So Dave and I just completed our first game of Nightfall by AEG. The game is real cool with plenty of interaction between the players. Nightfall is the newest Deck Building game to come out and as this genre of games continues to grow, it is fantastic to see a new game concept! Here are a few highlights that we saw as we played, and a few questions that maybe we missed as we played.
First, the cards look spectacular! The art is dark and really gives you the feel of a world full of Vampires, Werewolves, Ghouls, and Hunters. There appear to be more vampires in the starter set, and I hope to see some more of the rest as expansions come out. Oh wait... and I did not see a single sparkle on any of the vampires!
Second, the game flows in a very straight forward manner. To give a very simplified quick review: Combat Phase, Chain Phase, Claim Phase, and Cleanup Phase. Combat is very easy at first glace... all minions must attack other players. The Chain Phase is the most interesting as it allows you to play multiple cards, and to allow other players to play cards as well. The Chain Phase allows for players to also access a "kicker" effect, this allows players to really look/think about what cards they have in their deck as well as what other players have. The Chain Phase mechanic really increases the interaction between players as they play cards not only on their turn but also on your opponents turn as well. Additionally, most card games that involve playing cards when it is not your turn focus on prevent or blocking what your opponent does. Nightfall instead allows you to benefit from playing the right cards during the Chain Phase, be it your turn or not! Claim Phase lets you acquire more cards for your deck. The last phase is Cleanup. This phase a chance to draw more cards, up to 5, and to take care of wounds.
One point to think about, and this goes for all Deck Building games, sleeve your cards! As you continue to play the game and shuffle the cards, you will begin to wear they out. There are many different companies that make sleeves, but Mayday Games and Fantasy Flight Games make a clear back sleeve that is less expensive then most of the other companies. The basic box that Nightfall comes in has several different foam spacers as well as indexed dividers with plenty of room left over for many future expansions.
Questions:
Well the game designer, David Gregg, got back to us on Twitter. He was able to answer some of our questions... which was so COOL that he read the blog and gave us an answer. He created a great game and we are having some fun trying it out in the store.
1. What happens when you need to draw more wounds then there are left in the wound pile?
Answer: As per game designer David Gregg: The wound stack should have all 60 wounds. Once face up run out, use face down. After that, exiled then pen/paper.
2. When you discard a starting minion after the end of the Combat Phase, are they exiled?
Answer: As per game designer David Gregg: YES!
3. How do we get the promo cards for our players?
4. Will AEG be running events, or organized play?
5. Are the Starter Minions Exiled if you discard them to gain additional influence?
Answer: As per game designer David Gregg: no, the starters are only exiled if discarded or destroyed while in play.
Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
