Locate Treasure in a Spectral Manor, Find Favor with Mordred, and Collect Avant Carde Art

July 13, 2023

• U.S. publisher Bitewing Games released Ryan Courtney‘s drafting and path-building game Trailblazers in Q2 2023, and the two are working together again on the bidding and deduction game Spectral, which will be part of a crowdfunding project in August 2023 ahead of an intended release in 2024.

Here’s an overview of this 2-5 player game that bears a 30-minute playing time:

Legend tells of the abandoned Spectral Manor coming to life at the stroke of midnight on a Crimson Moon — an event that rarely takes place more than once per century. On that night and that night alone, in certain rooms vast treasures appear, granting unspeakable wealth to those brave enough to find and claim them. But those who enter this mansion do so at their peril as some rooms awaken ghosts and curses that claim any who are foolish enough to enter. Rumors speak of glyphs and sigils found within the manor only on Crimson Moon night; these markings offer hints and clues — indicating both where treasures can be found and where paranormal traps lie in wait.

In Spectral, players control competing bands of treasure hunters. These bands enter the Spectral Manor on the night of the Crimson Moon and race to uncover and stake out the locations of the treasures before midnight. As they discover and decipher the glyphs, they can avoid rooms where demons secretly slumber and selfishly keep such information from their rivals. Meanwhile, locations of the manor that promise to conjure the most treasure will see multiple clans clashing over the territory. Through deduction, bidding, betting, and bluffing, players will uncover and harness the secrets within.

The game ends after a player has placed all of their treasure hunters or if all players consecutively pass. The band that claims the most treasure while avoiding cursed rooms will come away victorious.

Spectral features multiple challenge levels — beginner mode, standard mode, and advanced modules — so that you can tailor the game to your experience.

Bitewing’s Nick Murray notes that Spectral features “non-fragile logic deduction”, which means that a player can’t give out incorrect information and botch the game — a “feature” found in many deduction games.

• The crowdfunding campaign for Spectral will also feature an expansion for Trailblazers, while simultaneously funding a reprint of the base game.

• CMON has dropped the barest hints of its next crowdfunding project: Mordred, with artist Adrian Smith providing the concept for the game, with design from Alexio Schneeberger and Andrea Chiarvesio. The short take:

After the merging of Britain and the Fae realm and the vanishing of King Arthur, various factions — both mortal and Fae — now fight for power.

In Mordred, each player controls one of these asymmetrical factions and strives to earn the favor of the three great leaders: Mordred, Morgana, and Merlin. They must use the rounds available wisely as each action costs precious time. In the end, chaos will be inevitable, and players must prepare for it as the chaos will bring great peril, but even greater rewards.

• In Avant Carde, a game for 1-5 players from Mary Flanagan, Max Seidman, and Resonym, you attempt to build a collection of stunning (and matching) cubist artwork.

The publisher’s Kickstarter campaign launches on July 17, 2023, and here’s the gameplay you could be supporting:

Each player starts with a deck of ten so-so cards: 1s and 2s in six colors that don’t match and four high-value cards, each in a different color. Each player draws a hand of seven cards, then puts on the best exhibition possible by matching colors and numbers, e.g. red 11, red 1, purple 1, purple 13.

Each card you play earns you $1, and in turn players can buy cards from the gallery stacks: a 2 costs $2, a 3 $3, etc. Once per turn, you can bury a top card in a gallery stack on the bottom of that stack. If you don’t spend all of your money and don’t already have a change token, take a change token from the bank; it’s worth $1 when you decide to spend it. End your turn by discarding all played cards and cards still in hand, then draw a hand of seven cards, shuffling your discard pile when necessary.

Six patrons numbered 2-7 are in play, and they give cards additional powers. If you played the most 2s, for example, you have an extra $1 to spend; if you played a 3, you can trash a card from your hand or played area; when you play a 4, you can change either its color or number. Avant Carde includes multiple sets of patrons, and you can use the cards from a single set or mix them.

Why are you building this collection? To gain awards! If you earn at least $6, you gain an award, and higher amounts net you more awards. Earning $11 is worth four awards, and while you might wonder how you can earn $11, a 7 patron lets you draw additional cards on a turn and a 5 patron lets you earn an extra $1 for each 5.

When the deck of awards runs out, whoever has collected the most awards wins.

The components for Avant Carde come tucked into three “roll out” boxes, two of which can be seen in the image above. The idea is that you set out the gallery cards by unrolling the box, with each number being tucked into a pocket on a side of the box. When the game ends, shuffle each gallery deck separately, then tuck them into their pockets, and roll up the box. Now you’re ready for the next game!