Review Vampire Empire

 I first tried Vampire Empire three or four years ago. During this time, I had time to play, is it time to write a review? Still, a card duel in the original tin packaging from White Goblin Games, with the bluffing mechanic as one of the main ones, plus the necessary protectors for the cards put in the box by the publisher and stylish woodcut drawings - why is it not talked about at all in our country? Such an original game has clearly not received the attention it deserves. We are correcting.

WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT?

 Vampires lived in the Middle Ages - this is a known fact. They hid under the guise of people and could be at any level of the state society at that time - they could be knights, servants, blacksmiths, and the most sophisticated became monks, skilfully avoiding encounters with crosses and holy water.

 People did not like vampires, because they are much stronger, more agile and even more immortal, despite their confrontation with everything divine. And they are as handsome as Robert Pattinson. So, there were more people, vampires are cooler, there are not enough horses and girls for everyone - only one race must survive, so two players in Vampire Empire will be engaged in the total extermination of representatives of the opposing side. And all this is on the cards, everyone has their deck in their hands and go ahead.

GAME COMPONENTS

 Separately, I would like to note the design - it is not only stylish and gloomy in the medieval-vampire style, but also very functional. The woodcuts and color play fit perfectly with the game's theme and mechanics. Strictly, simply and clearly. For example, vampires are the same cards as humans, but turned shirt-side up, that is, you take a card from the protector and turn it over to the other side, which shows the same character, but in the form of a vampire. It is still the same, only with the addition of red color to the picture in the right places. Very original in this design, a real unusual design idea.

 Most of the components of the game are cards. 40 cards for each of the two decks (humans and vampires):

 9 double-sided character cards and their protectors:

 Taking pictures of this game is quite problematic, because all the components are made in dark colors and glare.

 A few all kinds of tokens:

GAME PROCESS

 At the beginning of the game, with the help of tokens, three vampires are randomly selected from the nine inhabitants of the castle. They are known only to the vampire player. The human player knows only two random people (also determined by tokens), the remaining four will have to be calculated (as well as the three ghouls).

 Then, players take turns taking actions, playing cards drawn from their personal deck from their hand. The human's goal is to uncover the three vampires and soak them. The vampire's goal is to kill all six people, or to occupy the castle with all his vampires. The castle is the central part of the table, where three cards from the character deck are always laid out.

 The main action in Vampire Empire is battles, which are flipping cards in a battle consisting of a maximum of two rounds. In the first, the attacker says which character in the castle is attacking which character in the castle, after which he lays out from his hand at least one card of the corresponding color (each man has his own color) with some numerical value. (There are only three colors - three characters per color). The defense must be waved away by cards of equal or greater value. After that, the second round begins and the attacker and the one who is defending can throw more cards into the mix. As a result, the winner is determined and the attacked character can be cut from the party.

 Actually, the result of the game is determined by such fights: six people will be killed - the vampires will win, and vice versa - the victory will go to humans if they can kill three bloodsuckers. The former have a numerical advantage, however, the latter have an element of surprise and the unknown, plus the vampire deck has powerful attacking cards that only work if the vampire has revealed itself.

 But it's pointless to attack everyone in a row - a vampire knows his followers and he knows who needs to be killed, but for a human player, holy water is a tool for a painless identity check (these are the cards). She can slap anyone, even a blacksmith, even a lord, and if that someone turns out to be a creature of the night, then she squirms, after which the fight will automatically begin (the water also has a numerical attack indicator).

 The mechanics of hidden roles in a two-player mob are very interestingly implemented at the expense of character tokens and the purpose of revealing personalities. But such originality was not enough for the author of Vampire Empire and he added another feature - so that the game does not drag on, the cards in the decks are finite, it is clear, but the fact that some cards can be sent to a special reset during the game and after the main deck ends , using them is at least interesting, because some wheel-building element also appears. The game is divided, as it were, into two parts - the battle with the base deck and the finishing touches of the one that will be released after the first part.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE GAME

 There are many of them. I will probably start with the fact that the attitude towards the game and its perception changes with the increase in the number of games played. It takes very little time for thoughts like "what is this, where am I?" turned into a tense consideration of their moves and actions. Vampire Empire is quite a crisis if you have a high enough skill level. In the game, you always need to remember what cards the enemy may have (a card memo helps with this), think about what to put aside for discarding to scroll through the deck, and what to keep in your hands now for battles, try to outwit the enemy and discard less cards than him. Added to this is the bluff of the vampire player, who needs not only to kill all the people, but also not to betray his ghouls, because there are half as many enemies. In general, there is no space for confrontation, even if I rake, the board is very clinch in the sense that you interact so tightly with the opponent that there is not a single move (!) for a break - what is your turn, what is the opponent's turn, you are always involved in which battle .

