From publisher blurb:
The Heron is the oldest figure in Elysia. She might even be older than the Black Monk. Neither of them has kept track. Neither knows when the land began. But the Heron keeps to her work. She keeps to herself. She makes no complaints about the state of things. And she accepts her fate.
Except. She doesn’t. When she’s alone, the crying starts. It’s not something she can even control anymore. But always in her ear, words follow, whispering like gossamer wind, “Patience. Patience…”
In The Black Monk, the characters are people living in a desolate, but vibrant world where time seems to have lost meaning. Living for decades, perhaps longer, in isolation from others, the people of Elysia toil in work, only to be visited once a year by the Black Monk.
In between these visits, their lives are interrupted by sometimes trivial and other times confusing events. Everything seems to fit together like an elongated jigsaw puzzle, but no one can see the starter pieces stretching across the horizon.
But they don’t complain. There is always more work. The village needs workers.
Then one evening, the sun stayed in the sky all day. When there should have been night, the sun remained. And now it feels as though it’s been years since the Black Monk came. But perhaps it was yesterday. Nothing is right…
Is that blood?
- Why would you play the Heron, other than if it was stuck in your hand?
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick-Taking — The Heron is a trick-taking game where the winner of the trick is whoever has the second highest card, not the highest card.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The Python, when played, means that the winner of the trick is whoever has the second highest card, not the highest card.
- It's the iconography is on that Python.
References (from this video)
- Uses historical artwork from the period.
- Has a regal and classy look.
- Interesting historical theme.
- Gameplay seems to be mostly 'take that' and got lost in the theme.
- Might appeal to different groups than historical game fans.
- survival during the French Revolution
- French Revolution
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Take That — it's a lot of take that kind of stuff.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I like the idea of building out the dungeon and trying to make it all work, you know, within your pattern goal, but then also having the corridors and stuff line up, you know, so where you can make your way through the dungeon to make other goals.
- There was nothing about this that I I couldn't think of anything positive to say.
- This looks great, right?
- It manages to feel like it will be strategic and engaging and cozy.
- This is This is a bag builder where you're like you're making your own your own bag where you're upgrading dice. You're getting better sewing.
- It's the most euro, I think, of any IV Studio game.
- I like the look. I like the sort of 80s action movie post-apocalyptic thing.
- This stupid super early bird thing. You are upsetting everybody outside of a hundred people.
- That is bull.
- You've alienated all these other people because as interested as I am in this, there's no way I'm buying it right now for $100 when I know people in this very project got it for 60.