Game Info
Year
2025
Players
1-5
Age
14+
Playtime
120 min
Complexity
2.8/5
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
A thematic strategy game where players command secret societies using mancalas and rondels to maximize intrigue
Featured Videos
Ask a Rules Question
Images
GID0453235.jpg
GID0453235_thumb.jpg
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 1
This page: 1
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–1 of 1
Video HSPDSxQ0-NM
Review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 74200 · mention_pk 178586
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Crazy rondel with Mancala mechanism
- Changing city layout based on player count
- Deep strategic manipulation of meeple paths
- Asymmetrical factions with unique abilities
- Multi-use cards (secrets and relics)
- Strong game ramp-up
- Variable powers offer high replayability
- Engaging ascension track for progression
- Intriguing end-game scoring system
Cons
- Prototype components may not fit together exactly
- Chaos accumulation is negative and limits actions
- Relying on relics seems less likely to end the game than ascension
- Advanced factions like Serpent Keepers seem more complex
- Tracking meeples and actions can take time for some players
Thematic elements
- Secret societies influencing city goings-on
- A city
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players identify and choose one of the locations to activate and calculate the power at which to activate it.
- Area Control — Players add their own set of chambers to the board, which are actions only they can take.
- Deck building — Secret decks improve as players level up, with set-aside secrets shuffled in.
- Mancala — A Mancala mechanism is used for moving actions.
- Player Progression — Ascending (leveling up society) is a core concept, increasing hand size and resource turning-in capabilities.
- Resource management — Players manage coins, relics, and energy as resources.
- Rondel — A crazy rondel is a headline feature, forming on the outside public area.
- set collection — Secret cards have set collection symbols that can be turned in for ascending.
- Variable player powers — Factions are unique with unique decks and powers, leading to asymmetric gameplay.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The big headline here is this crazy rondel that we're going to be talking about that uses a Mancala mechanism as well.
- A huge huge part of the game is manipulating the paths that all these meeples take to try to set yourself up for some huge actions.
- The core concept of the game aside from scoring points.
- The variable powers, they're huge. They're hugely different.
- The game, we think, really ramps up quite a bit.
- Until next time, though, make sure everyone has fun at the table, and we'll see you then.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–1 of 1