Boardgame unboxing+ First play review: Edge of Darkness-Kickstarter with stretch goals
Disclaimer: Since this game is on my wish-list for more than 2 years now, this review will be filled with my personal views, emotions and thoughts.
Edge of Darkness is a new game from AEG that we "just recently"(a year ago) kickstarted. We first heard of it from a "sellsheet" on the end page of Mystic Vale rules and were instantly drawn. We loved Mystic Vale, and I personally adored the Card Crafting System as they call it or "Cardbuilder" mechanics as I call it. Combining this system into a more complex game and embedded in a theme that involves fight, count me in!!!
So needless to mention when it came on kickstarter we were all in and already hyped for a fair amount of time. We decided to take the GUILDMASTER pledge that allows us to have all the stretch goals, but not to take any add-on's as we knew it would be a fairly big game and thought we will see the game first before we decide if we want expansions for it.
The big day came, the box was here... It was a large enough package, and I knew it would be a fairly large box, but still I expected to see some "cushioning" in a box this size and then somewhat smaller box, boy was I wrong....
The box is Humongous (43x31x23,2cm), just a bit shy of a Gloomhaven box (46,2x34,8x26,2cm), jeez do I love my math :)
Even tho it came in a tight box it did not take any damage in the post. And it traveled a long way so they obviously knew what they were doing.
Now, you have to know that I had to wait a whole day sitting next to this monster waiting for my husband to come home while not touching the shrink wrap. Arghhh the horror of temptation.
When he was finally home we were not going to wait for our daughters(22 and 1 month old ) to fall asleep to open the box. NO! It had to be now!!! This is why photos will be bad, but I am not sorry š
When you open the shrink wrap you can see that some elements of the box are enhanced with a shiny print which makes the box seem like a fancy fattie.
Once we opened the box I understood that I underestimated the size of pure components and that this is really not a box full of air(I could have figured that from the weight of the box which exceeded 6kg but I definitely still had my doubts considering the volume that needs to be filled). In this case the size is not only determined by the number of components but also the size of some of them.
Inside the box there are:
The threat dice are nothing to talk about... plastic cubes in different colors.
Now what I do have something to say about are reputation tokens and token holders. If it weren't for the render from kickstarter page no-one would ever complain about the quality of this component, but since there is a big difference between what someone might expect from seeing the render... I can see people complaining. For me however the component is solid quality and fits in with other tokens, maybe even better than the mentioned render.
The 3 coffers that act as token holders are also very different from their render. They are not round bowls but rather square shaped holders.
Other things that are not the same as the kickstarter render are:
Part one: the story
Edge of Darkness is a new game from AEG that we "just recently"(a year ago) kickstarted. We first heard of it from a "sellsheet" on the end page of Mystic Vale rules and were instantly drawn. We loved Mystic Vale, and I personally adored the Card Crafting System as they call it or "Cardbuilder" mechanics as I call it. Combining this system into a more complex game and embedded in a theme that involves fight, count me in!!!
So needless to mention when it came on kickstarter we were all in and already hyped for a fair amount of time. We decided to take the GUILDMASTER pledge that allows us to have all the stretch goals, but not to take any add-on's as we knew it would be a fairly big game and thought we will see the game first before we decide if we want expansions for it.
The big day came, the box was here... It was a large enough package, and I knew it would be a fairly large box, but still I expected to see some "cushioning" in a box this size and then somewhat smaller box, boy was I wrong....
The box is Humongous (43x31x23,2cm), just a bit shy of a Gloomhaven box (46,2x34,8x26,2cm), jeez do I love my math :)
Even tho it came in a tight box it did not take any damage in the post. And it traveled a long way so they obviously knew what they were doing.
Now, you have to know that I had to wait a whole day sitting next to this monster waiting for my husband to come home while not touching the shrink wrap. Arghhh the horror of temptation.
When he was finally home we were not going to wait for our daughters(22 and 1 month old ) to fall asleep to open the box. NO! It had to be now!!! This is why photos will be bad, but I am not sorry š
Part two: unboxing
When you open the shrink wrap you can see that some elements of the box are enhanced with a shiny print which makes the box seem like a fancy fattie.
Once we opened the box I understood that I underestimated the size of pure components and that this is really not a box full of air(I could have figured that from the weight of the box which exceeded 6kg but I definitely still had my doubts considering the volume that needs to be filled). In this case the size is not only determined by the number of components but also the size of some of them.
Inside the box there are:
- two punch-boards containing the tokens for the basic(no stretch goals) version of the game
- three books of rules (THE rulebook, solo rules and a player handbook)
- 44 boards (1 game board, 2 extension boards, 4 player boards and 37 location boards)
- one threat tower
- 42 miniatures
- a bunch of plastic tokens in polybags
- one scoring pad
- several packages of different types of cards
- one leather bag
- one package of card sleeves
Let's start with the bad so we can end with sugar on top.
There is no plastic insert which this game probably needs more than some other games that have them, the way everything fits in the box is ok, but not really functional or helpful for either set-up or dismantling and storing the game. The "inserts" you do get are five standard cheap plastic miniature inserts each containing one of each type of miniatures. This means that every player needs to take two miniatures from every insert. The inserts can not be filled with miniatures if you place them in bases, which is how I like to store my miniatures if they are not colored to easily distinguish different players pieces.
