This is a preview copy sent to us for our opinions. No money exchanged hands. Some art, rules or components will certainly change in the final game. You can follow the game more here.
Crimson Keep is from new designer Nick Warren. The game is an ambitious two-stage experience for one or two players that aims to tell a story along with intricate card play and fascinating battles. The game I have is in the final prototype stages but has just undergone a fairly major rule change, along with a significant adaptation to the board. I was provided with the tools needed to play with the new rule, which I have done. But please note things will look a little different in the final copy to reflect this rule change. I have only photographed the regular prototype I was sent, not my botched job at fixing it with the recent change! Of course, other things could change too.
The game works in two very distinct stages. The first sees players racing to develop their Keep. Building a three column tower on their side of the board using cards from their deck, that they hope will do one of two things in the second stage. Either serve to foster the development of a monstrous Dragon to destroys the other player tower to win the game. Or, be used to defend against the other player if they summon their Dragon to battle first.
The second phase will be the set-piece event where one player will battle their dragon against the other player's keep. The player that successfully destroys the other player's keep or dragon here ultimately wins the game, but there are still a few twists and turns as the final phase plays out. But we are jumping ahead. Lets get back to phase one.
Players will start with the main board, empty in the middle of the table, and their own Clan and Summon board in front of them. Their Clan board will house their player deck and three special Summoning cards. The Summon board will show spaces for multiple Rune to be discovered and the explanation for how to do this. During set up you will randomly assign either a "one" or "Two" marker above each of the four columns to show the assigned value of each Rune when found.
To start the game, players will draw five cards from the top of their deck, discard two, and start with a hand of three cards. Players will then take turns to take two actions each, in turn, until one player summons a Dragon. Turns are tracked by the Action Track on the main board, and each time you take one of the four main actions, you will move your Dragon marker one space to the right on the track. You can do the same action twice if you want, but you will only move on the Action Track once per turn if you do this. Whereas if you make two separate actions, you can move once across two different lines. When you reach the end of a line, you will be provided with a free action. This is part of the major change in the rules that has recently happened, after the development of this prototype. So, the final version will look different. It essentially changes what the free actions are.
The main actions are placing cards from your hand into your keep or onto your own Clan board. Flip previously placed cards from their inactive side to their active side. Use an active card's ability. Or move a previously placed active combat card that is on the main board. Let's look into them each one by one. It will give you a better steer on the game.
Placing cards is the main action in the game. Both players have a deck that they will be able to cycle through fairly quickly. You will see all the cards in your deck throughout a game. So, the decision is less about which cards you can play from what you see, and more about the order you play your cards, and where you play them. Cards will be one of three types: either a Cavern card, Battle card, or Keep card. Cavern cards are added to one of the three Cavern spaces on your Clan board. They add additional powers and resources you can call on later in the game, boosting certain attack and defence abilities, as well as adding additional movement options for your battle cards.
The Battle cards are added to your Barracks on your Clan board and then later, when activated, can be moved to the main board to be used to attack either the other player's Keep or their Battle card. You can only have one Battle card on the main board at a time, and they all have unique abilities to target different cards in different ways.
The final type of card is the Keep cards. This is the main type, and you will use these to add to one of the three columns on the main board that house these cards. When you have built on the ground level, you can then build above this, up to five spaces tall. The Keep cards, like the Battle cards, all offer a wide ranging array of options with different powers, defence and attack abilities, and special skills to help you develop your tower and powers.
As you build up your powers and develop your tower, you will also be looking to develop your abilities to summon a powerful dragon. There are three tiers of dragons, and your ability to summon one and their relative strength is determined by the number of runes that you have discovered during the game. Runes are discovered through various means, such as placing certain cards next to each other in your keep, or achieving certain goals such as winning a battle in the game, or having a certain amount of cards on your Clan board. As you gain more runes, your total rune score will increase and your ability to summon a more powerful dragon in turn will increase. Each rune will be worth either one or two points, depending on the random setup, and your total rune score, if over 12, allows you to stop the first phase of the game and summon your dragon. At strength 12, however, you will be relying on fire attacks only. If you score over 18, you will have one Obliterate card to use. And if you score over 24, you can have two of these powerful cards.
This part of the game is intriguing. You will see how far your opponent has come in the development of their own Keep. You can work out how well they are doing in their own Rune development. It becomes a bit of a push-your-luck part of the game if you want to summon the Dragon, but want to beef it up a bit first. How many turns will you risk waiting to summon your own Dragon, knowing your opponent may well do the same on their turn at any point?
