If you are a gamer for long enough, you start to fall into certain niches. You find a designer you love, a publisher, a particular style of game. As a reviewer, I’m not immune to that phenomenon. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to explore a wider world of games than I might as the average player. I hope that you (our readers) feel that all of us here are TheRatHole.ca bring you reviews that are entertaining, informative, (and most importantly) fair and balanced.
Japanime Games is an interesting company. They put out wonderful original games but they also partner with other publishers to bring even more beautiful games to a wider audience. One of those partners is the Japanese Domina Games. I’ve gotten to review Miraris, Pralaya, and Argoat, collectively packaged as the Domina Anthology. The second Domina Anthology (featuring Margot, Latria, and Night Clan) is stuck in shipping, but otherwise ready to burst onto shelves and I’m super excited for it.
Now, they are bringing over a limited edition set of five standalone, but interconnected, games with Blade Rondo: The Legendary Set. Blade Rondo is a hand building (as opposed to deck building), head-to-head battle game. You start with a single deck of 40 cards, each player draws 15 of them, keeps 7 of those, and goes at it. For people who want an experience with greater self-determination, there are also rules for preconstructing your hand. Each of the subsequent four games can be played entirely standalone, with the same basic rule structure but adding additional mechanics and story. Alternately you can combine the cards from any of the five sets to play with.
Unlike many games, the Blade Rondo solo mode isn’t some last-minute afterthought. Created by Pawn, designer of the terrific solo game Shephy, it was a part of the original design process. The description of the basic solo rules seems to play like a platform fighter videogame; a series of AI opponents with a loose storyline to connect them. The Domina Games’ website has additional solo content that (as of this writing) doesn’t appear to be part of this campaign.
Domina Games and Blade Rondo already have a large following in the English-speaking world, with plenty of translations and crib sheets. This set brings English cards, and an official, up to date, rulebook translated and edited for the best possible player experience.
Pledge levels begin at only $20 (USD) for any one of the five games or $40 for any two of them. $125 brings all five games collected in a limited edition anthology box with rare foil cards, playmats, a metal coin, and a full art book. There will only ever be 2000 of the Legendary Set printed, and the individual games are not currently planned for retail distribution, so unless your Friendly Local Gaming Store takes advantage of the retailer pledge level, this will likely be the only time you’ll be able to get ahold of these games.
You can back Blade Rondo on Gamefound NOW!
You can find Domina Games’ website at www.dominagames.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/Domina-Games-310795519075768 (but both are in Japanese).
Japanime Games is online at japanimegames.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/JapanimeGames.