Why it stayed so long in my collection.
Positives
Breath of the Wild meets Pandemic:
This is how I would summarize this game to my game group. A competitive (or cooperative) game where you explore a world, level up your character, and save the world while defeating the big bad guy. These are the kind of games I really enjoy, but none seem to hit this mix. Its got the short flavor text of a Ryan Lauket game (like Empires of the Void 2, not Near and Far), the leveling up like Tainted Grail, and exploring a map like Journey's of Middle Earth. The scope of the game feels large, the world building is present, the journey is an adventure full of trials.
Tokens Not Dice:
My first play through I hated tossing pogs into a box. I missed rolling dice like every other game has. After more plays, I can say I enjoy the system. Buying equipment, clothes, items, etc. give you new combat tokens. Kind of reminds of Star Wars Destiny where you get new dice with a new character or item in a pack. By the end of the game you also have some tactical decisions in combat, flipping tokens, using abilities, using items, etc.
It's Not a Campaign:
I can't get a group to meet more than a handful of times in a row. I want to be able to get the full experience of these games, but I can't seem to get a regular gaming group to stick with a game. I love that I get a full experience in one sitting. Its a longer sitting, probably not getting two games in a night with my group, but I'm surprised so much comes from one sitting.
Medium-Weight:
The game properly is weighted around a 2.5. It's not crazy complicated, you can explain the system, the rules in around 20 minutes. Similar games are usually more complicated, so I feel you get a lot out of a reasonable rule set.
Scenario Centered Events:
I love how each scenario you have story events and you put in about 10 scenario specific events into the 3 adventure decks. Kind of reminds of how Cthulu Death May Die has cards you use for each scenario. This really makes each scenario shine.
I Lose A Lot:
I've only beaten the dragon scenario, and haven't been able to beat the other scenarios. The adventure cards don't scale, so you get the same quest
or combat cards at the end of the game as you do in the beginning. When you die, you don't lose, you just need to rest back up to health. So, ultimately you don't know you are losing til you only have a few turns left after 2.5 hours and your character has not leveled up as much as you hoped.
Overall:
This is a great game with some warts. Competitively, its hard to enjoy destroying your friends because the game is hard! Cooperatively, its a better experience. From getting actions to carry over, sending items around, and party skills, its just a better experience with the Unbreakable Bounds expansion. I love the scale, the adventure, the story moments. I think the closest game I've played like this is Near and Far, and I feel like this one is such a fuller, enjoyable experience. I'd love to hear people's thoughts on similar games, because games like this help me really enjoy game night. I hope you get to check out Runebound 3rd Edition!Read full review
Verified purchase: No