But maybe they don't want to summon their Dragon. Maybe you don't want to? The other tactic is to build a strong Keep that you feel can withstand the Dragon's attacks, and with the odd surprise in store to attack back!
When someone does bite the bullet and summon their Dragon though, the other player has one final turn, and then the player that Summoned their Dragon will take their four Dragon cards and add them to the middle of the main board, covering the middle spaces. Play will then move to the second phase, starting with the first Dragon attack!
If the player with the Dragon has an Obliterate card, they can use this for their first attack. Here, they will roll all four of their dice and compare the result to the card. Under four and you fail in your attack. Five or more and you start to have some choices. The higher the roll the better, but one entire Column of cards will be destroyed!
The defending player then has an opportunity to take one action. Perhaps activate an inactive card to booster up one part of their keep. Or use a previously placed active cards power. Such as the Fire Wraith who can injure one part of the Dragon as part of her action. The Dragon has four cards that make up its presence on the board. Each time one card is flipped it moves one stage closer to death. When all four cards are flipped it will fall. But maybe not as you think!
If you run out of Obliterate cards, or have none to start with, you must attack as the Dragon with your Fire Attack. Here, you will roll four dice and compare the results to the strength of the nearest tower of the defending player's keep. This is calculated by the number of cards in the tower, how many are active, and how many are made up of the player's three special Summoning cards.
During a fire attack, the defending player can play Keep Defence cards if they have any. These are bought at the midpoint of the game, exchanging defence and attack tokens gathered during the first phase for these powerful cards. You can buy up to three based on your performance in the first phase. These cards allow you to mitigate the effects of the Fire Attack, removing dice or increasing the strength of your defence. If the Fire Attack is successful after all this, the column is lost. If the attack is unsuccessful, the Dragon is injured and must flip one of its cards around.
If all four cards become flipped, the Dragon falls. But you have one final chance as the Dragon player to still win. You will roll one single die, and if you roll a six, you can force the Dragon to fall into your opponent's keep, destroying one final tower. If this is the final tower standing, you win the game. But roll a one-to-five, and the Dragon falls into your own keep, destroying everything, giving the victory to the other player. It is a fitting end to an epic game, with a dramatic and eventful finale that keeps all players on their toes until the very final act!
As you build your Keep, you will be looking at the cards you play, what they offer, how they can be used, and how they interact with other cards in your play area or those of the other players. The Freelancers, for example, need to be built with defence in mind. They can move or attack enemy cards that come into range based on a diagonal line from their position. Lining a few of these up in a row can be very powerful.
But do you build based on attack or defence? Do you want to get the strongest Keep with the cards that can hurt your opponent's Dragon? Or do you want to build your Rune power and get your Dragon out as quickly as possible, attacking your opponent before they have a chance to develop their own defences? Or do you build the strongest Dragon possible, giving your opponent time to build a strong defence, or potentially summon a dragon before you, but with the chance to summon the ultimate fighting beast if they don't, ready to destroy your opponent's Keep, no matter what they do.
These options make each game feel fresh and the experience somewhat unique each time. Obviously, the strategy each player uses each time can change. As can the cards they play and how they use them. It makes me want to go back to Crimson Keep over and over, trying new strategies and experiencing different eventualities. I have loved games where I have won and lost. Where I have summoned the dragon or not. Where I have wanted to or not. The race part is exciting and unknown. The only way you can really control things is if you set out to not summon and simply build a powerful defence. But then, if your opponent catches onto this, they will also be in no hurry and can build up a powerful attack and summon the most powerful dragon without any worries. You need to try and keep your intentions close so your opponent cannot plan without fear of attack on their end.
And the whole time, you need to be pegging back your opponent as you play. Attacks during the game are just as effective as attacks at the end. Playing Battle cards that can destroy entire towers is possible. And being able to create a complete tower collapse at the right time of an opponent's building plans can be catastrophic for them. Highly satisfying to you!
I will watch with close attention to see how this game develops. The recent changes allowed for more control over the type of Dragon you summon which I enjoyed. It will be interesting to see what else changes before this game comes to crowdfunding.
Oh wow. This review is amazing, thank you so much 😍 You seem to have found everything I wanted people to experience when playing Crimson Keep. From strategically building your Keep, to choosing when best to battle right the way through to an epic final face-off with a dragon!