Voidfall Game Review

 If you've heard of Voidfall and aren't sure if it's worth picking up, I'll try to help you out with that dilemma. I immediately invested in the kickstarter campaign and already played about 25 test games.

 The main advantage of Voidfall: it is a game from Mindclash.

 The main downside of Voidfall: it's a Mindclash game.

 As for the game's components, they are of excellent quality, as expected from Mindclash. Plus additional goodies for invested bakers: the ability to replace several types of tokens with metal coins.

 However, I will probably immediately go to the description of the shortcomings that may make you abandon the purchase.

 The main potential problem for a beginner is information overload. If the same company's in-development Septima is (from what I've heard) an attempt at a frivolous game, Voidfall is the exact opposite: an attempt at a Twilight of the Empire-level cosmic 4-X deck. In training mode, players are limited to 4 symmetrical factions that differ only in starting technologies, but in a full-fledged party of players, as many as 14 factions (Houses) are expected - and each of the 10 inactive in training mode has its own characteristics and its own style of play. Plus scenarios with different rules, plus two starting layouts for each House, plus up to 28 different technologies that can be mixed... all this can send a newbie into a stupor. Personally, for me, who fell in love with Mindclash games after buying Anachronism, this is not a problem, but this factor cannot be ignored.

 Another potential problem is the cooperative mode. In some games, cooperative modes are easier than competitive ones. Everyone works together, so it becomes easier to seat a newcomer at the table: he does not have to play against the rest. Voidfall is different. The co-op mode here is closer to Arkham Horror / Ancient Horror: the game constantly pressures you, and one wrong move or bad card can upset the entire strategy and potentially lead to a loss. Also, the co-op mode is a bunch of extra pages of text with rules and mechanics that are not present in the competitive mode. They are quite thematic and fit into the setting, but they can be overloaded out of habit. Before trying the co-op mode, you need to make sure that at least one of the participants knows the rules well to avoid mistakes, and be prepared that it will not be easy. Again, some tabletop gamers like myself like these heavyweight games, but this factor cannot be ignored.

 If you haven't lost interest in Voidfall yet, I'll tell you more about the competitive mode (and then the co-op mode).

 The field here is hexagonal, with a layout that depends on the scenario. For the most part, the placement of players is symmetrical, except for some unique tiles that can be further or closer (balanced by other unique tiles). The game is divided into three rounds. Each round starts with an event (1 of 3 possible for this scenario) that determines how many cards each player can play in the round. These cards are drawn from the player's hand of 8 cards (the 9th is added at the beginning of the second round). Each map has 3 sections; the player chooses which 2 of the 3 to activate. Cards are played in a circle: each player plays one card and chooses 2 sections (or can sacrifice a certain resource and activate all 3), after which the next player goes - and so on until everyone has played a certain number of cards. At the end of the round, each player receives an attack from the Wildborn NPC and potentially receives bonuses from the event if they meet the conditions listed there. At the end of the third round, points are counted - the one with the most wins.

 In each scenario, the player can choose one of 3-4 different Houses, and each House has two starting layout options: a more economical one and a more militaristic one, which makes each scenario highly replayable and gives room for customization starting from the layout phase.

 There are a lot of opportunities in the competition mode. Certain Houses and scenarios encourage a certain style of play, but the variety of options available allows for many different strategies to succeed. Despite being competitive, the need to guard each sector through the attacks of the Wasteborn means that an economy-focused player can defend against an aggressive player with the distance separating them, and develop through construction, gaining more points for their not-so-large, but more developed holdings than an expansionist with large undeveloped holdings. And the corruption mechanic, which forces players to spend actions cleaning it up or risk penalties (like zero points from a corrupt sector), means you have to make even more difficult decisions each turn about what to play, and you're constantly thinking, "Eh , let's play one more card..." Every action is important and there are no unnecessary cards.

 The co-op mode is based on the same basic rules, but here the hollows behave more diversely and pose a greater threat. Scenario cards here are completely different. New tiles and objectives appear that cannot be ignored. The choice of Houses is not limited by the scenario, unlike the competition mode, so players can choose optimal combinations that complement each other. There are also additional decks of cards that essentially give the Wasteborn an "action" at the start of each player's turn (and not just at the start of the event round). You have to respond to their activity or risk unpleasant consequences. Also, each player must now beat the Wasteborn's score at the end of the game or everyone loses.

 Unlike players who accumulate points throughout the game, the Wasteborn only score points at the end when counting VP, so the players' job is to deprive them of the opportunity to earn them, earning points themselves in the process. The balance of co-op depends on the scenario, but in general the Wasteborn score points from tiles that can be cleared from it through economic and military means. Therefore, in a cooperative mode, it is simply necessary to balance economic and military power, unlike in a competitive mode, where everyone can emphasize the economy, run to their corners and succeed. If your fleet is weak in co-op, then you will not be able to clear the field of ships and tiles of the Wasteborn, and they will score so many points that even the most optimized economists will not defeat them. It's true and backwards: you can't emphasize only the war, otherwise the Wasteborn will win at the expense of economic tiles.

 In both modes, one of the main distinguishing features of the game is the lack of randomness. The set of available technologies and events is fixed and depends on the scenario. Although the order in which the three potential events appear (as well as the Wildborn cards in co-op) is formally random, it can be leveled. Completely deterministic battles are also a feature of Voidfall. As the game progresses, your fleet's strengths and modifiers will change, but you can always predict who will win the battle before it even begins. It's a breath of fresh air compared to games where your strategy depends on dice rolls.

 I hope my review has helped you decide if you need Voidfall.

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