Other than that for storing purposes you are provided with prefilled polybags of tokens, a thin cardboard box containing the threat tower, and a wannabe cardboard insert for storing cards and location boards. (yes I am definitely not a fan of storing solution in this game and plan to make upgrades for it)
There is no plastic insert which this game probably needs more than some other games that have them, the way everything fits in the box is ok, but not really functional or helpful for either set-up or dismantling and storing the game. The "inserts" you do get are five standard cheap plastic miniature inserts each containing one of each type of miniatures. This means that every player needs to take two miniatures from every insert. The inserts can not be filled with miniatures if you place them in bases, which is how I like to store my miniatures if they are not colored to easily distinguish different players pieces.
Other than that for storing purposes you are provided with prefilled polybags of tokens, a thin cardboard box containing the threat tower, and a wannabe cardboard insert for storing cards and location boards. (yes I am definitely not a fan of storing solution in this game and plan to make upgrades for it)
Other "weak" element is a component on the punch-boards, so let's talk a bit about them. The punch-boards themselves are good thickness-wise and can be neatly punched-out. The thing I do not like on the punch-boards are the "prototypishly made" agents, who look unfinished and do not seem to fit the rest of the game in style, however the graphics on them is the symbol for agents used in the game so I do understand why it is used. Either way, if the stretch-goal for miniatures would not have been reached I would have definitely been somewhat unsatisfied with this (possibly would have replaced them with generic pawns or meeples), but since we have an upgrade it is of no importance to me.
The threat dice are nothing to talk about... plastic cubes in different colors.
Now what I do have something to say about are reputation tokens and token holders. If it weren't for the render from kickstarter page no-one would ever complain about the quality of this component, but since there is a big difference between what someone might expect from seeing the render... I can see people complaining. For me however the component is solid quality and fits in with other tokens, maybe even better than the mentioned render.
The 3 coffers that act as token holders are also very different from their render. They are not round bowls but rather square shaped holders.
Other things that are not the same as the kickstarter render are:
- Player boards, which are for some reason missing the non activated agent zone
- Player aid tokens which have additional line and are looking fancier
- Defense track tokens that are quite nicer and a representation of their 2d drawing
The miniatures are nice good quality miniatures with beautiful details. The kind of minnies you would expect from ffg or cmon games to have. Each guild(player) gets their agents in both male and female versions. The minnies also come with base covers that should be placed on them once they are trained. This combination of an uncolored miniature with a colored base is a kind of a standard for boardgame minnies.
I have already mentioned the player boards but let's say something more about them. The double thick playerboards are a very nice touch and help with the component placement during the game.
The art and graphic design on the game is very beautiful and at the same time functional. I love how the Location boards serve as holders for your cards if you have a "small" table but if you have space you can place extension boards next to game board and enjoy the full art of the location cards. For me, this gives a nice touch to the game. The print on all the boards (1 game board, 2 extension boards, 4 player boards and 37 location boards) is high quality waterproof mate print.
The threat tower is amazing. There is not much else to say, the details are nice, the functionality is good.
The pure joy that comes from throwing those cubes down the tower can only be explained through a video so I will gladly do so :)
The pure joy that comes from throwing those cubes down the tower can only be explained through a video so I will gladly do so :)
Oh yes, and did I mention that it is solid enough that you can let your kid play with it and not be afraid that he/she will break it.
All of the plastic tokens are done beautifully, they are nicely engraved and have fine detail. I especially liked the way double sided Influence/Goodwill tokens look.
The sleeves are nice thick sleeves that seem to be ready for a lot of plays without being torn, and still, you get some extra sleeves just in case.The Randomizer cards, Reference cards and Solo play cards are just the right thickness, they are nice MTG quality cards.
The sleeves are nice thick sleeves that seem to be ready for a lot of plays without being torn, and still, you get some extra sleeves just in case.The Randomizer cards, Reference cards and Solo play cards are just the right thickness, they are nice MTG quality cards.
And now to the most important part (at least for me) THE TRANSPARENT CARDS. I expected Mystic Vale quality cards since these games are both deckbuilder/cardbuilder based on transparent cards made by the same company and from the same designer. I would have been more than happy if the quality of the cards was the same. Mystic Vale has somewhat thin lets say "bendy" cards that are covered in protective film that you should remove at some point (but I simply remove it once it starts peeling off). The cards in EOD were a huge upgrade from MV(at least for me). They are nice thick (MTG thick) shiny cards. They are a little harder to sleeve when you are trying to put 5-6 of them in one sleeve, but are a lot easier to take of the flat surface. These cards also seem a lot more durable then MV cards, although they are prone to smudging.
I am very happy with the production quality of this game, and especially think the Kickstarter upgrades made it even better and worthy of the price paid.
Part three: first play
While playing Edge of Darkness you are each a leader of your own Guild in the city of Aegis, a city that acts as a gateway between the Realm of Humans and the Realm of Monsters. You will do your best to fight off the monsters and to get reputation while at the same time you will gather as much influence and wealth as you can.
