Four Against Darkness - Part 1 (Solo Gamebook Playthrough)

My first delve into solo gamebooks is Four Against Darkness, written and illustrated by Andrea Sfiligoi.
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Opening music by MASTER BOOT RECORD from the album INTERRUPT REQUEST featuring excerpts of track "IRQ_00_SYSTEM_CLOCK" check the band out at masterbootrecord.bandcamp.com/
Thank you to MASTER BOOT RECORD for allowing me to use your music in my videos.
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[e-mail]

[@thewise3551]

Andrea is a man I think 😂 Just ordered this book. Thanks for your informative video.

[@leesweeney8879]

Him by the way. Great guy, and cat lover.

[@txb245]

Just purchased this yesterday!! So glad you have a playthrough on this!

[@eastwoodk]

Thank you! I'm headed on a trip and haven't figured out how to play this yet. So happy for this video!

[@olivierprevot8082]

Thank you! :) Makes me want to play it. :) I would love to see more ! :)

[@sentino68]

Excellent walkthrough for starting players. I like the music while he’s drawing. I love this series and supplements. I just wish they went that extra mile to introduce a little more flavor to the adventure and add relevant images/artwork next to the adventure introductions and monster descriptions. A minion manual would be so cool too!

[@nin_the_destroyer2602]

Hello! Thanks so much for the reviews. I've never played a "Pen & Paper" board game before. This is super cool---I find it so interesting!!

[@WayneLunsford]

Love this little game and I'm excited to see a playthrough for it. Found your channel on BGG and subscribed immediately!

[@ernestconcepcion531]

Gosh! Amazing gameplay walkthrough. The action is happening as yer explainin'! Just got the book and Twisted Dungones & Minions yesterday :)

[@the5thmusketeer215]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your very clear & informative explanations of the mechanics of F.A.D. It’s a game that I’d seen described & reviewed elsewhere, but had decided that it was not for me. HOWEVER, after noticing your multi-part play-through of it, I decided to watch it being played… & even after this first episode (I’m about to watch the rest…) you did SUCH A GOOD JOB of demonstrating the core system, that YOU CHANGED MY MIND… So, I’m going to buy the core book, try it out for myself & maybe check out some of the expansions if I find it enjoyable enough. THANKS AGAIN! Off to Part Two….. 😊👍

[@julienj9163]

Nice playthrough, it really helped me for the fights.

[@KI4TZA]

Thanks this was helpful having never done solo - it was good to see how you started the process.

[@Everlongfive]

Got my copy of the core book on order! Can't wait to get stuck in! Thanks for another great video!

[@wesleyjones4695]

I love that you are trying new things and expanding your choices: Lots of co-ops (my favorites), heavy games, lighter games, micro games, hex and counter war games, and now a pen and paper game! So awesome that you now have so much variety and I am really impressed that you can learn all those rules! Keep it up. Maybe add a children's game some day, ha ha.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

I'm trying to show as many types of games and choices as possible. Not everyone has the same interests or a big budget, so I want viewers to have options. I want to showcase smaller independent games and creators too.

[@unaigom]

Subscribed! Please keep adding videos of your 4AD adventures!

[@jonanjello]

Awesome gameplay video. I will most likely pick up 4AD thanks to your videos. Like I mentioned on BGG, I also purchased some Double D6s and some Triple D4s. I'm eager to get those dice!. Thanks for the videos. Subscribed!

[@greendiode5522]

Very informative. Thank you for sharing!

[@vernonjennings5921]

Great video. Thanks for sharing!

[@matthinton19]

This that game that got me into dungeon crawler type games. Super easy to get up and running for the first game and plenty of expansion for later stuff

[@fiorefiore9910]

Great video! This is really useful for new players like me who need to learn the rules

[@rogue7744]

I purchased this book thanks to your video. I had no idea this was “out there”, it’s very cool, thanks

[@TabletopJason]

Same here. I plan to order this tonight. Looks like a ton of fun.

[@santiagofantoni2643]

I love this game a lot, allways carry it with me when i travel.

[@adamcfmacdonald]

Thanks for this. Going to purchase it.

[@criostoirbartlett1078]

I'm loving this! Been looking for an rpg a bit similar to a table top or a simulated GM for solo rpg gaming. This seems like a totally new idea. Thanks for the videos.

[@dynjarren5454]

Just found this and was thinking to get this game anyway. Excellent walk through gonna watch the next part

[@ategrijpstra]

That was simply awesome and very informative. Thank you very much! Subbed. Plus very much looking forward to peruse my recently bought copy of 4AD now ;-).

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Great explanation. What I do is have another sheet to track what happens. And number the rooms to know what I did there and what I found. Thanks for the vid.

[@Rhino10e]

I have played the game but have felt scattered. Your video is awesome and will help me keep things neater and more organized! I will be using most of your ideas

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Glad I could help!

