player and that player will need to roll the die in order to achieve the Attack card’s victory condition. For example, the Attack card may instruct the attacked to roll higher than value 2 on the die. If they beat that number nothing happens. However, should they roll a 1 (or simply not meet the number on the card) the failing player will need to discard Hitler to the Graveyard if they have it, or discard any other card to the Action Pile. Finally, Instant cards can be played AT ANY TIME, even if not on the player’s turn. These can negate actions or modify die/roll results. Once a player has no more cards to play (or cards they wish to play), the turn ends by drawing one card from the draw deck. It is now the next player’s turn.
Play continues in this fashion of players taking turns playing cards from their hands to attack each other, bolster their hands, and affect each other in various ways until the last card is drawn from the deck. This signifies one final turn for all players. When the final turns are over the winning player is they who either have the Hitler card in hand, or was the last player to send Hitler to the Graveyard, thus collecting the Death token. This winner may now awkwardly congratulate themselves on winning a card game based on eliminating or Hiding Hitler. Yay?
Components. Again, this is a prototype version of the game, so the components may be different as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, this game is a bunch of cards, a small die, and a plastic token with Hitler stickers. The cards are all fine, the die is a smaller size than your typical RPG set, and the plastic standee token is fine as well. I do need to address the art style on the cards. It is quite cartoony and really isn’t my style, but for this type of game it works just fine. I am not really excited by it at all, but there is nothing gruesome or triggery in the artwork. FOR ME. I do not speak for everyone though, so if you have issues with it, you are more than entitled to your opinions.
It is difficult to review, or even play for that matter, a game with such an emotionally charged central character. However, this is meant to be a lighthearted card game with a wonky theme. And it most certainly is that. Players are playing as many cards as they dare trying to find out where that Hitler card is residing so they may Attack and send it to the Graveyard. This earns the Death token. But can you hold onto that token until the end of the game? Depending on how far through the deck the game currently is, other players still may have chances to bring the Hitler card back to life. When this happens that Death token is surrendered and available to be earned again. I like that. Now, obviously, the whole zombie thing is weird, but the game is weird in itself, so that fits. Want to throw some achievements into your game? See how many times a player can send Hitler to the Graveyard. You can do that, and it would be a fun way to spice up the game for everyone.
At the end of the day, again, this is a card game with a Hitler theme. In it, Hitler really doesn’t DO anything. He just hangs out in players’ hands, gets sent to the Graveyard, possibly is resurrected, and the cycle continues until the end of the game. The theme may be off-putting for some, but I have no problems with it after having played it several times now. I cannot stress this enough: if you or any of your playmates MAY be offended by the theme, please do not pull this out at game night. It works best with players who can see it and appreciate it for what it is.
Now that the disclaimers are hopefully done, I can explain what this reminds me of, and give you some thoughts. Have you played Munchkin before? You know the part of the game (which we lovingly refer to as “the second half”) where one player is on 9th level attempting to win the game and everyone is ganging up on them to prevent the victory? Hiding Hitler feels a little like that scenario, but throughout the entire game. So many cards can be played on one turn and some cards are played out of turn to increase or decrease the die rolls, and when all players know exactly who has Hitler and they gang up on that player, it’s just Munchkin all over. Now, I feel like here in Hiding Hitler it doesn’t seem to be SO hurtful toward other players as it is in Munchkin, but I get that same vibe. It should be restated that I like Munchkin, so comping this to that game doesn’t necessarily mean it is at all a bad thing. It just gives me that same feeling.
So if you are looking for a possibly quicker and smaller card game to replace your copy of Munchkin, then check out Hiding Hitler. Yes, this is SUPER niche with the gameplay and theme, but with the right crowd I do believe it would be a hit. It has its flaws, but does also offer a rewarding gaming experience that I think about for hours after the game is over. When games can create lasting fond memories of the experience, then it has graduated into a good game. And I think Hiding Hitler is a good game. If you like the sounds of this one, I invite you to consider backing it on Kickstarter when the campaign launches. Find some friends ahead of time that may be into the theme, or can look past it, and prepare them for what is about to come: a game about keeping Hitler safe. Or murdering him. Either way.
