Kinfire Chronicles: Night's Fall is a co-operative campaign game for 1-4 players that blends thrilling fantasy adventure with tactical, edge-of-your-seat combat. Play as one of six unique Seekers, sworn to protect the city of Din’Lux and help rebuild the world beyond. Armed with kinfire lanterns, you’ll brave the Starless Nights, battle the creatures that emerge, and guard each others’ backs against the malevolent forces trying to stop you.
Each quest has three phases: adventuring, battle, and exploration. In the adventuring phase, players make choices based on options presented on the quest cards and need to accomplish something (such as crossing a river or chasing down a suspect) by flipping the correct number and color of cards from their decks. In the battle phase, players work together to defeat enemies on a physical battle map. Turns are determined by drawing chits out of the destiny bag, with each enemy having numbered tokens that correspond with different attacks and actions. Players may play action cards on their own turns to do damage and can play boost cards on other players' turns to do things like reduce damage, move players, or even return a drawn chit to the destiny bag for redraw. The game doesn't end if an objective isn't achieved or an enemy defeats the heroes, but it will affect later gameplay and choice options. Lastly, on certain quests players can return to the city in the exploration phase to speak to NPCs, purchase items, and level up their decks.
Woven throughout each of these phases are cards that require you to make a choice, such as resting before moving on or charging into battle, or whether or not to spare someone's life. The characters in the game have their own set of morals and standards, and playing according to your character can earn you Kinfire tokens that help you level up. Ultimately though, the decisions you make are yours alone.
—description from publisher
- Engaging story with memory-card branching decisions
- Strong character differentiation with unique abilities
- Beautiful art and production quality
- Very fast setup and teardown for a dungeon crawl
- World-building and atmosphere are well-developed
- No rulebook; relies on trust and on getting started guides
- No easy way to save progress between sessions
- Health dials loose and could be improved in later printings
- No mechanic to swap characters mid-campaign; replaying to explore other characters
- Initiative can leave some characters inactive in multi-actor scenarios
- Not ideal at 3-4 players; best at 1-2 players
- Array
- Fantasy dungeon-crawling world with dark fantasy elements
- Story-driven with branching memory-card based exploration
- Tales From The Red Dragon
- Madara
- Oath Sworn
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bag-draw/randomized resolution — Chits drawn from a bag determine enemy abilities and events
- Card Play — Players play cards from hand to take actions; boosts from other players when color matches
- Chit-Pulling — Chits drawn from a bag determine enemy abilities and events
- Cooperative Game — Players work together to defeat bosses and progress through scenarios
- cooperative play — Players work together to defeat bosses and progress through scenarios
- memory — Memories on memory cards affect which card you draw or which path you take
- Memory-based branching paths — Memories on memory cards affect which card you draw or which path you take
- Scenario-based campaign with modular boxes — Open scenario boxes to reveal stories and events; 21 scenarios with 15 core ones; town phase uses large decks of cards
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- No rule book; trust the game; read the getting started guide and then dive in
- I would absolutely do another campaign of somebody wanted to
- I think the production's really good
- I would only play this game at one or two players
- Lightning fast setup and tear down for a Dungeon Crawl game
References (from this video)
- Immersive artwork and presentation
- Strong solo experience with high enjoyability
- Great flexibility via cross-box mixing and hero variety
- Deep strategic options and multiple viable paths to win
- Not easy to win, especially in solo mode
- High learning curve and potential for complexity to overwhelm new players
- Heroic exploration with mixed-team deployment and boss encounters
- Fantasy dungeon-crawl spanning Kinfire World with evolving delve locations
- Procedural, event-driven, with variable bosses and mixed-box content
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- boss battler — Progression culminates in a multi-layered final boss encounter with four surrounding cards that must be defeated to win.
- Color matching and card abilities — Cards have four colors; players must match color to gain boosts; white can beat any color; some cards combine or stack effects.
- Combat: Dice — Players roll dice to resolve battles, with color-moded cards and card effects influencing outcomes.
- Deck building — Each hero has an 18-card deck; players start with four cards chosen from their hand; discard to draw; manage hand to maximize attack combos.
- Deck-building and hand management — Each hero has an 18-card deck; players start with four cards chosen from their hand; discard to draw; manage hand to maximize attack combos.
- Delve mechanic — Delve actions allow top cards to be removed from the encounter deck, increasing difficulty and driving progression toward the final boss.
- Dice-based resolution — Players roll dice to resolve battles, with color-moded cards and card effects influencing outcomes.
- Exhaust and hand risk — Exhausting cards or failing events can cost cards or health, creating a meaningful risk-reward dynamic.
- Lantern resource — A powerful lantern item can be activated for significant benefits, but its use is limited and strategic.
- Mix-and-match content — Content across different boxes can be combined to customize teams and experiences.
- Opponent scaling and endgame structure — Progression culminates in a multi-layered final boss encounter with four surrounding cards that must be defeated to win.
- Unique player powers — Heroes like Asha and Core have ongoing abilities and distinct decks; each box adds new heroes with their own powers.