[@jay_cadiramen]

Excellent video - very clear and good overview to the game

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Much appreciated!

[@mikehill9806]

Great start.

[@Colaris99]

This looks pretty good, might check it out!

[@kickthesky]

Nice video. Wanted more info about this game, but I like your style, so subbing as well!

[@sentino68]

I just got those 12 sided 6D dice. They are super nice and give you a better roll action compared to a 6 sided cube shaped die. Got them off of Amazon. Took about a week to get. Not listed as Prime.

[@jarrenrogers7308]

Those d6 (d12) are so cool!

[@JamesOrr1987]

Great Job!

[@timesup5105]

Thank you. Really nice channel. Subbed.

[@slyman8106]

Thankyou sir!

[@TheDungeonDive]

Great game.

[@CesarIsaacPerez]

Ok, sold. I want to give it a shot. It looks like a cool little game to play. I'll probably play it with mini's though.

[@ufologyexplored4634]

Just playing my first game now, all's well so far. Good video to pick up rules quickly.👍

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Have fun!

[@OGNoNameNobody]

Not bad. Simple, but the process of writing everything down gives it a firm, tangible sense of enjoyment(the decent rolls help the enjoyment level, too!)

[@Harvestersz]

Hi Thanks for this. I bought this a while back and loved it. The only thing I'd mention is that there was a recent update to the rules so maybe download the pdf and compare it to your book. I found some differences from the book compared to the new pdfs.

[@flixter074]

Thanks for sharing. I was a bit confused about the wandering monster situation. The core book doesn't say who (back or rear) attacks in close combat after surprise attack, and it states that you cannot change marching order during combat, leaving me a bit puzzled. Think I got the hang of it though. 😀

[@txmetalhead82xk]

Alex Your number (1 and 2), marching order, will cover the (3 and 4) position. Protecting the weakest party member. I assume (1 and 2) get attacked first. Have fun!

[@MonolithMike]

Awesome! My copy of 4AD arrives tomorrow! Can't wait to play!

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@sentino68]

So you are getting a softcover copy? I was only able to download the PDF and then have spiral bound.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

@@sentino68 yeah Amazon has the soft cover and supplements.

[@ericbrooks1562]

Thanks,nice something different. Would love to see more.

[@Joshuadmathews]

Gray Board Gamer, I just wanted to share that you've been referenced a few times on the official Four Against Darkness page on Facebook a few times this week. Personally, I think your playthrough is the best on KZbin and it was your playthrough that really helped my excitement to get the game- as I am sure others would relate. I also really enjoy your simplistic look and organization to your character index cards. Have you ever considered making PDF cut-out templates of the 8 classes and posting them on Boardgamegeek or to the forum? I'm probably not the only one who prefers your style over others and if you put your GB symbol on it it'd be a nice way to promote your channel out there. Just throwing an idea into the bucket. Regardless, thanks for the playthrough, and you REALLY should consider making another playthrough using another 4AD book, their count in number has grown since this playthrough was posted and I am sure that future playthrough's of yours on 4AD would be talked about and promoted on the Facebook forum.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

That's awesome! Thank you for letting me know. I have kept up and currently have all of the FAD printed books and will definitely do another playthrough series (or more) featuring some of these other books. Thank you for you suggestions and I might run with your index card idea ;-)

[@thegreatkris24]

I wish someone could make an app that plays like this. I would pay for it

[@beardinlair]

An app that works with 4ad? I'm actually building one.

[@partthethird]

@@beardinlair how's the app going?

[@beardinlair]

@@partthethird It works. Want a copy?

[@partthethird]

@@beardinlair sure

[@beardinlair]

@@partthethird Can you send me a pm on my About page?

[@sargondp69]

Thanks for this playthru. I have the pdf but like watching someone else play these games as I am mostly studying the mechanicas. I think I will cf the dungeon generations in this with Basic, AD&D DMG, and 5e DMG (and I think Symbaroum has something like this as well). 15:00 I like the empty room roll but ... 5-6 roll: you get to choose what you find. I do not like this at all. The dungeon should be objective. Instead, 5-6 roll: Roll d6 again: 1-2 clue, 3-4 secret door, 5-6 hidden treasure, or something like this. Being able to choose what you find defeats the purpose of exploring an UNKNOWN dungeon to begin with. You might also want to note who defeats each monster and possibly the round, so here just B D D B2. I do like this overall and adding level to attack is a simple and really good mech, along with other good ideas.

[@Inmate533]

On page 10 in the manual, the rogue adds his level to his Attack rolls only when attacking an outnumbered minion. Does this mean the rogue cannot add his level when attacking outnumbered Vermin, Bosses, or Weird Monsters?

