SPALDING WARGAMING CLUB
There's nothing blindingly new or innovative about Abyss, but everything it does it does well Abyss is a recent project from Bruno Cathala, the guy who brought us Shadows Over Camelot, Five Tribes and Cyclades - all games I love.
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Abyss has the odd conceit that you're all hideous undersea fish-people engaged in fantasy politics with squids and jellyfish as your allies.
But never mind that. The theme is really just an excuse for moody, murky art, shiny pearls as currency (they roll about a lot so plastic pots are provided) and lots of hideous fish-people. The mechanics are blindingly simple because each turn you do one of three things. You can explore the depths, ask the undersea court for help or recruit a noble.
Exploring the depths means turning over Ally cards. Each one gets offered to te other players first and they pay you an escalating fee (in pearls) if they want that card; if no one takes it, you can take it yourself (ending your turn) or draw another card. Unwanted cards are swept away to the 'Court' and can be collected by players choosing the second option. The third option involves using your Allies in various combinations to buy Nobles from a sort of marketplace at the bottom of the board. Nobles confer game altering powers (like earning free pearls, taking extra Allies or messing with opponents' cards).
Some Nobles have key symbols on them and unlock undersea territories - these are worth more victory points at the end but you lose the unlocking-Noble's powers. The game ends once someone has recruited 7 Nobles and we all score up. A game fits comfortably in an hour.
There's nothing blindingly new or innovative about Abyss, but everything it does it does well: fast, intuitive, pretty, multiple routes to victory, plenty to do even when it's not your turn. The Kraken expansion adds wild card Allies and a cursed currency (black pearls called Nebulis) that you need to offload onto rivals to avoid an end-game penalty; it adds an extra level of delightful chicanery. The Leviathan expansion makes exploration more dangerous.