Quick Look: Arcana Prophetia
Designer: In-house by The Aerie Games
Artist: Nayth Okutri
Publisher: The Aerie Games
Year Published: 2023 (Currently live on Kickstarter – Link at bottom)
I connected with their design team a few months ago and had a great time chatting and interacting with them. Nothing but good things to say about their approach, personality, and professionalism. I agreed to take on this review and even a preview video for them to use for the game’s campaign. I was fortunate to have a chance to playtest this with them online (via TTS) and also receive a physical copy. I got to say, I felt like I was playing against a Psychic because they anticipated my every randomly picked number with nearly 100% accuracy. When we swapped roles, I didn’t possess the same ability.
For those that know me, you know that I’m not big on luck, prediction, or guessing games. That said, even though this game falls into that category, I think it deserves some attention and you should check it out to see if it could be a great fit for you. If I ended up enjoying it, then there’s more to it than it appears.
One player takes on the role of the Fates, who seeks to usher in the end of days by corrupting the pantheon. Standing against them is the Last Sovereign, who attempts to surmount the odds and constantly tries to divine the Fates’ next move.
Each round, the Last Sovereign makes a prediction while the Fates choose a god to corrupt – represented by the Arcana cards. The Fates then plays the chosen card onto the Spread, on either its Corrupted or Sanctified face, depending on whether the Sovereign’s divination proves true. Every god has their own unique effects; flipping, moving or otherwise manipulating other Arcana cards and the Spread. Should adjacent Arcana sum to 10, they will bind together, locking them in place. After nine short-but-tense rounds, the game moves to its conclusion, where the player with the most cards aligned to them wins.
No two cycles of Arcana Prophetia are identical – each of the arcana features three different aspects, and the Fates can choose a face card that warps the game in unique, fun ways. Likewise, while the Last Sovereign often finds themselves on the back foot, they’re not without tools. With a limited arsenal Sigils and the Relic of the Dead God, they must work to have predictions strike true, lest the pantheon falls to chaos.
Review:
Initial Impression/ Components:
– Tile Placement
– Prediction
I saw a PDF copy of the rules that should be the final draft of the rulebook. It is really thorough and has a nice FAQ section as well. However, knowing the game, I feel it could have been half as long. As a reference, if someone knew the game, It would take about 5 minutes to explain every rule and situation verbally.
The game plays around a contest of wills and prediction. One player plays a role that is most likely to succeed, and the other player is the underdog. The underdog must choose a number (1-9) each round and attempt to predict the order the other player will lay their hand. For ease of explanation, assume each card is actually a stone and a failed guess gets laid as black, and a success is white. The side with the most of their color at the end wins – the game is played on a 3×4 playmat grid they call the spread. Each card depicts a god with a special ability that will affect the game. Moreover, using the number on the cards, if any two adjacent cards sum to 10, then chains are formed. These chains will prevent abilities or movement depending on how many there are from 0-3.
Here’s a link to the full rules if you’d like to take a look
https://static1.squarespace.
• Constant flow, little downtime
will be live on KICKSTARTER until Sat, June 10 2023 6:59 AM PDT, and has surpassed funding goal of $5,497. Check it out and back it HERE.
Find out more at BGG.
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Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”, is a construction project manager and electrician by trade who was the owner of a 6-time award winning electrical company. His passion for board games has led him from playing hundreds of original titles to creating a design and publishing company of his own, Convivial Games. As an up and coming collaborator on many projects, he is always eager to try new games and meet new people.
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All of Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”‘s reviews can be found HERE.