[@lazywarlock8]

I like your six-sided dice

[@unowild]

Yeah me too. At first I thought they were warped, then saw they were 12 sided dice with 1-6 printed twice on each, very cool. :-)

[@Colaris99]

are those dice six sided? My six sided dice are square. What kind of magicary is this?!?! 😊

[@andycross3783]

Search for doublesix dice. They are a D12 with the numbers 1-6 on them twice. They say it rolls better than a standard D6.

[@Colaris99]

@@andycross3783 Thanks, will do.

[@TabletopJason]

@@andycross3783 Clearly witchcraft.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Witchcraft and awesome :-)

[@sentino68]

@@andycross3783 By “roll nice” you mean physically. Right? The result has the same odds since you are just doubling the available sides. I never liked how a 6d rolled. You really need a grippy surface like leather or a game mat.

[@jasonharris1636]

excellent review! Mazel Tov! I'd like to hear more passion in ur voice.

[@Bren71319]

Can you exit the dungeon and then come back or does it have to be completed all in one go?

[@NefariousKoel]

Double-Six Dice! B-) Their 4s are also nice.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Now I have to go buy some 4s :-)

[@NefariousKoel]

Some of their Triple-4s are easier to read than others since they use symbols instead of numbers. But they're a boon if, like me, you don't like terrible "rolling" qualities of ye olde pyramidal d4.

[@SirMillz]

When first starting can characters use starting gold to buy bandages or do they have to wait till between delves?

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Page 16 of my book states: " Equipment may be bought before the game, or between games."

[@MrJustintreat]

Just picked this up today with the cleric solo expansion

[@alessandromassi3659]

MrJustintreat where did you bought The expansions? I’m italian and i’ve just bought The core book, waiting to arrive. Amazon show’s me only adventure packs (in english). Are the new classes inside those adventures?

[@olafbuddenberg4787]

Thanks for the playthrough and for bringing this game to a larger audience. One thing I noticed is that you refered to the author as "her". Andrea Sfiligoi is male, however. He hails from Italy where the name "Andrea" is actually the male form of "Andreas". :)

[@GrayBoardGamer]

I found this out after I published the video and corrected myself in later videos. I also contacted him and apologized, he thought is was pretty funny.

[@olafbuddenberg4787]

@@GrayBoardGamer - Yes, I noticed it at the beginning of your 2nd part of the playthrough (I think). Sorry, man. As for Andrea he seems like a laid back fellow. I noticed that after joining his facebook group.

[@denethorpalantir2815]

Andrea please do a solo version of Song of Blades and Heroes.

[@theeyenzier8190]

Can you sell and buy loot at any time or only in the begging of the game

[@Exit82guy]

Are we supposed to roll for contents in the entrance? I know we should roll for wandering monsters once we backtrack. But upon first entry, do we roll for contents like every other room creation? Answer.. Nope, first room is always empty (per designer on Facebook) It is however searchable.

[@TrialByPain]

I like your dice. What are they called? a d12 shaped d6?

[@HeadHunterSix]

I have some d12's that are numbered 1-6 twice (as well as some d12s numbered 1-4 three times). You can also get d8's numbered 1-4 twice, since default d4s are not really that great.

[@fsiefken]

Fantastic, I was waiting for this. One thing though, in Italy Andrea is primarily a masculine name. So you didn't butcher the lastname but probably - for a second - you did butcher the gender :-)

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Francis Siefken yes I did. I address this in part two and I contacted Andrea directly and apologized to him.

[@bread-casserole]

What constitutes a character action? If I roll a 6 while rolling for starting gold is it an explosive 6?

[@bread-casserole]

Ohhh no it doesn’t count right?

[@kosterix123]

4AD bought the prtinted pdf, but it didn't work for me.

[@TomTermini]

I love solo gaming RPGs -- so much so I was inspired to create a kind of "Barbarian Prince meets Mage Knight" solo board game, www.hiddenterritories.com The idea is to capture the essence of an RPG in a packaged format

[@hyvll]

Was the intro music from MBR? If so, kudos. If not, who was it?

[@GrayBoardGamer]

You are correct that is Master Boot Record :-) MBR was kind enough to give me permission to use that song in my video intro.

[@alessandromassi3659]

But isn't the first room always empty? I mean you can search it but the first room you are generating as the starting room is empty and you don't have to roll for it.

[@kosterix123]

10:30 say you roll a 6 and then a 1, is it an auto success that always failed?

[@GrayBoardGamer]

A 6 when rolling defense is an automatic success, so you would not roll the die again.

[@donsharma6136]

This is so cool..i always liked d&d but found it too complicated, too many rules and details and most often i cannot find regular people who have the time to play it..this game really does not have those problems!

[@GrayBoardGamer]

I had so much fun filming this series and need to get back to the game soon!

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Check tunnels and trolls which have great solo adventures.

