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Sanctum is a competitive strategy game inspired by hack-and-slash RPG video games. Each player controls one of four unique characters as they journey into the heart of the fallen city of Sanctum, building up their skills and arsenals along the way to prepare for the final fight against the Demon Lord.
Multiple players may survive the fight, but only one may claim the glory of purifying Sanctum. Gameplay is brisk, with the possibility for overlapping turns. The four characters all have unique skill sets, and you’ll level up fast, giving you frequent opportunities to choose new skills. Every decision counts.
Though the game is competitive, the goal is to destroy the Demon Lord, not each other. So player interaction is a race rather than a fight: Who’s furthest along the board? Who will get to choose first when an equipment draft gets triggered? Who will gain the benefit of reaching the Demon Lord first? Who will get to that group of blue demons everyone wants? Who will unlock that achievement and claim the bonus?
On your turn, you choose one action:
1) Move: Advance along the path toward the Demon Lord, and engage some demon minions to fight later.
2) Fight: Fight all the demon minions you’ve engaged. If you kill any demons, upgrade Skills and acquire Items.
3) Rest: Equip some of the loot you’ve won, recharge the resources you use to fight, and buy potions with extra Items you don't need.
The final battle with the Demon Lord is tough. Even surviving can feel rewarding. But only the player with the most health at the end of the boss fight can truly claim the glory of his defeat!
- potentially engaging engine-building with dice
- not yet played; awaiting hands-on impressions
- dice-driven exploration/adventure
- Diablo-inspired fantasy engine-building adventure
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice chucking engine-building — lightweight dice-based engine-building adventuring
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Dimension was the one that I ended up keeping
- I'm booked up until January of 2020 because I need to make sure that I have you know my mental health at the forefront of things
- it's a pretty lightweight card game as you're trying to do a little bit of tableau building in front of yourself
References (from this video)
- diablo-themed board game with flavorful combat and loot
- dice-based combat with mitigation and upgrade paths
- epic final boss sequence
- replayability concerns; may feel repetitive across plays
- balance of hero abilities and potential length
- heroic dungeon delving, equipment upgrades, boss battle
- diablo-inspired dungeon crawl, overland journey to the gates of Hell
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- boss battle at the end — final battle against the devil/hell beast with multi-phase mechanics
- dice combat with pool management — roll dice to fight monsters; modifiers and dice manipulation to improve results
- equipment and skill tree upgrades — defeated monsters turn into equipment; skills can be upgraded via tokens
- rage tokens and free hits — rage tokens grant a free hit; must refresh after battles
- rest and activation of equipment — resting allows equipping and activating gear to power up hero
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a heavy weight style euro game where each player essentially is on a ship that found this island in the middle of the ocean
- the peninsula was supercool
- we all loved the animal creation process right from the very first moment we started playing
- I would have preferred if the game had been a little more streamlined
- this is a hand drafting style game so it's somewhat similar to seven Wonders
- I really quite enjoyed it
- Diablo with the board game
- I loved those video games ... there’s a soft spot in my heart for this overall theme
References (from this video)
- blends RPG progression with Euro-style resource management
- competitive tension with race dynamics for incentives
- not a pure Euro or Ameri-style experience; some players may prefer a stricter genre alignment
- Demon-slayer RPG-inspired strategy in a competitive frame
- Heart of the Fallen city of Sanctum
- story-driven dungeon-crawl vibe with a final boss confrontation
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Drafting — players draft and equip gear to prepare for the Demon Lord encounter
- equipment drafting — players draft and equip gear to prepare for the Demon Lord encounter
- race/advancement dynamic — being further along the track yields first pick advantages and benefits
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is not competitive
- communication among the team is going to be essential
- unlocking some achievements and claiming some bonuses in sanctum
- I had a copy of this in my hand at BGG Khan last November
- don't live a life of gaming regret
- subscribe and turn on notifications
References (from this video)
- Mentioned as a game that is being moved on from; implies a decision to part with it.
- No deeper evaluation provided in the vlog.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — Not discussed in transcript.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm not doing great
- this is my entire income right now
- I miss doing the work I miss the people that I've worked with