Welcome to 2025!
Came round quick, didn’t it? I’ve been curious, did you take my sound advice? Did you play games with the friends and fam, no matter what game it was? (We had a chaotic game of Wicked Monopoly that revealed never-before-seen character traits.) Good times, people! But we can’t play games all the time, can we? I’ve been told not. There are other things in life to do. Like looking at board games…
Here’s some that are coming up, some new releases, and one or two that have been bubbling under.
Lost Lumina
Let’s start with a Kickstarter with a really sweet price point.
Cute animals dressed up like they’re running around inside an action RPG version of a fairy tale is always going to be a solid draw. There’s a cloaked owl with a jewelled fighting staff and a raccoon in a feathered hat. I call this a good start. So what’s it about?
In Lost Lights from Dranda Games, two players battle with their party of diverse animalistic characters for control over the Regions of Amanaar. In the beginning each player drafts 10 out of 27 beautifully and individually illustrated cards. On your turn you play a card from your hand and take a number of actions equal to the action point value on the card.
Actions allow you to reinforce your party with new followers or to move your followers between the Areas on the map. In Areas where both parties meet, you’ll battle each other. To resolve battles both of you secretly choose one character card from your hand as a leader in this battle, using their special ability. After the special abilities are resolved, your combined battle strength
is added up. If you lose the battle, remove your party from the contested area. If you win you are now the dominant force in that area.
The game ends immediately if one of you has no party members left on the map or if both of you run out of cards. When the game ends you add up your scores for each Area. Whoever achieved the higher score wins.
The base game is going for a bargain £19/$24, ideal at this time of year when we’ve all possibly spent a tad too much over Christmas on games. Fancy your chances at saving the world of Amanaar? Head over here and sign up for notification of the launch date.
Golem Run
No, not Gollum Run. That’s something very different. In my mind, it involves a little grey chap chasing after a fish pulled along on a string while he shouts about ‘Master Frodo!’ and ‘My Preciousss!’ (anyone makes that game, I want a cut). Sorry guys, but what we’re talking about here is golems, and they’re big and lumpy and ready to race.
Golem Run from Dragon Run Productions is a competitive betting and race-fixing game with a trick-taking mechanic for 3 to 5 players (Dragon Run seem to be really leading the field in trick taking games lately). The game is set in the dwarven society of Odrixia, the same world as Justice and Factory 42. Players represent the cheering crowds who are participating in the popular Odrixian pastime of Golem Run.
The game is played over several hands of tricks, ending when the first Golem reaches the finish line. The Golems race across an obstacle strewn course, built in modular pieces by the players beforehand. The winner of each trick will be responsible for the movement of the Golems while all players use their cards to bet on which Golem will win and to guess the other players’ bets in order to win victory points. The game comes with four double sided race board pieces, three wooden Golems, a score pad and a deck of 64 attractively designed cards.
There’s great artwork, high production values, and the Dragon Run Productions team have plenty of previous form for running successful Kickstarter campaigns, so if you decide to get involved then you’ll be in good hands. Get ready to place your bets and head on over here.
Vestiges of the Ancients
HeroQuest was my first thought when I saw photos of the physical edition of this ‘living board game adventure’, and that’s never a bad thought to have. The minis look amazing, the scenery is reminiscent of that classic fantasy adventure, and it should look pretty sweet on the table.
I recommend you take a deep breath before you have a look at the reward levels for this one: this is for the serious adventurers, those who’ve been around for a while and also have deep jangling pockets. The complete base game clocks in at 250 euros. Yikes, right? There is an all digital version for 30 euros, and a cut down physical version that covers the first campaign only.
Vestiges of the Ancients from a solo designer is an immersive app-driven dungeon crawler set in a world where ancient mechanisms hold the key to survival. Players take on the role of wizards in search of powerful artifacts and knowledge. The gameplay combines elements of role-playing, puzzle-solving, and strategy as players interact with the environment, activate ancient mechanisms, and battle enemies that move autonomously.The game offers modular components, such as traps and devices, that players can physically activate to alter the course of the game. With a mix of cards, spells, and evolving challenges, each playthrough offers new interactions and outcomes. The goal is to uncover the secrets of the ancient mechanisms while defeating enemies and unlocking hidden paths, all while adapting your strategy as your wizard's powers evolve. Objective: Explore, solve puzzles, activate mechanisms, and defeat enemies to unlock new areas and progress through the story, ultimately mastering the ancient forces.
The development of Vestiges of the Ancients has been quite the daunting undertaking for a single dude, so it’s worth checking out the Kickstarter page to get an idea of how much he’s achieved.
