Among Cultists from Godot Games

Among Cultists

Among Cultists has been successfully funded on Kickstarter twice, selling out almost immediately, but does it live up to the hype?

Among Cultists is currently enjoying it’s second run through Kickstarter and both times met their goals. The folks at Godot Games must be excited. The first time through the crowd funding platform they included two expansions and one customization pack. This pack allowed you to turn your friends and family into playable characters. One thing that surprises me is the return to Kickstarter. I don’t follow the platform like I used to but this is the first campaign I’ve seen repeat itself. This time of course with a new expansion but little to no other additions that I’ve seen.

From the few companies I’ve watched on the platform, most use their success to build up their abilities to provide their customers with their desired products but most then use that success to fund the infrastructure needed to build or print their product without further outside assistance. Is this a part of crowdfunding that is entirely normal that I was unaware of? Entirely possible. I’d say likely probable even. Of course, I doubt you’re here to read my ramblings about crowd funding and are more interested in the game itself that was funded. Let’s be honest, me too.

At first glace I immediately fell in love with the artwork by Andreas Schroth, Jarrod Owen and Karsten Schulmann. Between the box art and the maps I’m not sure which parts are the best but they absolutely killed it. Speaking of first glances, when looking at the game I had thought that it would be a cross between Clue and Among Us and wasn’t sure how such an amalgamation would work. Social Deduction games have been around awhile and I feel an argument could be made that Clue was one of the first mainstream SD titles. It was a classic when I was a kid and my own will tell you I’m ancient now. Among Us I feel could also be considered one but in video game format.

For those that are visual learners, the Godot Games site features many tools and videos to use to help you learn the game. Gameplay can be quite complex overall, expect to look things up a few times in the book or videos for clarification. This happened quite a bit for us and I’m sure it will for you as well. At the start of the game players learn their role and the rules they follow and then play what reminds me of the grade school classic- Heads up 7-up. All players close their eyes and the cultists open theirs to identify their teammates (if they have one) and anyone that has already been killed and just doesn’t know it yet. Just like in Among Us, death does not mean you can no longer help your team. There are some events that won’t trigger until someone IS dead anyway.

Among Cultists

Each time you interact with a player you exchange cards and can influence the cards in the room. Once the cards are revealed it’s up to you to figure out if the dead player or the room’s cards were ones that were there before or added by a specific player as clues to their identity. Like Among Us, the Cultists win by completing a specified number of kills or with more players playing the game doesn’t just stop once enough are dead. They simply allow the investigators complete their mission and then they reveal if they successfully killed enough prior to the win and if they have they claim the victory. We never had enough playing to play it this way but at this time I can’t see the benefit to changing the end conditions.

The rulebook was our biggest complaint, primarily the organization of it but access to video tools made this more tolerable. Between amazing artwork, some truly ingenious gameplay and a Lovecraftian them that I love, this game is a must play for me. If you like Social Deduction games or investigation based titles then you will love this, more so if you are a fan of the Elder Gods as well! If you manage to get ahold of the expansions Down into the Abyss or Mountains of Chaos, they add SO much to the game in additional art, gameplay twists and expanding on the enjoyment then I’m certain you’ll find the game to be better than before. I can only assume the latest expansion, Under the Surface, only enhances it further. We hope to play that one soon.

Overboss Duel from Brotherwise Games

Overboss Duel

Overboss Duel is exactly what it sounds like, a battle between two Overbosses to see who is the best in this title from Brotherwise Games.

Based in the Boss Monster world created by Brotherwise Games, Overboss Duel focuses on building your own power while weakening the other boss. Each turn you and your rival place location tiles and monsters, but you need to watch out for wandering heroes that will slow your progress to increasing your power. The overall mechanics also follow their Boss Monster game, making learning even easier if you have played those previously. The game also introduces four new bosses, along with updated versions of the classic King Croak and Belladonna bosses. The boss at the end with the most power wins.

Their Boss Monster game has you play as one of the bosses where you build dungeons with the goals of killing the heroes so Overboss fits perfectly within the world. It is however a step up in visual quality. BM had more of an 8-bit look to it where Overboss and Overboss Duel both have more of a 16-bit feel.

The art style makes you feel like you are in a classic Zelda game or Gauntlet, namely from the NES. I am loving the style, it is exactly what caught my eye with other Brotherwise’s titles. Gameplay is quite simple and from what I’ve been told by players of the original Overboss it is even more streamlined compared to the original game. In most games, if given the chance, I will always choose to play one of the bad guys but in Overboss Duel you get to be the BIG bad guy and I’m here for it. Even my son who never wants to play a villain had fun with this one and it is well worth the play.

