Our friends from Alderac sent a new game for review. It’s called Nightfall and it reminds me of nothing so much as a board game in compact size. The story premise is that the sun is gone and permanent night has fallen on earth. The world has become a playground for the dark creatures of our imaginations. Ghouls, vampires and werewolves battle each other and the human hunters who stalk them. Secrecy is not needed — these menacing creatures walk openly through the streets. As with everything Alderac does, the art and design are magnificent.

You start gameplay with a handful of minions. Good guys and bad guys share space in your hand — and maybe I should say “good” guys and “bad” guys. Are the werewolves bad? Maybe the hunters are bad? It certainly feels like an every creature for himself scenario, so good and bad might be old fashioned notions in the world of Nightfall. There are common actions and additional minions to draw from, using the archive function.

There are Wound cards to illustrate what damage a player takes, as opposed to damage inflicted on minions during gameplay. The stack of Wound cards ultimately controls the length of the game. You set aside 10 Wound cards for every player in the game. In other words — four players would have 40 Wound cards.

Games will average 45 minutes and the game ends when the last Wound card has been given to a player. Players finish any unresolved cards on the table and then count up the wounds. The player with the fewest wounds wins the game.

You begin with some cheap creatures that have zero cost to play. This allows the players to get on the board right away, eliminating one of the annoying things about games like Magic the Gathering, where depending on the luck of the draw, you may have to wait three or four rounds before getting a creature on the table. Play can be fast and deadly for your creatures.

You put minions into play and you also can play Order cards and create a chain of cards, much like a chain of events. The cards use a unique mechanic for this. Each card has a large colored moon and two lesser moons in the upper left corner. The cards in the chain have to have matching colors. Play a red moon card on top of a card with a lesser red moon, for example.

In addition, other people can add to the chain. Sometimes they might be helping you against a common enemy (in multiplayer games) or hindering your actions in some way. I think I will like this mechanic. It adds an interesting twist to the game. It seems like 3 or 4 players in a game is the perfect balance. Lots of personalities on the table and cards are flying left and right.

As with L5R, they put a lot of thought into the game’s world. Flavor text abounds in the rule book. The minions in the decks feel like they have rich back stories just waiting to be explored. Hunters and werewolves, ghouls and vampires — each is a unique personality whose presence or absence affects the game.

It is a fun game that takes just a few minutes to understand and I think it will provide hours and hours of great gaming. Nightfall has a little bit of everything — competition, combat, cooperation, betrayal and bloodshed. If you are looking for a new game, consider entering the world of perpetual night.

We left village of Midaki without ceremony. All worn from the events and town peoples most of all. Mayor glad, I thinking, to be rid of us. Half way along road, terrible storm. Icy-ice rain down. Wind almost blow Te’Ka’Mok from back of horsey G’dah’la.  Gami-Gami catch me. Rein horse and sigh. I hear her mutter something in Hengeyokai speech and spur horse forward. She bow to Tatsuoh and they ride off with old Mir’Itus, he know these roads well.

We huddle and wait. Storm get worse. Only Neiki seem fine, but then what spirit gets cold, yes? Even with fur, I getting cold. They come back, maybe hours later, it seem to Te’Ka. Probably 20 minutes.

Happy, they find old fort shelter for us. We go and maybe they should take longer for the exploring. In middle of dinner we over runned by little squeaking ankle-biter animal things. Nothing like Nezumi, these not rats at all. Good to eat, yes, and nothing like rat. Princess charge in and help with the killing. She get bitey a little bit. She OK. Grandpa all worry-worry but she fine.  I happy that Princess help keep squeaker from Ookami. Doggy not knowing what to do with little thing in face.

Then: squeakers all dead and in our bellies. Yum good to eat. Te’Ka happy with outcome. Gami-Gami chop with blade and protect important shaman of Third Whisker. It is good.

I say to Mir’Itus, “This tiny space! You not find anything bigger? How I sleep in same breath as Princess? I no like.”  I cross arms like final word. He not move. “Go!” I shoo him. “Go tell Lion we sleeping under wagon or with horsey.” Gami-Gami frowned at my words, but I feeling not right as we move from city home. These not Crab. Not know our ways and Nezumi worth. We animals to the humans.

Princess, yes-yes she Crab, but eh, not same. Feel like fluffy pet to Princess. Not seriously. Not true. We here to serve and help on journey and not to be forgetting that human think we rats. I say these things before human can! It is the way. But no, Princess overhear Mir’Itus and say to Lion, “We will all sleep in the shelter.” I stay by horsey anyway.

Gami-Gami talk about door beside us. No like the door and wonder what on other side. I say “Pull open! Why wonder? Yes?” Gami, she open and la-la! Nothing. Dusty squeaker poop. That all.

Lion and Scorpion worry about other door. Not so dusty. No poop. Hmmm. They watch all night.

Come morning and shelter still less inviting. Doors from squeakers seem worse now, in daylight. We make hurry-hurry to leave. G’dal’ah, horsey, she nervous. Feel tense legs. I getting food-treat from pouch and old Mir’Itus being granny mama say “What? What? We going!”
“Dal’ah nervous. I give her treat.” He mount horsey. “Fine. See you outside.” Gami-Gami bow to me and mount her horsey, too. I wave her away. “I come soon.”

