St. David’s Cemetery, at least in this game’s context, is a sort of Purgatory that is situated between Heaven and Hell. In “Escape From St. David’s”, players will be working together to reach Heaven by making it through “The Beyond”. EVIL can win a number of ways and can even trap players in “The Elsewhere”, the gateway to Hell. “Escape From St. David’s” supports up to 8 players and is appropriate for ages 12+, with an average play time of 20-60 minutes. My press copy was a prototype, so everything you see and read about here (including the rules) are subject to change. I’m also required by FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to preview this game, but any and all opinions are my own.
My prototype copy came with a large board, 20 player cards, 60 hexagon tiles, 7 colored player markers, 1 EVIL player marker, 120 red/black tokens, 3 6-sided dice, 1 6-sided colorful die, 1 4-sided EVIL die, and a portal flag. Setting up is fairly simple and the rulebook can be downloaded via the Game Crafter, so check that out if you’re looking for more details. Not mentioned in setup (and should have been) was that one player can choose to be EVIL, or EVIL can simply be controlled automatically by the current player. It’s mentioned in the tips at the end of the rulebook, but I feel it to be a key piece of information needed for setup. I do appreciate that the 60 hexagon tiles are an optional part of the game to make it more difficult / complex. I recommend ignoring these tiles for your first initial play.
On a player’s turn, they’ll perform the following:
Optional (Must be done first)
Take a red power token or a black exchange token, OR spend one or more tokens, OR trade in three tokens of one color for one of the other.
While optional, having tokens is key to helping players win. In most cases, you should always take a token if you can’t or don’t want to do the other optional actions. One red token can push EVIL back two spaces. Two black tokens can be spent to get themselves or another player out of the Elsewhere, to be returned to the stone benches in St. David’s Cemetery.
Mandatory
1. Take a specific action required by their player card. Each player assumes the role of a character with special abilities. Players are encouraged to always have Wylder and one Child character in their group as they are among the most powerful.
2. Roll dice. This includes player dice and the EVIL die. Wylder gets to roll the colorful die in addition to their regular dice as part of their ability.
3. Apply player strengths and weaknesses to the roll. If the player is on the Elsewhere path, they will earn bonuses to help EVIL. If the player is on the Beyond path, they will earn bonuses to help other players.
4. Move their player marker according to their 6-sided die roll. If they land on a B, they draw a Beyond card (good) and if they land on an E they draw an Elsewhere card (bad). If using the optional hexagonal ties, landing on one flips it face up and players will resolve the effect.
5. EVIL moves in accordance to the 4-sided die. Landing on a player moves that player to the Elsewhere. Landing on a B removed a Beyond card from the game. Landing on the E means drawing an Elsewhere card and resolving its effect. EVIL cannot land on the Child.
Players will be traveling through St. David’s Cemetery in an attempt to get to the Beyond via its portal. The portal may be open or closed depending on dice rolls and card draws. When on a portal, a player can enter it on the beginning of their next turn and enter The Beyond, which will allow them to assist others in getting to the portal via step 3 above.
If all players get to the Beyond before EVIL completes one of its objectives, they win! EVIL wins if they cross the Beyond portal first, or if one player makes it to the end of the Elsewhere twice, or of the portal to the Beyond is closed and cannot be reopened, or if all players end up in the Elsewhere at the same time.
The above doesn’t cover all of the rules found in the rulebook, but should give you an idea as to how the game is played. For more information, find and read the rulebook on the game’s Game Crafter page.
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This being a preview, I typically shy away from delving too deeply into my critiques. One thing I will say is that the theme, while interesting and creepy, might be a bit too much of a touchy subject or be considered “blasphemous” to certain religious individuals who shall remain nameless. While a brave attempt, I would have tried to leave Heaven and Hell out of it and opted for a more neutral / fantasy theme that was a bit more all-inclusive.
While Wylder and a Child character are recommended, I do like that players can be a wide variety of characters each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Sam, for example, may give his token selection or a held Beyond card to another player, but unfortunately moves 6 spaces toward the Elsewhere when another player is sent there. Michael, on the other hand, can share his roll with a Child player divided in any way, but always moves one space less due to lack of motivation. I love special abilities like this in any game I play.
The components were a bit of a mixed bag, but I expected as much from a prototype copy. I absolutely despise laser cut components because they leave behind soot and generally make a mess. The backs of the cards were great but the black text on white background on their reverse sides were lackluster. I hope the developer can touch these up over the course of development. The tokens, dice, and EVIL figurine were all great.
From a gameplay standpoint, I’m always weary of RNG (random number generating). It’s possible to roll dice that will consistently land you in trouble, whether it be landing on an Elsewhere space or having EVIL land on someone. Yes, there are character roles like Noah that allow you to add pips to any player’s dice roll to help avoid Elsewhere spaces. If RNG isn’t your thing, then seek out characters like this.
I think the developer has the start of a great game here. A refined and better organized rulebook, better card art, and a possible theme change might do it some good. The game is supposedly based on a novel to which I haven’t read, so this game could go either way. I stress that my copy is a prototype and thus the game and its rules are subject to change. I look forward to seeing the final copy of the game once its ready.
You can learn more about the game and purchase it (once available) here:
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/escape-from-st.-david-s