Warhamer 40000 Darktide from Fatshark Games

Darktide

Fatshark Games’ latest game Darktide has finally arrived on Xbox One Series X but was it worth the wait?

Warhammer 40000 Darktide was originally announced for the Xbox One but that was soon changed to the Series X due to computing power. Having played their Vermintide 2 on both versions of the Xbox One I can say this decision made sense. The downside was it delayed the release a bit longer. It received further delays as the team at Fatshark worked to resolve some major server issues to make the game more playable. During this time I sat and watched patiently, hoping for the slightest bit of news regarding the console release. The wait FELT so long that I had given up hope on it until Games Workshop shared the announcement that it was finally coming. Fast forward a couple week and now we have the release downloaded and are ready to play.

Your first time starting the game you pick between four classes, each with their own abilities and unique stats. The includes a member of the Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum, a Psyker, an Ogryn and a Priest. At the time of writing I have only tried the member of the Guard. With each class you have the same task, to customize your character. The level of customization options are insane. My character ended up with hair and similar scars as me and even chose to give him some ink that I’d love to have if my day job or wife would allow it on the side of his head.

The story begins with you being moved with other prisoners, destined to be jailed or executed. Chaos troops raid the ship and accidentally free you in the process. You see discover one of your captors in need of help. This is your chance to either run away or prove you are still loyal to the Golden Throne. The game doesn’t give you a choice here but your character had one whether you impacted it or not. Helping her to her feet, you join forces and work to the landing deck where you are picked up and taken to an Inquisitor’s ship. This ship works like the keep in Vermintide 2 or the tavern in the first Vermintide. The difference here is that instead of proceeding through precisely defined level progression you have missions to different parts of Tertium. Each of these missions have their own threats and level of difficulty. They also have varying rewards that can make the fight easier for you.

The game was written by none other than Black Library legend Dan Abnett himself, it was only fitting that I named my character after one of his characters. Add his superb writing to the design skills at Fatshark you get not only a gorgeous world to fight the forces of Chaos on but also a fantastically written story. The controls feel like home, meaning I expected them to feel similar or exactly like Vermintide does and it’s perfect. After the first levels and time aboard the ship I had chills and was beyond excited. I cannot wait for my next play session. In the name of Holy Terra I will do my part to end the scourge on Tertium.

Invincible: The Dice Game

Invincible

Invincible: The Dice Game, from Mantic Games, you play as an upcoming hero looking to make a name for yourself and battling villains and heroes to do so.

The Guardians are looking for a few new heroes to prove their worth, step up and join their team. His standards are high and so are the risks. Will you push yourself far enough to be invited in? Mantic Games‘ Invincible: The Dice Game gives you the chance to prove yourself. Are you game?

Player must venture into an area filled with threats, whether they be hero or villian. Who wants to live forever anyway? This is high risk for a potentially higher reward, what could go wrong? The game is meant for 2+ players, each drawing cards and rolling dice to determine the outcomes. Each step of your path gets more or more dangerous.

Overall mechanics are quite simple, draw a card, roll some dice, then evaluate the results. This game is modeled after Mantic’s Hellboy game but is meant to be played as a standalone title. As I speculated in the unboxing video, I wonder if their dice games could be combined? Technically they shouldn’t be BUT I tried it. Felt like I was reliving that anniversary issue of The Walking Dead where they brought in the art team from Invincible but it was all a fever dream of Rick’s. I loved that mini story. This took me right back to that and was fun but absolutely batshit, but in a great way.

This game is fun and chaotic but if you intentionally mix with the The Walking Dead game (even though it’s not meant to) is even more so. The art on these cards look like they are straight from the comics in full color and the overall quality is top notch. Simple and easy to learn mechanics with this art and a great time means an absolute win!

Armada – Mantic’s game of Naval Warfare

Armada

Does Armada from Mantic stand on it’s own or is it the next best thing for players and fans of Games Workshop’s Dreadfleet?

Mantic‘s 2 Player Starter for Armada has arrived and in their words is the Game of Epic Naval Warfare based on Black Seas from Warlord Games. As their description implies, the game of Armada is a naval battle skirmish game. What it doesn’t imply is that it is centered around the world of Kings of War.

