2 Players 30 mins Ages 12+
Dark clouds pass above the shining parapets of Camelot, overshadowing the preparations being made to defend the bastion and the great sword Excalibur held within it’s depths.
In this Arthurian Chess-like game Merlin and the Armies of Camelot form a last defence against the hordes of Medraut (Mordred).
But which ever side you choose, Magic and Might will be needed to vanquish your foe in this epic bid for domination or salvation…
The Game…
Arthurian Legends, Magic, Conquest and Dominance – from the moment we spoke with it’s creator Marcin ‘Maliniak’ Malinowski about the upcoming Kickstarter for Vortex Chess it was ticking a lot of boxes and we were kindly asked to play test…
This is classic Good vs Evil dominance of the board where 2 Wizards command their armies across the land of Albion. You’ll do this by drafting cards, casting spells and fighting enemies in a very chess-like tactical game.
To break down how the game plays out you will be controlling Troops represented by Minion Cards comprising of Stats including Attack, Defence, Elemental Modifier & Movement.
Each minion is then laid out in a standard arrangement on opposing sides of the Hexboard with Wizards positioned at their central Stone Circle flanked by specific units who are guarded by a front line of lesser (pawn) troops.
From here on in you are taking a 3 phase turn to Draw Cards, Roll Dice to control Elements and finally to undertake Actions by spending the cards in your hand.
The actions available fall into either Movement or Fighting, but if your Minion enters a space that holds an enemy it will begin a Fight scenario regardless.
Movements are a standard fare whereby you cannot occupy the same space as another of your troops, nor pass through an occupied troop location – with the exception of the Dragon who may pass over head! (Oops, Did we not mention – Here be Dragons!)
The real meat of the game however lies in the Fight action and this is when 2 opposing forces occupy the same location.
The fight is broken down to Attack versus Defensive scoring as dictated by the stats on your Minions cards.
But this is where strategy and the beauty of the game takes hold, because depending on the area your troops occupy there may be an Elemental boon to apply which can turn lesser troops into a far more encompassing force against an opponent.
The final aspect to fighting is the ability to draw in support from nearby troops, you can call in up to 3 minions who are 1 hex away and add their supportive stats to your tally.
The winner of the fight will remain on the board while a tie will result in both players leaving the field of battle.
And in a nutshell that is Vortex Chess
Our final thoughts…
“This ain’t no ordinary Chess, this is Wizarding Chess.” and that was as true for Harry Potter as it is for us…
Vortex Chess calls in an entirely different dimension of strategy because depending on troop deployment you have different tactics to call upon.
By gathering Minions in proximity to Elemental Power Stones you can take an initiative of imbuing weaker troops into a more opposing force while alternatively a more grouped distribution can allow you to call in nearby support to win the day.
Or why not count on both?
There’s a number of strategies to undertake and one of the aspects I took away from the game is just how fluid it is dependent on your travel across the field of battle.
Overall this is a very enjoyable game for the tactical player and for those who aren’t enamored with the thought of a chess games well this has enough modifiers in it to make you reconsider.
Coming to Kickstarter in February it’s certainly a game that will add some variety to your shelf and while we are playing with a prototype edition we can already see some fantastic 3D miniature renders coming to the campaign that will really make this stand out.