Pagan: Fate of Roanoke
The vast majority of problems and conflicts stem from misunderstandings and ignorance, am I right? Witches, contrary to the belief of popular idiots (or something like that), are a force for good. They tend to live in harmony with nature, they use natural ingredients at a time when we could all think more about our impact on the planet, and they can contact the spirits and give you some good advice about your future (seriously, you need it). And some people just can’ t leave such decent folk be…
So, what is Pagan: Fate of Roanoke, a game from Wyrmgold Games? It's an expandable deduction card game for two players set in the colonial America of 1587. (Yep, that's a very specific year.)
We’ll let the publisher clarify the details: The essence of this asymmetrical game is a witch's struggle against a witch hunter. As the witch strives to complete a ritual of renaturation, the hunter tries to discover her true identity among nine villagers. Each turn, the two players use their action pawns on active villagers to draw cards, play cards, and gain influence. Each player has their own variable card deck of fifty cards; with these cards, the witch can brew powerful potions, improve their familiar, and cast enchantments and charms, while the witch hunter enlists allies, claim strategic locations, and ruthlessly investigates the villagers.
As the witch, your objective is to collect enough secrets to perform a ritual so potent that the entire region will fall under your spell and Mother Nature will reclaim the island. As the hunter, you gather all the allies and support you can muster to bring the witch to justice before her fatal ritual comes to fruition. The theme is great, and it’s the perfect game for a night in with the other half. And here it is.
Red Dust Rebellion
Like Sci-Fi? Like Mars, or Mars type planets? Like board games? You’ll be playing them on the red planet in about 25 years’ time (I’d be keen to let a certain billionaire go up there first if he’s so keen and leave him there, but you guys follow him if you like). We’ve already had a few games based up there, but there’s room for more than just Dune and Terraforming Mars in this ever-growing hobby of ours.
Red Dust Rebellion comes from GMT and is apparently volume XII of their COIN Series, with COIN standard for Counter Insurgency. It's for one to four players, and tells the story of the Martian revolts of the 2250s after 200 years of occupation (see, I told you). Over the years, the people of Mars have formed their own culture and identity and want more say in their own rule. To many, Earth is a remote world with too much control over Martian affairs. Furthermore, Earth’s corporations have too much power over life and death. Some long for a green Mars, covered in oceans and life. While others recoil at the idea that humanity will destroy the climate of another planet.
What is a COIN game? Well, it involves a degree of asymmetry as the players will have their individual objectives to complete, although they will have to work alongside the other players for much of the game in order to achieve them. The game is designed, therefore, with four players in mind, although if you've got less, then the bots will fill in. If a bit of futuristic political intrigue and strategy takes your fancy, have a closer look here.
Enchanters
I’m a bit of a daydreamer, I’ll be the first to admit it. More than this, I don’t just wear rose-tinted glasses, I’ve got a rose-tinted brain. I’ve visited Keswick in the Lake District so many times that I’ve constructed an idealised version in my head that I visit when I can’t be arsed to work (which is all the time). My version is quiet, peaceful, perfect, a gentle life with no news or social media. Village life might not really be that great, though. I mean, what if there were monsters? I’d fight those suckers off, that’s what!
Enchanters from Gindi is a 1-4 players card-drafting fantasy game in which you and your friends forge unique Artifacts from dozens of Items and Spells. With them, you fight Monsters and compete to become the Hero of the Village. Each turn you create an artifact and upgrade it. Every card you take retains some of its power. As you grow stronger, you can take on more powerful monsters... maybe even defeat a dragon.
In the game, players take turns to embark on quests, collecting cards from the journey track by paying with crystals. Acquired cards are placed into adjacent stacks, with something like "Long Sword" going into the item stack and cards like "of Fire" going into the enchantment stack; combined, these cards create the "Long Sword of Fire", and cards grant both temporary bonuses and permanent ones.
In combat, you compare your defense against the monster's strength to determine whether you receive damage. Then, you need to accumulate as much attack as the monster's health to defeat it. You keep defeated cards as trophies. From time to time, you rest in the village to gain crystals or heal wounds. The game ends when the last card is taken or discarded. Fancy a chance at murdering monsters and ruling the village? Go here.
Bit of variety for you there, eh? Witches, Martian insurgencies, dungeon crawling, golems and more, things you can order right now and things you can pledge for. Surely something here tickled your fancy. And if not, I’ll be back soon with even more options. Because in the world of board gaming, there really is something for everyone.
Share