During gameplay, the initiative or turn order is dictated by the direction the wind is going. Those positioned in favor of the wind go first. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this type of initiative mechanic. Combat is basically a continuation of their movement mechanic too, where you move your ships into position and unleash hell on the enemies from your row(s) of cannons. The game is quite dynamic in how the ships move and attack. For Kings of War players it also adds to the growing world for your own armies but fails to deliver towards progressing towards any sort of story or lore.

Compared to Dreadfleet, the gameplay is solid but where it fails is the detail on the models. The models are great, don’t get me wrong but the quality of Dreadfleet’s are far, far, FAR superior. Alternatively the assembly is much easier with Armada. With Dreadfleet no longer supported and this game still getting regular releases and it’s own core following it would seem Mantic wins in overall. Speaking of support, this is one of the first titles I’ve heard of that is directly setup with the Wargaming Simulator that is Warhall, allowing players to enjoy the game on the go or online with friends! I have always said I wanted a tabletop simulator that allowed you to play games like Warhammer and I think this may be exactly what I’ve been dreaming of. Add direct support for a well designed game like Armada and you have an extra large win!

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Dune Roleplaying Game from Modiphius Entertainment

Dune

On the heels of the cinematic masterpiece that is the first volume of Dune from Warner Brothers, Modiphius has released a new Roleplaying Game within that world.

Modiphius Entertainment are most known for their creation and mastery of the 2D20 system where EVERY action requires rolling two twenty side die. They have taken that system and applied it to the world of Dune and Arrakis. Do you ride the sandworm? Roll 2D20. Are you wearing your moisture suit properly? Roll another 2D20. The system makes for a more cost effective experience while simple mechanics make it easier to learn. My favorite aspect of the 2D20 system is that it makes the focus more the story you are telling together instead of how you complete a task.

The world of Dune is one created with so much depth that jumping into it can be overwhelming. The roleplaying game is just as rich, pulling from all of the books to develop the world. The sheer amount of information contained within the core rulebook was enough for even me to look at it and say, “whoa, that’s a lot to read”. Seriously, I said that.

The thickness of the tome isn’t daunting, not like a Game of Thrones novel would be. The words aren’t even tiny themselves, there’s just a lot per page. That being said though, there needs to be metric ton of information contained to build the world right. It’s unreasonable to expect every player to have read every book in the franchise like I have. This is how you convey what’s important without forcing players to read more than a dozen novels. Add all of the sourcebooks and campaign books and at a glance it’s a bit much.

In Summary-

The mountain of information simply makes sense when you take a simple rules set and combine it the vast lore of Frank Herbert’s most famous world. The production quality is some of the best I’ve seen from a roleplaying game. Between hand drawn/painted images, highly detailed maps and a plethora of lore there is enough here to make a diehard fan of the franchise excited, even if they don’t play it. The game system is designed for easier play which in turn makes for a more cinematic experience. Add to that the fact that you can play this game using any point in the timeline, you have a game that is a must for replaying and Dune fans alike!

I can’t wait to see what other sourcebooks get released. Specifically I hope we see some centered around individual great houses so that we can have more dedicated details for some of them. The top houses and groups I’d like to see more from would be IX, Atreides and Harkonnen of course, but also the Tleilaxu. However the sourcebook I want to see the most would be centered around the Jihad era. I want to specifically engage with or play as the Cymek. I’d even kill for an army based tabletop game like A Song of Ice and Fire or The Lord of the Rings that puts the Cymek against the Butlerian Jihad. Please make this happen Modiphius. The time is right for this to finally work too! What forces would you like to play?

Wayfarers of the South Tigris

Wayfarers of the South Tigris

Wayfarers of the South Tigris is a game of discovery and trade from the minds at Renegade Game Studios and Garphill Games.

Wayfarers of the South Tigris from Renegade Game Studios and Garphill Games is a resource management game using dice and cards. Players take turns placing workers, resolving their work or resting. Points are scored based on your upgrades, card combinations made and more. The idea of the game is to travel and trade along the South Tigris, collecting resources and building your empire. As you progress you must complete journal entries. Those entries each have their own requirements in order to complete each of them.

With tales of trade from the past there are always tales of bandits and thieves plaguing the path. Not really the case with this game. Sure there are obstacles to complete requirements of but the game is virtually void of real action. For someone that prefers their games with a fast pace and conflict of some sort, this is not the game for them. This game is aimed at people that enjoy games like Solitaire where most of the work is done alone and the joy is in the completion. Maybe an expansion one day could feature a way to pillage from your fellow players. The quality of the pieces and rulebook are superb but the organization of some of the rules and the lack of clarification on others does leave something to be desired. In short it is high on quality, low on action and close to two hours for a single play through means multiple play throughs won’t be happening on the same night.

