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The initial quakes were only minor tremors, but as the land began to unravel, so did our sense of security. We watched the cliffs of Hytazch fall into the sea. Mighty trees of old, swallowed up by the caverns below. As the waters rose, a great roar was heard across the plains. This was no cry of disbelief or heartache, but of jubilance. Songs began to fill the air as our once peaceful hosts, now readied themselves for war. Suddenly on the horizon, what appeared as huge bolts of energy shoot out into the depths of space, before disappearing again. Despite the inevitable shock wave heading our way, the clans continued to cheer as they made haste towards the origin of the blaze. What could cause such elation? Why abandon caution in favour of chaos? Had we missed something - some crucial misunderstanding of this planet and its inhabitants? Upon reaching the site, we were immediately plunged into combat. Across the landscape lay six massive structures, towering over the forces fighting below. They seemed to pulse and flicker with a golden haze. Could these be the ancient relics the Oxataya spoke of? There is so much we still do not understand, but we cannot concede to indecision. Will we stay and fight, or retreat back to Moontide?
In Circadians: Chaos Order, players take on the role of 1 of 6 asymmetric factions. Each faction has their own means of winning the game, unique leaders, attribute cards and other abilities.
—description from the publisher
- faction warfare with relics and fame as win conditions
- set among the different factions within the circadians universe
- asymmetrical tactical war game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- build phase — Players can build foundations or buildings on controlled hexes; some tiles may have gem locks that increase costs.
- casualties resolution — Casualties are determined by attack/defense icons and dice results; leaders can be removed and buildings destroyed.
- circadians drop ship — Circadians replace a base with a drop ship that can move units onto the ship and drop them onto adjacent hexes, and can harvest nearby hexes.
- Combat wheel — Combat is resolved with a combat wheel, combining wheel results with tactics cards, and possibly a wedge that imposes a gem cost to roll.
- Harvest phase — Harvest yields energy and gems; production spaces grant resources, and multiple icons must be used on different gears.
- income — Income is counted from hex control; relics get removed or awarded each round, influencing victory conditions.
- income and relics — Income is counted from hex control; relics get removed or awarded each round, influencing victory conditions.
- morale and intel tokens — Morale tokens grant bonuses and can influence combat; intel cards can affect future battles and give temporary advantages.
- move phase — Movement uses movement points to relocate units; there are numerous restrictions (mountains, lakes, bases) and pinning mechanics.
- pricing tokens — Each player has six pricing tokens used to set the price and turn order for actions in the next five phases; tokens can be in hand or in a vault.
- Recruit phase — Recruit points move fighters to the board; leaders can be deployed to base, with some factions having fast-track options.
- research tracks — Five research tracks indicate how strong each action will be; moving up on tracks costs resources and can be gated by gems.
- set prices phase — During the five priced phases, players resolve costs and determine turn order for actions by placing pricing tokens.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- circadian's chaos order is an asymmetrical tactical war game for two to five players with a euro style engine set among the different factions within the circadians universe
- chaos order is played in a maximum of six rounds
- we'll be teaching you how to play circadian's chaos order