The game of Gothic Conflict
Let’s talk about 🧟Harrow County to get in a Halloween mood! 🎃 I’ve had difficulties before understanding what this game is about, but now having played it I can finally shed some light on it! 😉 @offthepagegames has set the bar high for themselves with Mind MGMT, which has become our favorite hidden movement game, but Harrow County clears this bar too. However it is something else entirely.
This is a somewhat abstract strategy game. 🧐 Players play as asymmetrical factions, trying to get 7 victory points before their opponent. There are 3 of these factions to play as in 2p duel games - there is a 4th faction to use in 3-player games. (This 4th faction is also the one you play in solo). Last but not least the Fairfolk expansion adds a 5th one to use enabling 4 player games!
🧙These factions all consist of supernatural (sometimes creepy?) beings with their own agendas. The story and lore of the game is written well to back this all up, and turn the abstract chess-like board into something more flavorful. Harrow County is a place not unlike any other rural community, but if you pay attention you might see some weird things. 😨
The gameplay itself is presented in an obscure manner, split into 5 chapters in the rulebook - though there is a new improved rulebook now. ☝️Those chapters aren’t parts of a campaign or something like that, but instead they introduce rules bit by bit. This is mostly a good idea to ease you into the game, but the new rulebook does it better: just a “training mode”, then the “full game”. 😉
Even though factions play differently the action selection itself is the same: both players play alternating turns, selecting 1 of 4 of their mason jars 🫙 to do the depicted action. After 3 of 4 jars were chosen by both players the round ends and the jars are refreshed. The core actions are summoning new units to the board, moving units or putting cubes on the battlefield. Battles themselves use a cube tower that is integrated into the actual game box! A really neat idea. 🙃
To go into more details regarding the differences between factions we will need another post. For now I’ll just say that the game is fun and VERY replayable. 😊
