Dark Ages

Stretch Goal: Rejoice/Despair, for Poland is Rising!
about 4 years ago – Wed, Mar 25, 2020 at 10:51:09 AM

My Lords and Ladies!

While there will be no more content to unlock during this campaign, we still have a good few Modules to talk about in detail. Today we will cover Rise of Poland – a big Module unlocked on Saturday for the Holy Roman Empire set.

10thand 11th century Poland grew from a group of separate tribes into a power to be reckoned with. Hungry for splendour and recognition, it joined Christian Europe in 966 AD, and went through rapid development which brought both wonders and perils.

Having Poland as a neighbour was both a blessing and a curse. The Polish political leaders were ambitious and fearless, which meant that having diplomatic relations could be beneficial but would also often come with having to deal with the same problems a rapidly growing nation had to face.

In Dark Ages this complex political structure is boiled down to three important processes which the players can get involved in: establishing the Polish Church, the Polish war effort against northern Slavic tribes (represented in the game by the Veleti) and the building of the city of Santok, named by Gallus Anonymous “The Key to Poland”.

In the game, these three efforts are represented by three cards each player receives the moment Mieszko I (the Polish ruler known for Christening Poland) makes an appearance in the Culture Card Offer. From that point on, players may use various Actions, spend resources and Units to try to help Poland finish its three efforts.

Each of the three efforts is represented by a card with a small track. Each step of the track outlines the type of Action and resources or Units that need to be spend in order to advance into it. Almost every step of each track also comes with a small reward – either a resource or a number of Victory Points. Once a player moves to the final position of the track, the card is flipped, providing that player with a thematic special ability.

The moment when a card is flipped is special, as the player who finishes a given effort first will create a choice for everyone else: they can pay them a price in Victory Points to also flip the card (immediately) or they can lose their access to that effort forever. This choice seems a simple one, until another factor is introduced: Bolesław Chrobry.

Known for his ambition, Chrobry turned out to be a difficult ally. To reflect this, when the first effort is completed, a small deck of Chrobry Event cards enter play. These will now happen randomly sometimes offering players with a specific effort card a boon, and sometimes making them choose between allocating Units or resources to help Poland out – or suffer penalties for being unable or unwilling to provide for their ally.

A great example here is the Polish Curch card which – when established – becomes Jordan’s Bishopric. A card that not only immediately removes 1 Farm from the owner’s player board, but also allows them to either score double points for building Churhces, or make points on other players making this move. However, a Chrobry event may force owning players to lose Victory Points if they don’t commit resources to help the Polish Church maintain its power and position.

Rise of Poland brings a new level of fierce competition to Dark Ages, once again finding a way other than combat to introduce direct interaction with many meaningful decisions. It is definitely a Module which should not be added to the game on your first play, as the three parallel efforts can distract players yet unsure of what strategies they should pursue. However, when added, it creates yet another strategic layer that can bolster a smart plan or combination of Technologies, providing a demanding but satisfying victory.

In the days leading up to the end of the campaign you can expect daily updates covering most of (if not) all of the content unlocked but not yet described in detail, so be sure to come back tomorrow for another Update.

Have a great Sunday and stay safe!

Błażej

Daily Unlock: Travels of Benjamin and a closer look at upgraded resources!
about 4 years ago – Wed, Mar 25, 2020 at 03:08:21 AM

My Lords and Ladies!

We are finally close to exhausting the list of Modules we need to take a closer look at – and there’s been a lot to look at, since there are 17 Modules unlocked for Dark Ages. Today we would like to tell you about the Travels of Benjamin Module for the Holy Roman Empire set, and give you a nice, closer look at the upgraded resources available in the Resource Cacheadd-on.

Travels of Benjamin

Benjamin of Tudela was a Jewish traveller and explorer. He travelled around Europe in 12thcentury, but also visited Africa and Asia. Highly educated and linguistically talented, Benjamin left his mark on world’s history, predating the much more well known Marco Polo by a hundred years. While Benjamin of Tudela is by far not as famous today as Marco Polo, his achievements equal (if not – at times – exceed) those of the famous Italian traveller.

The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela remains a fascinating piece of work which is still in use by medieval scholars now. His story is one of curiosity, wonder and great potential. Altogether, he is not only a fascinating historical character, but also a great addition to Dark Ages.

