Pre-Order Steamforged Games’ Fantasy Dungeon Crawl, Bardsung!
March 29, 2022 by brennon
Steamforged Games is now accepting pre-orders for their Fantasy dungeon crawler that had quite a bit of success on Kickstarter. Bardsung: Legend Of The Ancient Forge is coming to retail soon.
Bardsung // Steamforged Games
Bardsung: Legend Of The Ancient Forge is a cooperative and "choice-driven dungeon explorer board game" that works with between one and five players.
"A horde of hobgoblins have been plaguing nearby villages, and it’s up to you to sort them out. Rumour has it these pesky raiders are taking refuge in the mysterious Ancient Forge. Should be simple enough to venture below and dispatch them with a stout heart and a steady hand, right? Let’s just say you might find a little more than you bargained for…"
The twist to Bardsung is that you start off with one dungeon tile and your dungeon delve unfolds as you go, revealing new enemies, puzzles and treasures in a procedurally generated fashion. The branching narrative and the choices you make as you work through the card decks mean that you should end up with different campaigns each time you sit down to play.
Bardsung Miniatures // Steamforged Games
Inside the box, you'll find sixty-eight plastic miniatures with thirty-two of them being different monster figures in alternate poses. This is then matched by the five-player heroes that you'll get to choose from. You also get that Gigantic Demon miniature that you see sitting at the back!
Bardsung Tiles // Steamforged Games
Alongside the fast set-up options made available by the game's mechanics, the GameTrayz partnership also means that you can store all of your progress between sessions and then get right back into the adventure. A handy option indeed.
Are you going to be playing as the Dawnguard, Lightweaver, Nightfeather, Stoneheart or the Wyldshell? Which of the twisted mini-bosses and minions are you most looking forward to facing down on the tabletop?
If you didn't back Bardsung on Kickstarter, are you now tempted to snap this up at retail?
"Are you going to be playing as the Dawnguard, Lightweaver, Nightfeather, Stoneheart or the Wyldshell?"
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Lovely. Dungeon crawlers are my jam, but I really should finish painting up annplaying through a few I have, first
I know that feeling only too well.
I don’t have a dungeon crawler in the Pile o Fun and this looks a goodun.
I should say if you’re looking for something adventure/dungeon crawl based as an alternative. I would heartily recommend Gloomhaven: Jaws Of The Lion. Fewer miniatures to paint too 😉
I’ve watched a few playthroughs of Gloomhaven and do like the look of it. I think this looks simpler which may be handy for playing with a littlun. I’ll have another nosey before this one lands.
That’s fair enough – I think Bardsung is probably a bit more pick up and play for sure, especially with youngsters.
Gloomhaven is more of a tactical puzzle / hand-management game, compared to most “roll dice and make a skill check” dungeon crawler games. Bardsung’s dice had me assuming it was the latter, although I didn’t look closely at it. Gloomhaven is supposed to have a miniatures KS later this year, but I don’t know who the creator is. If it’s Blacklist Games, I’m not sure I’d back it; see the Fantasy Series I KS comments, although I’ve found it hard to proxy the boss miniatures for GH. As brennon says, start with Jaws of a Lion. Easily under $35, and… Read more »
Good choice, a brilliant game. I am waiting for my Kickstarter pledge for Frosthaven to arrive soon. Then I will be lost to the real world for some time.
I did look at the kickstarter, but been avoiding backing lately because the excessive shipping.
Just nipped over to Steamforge and had a closer look… that’s a hefty price tag… £200 but for a penny… that’s nearly 80 quid more than the KS price.
Games are getting too expensive and that one is certainly above what I’m willing to pay.
But if you got the cash to spare, it does look interesting.
Elsewhere you can find it for ~£140. I’m not saying that contradicts your point, though.
Ooh this looks like a good game will have to get into the guts of this one.