 A game about careful hand management + deduction. These two skills, which in Vampire Empire can only be pumped by playing game after game. That is, in a crowd, a more experienced player will win over a weaker player much more often, because he understands much more clearly not only the general concept and picture of what is happening, but also sees the future benefit in the nuances and individual moves. Should you give the holy water now, or can you reveal the supposed vampire to her later? Like, what difference does it make to do it right now or in a turn? You will not have such a question literally after a few batches, when you learn to value each bottle for its weight in gold.

 You can improve your gaming skills only through practice. Foresight and strategic thinking are also welcome, because one battle with a vampire in the game is not  the whole battle. Having confidently won one fight, you can beg for resources (weapon cards) and in the future you will simply give your wards to shreds, without having the appropriate items for battles in hand. Planning ahead is one of the key skills required for successful gaming. The game is very subtle, requiring good players to master the hand and overall strategy.

 There is also a lot of tactical component, you need to know and understand when to hold a card, and when to get rid of or play it. If you get rid of it too soon, a situation may arise when you will drive yourself into the red. The vampire player has more information at the beginning of the game, but has limited power until he reveals the vampires. At the beginning, a person is weaker, in a more vulnerable position, but gains a great advantage due to deduction and simply patience, stretching time.

 There is tension in every discard, and every draw means something. Which ones to keep later, and which ones to just delete forever? Lots of player interaction with lots of options, making a relatively simple game the deepest.

 The fact that both factions have several different options for moves and strategies, as well as different objectives, increases the replayability factor even more. It's not weak for such a short game.

 The rules of Vampire Empire are a bit more complicated than normal decks. Rather, they are very simple, but the training is a little more difficult than usual. The fact is that in the game you will really have to get used to the nuances, since the rules are non-standard, this is not another euro for the exchange of resources. However, most likely, after the first game, you will not make a mistake in what and how to do, you will only discover new facets.

 Asymmetry is very well presented in the game. Each side offers a unique feel when playing it and requires not only a different strategy, but also a different mindset. The vampire needs to throw the human off track by randomly aggressing and chipping away at enemy characters, while not being overly aggressive in order to save the right cards for defense in the late stages of the game. A human will usually proceed more cautiously, especially if none of the known allies are in the castle at the start. At first, he may feel at a disadvantage until the personalities of the characters are slowly revealed.

 The reset mechanic is also unique and interesting. The use of the second deck (consisting of the cards dropped into the special area) is often the key to victory, as the one who prepares best for the end game will effectively be the winner of all final battles. That is why I indicated above how important strategic planning is in Vampire Empire.

 The possibility of discarding from the hand to a special place is both a "cleaning" of the hand from cards that are not needed now, plus it allows you to control randomness (when you, well, don't get what you want). And in principle, it is better to prepare before the end of the game, so as not to remain completely unarmed.

 The deduction part of the game is very well correlated and balanced with the combat. Both the first and the second element are important. Knowing who a vampire is doesn't mean you can beat him in a fight, but you can prepare for a fight with him. Conversely, you can win easily and simply (having the right cards in your hand - that is, having prepared them), but not at all understanding who is who and who needs to drive a stake in the heart. So hand management is very important in Vampire Empire.

CONCLUSIONS

 It turned out to be a very good original duel with cool design and mechanics. Takes a place between fillers and ordinary games of medium length.

 There are generally many advantages. I would like to describe how unusual Vampire Empire is and that such a thing must be tried by any tru-tabletop player in order to understand how it still happens, but. But you definitely won't recommend it to beginners, even relative ones. This is not something you should get acquainted with at the early stage of diving into the world of cardboard, and in general, a box is not necessary for familiarization. This does not mean at all that you will not like her. There are simply much more reliable specimens, tested by time and blessed with all kinds of awards (deservedly), which are to the taste of almost anyone and sit perfectly in the top of BGG. The Empire of Vampires is very original and will suit lovers of anything ... anything, in general.

 Vampire Empire is the author's experiment and search to come up with something that has never been seen in the world of board games. It is not always profitable to be original (the toy is extremely unpopular), but it does not lend itself to uniqueness. And not the kind that happens to every trash, but that which is good and lootable. This box has to be learned to play and will reveal more and more with each game. There may not be any great depth here, but if you let it open, breaking through the first "strange and unusual" parties, it can definitely captivate for a long time.