Mechanically, Travels of Benjamin adds an element of set collection with a bit of a twist. Benjamin cards are seeded into the Culture Deck at the start of the game. Then, they can be acquired the same way any other Culture Cards – mainly through the sue of the Development of Culture Action.

Once in a player’s possession, a the first Benjamin card provides them with an immediate bonus. Any subsequent cards allow to choose from a longer list of bonuses. The knowledge brought from his travels allows players to gain resources, Victory Points and the ability to remove one of their Farms. With each card this tableau grows, allowing for greater flexibility and providing a strategic boost.

The Resource Cache

To make this short and sweet, let’s start with an image presenting resources up close:

These are all available as part of an add-on (see the Add-Ons section of the project for more details). We would also like to use this opportunity to tell you that leather, wood and stone are made of resin, while iron pieces are made of metal. This should give this 120-piece set the heft worthy of Dark Ages’ scale and scope.

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The last 24 hours is almost upon us! Keep your eyes open for the next update, as we conclude our journey through the mass of unlocked Dark Ages content.

Have a great day and stay safe!

Błażej

Daily Unlock: How Local Resistance helps you be quick and deadly.
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 12:14:07 PM

My Lords and Ladies!

With new content being unlocked daily for the original span of the campaign (last Monday to Saturday), we still have some Modules to cover in greater detail. Let us take a closer look at Local Resistance, a Module for Heritage of Charlemagne and Holy Roman Empire, unlocked last Friday.

In its core concepts, Dark Ages is paced so that (in most games) there is a period of necessary build-up before players will get to fight each other. This allows each Ruler to have time to adapt to their more aggressive neighbours or – in groups preferring not have PvP combat in abundance – have a game where Units are used only to fight barbarians and settle new Provinces.

Also, while Dark Ages is a game with many elements working together at the same time to create a nuanced and rich strategic experience, it is also built from a number of simple and clean interlocking mechanisms. Like most Modules, Local Resistance is also simple to learn and incorporate into your game. However, it is also one of the Modules best left out for your first game – unless you are playing with a group that loves on extremely aggressive and – at times – highly unpredictable games.

Local Resistance provides each player with three cards at setup. Each of those cards depicts a specific Province and a new set of settling costs. Out of those three cards, each player will select two, and return one to the game box without revealing its contents (as well as contents of kept cards) to their opponents.

Thematically, your cards represent pockets of locals that have cultural ties with you and are hoping to be ruled by you. Mechanically, playing a Local Resistance (which can be done only during a Manoeuvre Action) allows you to move any of your armies directly to the Province depicted on the card, which may start – and in most cases will – lead to immediate clash of arms. If you manage to take control of the Province, the Local Resistance card will remain in play until you either lose control of its Province or settle, using the costs printed on the card.

As you can see, Local Resistance can bring a bit of madness to your game. The right card played at the right time may allow you to immediately appear on the other side of the map, or move your Units swiftly into a Province they are most needed in. Strategies based on building up a defence force are less viable, as opponent armies can appear suddenly pretty much anywhere (apart from Capitals), so it is much more difficult to wall yourself off from other players. Also, with this Module, it is very much possible to be more spread around the map and being forced to interact with different opponents on multiple fronts.

Battles using Local Resistance are also more risky as – unless you already have a neighbouring Province under your control, your Units will have nowhere to retreat to in case of a defeat. This means that – if timed poorly – playing a Local Resistance card can simply eliminate an entire army and leave you open to other players – and their Local Resistance cards!

We hope you enjoyed this look at one of 17 Modules unlocked for Dark Ages. We have one more to cover in greater detail, as well as short analysis of what you may want to add to your games of Dark Ages first, and what content to use in order to create specific game experiences.

Have a great day and stay safe!

Błażej

Heavy Cardboard streaming and new Social Stretch Goals!
about 4 years ago – Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 10:35:18 AM

My Lords and Ladies!

Some of you have heard the rumour that Heavy Cardboard will be streaming a game of Dark Ages – and it will be happening very soon (or has happened recently – depending on when you read this update): 

To follow the game, simply play the video embedded below: 

To celebrate this, we have a new Social Stretch Goal to unlock with Heavy Cardboard – and it is a massive one. In fact, it’s two new Modules – one for each Dark Ages set. To unlock these Stretch Goals simply go to the Heavy Cardboard Dark Ages stream, and give it a thumbs up. Once we have fifty of them, both Patronage and Rise of Poland will be unlocked.

