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Destinies is a great RPG-like game of adventure and exploration set in a dark medieval-fantasy universe. The core box of the game contains a 4 scenario campaign (plus 1 tutorial scenario) you could play solo or with other players.
Each scenario could be played by 1-3 heroes that will change from one scenario to the other. Each hero is on a quest to fulfil their destiny but players will be able to choose which destiny they want to pursue and which path will lead them to victory.
All aspects of each scenario are managed by a dedicated app with Scan&Play technology thus improving the gaming experience.
Unboxing And Storage
As you will soon realize, Destinies box organizers are extremely well thought. Once you open the box, you will just need to punch a few tokens and unwrap the cards to be ready to play. Each component has their very own space in the tray and you should be ready to play your first game in no time.
One strong recommendation: make sure item and location cards are always stored basing on the number printed on them. During a game, you will need to locate a number of cards each turn and the easier you could get them the smoother the game will flow.
Game App
As mentioned, you will need to download an app to play Destinies. The app is available for all common platforms and should be easy to locate. If in doubt, make sure you check the developer is Lucky Duck Games. I also recommend as usual to first download and check if it runs on the platform of your choice before purchasing the game.
Once the app is downloaded, you are ready to set up your first game. I feel it is important to mention you should only use one app during your play thus you will end up passing your mobile or tablet around the table. Consider this aspect when you set up your game and also if you have enough battery that could last for the entire game.
Getting Started
After launching Destinies, the app will ask if you are playing the core game or one of the expansions and which scenario you would like to play. A small briefing of the scenario is available on the right to read while you download the data needed to play it.
While you are waiting, you may take a few minutes to check the setting on the top right side of the screen. I love having background sounds and music but it may not be your preference if your kids are sleeping nearby…
Before getting into the real play, you will need to choose the type of game you want to play. All the options but the fourth one are pretty self explanatory. In fact, the last game type (bound to destiny) could only be played if you have the related expansion as you do not have all the components in your base game to play two versus two.
Your choice of scenario will trigger the prologue of and some nice ambient music and the game will start to get real.
In the next screen, players will need to select the heroes that they will play in the scenario. As mentioned above, each scenario has a different selection of heroes.
Once heroes are selected, each player will take the hero card, one player board, a number of skill tokens, 2 main dice and 3 effort dice. They also take the hero miniature depicted on the left side of the start screen, any coin, and any item card as detailed in the centre part of the screen.
Players also place the skill tokens on the three hero main skills in correspondence to the numbered spaces showing in the app. Once set-up completed, the next player set up their hero the same way.
The two main dice should be placed on the right area on top of your player board. Effort dice are kept apart initially as they are gained during the game to increase the chance of success of tests and attacks. Every turn players will be able to “refresh” one effort dice and move it from their pool to the same area the main dice are stored.
Each player should check their hero card and start thinking which destinies they would like to fulfil between the two listed on the card. Your hero destinies should never be shared with other players.
Once all players are ready, the game app will instruct which location cards you will need to place. The starting location will always be placed with the explored side up while all the others will come into play as unexplored locations. NPCs and their related miniatures and points of interest with the adequate token will also need to be placed as instructed by the app.
Gameplay
During the game, players will play one at a time as instructed by the game app. After refreshing one effort dice from their pool, players could chose to move to a different location and/or to visit a point of interest or NPC.
Sequence And Actions
During their turn, each hero could move up to 2 tiles orthogonally to their starting point. Every time a hero steps into an unexplored tile, the tile becomes explored and the hero can not move further. Movement is traced in the app by selecting the destination tile and eventually populating it as instructed.
Visiting a point of interest will usually offer the active player a number of available options.
In some cases, players will be offered the chance to give, buy or inquire on an item and may need to scan the corresponding card. Make sure you grant permission to do so to the app.
In other cases, players may need to set up a stock of items as trading rows or in case they want to drop any item. The cards corresponding to the items are picked from the items cards and piled together with a trade token that can uniquely identify it. A second identical trade token is placed on the map to locate where items could be found.
Action Outcome: Taking A Test
Some actions will require players to take a test against one of the three character skills (Intelligence, Dexterity or Power). To take a test, players could roll any number of main and effort dice and sum-up the results.
The amount of successes obtained in the test is calculated by comparing the total rolled and the position of the markers for that skill: each marker with a value lower than the total of all dice is a success. Also, each star symbol is an automatic success.
Once you enter the number of successes, the app will define the outcome of the test. In some cases, players will need to move one or more skill markers to the right or to the left, making the chances of future successes lower or higher. In no cases, two skill markers could be placed in the same position.
Inventory And Experience
Each hero inventory is limited to 5 cards. Players could use the ability of any of the items in their inventory in the order they prefer. Some items clearly specify when ability should be used while others could be freely used at player preference.
Any item in excess of 5 could be abandoned at any time and it stays in the same location as the hero miniature. Items that are consumed after use are discarded and returned to the game box.
During the game, players could gain experience tokens as a result of completing or failing some actions. Experience tokens could be used to move any skill marker to the left of a hero, improving the chances of obtaining more success with that skill. Skills could be improved at any time during the active player turn.
End Of The Turn
The turn could either end as a result of some of the available actions in a location or a player could choose to complete their turn. Players should always choose the order of their actions carefully as turns could end unexpectedly.
Objectives And End Of The Game
As mentioned above, each hero card shows two different destinies they could fulfil in order to win the game. Players could pursue any or both destinies at the same time depending on how the scenario progresses and the choices they make.
The app will inform a player once they have fulfilled all the conditions for one of their destinies and suggest they move to a specific location. Once a hero reaches the suggested location, they could try to attempt their final act (Finale).
The Finale is a series of events or actions that players have to complete to fully achieve their destinies. Completing a Finale may take more than one turn and players may have multiple attempts to complete all the needed actions.