So, is that it?

Vindication was one of our most awaited Kickstarters, we even went for the biggest pledge available. Usually KS is a gamble, as you can never know if a game will be good or not - this time around it felt like a pretty safe bet, as we have never heard a bad word about this game, and it’s actually 266th on BGG. Well, after our first sessions we sit here speechless and perplexed: "is that it?". 😬 But more on that later.

So what’s this game about? It’s a pretty weird premise for a game, but I guess it gets the job done: You are a bad person, actually so wretched that your own shipmates threw you overboard from a ship. 💀 However instead of dying, you wake up on an island. With a new resolve you decide to turn your life around and gather honor as you explore this island and try to vindicate yourself. 💪

At the core of it all is resource management - you will be using your influence cubes for everything and specialize them into specific attributes that you can use to pay for things.
🧐 The second core aspect is tableau-building, as you are collecting companions, pets, traits, loot, relics and defeat monsters to build synergies to eke out the most honor.
It is a pretty abstract euro experience, which leads us to our first disappointment - people always rave about this game being one of the best thematic experiences, and I just cannot understand how. 😣 But ok, let’s say that’s because of our poor imagination.

Our second core problem in our first plays is how random the game length is. 🕔 With variable end game triggers some games can be over really fast which is particularly disadvantageous when card draw and exploration is so random. Even though this randomness would be cool and give the feeling of adventure and joy of exploration, sometimes you just won’t get enough time to get your engine going or reap its benefits. 😕

Despite many great ideas, we are quite disappointed, given the size of the box and price tag, and its highly regarded status. Before completely writing it off we do want to give it a fair chance, and there are some expansions to explore still.
We want to share more details about the gameplay too as it’s quite interesting, so stay tuned!