- Variable champions with unique abilities — Heroes like Asha and Core have ongoing abilities and distinct decks; each box adds new heroes with their own powers.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is such a good solo experience.
- I absolutely love the Kinfire Delve series.
- The artwork is incredible.
- Everything can be mix and matched.
- I would definitely recommend Vang Glorious Grotto as it is the one that's a little bit easier.
- It is immersive.
- Not easy to win, solo or otherwise.
References (from this video)
- Engaging deck-building and tactical combat
- Strong integration of narrative prompts with gameplay
- Varied encounters including boss-like stags
- Armor and kinfire systems add strategic depth
- Expansive town exploration with meaningful upgrades
- Luck of the draw can slow progress and require repeats
- Time track and bag resets can interrupt flow
- Complex rules may be challenging for new players
- Kinfire magic, survival, exploration, and cooperative combat against hostile threats.
- A fantasy caravan journey crossing perilous rivers toward the city of Vinner, following sabotage and threat along the road.
- deck-building, story-driven RPG with memory prompts and branching outcomes; tactical boss-like encounters.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Armor and shields — Characters gain armor tokens to mitigate damage; armor can be distributed or gained via cards.
- city actions and market — In-town actions include trading, buying new cards, and preparing for upcoming quests.
- combat chits and statuses — Combat uses chits and status effects; enemies gain focus, inflict damage, and apply statuses to players.
- Combat: Damage Based — Combat uses chits and status effects; enemies gain focus, inflict damage, and apply statuses to players.
- deck-building / card-drawing — Players draw and manage a deck of action cards; cards power attacks, defenses, and boosts; decks are reshuffled as needed.
- exhaustion and rest — Discarding cards can generate exhaustion; resting (via in-game or end-of-quest events) removes exhaustion.
- friendly fire and area effects — Some cards damage multiple entities in the same space; friendly fire adds strategic trade-offs.
- kinfire tokens and loot — Kinfire tokens empower certain cards; loot and market interactions expand deck-building options.
- memory cards / story prompts — Memory tokens and memory cards reference and unlock narrative elements tied to the quest and world lore.
- movement across river with color-matching — Crossing a river requires selecting a path (red or green) and flipping the top card to match the color; failure causes exhaustion or damage.
- Time track — Time track progression and bag resets reclaim or shuffle cards; can reset mid-campaign affecting pacing.
- time track and bag resets — Time track progression and bag resets reclaim or shuffle cards; can reset mid-campaign affecting pacing.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm really enjoying it so far.
- Bombs can be useful things, especially against the sort of enemies that seekers often find themselves up against.
- We might just win the fight here.
- Friendly fire affects any seekers in the space as well.
- I think we're going to win the fight here.
References (from this video)
- Cooperative RPG without a Dungeon Master (DM), allowing a group-centric experience
- Six playable characters with diverse backstories and abilities
- Rich narrative potential with lore and NPC interactions
- Fully contained production values with large box components (e.g., acrylic stands)
- Prototype conveys scope and potential for a compelling campaign
- Prototype is subject to changes before final release
- Preview shown only about 25% of the game, so full scope is unknown
- May present a learning curve for players not inclined toward RPGs or deck-building mechanics
- Dark fantasy, cooperative dungeon-crawl RPG with a story-driven campaign.
- City of Den Lux and its Lighthouse, besieged by a mystical Darkness that transforms the world around them.
- Story-driven with evolving player backstories and quest-based progression; players learn as they go.
- Descent
- Descent 2
- Descent: Let It In The Dark
- The Witcher 2
- The Witcher 3
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Character-driven narrative and backstories — Six playable characters with individualized stories and progression paths.
- Cooperative Game — Players work together as a team to complete quests against a common threat.
- cooperative play — Players work together as a team to complete quests against a common threat.
- Deck-building / bag-based action selection — Actions and turn order are drawn from a bag, adding randomness and strategic planning.
- Narrative choice — Six playable characters with individualized stories and progression paths.
- quest-based progression — The game unfolds through a series of quests, each lasting roughly 45–60 minutes.
- Track advancement — The game unfolds through a series of quests, each lasting roughly 45–60 minutes.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a really incredible game and I love that
- this game gives you a lot of options
- it's really like an RPG without the DM
- it's a big box
- I really did enjoy it because I do a lot of you know like Dungeon Crawlers and things like that
References (from this video)
- Innovative boss-battler approach
- Concise scenario duration (about 45 minutes each)
- Rules quirks surface; not all mechanics click for every group
- tension-filled boss encounters and strategic crewbuilding
- boss-battler dungeon crawler with deck-building and team play
- Array
- Gloomhaven
- Arkham Horror
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- boss battler — encounters focused on boss fights with tactical decisions
- boss_battler — encounters focused on boss fights with tactical decisions
- deck_building — build a deck to support allies and boss battles
- teamwork_and_cooperation — players coordinate to overcome challenges
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Thank God you said that! Honestly, I was just winging that last bit - I had no idea where I was going.
- You know what I love? Giving a game of the year to a game that didn't win game of the year.
- This is the best jumping in point into the series and if you want to see what the older version was like, the app version on Steam is pretty spiffy for that.