Dark Venture: Battle of the Ancients is live (Weird faction fights)
Update: Dark Venture: Battle of the Ancients has launched on Kickstarter and the campaign will run for 28 days. You may pledge for just the base game or get it together with one or two expansions (Kings and Heroes and Beasts and Eggmen).
Our preview post below was published on October 25.
Dark Venture: Battle of the Ancients is a 1-4 player tactical skirmish game set in the same universe as Dark Venture. Rival factions fight against each other in an apocalyptic, sci-fi setting. It will launch on Kickstarter on October 27.
In Battle of the Ancients, you will first select your faction and the faction you will go up against. There are 5 to choose from (and more may be added through expansions). Each faction has different abilities and an army of soldiers of varying strength. The game can be played either in scenario mode by pursuing the objective given in the included scenarios, or in 'victory mode' by collecting a set number of points to win.
On each turn, you will roll the 6 dice that consist your dice pool and decide how to use the results. The dice allow you to move 1 or 2 spaces orthogonally or diagonally, or use the abilities of your faction. Each soldier has a strength and a defense value that designate how many dice it rolls during combat. When you defeat an enemy unit, you can choose to kill it, take it as prisoner, eat it, or use it as material to craft. Each faction has their own Ancient god who they can also summon in battle.
Units can interact with the environment by gathering resources, or by drawing an action card when they are standing on a red token. Action cards grant the factions various one-time use benefits and abilities. In the solo mode, the opponent activates according to a flow chart. You will need to consult the chart to see what the enemy does step by step, depending on the enemy faction.