Black Rose Wars is a competitive fantasy game of deck-building, strategy, and combat set in the hectic universe of Nova Aetas in Italy. Each player is one of powerful mages of the Black Rose Order who aspires to become the new Supreme Magister in order to acquire the mighty power of the Black Rose Artifact and the Forgotten Magic. Mages must fight, fulfill Black Rose desires, and gain strength with their spells until their power reaches the containment threshold of the prison where they are exiled, finally freeing themselves. Each mage has at their disposal six schools of magic, each one with its own strategy to annihilate their opponents and increase their power.
At the start of the battle, mages start with a grimoire of six cards; as mages study more spells during play, their grimoire will increase. Every spell in Black Rose Wars has two different effects, increasing a player's adaptability during a fight.
Mages fight each other in a modular arena of hexagons called "rooms". They summon powerful creatures, cast destructive spells, or devise dark deceptions with their enchantments. The game system is divided into different phases. Each turn, after choosing new spells from the six schools of magic, players plan their strategy in advance, placing cards face down. Later, they reveal the played cards to kill each other, solve missions, summon creatures, or destroy the prison rooms, one against each other and against the Black Rose (the playing system).
After being killed, mages are reborn immediately, allowing them to re-enter the fight without delay — although their death still fed energy to those mages who caused it.
The mage with the most power at the end of the battle will be crowned Supreme Magister of the Order by the Black Rose itself.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- sick kids hospital saved my life I wouldn't be here to give you these games if it wasn't for Saint Kitts hospital
- most of them are projects yes this is our Shelf of haven't put away yet
- we have a lot of prototypes we have some prototypes of games that were never released
- you're probably not even supposed to mention some of these but you know what we never said an NDA let's do this
- we can't do this I'm working all the time and I just can't get them done seven days a week 24 hours a day
- I was very upset with that because it was confusing it was because yeah I didn't read the all in
- he's like I'm done I'm gonna walk away you tell me what happens at the end
- it's a turntable yeah it will use the Lazy Susan and we did one of those like uh That 70s Show
- the loudest thing on the planet like it was a big Hollow 10 year old the dice
References (from this video)
- Neat game with many different versions
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
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Quotes (from this video)
- This is easily on this shelf. The most checked out game. Wonderlands War I see played every time.
- Foundations of Rome despite how big this game is. It gets checked out all the time.
- Everyone's really upset with Grimlord Games cuz they never delivered their last Kickstarter, but another company has picked it up.
- I don't I still don't understand why companies can't put names on the sides of their boxes. Come on now.
- Frostpunk, the board game if you're ready to have a depressing day.
- I think Mosaic is a fantastic civilization game. So fast and easy to play.
- People love Smashup. I have almost everything for Smashup, but it just barely gets played.
- Probably Twilight Imperium is my favorite of all these here, even though I don't play it that much.
- Last Kingdom is a kind of a really fun game from Games based on said TV series. Uh but pretty good. Think Game of Thrones style.
References (from this video)
- beautiful minis and components
- rich thematic flavor
- complex and heavy to teach
- not yet played by the reviewers
- arcane wars with minis and board control
- magical dueling with factions
- arena-style confrontation with deep lore
- Gloomhaven
- Root (factional control)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- faction-based control — players control magical houses/factions to gain power
- miniatures with modular setup — a highly visual, modular play area with complex interactions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is the first Legacy and that we've actually played as a legacy.
- it's got the classic Legacy like destroy your tiles and cards and put stickers in your books
- I was very excited when Restoration Games was going to bring this game back out
- I'm here overall I'm a fan of unmatched
- TABARU is a system the game you're getting with the system is going to be the bad karmas
References (from this video)
- Rich thematic integration with a detailed fantasy setting
- Multi-layered strategy combining deck-building, area control, and resource management
- Moon phase mechanic adds dynamic pacing and strategic variability
- Deep system for spell management, evocations, and room-based actions
- Clear emphasis on thematic components and setup that reinforce gameplay
- High complexity and steep learning curve for new players
- Lengthy teaching and setup can be intimidating
- Numerous components require careful tracking during play
- Magical duels, spell collection, and power politics centered on the Black Rose artifact
- Fantasy lodge where mages compete to master the Black Rose artifact within the Black Rose order
- Phase-driven, factional competition with ritualistic elements and artifact mastery
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Damage, health, and instability tokens — Mages have health; instability tokens can destabilize rooms; damaged or destroyed rooms contribute to scoring and endgame triggers.
- Evocations (summoned creatures) — Players summon evocations that occupy spaces, move, and attack; limited to three evocations per mage.
- Memory/deck management (grimoire memories) — Discarded spells and drawn cards reshuffle into memories to form a new grimoire deck, impacting long-term strategy.
- Moon phase progression — The game is divided into moon phases; phase shifts trigger changes to decks and scoring, driving game pace.
- Power points and scoring systems — Power points accrue from events, quests, destroyed rooms, and other sources; reaching a threshold ends the game and determines winner.
- Quest and event decks — Event and quest decks drive challenges and rewards; quests can be discarded under certain conditions to refresh options.
- Room activation and tokens — Hexagonal lodge rooms each have an activation token that can be flipped to enable powers; activation affects scoring and endgame state.
- Spell deck / grimoire construction — Mages build a personal grimoire from six schools of magic, choosing which spells to include and manage hand size.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Black Rose Wars is a fantasy competitive game of tech building strategy and combat
- the game is divided into moon phases
- the Black Rose Lodge is divided in hexagonal room tiles
- activation tokens grant you points
- the mage that has accumulated the most power will be crowned by the Black Rose as a worthy successor and a great master
References (from this video)
- Impressive, highly detailed miniatures with sharp sculpt quality
- Vibrant art and theming across core and wave-two components
- Abundant components: minis, tiles, cards, tokens, and a thematic art book
- Very large, heavy box with a dense rule/reference layer
- Bevel-embossed icons noted by the presenter as not ideal
- Language layering (multiple language printings) can complicate quick reads
- Faction warfare and spellcraft in a rose-filled arena
- Renaissance-inspired magical city-state with rival houses
- Array
- Assassin's Creed
- Bioshock
- NeverEnding Story
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is going to be beautiful
- these minis are amazing
- the detail on his armor it's crazy
- minis on this scale are incredible
- the dragons and griffins look so detailed
- i'm digging the artwork