American Psycho A Killer Game

American Psycho

Have you every played a card game full of murder that takes a classic and turns it upside down? With American Psycho A Killer Game you get to do both!

The folks at Renegade Game Studios sent us a copy of their new game American Psycho- A Killer Game to review. We are here to do just that. The game is based on the classic film of the same name staring Christian Bale. The film is based on the book and follows the story of a deranged man who is obsessed with killing and his own status. It even features an in depth analysis of business cards used by him and his peers. Who knew there were so many options with those cards? I certainly didn’t and I certainly didn’t think they mattered to anyone. The brings us to the game itself.

Each turn players play a card, similar to games of Hearts, where cards are assigned a point value. Unlike in Hearts the goal here is to get as many points as you can but there is a twist. To score most of the points you will need to complete specific goals as well like collecting points values in consecutive order (i.e. 2, 3 and 4). Like in Hearts one card reigns supreme and in this game it is the Killer Style card. You should save that for when it will make the most impact. The biggest difference though from Hearts is that you also earn points with your kills. Imagine playing a game of Hearts with Grandma where you stab a waiter and are rewarded for it! The could be a hilarious spin off game, perhaps i should make the suggestion?

The rulebook is high quality itself, using high resolution images to showcase examples and larger text to make reading easier. The art quality on the cards is right up there as well but the style isn’t for everyone. I personally liked the rough brush stroke appearance of the art where my wife did not. It made the depictions feel more chaotic and that was the right vibe for the game itself, she says I’m wrong though. Gameplay took a couple hands to get everyone on the same page but once we did it went quickly. The trick with the game though is figuring out your strategy for how you will be scoring the most points and no two games we played were ever exactly the same. This means a ton more games to be played before boredom strikes and placing the game on the shelf to collect dust.

FUSE Countdown

FUSE Countdown

FUSE Countdown, from Renegade Game Studios, is a standalone expansion to their game FUSE, a card game focused on defusing bombs.

In FUSE Countdown players draw cards with various requirements needed to defuse the bomb. They then roll dice to meet those requirements such as color or new icons. An added twist is that if you are unable to defuse it by dice rolls you would then have to draw and resolve a spark card. Another difference between editions is that this one adds special powers to your characters. Now, this isn’t a necessary component to the game but it does make for some interesting twists to the gameplay, keeping it fresh. The complexity is much higher though with those spark cards. They basically act like extra bombs that must be resolved if you have hopes of winning.

I never played the original game but based on conversations I’ve had with players that had this is the far superior version. Renegade Game Studios have done a fantastic job of taking a simple concept and making it unique. The original seems to play very similar to the Back to the Future Dice Through Time, which I DID play. BTTF Dice Through Time though took a good amount of time to play right but with FUSE Countdown games only take about ten minutes (according to the RGS site). That is quite accurate considering that you have a ten minute timer running during the game.

Overall we found the game to be quite simple to figure out and fast paced. We had a great time with this one, however due to several poor dice roles we lost nearly as many games as we won. If you are looking for something quick paced and easy to learn then this will be a great purchase.

Warhammer 40k: The Arks of Omen

Arks of Omen

Abaddon’s Black Legion is spreading their influence and a new way of playing 40k with the Arks of Omen!

What started with Nachmund has paved way for the Black Crusade to nearly control the entirety of the Imperium Nihilus. Now the Arks of Omen are here to secure the rest and more. Abaddon has never been content his just his little corner of the galaxy and leads one of the only legions willing to expand their ranks from anywhere. This means he has one of the largest legions. Who will be able to stand up to this threat?

From a story perspective, this feels very much like the End Times of Warhammer. Will this result in a story reset or is this just the tip of the iceberg? I have no idea but considering the number of planned releases we have already heard about I don’t think this will be the equivalent of End Times.

From a game perspective, what does this supplement add to 40k as a whole? It adds an entirely new way to play games of 40k, utilizing terrain currently exclusive to the most recent releases of Kill Team. This expansion focuses on ship to ship combat or battles within the Space Hulks he has mobilized. Most of the information we have seen so far suggests his focus is on the Imperium. Will anyone else be strong enough to take on this threat? I highly doubt anyone will be strong enough to do it alone. Would be interesting if we had a global campaign to determine the outcome but I don’t think we are at a point where we will see that in 40k. Only time will tell though because I also said the same thing about End Times.