The Patronage Module for Heritage of Charlemagne will give you the opportunity to create some of the most spectacular works of medieval art. Book of Kells, Bayeux Tapestry, Cross of Lothair, Beatus World Map and many more legendary works await you to become their patron. Glory – and Victory Points! – await those ready to spend some of their wealth on some of the finer things in life!

The Rise of Poland is a massive Module that introduces Poland into the Holy Roman Empire set. Poles are not a playable nation, but one quickly rising in power. As Rulers, you have to decide if you want to help build that power and gain the profits from the gracious Mieszko I. However, as the game progresses and Bolesław Chrobry becomes the ruler of Poland, you may be also asked for help, as alliances are not only profitable – they also come with some obligations.

Once the new Modules are unlocked, we will tell you more about them in an upcoming update. And while we are on it, you can still help out with another Social Stretch Goal:

Just as a reminder, to unlock this Social Stretch Goal, use one of the Military Commander images as your profile photo and invent your own special battle cry! You can click here to do this on Facebook - or click here to do this on Twitter. Rememeber that you can do both! Once we have 50 battle cries, this Social Stretch Goal will open!

Thank you all, enjoy the watch and stay safe!

Błażej

Daily Unlocks or why Wyrd is weird and Alchemy is magic!
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 19, 2020 at 12:44:11 PM

My Lords and Ladies!

Today you received not one but two Daily Unlocks – and each of them added to both Dark Ages sets! So, let’s take a quick look at the ever growing Daily Unlocks list, and then delve into what the Modules bring to the game. Spoilers: they bring magic!

Alchemists

Some say that Alchemy was one of the ancient brands of knowledge. Others believe it was a misguided attempt to achieve the impossible. We decided to go with the former – and add a bit of that impossible to spice things up. So, while the AlchemistsModule comes with but a handful of cards, their power is truly great!

Setting up is really simple – just give each player an Alchemist Card (they are all identical) to be placed next to their player board. From now on, whenever you perform a Research Action, you may place any number of your resources on your Alchemist card. You also gain a new Free Action: whenever it is your turn – and you have at least 3 resources on your Alchemist – you may remove all of them and receive 1 Gold. See? It is magic!

As many of Dark Ages Modules, Alchemists not inly provides you with new opportunities, but also allows for faster growth. By allowing you to convert resources that could potentially be wasted when you pass, this Module also makes building and technological development to move at a more constant pace and slightly alters the value of specializing your production.

Alchemists is also a great Module you can use to even the odds between new players and veterans. Just hand an Alchemist card to the newbie if you want them to have a smoother experience, and everyone else a greater challenge!

The Wyrd

What is the Wyrd? Simply put, it is your destiny. It is the impossible made possible, but then taken away. It is the Great Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinan Hill, so that Macbeth pays back what he owes with interest. It is the face of a Norn who holds your life in her hand.

In game terms, Wyrd comes as a small deck of cards, with the first attaching itself to the rightmost Culture Card. That card is now available to anyone as part of the Development of Culture Action, no matter the position on the Culture Track. However, if you take it, you must also take the Wyrd card and place it next to your player board, and place on it a number of your player markers equal to one more than the number of players. Whenever another Wyrd Cards is taken for any reason, you must remove one of the markers – and if the markers are gone, it is time to resolve your Wyrd.

This Module introduces a bit of unpredictability to your game of Dark Ages, as you do not know what price you will have to pay later for the card you take now. Only after you have decided to take the Wyrd does it flip to reveal not one but two effects: a weaker one which – if you can fulfil – will be all you have to do to pay your debt. However, if you fail, you will have to submit to stark punishment outlined in the second option on the Wyrd card.

The Wyrd can make the game less predictable. Through its core mechanism it introduces an opportunity to negatively impact other players. It also creates an interesting decision: whether to make the most use of Wyrd early on – and be sure that you will have to pay the price, or to tempt fate much later, when the gain might not be as great, but will come with a bonus of hurting other players. Whichever option you choose, things both wonderful and weird will happen at your table!

Hope you enjoyed this quick run-through of new content for Dark Ages! Remember, there is more coming every day, so come back tomorrow to check up on even more Daily Updates and Stretch Goals!

Have a great day and stay safe!

Błażej