Catacombs is an award-winning, cooperative board game set in the fantasy world of Cimathue, and you need skill and dexterity to master this fast-paced game.
One player (the Overseer) marshals an army of monsters while the others choose from six brave heroes who embark on a quest to save the town of Stormtryne from the threat lurking in the catacombs below. As the heroes explore, they must use their abilities, buy items, and recruit allies to help them defeat the monsters before facing the powerful Catacomb Lord, thereby saving the town.
In more detail, in Catacombs players flick wooden discs that represent the monsters and heroes. Contact with an opposing piece inflicts damage, while missiles, spells, and other special abilities can cause other effects. When all of the monsters of a room have been cleared, the heroes can move further into the catacomb.
Items and equipment upgrades can be purchased from the Merchant with gold taken from fallen monsters. The Catacomb Lord is the final danger that the heroes must defeat to win the game. Conversely, the Overseer wins if all of the heroes are defeated.
This third edition of Catacombs has all-new artwork compared to the earlier editions, but more importantly the keywords from the first two editions has been replace with iconography, the terminology has changed, and the third edition has new shot types, new card effects, and a different set of components (many of which have changed statistics) as well as wall pieces not present in earlier editions.
Rook & Record - Catacombs
- Unique combination of dexterity and dungeon crawl
- More depth than a typical dexterity or party game
- Lots of special abilities and edge cases to learn
- May require looking up rules in the first few plays
- dungeon crawl
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dexterity — flicking discs around the board
- Dungeon Crawl — very dungeon crawly. Like you will be fighting bad guys, you will be um trying to overcome challenges
- One vs. Many — mostly a one versus many game where one person will be sort of controlling all of the bad guys
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- And this is like a little bit of a hard category to do because sometimes games are very unique and I respect that but they're not that good.
- So, these are games that I find are pretty different than any other game I've played out there. And also I really like the game and I I'm happy to play these at any point.
- this is a dexterity dungeon crawl game and I haven't seen another one of those before. a dexterity dungeon crawl.
- I love the mind games of Mantis Falls.
- It It's a game that I want to play every fall, you know? It just feels like it feels like the autumn season.
- And so it also like looks incredible. I think it has some of the best artwork out there, some of the best look of any game out there.
- And I just haven't played a lot of games where it's like you build an engine and then you just tear the engine apart like that.
- Fromage has a crazy unique central mechanism, but it's such a cool central mechanism that I don't think it will be unique forever in that other games are now starting to do it.
- It's it's one of those things where it's like pretty easy to teach, but man, it makes for some difficult decisions all of the time.
- So yeah, those are all super unique games. So check them out. You know, if you want something that feels different than anything else out there, these are all good ones for that.
References (from this video)
- Dexterity-based challenges provide tactile, kinaesthetic gameplay
- Strong thematic tie-in with goblin/necromancer imagery
- Energetic, album-inspired mood enhances the dungeon crawl experience
- Goblins, rainbows, and other fantastical dungeon lore; surreal, heavy-metal aesthetic vibe
- Fantasy dungeon setting featuring goblins, necromancers, and dungeon corridors
- Implied through imagery and mood rather than a linear story
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dexterity-based dungeon crawl — Players perform dexterity-based actions and manipulate components to progress through a dungeon.
- Dungeon Crawl — Players perform dexterity-based actions and manipulate components to progress through a dungeon.
- Thematic integration with multimedia cues — The game design leans into a strong thematic mood that matches the album-inspired fantasy setting.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- hey this is a dexterity based dungeon crawl
- you could totally expect a bunch of ghouls zombies maybe some bats and a catacomb Lord necromancer jammin out in the middle of some dungeon
- that's exactly what catacombs does by saying
- the band totally threw away the shackles and said I don't care what you think what a rock band has to be we're going to tell you what a rock band can be
- we don't have to answer to nobody other than ourselves about how awesome that can be
References (from this video)
- refined rules while retaining the core feel
- clear expansion potential and signaling
- future content decisions remain to be finalized
- refined version of core Catacombs experience
- Catacombs 3rd edition universe
- cooperative dungeon crawl with clarified rules
- Catacombs Conquest
- Catacombs Monster Pit
- Catacombs Phantom Division
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- core Catacombs engine — retains the established Catacombs mechanics with improvements
- symbol-based expansion indicators — symbols hint at future expansions and content
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a new design and for all the folks out there that has led to me over and for a number of years now listen we want a sci-fi theme we want catacombs in space
- fully cooperative so for this version will not require an overseer
- we released a big box in quotes version of catacombs that featured the original game boards you know recast as neoprene play mats
- I want to release something that will be compatible with catacombs but also provides a gentler introduction to the catacombs third edition game
- production is going to be what a 2020 Kickstarter that is what I'm hoping for at this time
- catacombs conquest that is a very very streamlined introduction what I wanted something that was going to play like catacombs 3
References (from this video)
- Sounds cool and fun
- Fantasy
- Dungeon
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dexterity — Flick down the door and slay monsters in this dexterity based dungeon delve
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We love trick taking games
- This game is so much freaking fun
- I adore GMT games, they are becoming one of my favorite game publishers
- If you remember Vast Crystal Caverns is in my top five games of all time
- We bloody love it
- We can't stop playing
- It's a blimp game not a train game
- That's just work
- I don't think I want to play it
- I'll get it eventually
References (from this video)
- Unique combination of dexterity and dungeon crawler
- Asymmetric character design
- Chaotic but fun gameplay
- Objective-based progression unlike other dexterity games
- First dexterity game built around actual objective
- Chaotic gameplay
- Luck factor high
- Obstacles can impede skill
- Party fighting monsters and a boss
- Dungeon crawl
- Action-oriented adventure
- Crokinole
- Dungeon Fighters
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- asymmetric characters — Each character has unique disc types and abilities (e.g., ranger with bow)
- Dexterity - Disc Flicking — Players flick discs around a board to move and attack
- Dungeon Crawler — Progress through rooms fighting progressively harder monsters
- Objective-Based Progression — Defeat a boss at the end of the dungeon
- One vs Many — One player controls the boss/monsters while others control heroes
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- He just made this game like in five minutes
- It's like a computer made of paper
- I have not played anything like this
- This completely broke my brain
- Two of my favorite mechanics combined into one
- I absolutely fell in love with it as soon as we played it
- It is like the only game of its kind
- I have so much fun every time I play it but I also have no idea what I'm doing
- You are trying to make your family as miserable as possible
- First time a board game made the hears stand on my arm
- It's just chaos
- If I could find this game I would definitely buy it instantly