Dark Venture

I backed Dark Venture because its semi-co-op shell concealed a properly hard PvP mode. That is still its clearest virtue. There is an earnest attempt to contain the whole adventure in cards and a handful of markers; in practice, it spreads across the table like Sword and Sorcery after losing its box. The compact footprint is admirable. So is a cupboard that only shuts when someone sits on it.

At its core, you travel the map, hunt monsters, look for items, and try to turn the expedition into points. The trouble is the traffic: things moving around the map, markers and trackers demanding attention, and paper notes needed to establish who or what everything is. Before you get to feel like a hero, you are doing the accounts.

The interaction at least makes no attempt at politeness: hard PvP lets players attack one another, and the endless respawns keep the fighting substantial. But scoring appears to have been settled by raffle. One player crosses the map, fights two monsters, waits for one specific item in a thirty-card deck, then heads elsewhere for four VP; another takes two breaths and receives six. You do not play this sort of game for an equitable victory. You play it to hit your fellow players.

I would not recommend it readily, although the scarcity of solo fantasy RPGs may make it worth a look for someone specifically hungry for that thing. For everyone else, Dark Venture is an adventure that requires too much clerical support before it reaches its good fights.