[@chucku.farley981]

BTW Andrea Sfiligoi is male

[@kosterix123]

24:10 Rogue is level+ if >minions not yet defeated.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

The rogue adds his level to an attack anytime the number of party members is greater than the number of minions.

[@kosterix123]

but the number of minions is 6, so the rogue thing does not apply. see remark above: after the skeletons are killed the room still is not empty. So how does "not empty" differ from "no minions left to defeat"? I'm inclined to get this game from ganesha, but if shit like that is not defined clearly in the book i'd have to let this one pass. Terms must be clear.

[@davidwhite7789]

Hmmm, this is strikingly similiar to SPI's Deathmaze but so much more complex.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

I was unfamiliar with Deathmaze, so I had to look it up. Now I have to find a way to get my hands on a copy of Deathmaze in the future. Thanks for the knowledge :-)

[@thegreatkris24]

Where did you get your double six dice? 😀

[@GrayBoardGamer]

I got mine during the first generation DoubleSix Kickstarter campaign. I backed the second generation KS too.

[@Khaador]

thank you! love your videos. but i have sound hickups on almost all of them... every few minitues there is a hickup.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

You're the first to bring this issue up. What device or devices are you watching on and in which country?

[@Khaador]

ipad or pc from germany.... at 1:24 for example

[@GrayBoardGamer]

I hear it too. I'm not sure what is causing that, but I suspect it is my camera. My camera is a cheap $50 camera I bought used and have used it for almost two years now. It's probably time to invest in a new one. Guess it's time to save up money for a new camera. Hopefully, the hiccups are not enough to make you stop watching until I figure it out. Thanks for letting me know.

[@Khaador]

no of course not :) they are not important, just found it strange :) i keep watching :)

[@AlmightyCow1]

You don't roll contents for the initial dungeon entrance room. Wasted fountain :(

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Correct! I will address this in my next playthrough series.

[@theeyenzier8190]

How do you know how much hp an enemy has

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Enemy has hp equal to their level. Unless is stated otherwise in the rules or supplements you have.

[@MonolithMike]

4:08

[@TheStevenhull]

Gridmapper for this game- give it a try! campaignwiki.org/gridmapper.svg

[@twitchster77]

Why can't you pronounce -her- his* name? Clearly it's Swifillygoy...ssfilligohe...fillikoy...s... Okay never mind.

[@Wolf359inc]

twitchster77 “His”, actually...

[@kosterix123]

@@Wolf359inc swiggly-oley. your kid can say that, hell probably your cat as well.

[@Wolf359inc]

@@kosterix123 wut? Oh, something I posted OVER TWO YEARS AGO! But still, what? I don’t understand what you are trying to say...

[@kosterix123]

@@Wolf359inc well in that case I hope you learned to assume less ♪

[@Wolf359inc]

@@kosterix123 I still have no idea what you are talking about... what assumption did I make?

[@kosterix123]

27:00 why no s in room?

[@GrayBoardGamer]

That room contained skeletons and was not empty. If a room or corridor is empty you can search once, I place an "S" where I have searched empty rooms or corridors, so I don't attempt to search a second time later in the game.

[@kosterix123]

after you defeated the skeletons, the room has become empty. Or does that not count? is that in the book?

[@GrayBoardGamer]

"Empty" refers to a room or corridor that is labeled as "empty" due to a result on the Room Contents Table. If a room or corridor contains a treasure, trap, special event, special feature, vermin, minion, weird monster, boss, or small dragon's lair the room is not eligible for searching because it is not considered empty by game standards. I do think you can search an empty room or corridor (if no previous search was conducted) if a wandering monster was encountered there, for these monsters are not "residents" of the room or corridor and they have wandered into an "empty" area.

[@blujay1608]

@@GrayBoardGamer What if you defeated a monster in a room, kept adventuring, hit a dead end, and returned to that room with no wandering monster in sight. Is the room considered empty then? I'm sure a room is only empty if it's empty upon your first discovery of it, but I'm grasping for straws to come across more treasure. :D

[@dragonchr15]

Sounds like the old NES game Gauntlet...

[@GrayBoardGamer]

It does! I played the arcade version of Gauntlet as a kid, always took a pocket of quarters to Circle K (convivence store) on Saturdays, after cartoons of course 😊

[@Inmate533]

I think Andrea Sfiligoi is a guy.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

He is. I address this later in the series :-)

[@kosterix123]

There's something wrong with your dice.

[@jezz2k]

They are 12-sided dice with each number (1-6) appearing twice. They were designed to roll better than standard dice.

[@jfjf5525]

You don't roll for the first room.

[@user-pg3pe4gx4p]

I got this game because I miss my D&D days as a kid. I found this game boring; I guess I’m not into solo games.

[@strangebeer]

Too much excuse making and waffle. You had lost me before you got to the game.

[@GrayBoardGamer]

Thank you for watching 😁

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Ma dude a bit rude specially when the content is very good.