08/23/2022
Posted • Although I primarily play all my games with my wife, there was 1 game that I bought for myself to play by myself - Kingdom Death Monster. I was obsessed with its macabre world building and graphic design simply sang my tune (I was a trained graphic designer in my past life). I spent months tracking it down, assembling/painting minis/3d-printed terrains, played 10 sessions and sold it…
Spire’s End also has the similar vibe. Stunning macabre artwork (less teenage wet dream), intriguing world building, clean graphic design and supposedly solid story to boot, which KDM lacked.
After its successful KS, SE did not reach retail, so I wanted to spotlight it here because it deserves attention. Its sequel, Hildegarde (also a big KS hit) is coming out this fall, and I’m hoping that game improves all the nitpicks I have with this game
SE is a choose-your-own adventure game, which unfolds in a deck of 100-ish oversize cards. There are a few other components but these cards are the game. In an era filled with plastic minis and overproduced compos (*KDM*), this compact package was such a breath of fresh air.
I’d say, the biggest draw for SE (aside from the art) is the writing by creator Greg Favro, which is simply incredible. I do not read fantasy as I have a hard time visualizing and understanding fantastical settings, characters and magic that are not grounded in reality, but the writing here feels clean, concise and clear.
Other pluses:
*No rulebook! You play as you learn, great onboarding process
*Details are everywhere, even down to having credits written on the bottom of first 2 cards, which feels so cinematic!
*Every enemy encounter with feels different, they all operate on different sets of rules so none of them feels grindy or same
This review copy was generously provided by
#보드게임 #桌遊
