Spire's End Hildegard - Gameplay & Review/First Impressions

[@Sebastian-rt9qf]

Thanks for the overview and thoughts. I dropped my pledge for this one last week. I backed because I loved the art, but when I came to my senses I thought it to be not 100% up my alley and had doubts with the dice rolling. So I feel backed by your idea of it.

[@BoardGameCo]

Glad I could help.

[@johnkillink]

so great you like it bro! cant wait for you to play the other chapters!!!

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep :)

[@apokai]

Thanks for doing this! I discovered it yesterday only, really happy to have your feedbacks on it!

[@BoardGameCo]

Nice :) it's a fun and simple game.

[@pederswendsrud1359]

I backed this one early on, I'm really excited for it, and I'm hoping in the pledge manager I'll be able to add in the original Spire's End.

[@BoardGameCo]

Same here.

[@Petard01]

They have added the original Spire's End for preorder on the site a day or two ago!

[@calebf.6806]

I was fortunate enough to get the first game and the art was jaw dropping. The story was pretty decent too. The combat wasn't that enjoyable imo. Not sure i see anything different enough to warrant my backing this game. I will say that the creator is a top notch dude. He answered all the questions I had regarding Spire's End gameplay very quickly and politely. Probably a pass for me, but if you're on the fence and haven't played the first one I'd say it's worth a go. Worst case scenario you backed an awesome creator and will probably draw even on resale (if not better). [Typed quickly on a phone apologies for poor grammar and spelling errors]

[@jonathanw3199]

Really thinking heavily about grabbing this one, fairly simple and quick to jump into not something a huge sprawling thing really appeals at this moment

[@BoardGameCo]

It's quick and easy to jump into.

[@kumanight]

I've backed this yesterday. I'm hoping that if the coop mode is solid, this will become a go to 2 player date-night game. If not, at least I can enjoy it solo 😅

[@BoardGameCo]

I can see some people enjoying the two players, for myself I probably wouldn't play this one at 2:00.

[@williamblack6912]

I really hope that Spire's End will be availabe in the pledge manager later on.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep, same here.

[@johncorrigan268]

Don't think so. But I think that it will be available to order on spiresend.com soon.

[@mikeysboardroom]

This is not my style of game, but the art alone has me wanting to back it

[@BoardGameCo]

Reasonable :)

[@mawkushbrody7748]

I haven't backed a game in a while but this one interests me.

[@markxivlxii1390]

Was patiently waiting all day for this, thanks Alex. I think this might fill that quick solo game, easy to on and off the table. I like the art and it might appeal to my kids later too. The only thing I dont like is the +50% shipping cost to Asia.

[@DigitalAwakening]

Already backed! The art is just amazing 😀 Agree on the combat and I hope he can improve on it or at least make it more interesting further in. I love how Falling Skies really make you think about your dice.

[@khpa3665]

A glimpse into Alex's soul @12:57. lol

[@BoardGameCo]

Lol yep :)

[@fsecco]

I want to back this but they don't ship to Brazil... Wish there was a way to relay the shipping. Is this something BoardgameCo does?

[@stacie_everdell]

I'm dropping in here late because I keep coming back to this. I passed when it was on KS, mainly based on the price point (this versus other games for the price). But I'm still intrigued and considering a pre-order. I do wish, and wonder why, there is no way to mitigate the dice roll. It's as if Hildegard never gets better based on previous experiences. I wish, for instance, with each instant bullseye she gained a token that would help her later on to mitigate a bad roll. THEN it would feel like a worthy mechanic in the game. You'd have some control over it. I suppose I could house rule my idea of the dice roll mitigation. I don't think it would break the game. Also curious, why you only roll 4 orange dice when the KS shows 6 orange dice. I know it plays 1-2, so do you only roll 3 dice each when you play with 2? Another house rule may be to roll all 6 dice when playing solo. ;)

[@mattyweaves]

I really want to back this, but that's a hefty price tag for a solo filler type game.

[@BoardGameCo]

Totally hear, you can always sell it when done.

[@jerrodwarr9706]

Just what I needed to help make a decision. Reminds me of Grimslingers; both are games with some of the best art you'll find in the board gaming hobby, but the gameplay itself is a bit lackluster. Not bad by any means, just not something for me.

[@jaywozny866]

Man, I wanted the gameplay of Grimslingers to really pull me in, but just never quite got there...But you are right, the art is phenomenal.

[@charlesz5443]

I’ve been calling it Hildegrad since you first said it 😅.

[@BoardGameCo]

Lol I can't stop.

[@pawnstorminreno]

The card art is so cute. Looks like a nice filler.

[@BoardGameCo]

It is :)

[@GKEK]

I really wanted this but the shipping to Hawaii was just ridiculous - $19 for a card game? The price of paradise. Ugh.

[@jonathana6298]

Combat was the worst thing about the original game. I just hope the dice rolling here wraps up faster than in the original.

[@BoardGameCo]

Based on chapter one that same concern might be here. I like the game, not impressed by the combat at least yet.

[@jonathana6298]

@@BoardGameCo There was definitely more choices to make in the original, since each character had a list of attacks to choose from, with each costing a increasing amount of resource (HP?) to activate. The problem was that after a couple plays, I just always used the most expensive action I could take every turn, if I had enough resources. The more expensive attacks generally hit harder. And the harder you hit, the more likely you were to survive. It looked like a many choices, but there was rarely any. And like this, it looks like there is little to know consequence of the actual combat rounds. In the original, your HP reset to max at the beginning of every combat. So HP didn't carry over, there was no experience, and most of the items came from the choices you made outside of combat. (I think there were a few where the story advanced based on how you defeated the enemy.)

[@favro4293]

Quick note - on the first card pulled- you were to equip that card to Hildegard - it had the compass tab on the bottom. What is in the package at this point is indeed a mystery, it’s not a compass. For the Marin encounter, you would fight all the Marin Cards, not stop after 1 because you didn’t hit it. You would then continue to the next Marin card, and the next. If you were unable to find the real Marin, then you would reveal the card you had during this playthrough. Trying my best not to defend my game mechanic but simply to explain my intentions. The amount of agency there is specific, by design. It falls between a gamebook and a tabletop game in terms of encounter complexity (for better or worse). That being said, things do build as the game progresses. But, I do expect people to fall in different camps on this decision. I wanted this to be something that anyone can pick up. My feeling is that there are plenty of decisions narratively on every card to make. The sling shot is a a quick - fire you hit, or fire you miss. The game reflects that. Again, it’s very hard to say these things without sounding like I am falling into defense mode. My intentions are just to show my thought process. In any case, I think what you said was a fair look at the game. I hope you enjoy all 4 chapters when they arrive!

[@favro4293]

@Jonathan - The dice rolling was designed to be quick, without as much dice chucking.

[@mabos555]

My problem with this kind of games is that it is just a read a story and roll dice.. I roll dices badly I have the wil wheaton curse and so although it is has nice art the rest is a big meh for me 🤦