Fan-created Digital Implementation on Tabletop Simulator I recently played Tyrants of the Underdark on Tabletop Simulator. The group had a unanimously positive experience. This fan-created digital implementation was created in the Tabletop Simulator workshop by Codename: Grey Fox. In this article I share some of my thoughts about the game as well as the digital version played. Tyrants of the Underdark is a board game published by GaleForce Nine (GF9) set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms world. This is an interesting combination of territory control board game and deck-builder card game. There is a nice balance between the two mechanisms. For an overview of the game on the GF9 website click here. Those who are not big fans of deck-building will find fun in the strategy and combat found on the game board as your clan of Drow (dark elves) strives to gain control of various regions of differing values. Those who enjoy the deck-building mechanic will find that the decisions made when recruiting cards to add to your deck very satisfying. I find myself in the middle of these two areas of interest, as I would primarily say that I'm more of a territory control board game fan ... however, I do enjoy deck-building games. I feel that games such as this one and Clank! feel more satisfying to me. There's something about maneuvering and making strategic decisions on the board that adds to the experience of simply accumulating and playing an increasingly unique compliment of cards in a deck-building game. The digital implementation that my friends and I played on Tabletop Simulator was really top-notch. Codename: Grey Fox included several automation features which enhance the online experience. Among those features are: score calculator; initial setup and random deck selection; market auto-refill; recruiting cards; end of turn discarding; and deck refill. We found all of the scripting to be intuitive and didn't detract from gameplay. Magnetic placeholders for troops on the board worked well. The spies didn't lock into the magnetic slots as is appropriate, since the spies sit outside the normal troop locations. All-in-all this was one of the best online iterations of a board game I've played in the past year. Final Thoughts
This was the first time I played Tyrants of the Underdark. Aside from coming in dead last, I truly enjoyed the game and the digital implementation. I can see it appealing to a relatively wide audience. It doesn't require any prior Dungeons & Dragons knowledge, however those who do enjoy D&D will find extra to like here. The artwork on the board and cards is very nicely done. There is some concern with player colors being somewhat dark and similar to each other, red vs orange for instance, however I didn't find it too much of a concern. If you found my overview of the game and the availability on Steam/Tabletop Simulator appealing, I would strongly recommend giving this one a try. Keep an eye out for future tabletop gaming articles on King's GameNight and follow the King's GameNight Facebook page. Until next time... Game On!
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