Aridnyk: A Mythical Journey of Folklore Legends from Boardova Games

Board games can take on an amazing array of themes, and I love finding something that’s a little bit different. Admittedly there’s been a lot of games based on mythology in general – I got in there before you could say ‘Actually, there’s been a lot of games based on mythology’, so ner-ner. Aridnyk, however, turns its attentions to Ukraine for its inspiration, and I know naff all about that country’s mythology, so I am already in. Oh, and if that was thematically unusual enough for you, in this game you’ll play the part of a shepherd leading their flock through the Carpathians, searching for fertile land and dealing with the spirits you meet along the way, trading with them for wisdom and treasure. Try telling me that’s a normal day out, I dare you! What do you mean, that’s day-to-day life for you? Wait up, let me get my Sketchers on, I’m tagging along.

Aridnyk: A Mythical Journey of Folklore Legends from Boardova Games is a tile placement game for 1-4 players, in which the tiles you place form the common game board, allowing players to move their meeples across it, activating tiles, trading with the Spirits, using item cards and completing quests. It's a busy life, being a shepherd.

This is actually based on the world and characteres from the Ukranian comic book 'Aridnyk: The Creation of the World', published by UA Comix, and as a bit of a comic book lover I am suddenly very keen to hunt this out: the art in the game is fantastic, really bright and clean and appealing. There's a lot going on out there amongst the Carpathians. You'll have to escape the jaws of Vovk, who is apparently a giant First-wolf (sounds canny bad to me, like), outwit the blackbird-shepherd Drizd, and beware Aley, the Thunder-spirit who can crack the Earth with just one move. You'll also have a chance to learn from the wisdom of Holy Boh, the almighty and all-knowing God who existed before there was nothing other than water and clouds. An eclectic bunch, I'm sure you'll agree, and it would be guaranteed to be fine banter if you could get them all into the pub at once.

If you're not in the mood to be competitive, there's the brilliant addition of Story mode, which you'll be able to play solo or cooperatively. It will have unique rules and challenges, and you'll follow a story based on Carpathian fairy tales and legends. There will be four stories in the base game and even more in the expansions, some of which will be linear and some of which will follow the consequences of your decisions.

Nip along to the crowdfunding page now, if only to have a look at the fantastic artwork. Then see if you get tempted to pledge… It’s over here.

Steve is currently a freelance board game blogger, but often dreams of life as a pirate, or as a ghost herder in the Lake District, or as an evil estate agent who sells haunted houses for his own dark pleasure. Instead of figuring out how to do these jobs in real life like a normal lunatic, he tries to write about them instead, and releases the resultant books upon the unsuspecting world via famous digital bookstores. More books are bound to follow. Find this peculiar entity here.