I referred recently to a visit we had from Martin Wallace, who was at UKGE with his latest game, which is based on the Jackson/Livingstone pick your own adventure books many of us will have owned in the 1970s/80s, which had the series name "Fighting Fantasy Adventures". Martin has turned them into a series of linked campaign games, using a card driven mechanism for the "dungeon" layout. He left us a copy as a thank you for putting him up for a couple of nights.
It's a hefty box. It's one that doesn't waste the interior with a fancy box insert either:
You get five boxes with the card decks (each one "Dungeon Deck" and one "Encounter Deck") and one containing the components, plus some rules and a "Battleboard" that sit on top. No one is paying to ship a box of air here.
You get to play four characters - you have to use all of them regardless of the number of players. Left to right they are: Scout, Warrior, Mage and Healer. The symbol top left identifies them throughout the game.
Each character gets a number of "Ability" cards, which you get to use once per game. Not everyone has the same number, and you earn more by completing the various boxes.
The Battleboard shows how you line up when fighting the "monsters", and also the sequence you are moving in. In this instance the Scout was out ahead, when three monsters were encountered. They hit the first three in the line, then the spare character gets to choose who it "gangs up" on.
You also get a bag full of counters to keep track of various things, like how many times you've been hit and what Luck you have left.
Martin also left us a "Sample Adventure", which I guess he uses to demo the game, as it isn't part of the main campaign and is a standalone. It's also about half the size. Mrs T & I played it with some friends in the week, and we got all the way to the end of the quest then all died trying to take out the Boss. The "Quest" is doable, but it isn't a pushover.
Like we all did with "Warlock of Firetop Mountain" I didn't just give up there, but had another go solo today. Well it was hot, so I put a table in the shade and just ambled my way through it. It helps knowing what the wrong decisions are, but even so you have to make the right calls during the combats.
You start off with Card One of the Dungeon Deck, and then read the same card number from the Encounter Deck. The cards are all double sided - you flip them when you finish a room and the number circle changes to Black and it tells you what is left in the room. When you encounter a creature you normally can't see the room until after you've killed it.
So you go through the doors, encountering what ever is there, laying out the cards to build the dungeon. You have to pay attention to the art work as not everything is spelled out for you on the Encounter Cards, so sometimes there's stuff in the room you can use, and hints in the drawings as to how to solve the various puzzles. It is really nicely done.
I made it to the end this time. It took me about an hour on my own. It took the four of us closer to 2 1/2 hours, playing socially and discussing what to do. I prevailed over the boss this time, as I didn't make a couple of bad errors - well, mainly, I got the combat match ups right and picked up the various gizmos I needed to smooth the path.
The game is a lot of fun. Even those who had no nostalgia for the old "Fighting Fantasy Adventures" enjoyed the game, so it isn't just trading on past memories. It's a really good game. It isn't exactly a one shot/legacy game. No components are changed/destroyed, and there's more than one way to beat some of the puzzles - although for this one you will always end up fighting the boss to win. In that way it's a bit like a boardgame video game adventure, only without the need for quick reactions. So it has some replayability, depending on what you want from a game (I mean I must have played through the Warlock book half a dozen times. At least). And of course you can "DM" it with different groups of players it you want.
I don't know when it will be out in retail. There's obviously been problems with shipping to the US, because of the tariffs, and there's been some issues with production in China. Those who backed the "Gamefound" project (which is sort of Kickstarter) are getting their games in July in the UK. I think Martin wants it in the shops for Christmas, and as it is linked to books should be in Waterstones, you'd hope.
It's a "Recommend" from me when it becomes available.
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