I realize that Princess Kaiu De, she still getting ready too. Send number 1 maid to wagon and we alone. Me and Princess.

I wondering to speak or not to the Princess. We not alone since healing of villagers. Before I decide, we hear scream. Later find out number 1 maid, Shasuki, attacked at wagon. Gami-Gami hit with spear. It make her mad.

Tatsuoh Lion warrior see all and charge to help. Nya do same. At first, they not seeing enemy and then out of cropping come hairy giant man-beast. He throw spears. He yell out in Shadow tongue. Who can hear with ears to understand? Shaman, she is inside with Princess. 

Nya and Tatsuoh attack. Smart move and they get Hairy coming and going, yes? He hit Nya hard. She not loose horsey. Tough like Scorpion.

Gami-Gami arrive in time to slam satsumah spear into Hairy face and he down and over like a squeaker.

Meantime, Shasuki run inside to Princess. “We attacked! We attacked!” Grandpa say to me — “Protect your rear.” I move Ookami pup to far side where door is. Then horses and then us.

I have staff and Grandpa. Princess has her sword and I know she can use. We hear shouting. Princess turn to me. “What is that? What does it mean?” I shake my head. “Not sure, my Princess. Shadow tongue, for sure. Maybe something about a dark samurai. Not hear goodly.”

I hear Gami-Gami yell back. She say “Come out and fight with honor! I would see your face before I send you to your ancestors. Come and fight. If you dare!”

Suddenly we see a large Hairy running to shelter opening. Running towards us. Mit’Itus see and he stop at doorway and draw bow. Arrow fly and Hairy number 2 keep running. “Behind me, Princess!” I move arms with touching her. “What is he saying?” She ask and not move.

I turn and look at her face, full and rude like. “Princess! He say ‘Not to wake the dark samurai.’ Now get behind. Please. Grandpa want protect you.” The Hairy broke through the doorway and headed to far door, where Nya and Tatsuoh guard all night. He see us to side and stop. “You go! Not to wake the dark samurai.” Before Princess can ask, I translate. He seem scared, for us and by us. I not understanding. Princess, she good. Sense it too.

She put her hand on my arm. Oh boy. “We must help him. Poor creature. Tell him we will help. Tell him that we meant no harm.” I closed my eyes. “OK. OK.” I step forward so Princess is behind me. “Ya-ya! We not harming. Hey! Look! We help you, yes? Who dark samurai warrior man?” (my Shadow tongue very rusty.)
He stop and stare. “No one help. Leave this place, rat.” I stand up straight, pound staff to ground. “I am Te’Ka’Mok! Great shaman of Third Whisker. I help you.”

He step closer to me, his hands clenched. At that moment, Gami-Gami burst in and see that I am in danger. So she think. Start toward Hairy. “Gami! Hold.” She frown but obey.
Hairy look at me. “You shaman. Help me with undead?”  I swallow hard. Must get Princess out. “I great shaman. I help you.” I started to step forward and Princess there beside me. “What is happening? Are we going to help him? Poor creature.” She reach for my arm again. “Yes. Yes, my lady. We will help him. But you have to go. Grandpa say. Te’Ka say. You go outside. Now.”
“Let him know that we never meant any harm. Will you make sure that he knows we thought this was an abandoned place? I wouldn’t want any hard feelings.” I nod and try to shoo her without touching. “Yes-yes! I tell him all these things. You go. Please?” And suddenly we hear a loud BOOM! from behind far door. I see Hairy and his eyes get big. Oh no. “Princess, please leave now. You must go. I will stay and help the beast. We will make it right. OK? Whatever we did, I’ll make it right. Please, you go now.” I paused. “For Te’Ka. For Grandpa. You go.”

She turned to leave and I hoped that she hadn’t noticed that my speech changed. Sa’ham’bir! I was too stressed to speak broken English. I walked quickly to Hairy. Gami-Gami and Mir’Itus were beside me. “What are you doing?” I turned. “I don’t know, but go with the Princess.”

The yeti had taken some wounds as he ran to the shelter. I knelt beside him. I healed his wounds as the noise got louder. I blessed him and his weapon and then I did the only thing I could. I told him the truth. “I shaman, yes. But not powerful enough, not yet, to battle undead. I being very sorry.” He smiled at me and said “Go now. Go in peace sister.” And he turned towards the door.

I am not ashamed, not much anyway, to say that I turned and ran.

They were just starting to leave. The Princess was upset and obviously didn’t want to leave us behind. Tatusoh was at the rear and had not started moving yet. As we burst out of the shelter, he nodded. For him, that was pretty expressive.

The Princess saw us mount our horses. “Is everything OK?” She called to me. “What happened to the yeti? Is it OK?”

I started to reply when I saw Nya ride into my line of vision. She had a strange look on her face, but I thought I could read it well enough. She did not want the Princess to worry about the situation. I nodded. “It all being OK Princess! Yeti will be fine.”
“But the dark samurai and that booming noise…?” I shook my head and called out, “Not to worry, Princess! We go now.”

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »