Etherfields is a narrative, cooperative game for 1 - 4 (5 with the 5th player expansion). A series of unique Dreams await to be discovered through tense exploration and tactical encounters.
Learn about the Dreamers, their forgotten past, and their desperate mission. Uncover the surreal, sprawling dreamscapes. Just don't be surprised when---just like dreams often do---they become a little disturbing... Prepare to be challenged by escape-room like riddles. Spot a clue in the image. See a hidden link between several pieces of information. Use your instinct as much as your logic.
In the beginning, you'll explore the Dreamworld, trying to find out what this is all about and who you are – and you are there for a specific reason, but, at first, you can't remember too much. You'll have to restore your memories from scattered pieces.
The rules are pretty straightforward at the beginning, but they will grow more and more complex during the campaign. New rules open new possibilities and, sometimes, may turn everything upside down.
Deckbuilding in Etherfields applies to almost every deck in the game, not only the players' ones. If you want to know more, enter the Dreamworld. It may be dark here and there, but it certainly isn't gray. Then, look around and ask yourself: what if we all live in a vast, shared dream?
—description from the publisher
- visually interesting
- memorable playthrough
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)
- strong atmosphere and art
- innovative dream-based mechanics
- rich, evolving story world
- some players found the grind and early slog heavy
- rule integration and card-text density can overwhelm new players
- mythic exploration, nightmare motifs, personal backstories
- dreamlike, surreal exploration world with dream-scapes
- two-campaign base with an expansive dream-world arc
- Sleeping Gods
- Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile
- Dawn of the Zeds
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building with dream cards — cards add abilities and create dream sequences with unique effects.
- Story-driven exploration — board state evolves with new cards, dreams, and events.
- two-campaign structure — base dreamworld campaign plus a second wave of content (harpy/dream cards).
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- easy to set up and it's short
- the new modules that you get in this really cool they change up the game for the better
- this is the open-ended thing open-ended so the story you tell in between you kind of make up as you go along
- the campaign system is tiny all you're going to be doing is adding a card
- it's a one-and-done game so you open this one up you throw it away
- the dream world or real world
- the story deck add new cards to the deck and narrative arcs on the board
References (from this video)
- Rich, expansive narrative with high replayability
- Strong thematic flavor and art
- Flexible co-op with evolving character dynamics
- Complex rules and potentially long learning curve
- Large component footprint and setup time
- Dreamlike exploration with nightmare elements
- A surreal dreamscape with shifting locations and dream logic
- Story-driven, player-driven evolution of characters
- Terracotta Army
- Nemesis
- Awaken Realms' other dream-driven titles
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — Players work together to progress through a shared story and set of objectives.
- Deck/hand management with story-driven choices — Card play and hand management drive narrative events and character actions.
- Modular/dream-map exploration — The map links different dream areas; travel triggers new scenarios and encounters.
- Narrative progression with evolving roles — Characters can join or leave the party, evolving over time and influencing outcomes.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's the best game ever
- this game is a nut job
- the art is amazing the storytelling is amazing
- Nemesis is fan Fantastic so it's it's semi-cooperative I guess it depends
- it's the best alien game I've ever played that's not the alien license
- Photosynthesis is a beautiful game
- the core box is amazing
- it's so heavy but it's worth it
- awaken Realms sponsor this they’re so awesome