This game is a deckbuilder/cardbuilder, but with a twist, you are all building the same deck! You each have cards that you own but all the players can use them. This system is done surprisingly well for you are rewarded for every use of your own card. When another player uses your card he gives you money and at the end of the turn you will get your card for the next turn. But I am getting ahead of myself, let me first give you a quick summary of how the game is played.
First thing to do is set-up the game. The set-up is done somewhat random (random with rules or using a scenario) which allows for a lot of replayability.
Then the game starts with a prologue which is something I like to call a "player set-up". In this case it is a draft of a sort that allows all the players to somewhat influence the situation at the start of the first turn.
Each of the following turns is then played in the same fashion and contains of two phases. In the assembly phase players place their cards in their "hand" and place threat cubes on top of their "hand" then they draft cards and draw threat cubes. In the action phase players in turn order drop cubes down the threat tower to (if conditions are met) resolve monster attacks. Then they use cards for actions on them, upgrade cards or discard cards for actions. And finally they discard all the cards from their hand.
The explanation of the rules does take some time and could overwhelm some people but the gameplay is very straightforward. This is where I will circle my way back to the components. The two reference cards that each player gets are incredibly helpful and speed up the gameplay itself. The icons on the cards and Locationboards are clear and simple and can most of the time be interpreted without consulting the player handbook(which does contain detailed explanation for every location). Another thing about components that came to light during first play is the possible lack of plastic tokens (we felt like we were using too much of them for a two player game if it comes to that we will simply use both the plastic and the cardboard components). The game can be a bit analytical so you should expect a lot of analysis paralysis from some players (khm khm ME) which if happens will extend your game over 60 minutes that are listed as it's length. However the game does not exceed it's welcome.
The deckbuilding/cardbuilding component is done perfectly and the system this game uses would nicely fit in a cooperative game(hint, hint AEG what about a coop expansion). I love the way you simultaneously build-up your own power, your opponents power and monster power. It is perfectly done in every sense.
The feeling of the game during play is quite mathematical, the theme did not really come out for me. Which is not a big deal if a game works very well mechanically to give you a feeling of accomplishment and this one really does. It reminds me of some of the classics like Dominion and Lords of Waterdeep. All of these games (EoD, LoW, Dom) have a theme, and a theme that works well with the mechanics, it is nice fitting and everything but just does not draw you in.
All of this is just based on my first play so I reserve my right to change my opinion in the future.
This game is a deckbuilder/cardbuilder, but with a twist, you are all building the same deck! You each have cards that you own but all the players can use them. This system is done surprisingly well for you are rewarded for every use of your own card. When another player uses your card he gives you money and at the end of the turn you will get your card for the next turn. But I am getting ahead of myself, let me first give you a quick summary of how the game is played.
First thing to do is set-up the game. The set-up is done somewhat random (random with rules or using a scenario) which allows for a lot of replayability.
Then the game starts with a prologue which is something I like to call a "player set-up". In this case it is a draft of a sort that allows all the players to somewhat influence the situation at the start of the first turn.
Each of the following turns is then played in the same fashion and contains of two phases. In the assembly phase players place their cards in their "hand" and place threat cubes on top of their "hand" then they draft cards and draw threat cubes. In the action phase players in turn order drop cubes down the threat tower to (if conditions are met) resolve monster attacks. Then they use cards for actions on them, upgrade cards or discard cards for actions. And finally they discard all the cards from their hand.
The explanation of the rules does take some time and could overwhelm some people but the gameplay is very straightforward. This is where I will circle my way back to the components. The two reference cards that each player gets are incredibly helpful and speed up the gameplay itself. The icons on the cards and Locationboards are clear and simple and can most of the time be interpreted without consulting the player handbook(which does contain detailed explanation for every location). Another thing about components that came to light during first play is the possible lack of plastic tokens (we felt like we were using too much of them for a two player game if it comes to that we will simply use both the plastic and the cardboard components). The game can be a bit analytical so you should expect a lot of analysis paralysis from some players (khm khm ME) which if happens will extend your game over 60 minutes that are listed as it's length. However the game does not exceed it's welcome.
The deckbuilding/cardbuilding component is done perfectly and the system this game uses would nicely fit in a cooperative game(hint, hint AEG what about a coop expansion). I love the way you simultaneously build-up your own power, your opponents power and monster power. It is perfectly done in every sense.
The feeling of the game during play is quite mathematical, the theme did not really come out for me. Which is not a big deal if a game works very well mechanically to give you a feeling of accomplishment and this one really does. It reminds me of some of the classics like Dominion and Lords of Waterdeep. All of these games (EoD, LoW, Dom) have a theme, and a theme that works well with the mechanics, it is nice fitting and everything but just does not draw you in.
All of this is just based on my first play so I reserve my right to change my opinion in the future.
Final thoughts
Edge of Darkness is a very nicely produced game, with beautiful components. The first impression of the gameplay is that it is mechanically perfectly polished game with a theme that did not touch me as well. It is definitely one of the games I am looking forward to playing more and getting expansions for, and I do somewhat regret I did not get that add-ons I could have gotten.
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