Reign of Horror Board Game Review

There are quite a few story-driven games in the gaming scene, but only a few of them work exclusively with an app. I introduced you to Journeys in Middle-earth earlier. But if you are not a fan of The Lord of the Rings, today I have an alternative for you from the horror universe of H.P. Lovecraft, which has now received an expansion called The Serpent’s Path. You can read how the main game is played and what is new in the expansion in the following paragraphs.

• Number of players: 1 – 5
• Play time: 120-180 minutes (time determines the adventure)
• Price: 2499 CZK (Tlama Games)
• Provided by: Asmodeus-Blackfire
• Age: 14+

The horror genre relies on dense atmosphere and carefully crafted stories.

H. P. Lovecraft is primarily a writer of horror stories related to the Cthulhu mythos. So it is not surprising that the Realm of Horror works with the idea of ​​​​mutually exclusive scenarios in which you experience stories in Innsmouth and other places in New England. In total, you can count on four free scenarios presented to you by the respected application. It contains not only Czech texts, but also very good dubbing. You always enter into combat with a group of characters who are looking for the truth.

In the basic investigator menu, you will find a decently balanced party, from which you will choose only five characters to act. You can recruit a parapsychologist, a street kid, a priest or a millionaire. Each has their own characteristics, abilities and history that led them to where they are now. For example, I really liked the millionaire Preston Fairmont, whose “ace in the hole” was the ability to actively work with fear cards. Once you have chosen who to engage in combat with, nothing prevents you from immersing yourself in the story that is currently presented. The action always takes place in a clearly defined area, so we do not have cards like “Wandering in Middle-earth”. Here, the game is played on a much smaller scale, and this is good.

The game alternates between two phases. In the first phase, the investigators are given the entire space. Using action points, they move around the rooms and other spaces and try to figure out what happened there. Then you explore the discovered landmarks and learn more about their secrets, which often puts your skills to the test. Nothing is free here, and like a real game that works with heroes with statistics, this system also uses dice. I really liked the design of the individual locations that you go through and get different items.

Sometimes a bloodthirsty monster may also appear on the scene. One of the potential actions is an attack, where you can use melee weapons, pistols or spells against enemies. The tool you choose determines what rolls you need to make. Once you are done, the mythos phase begins, where monsters and other enemies are given space to attack. At this point, it is time to activate various specific effects and, above all, the need to use fear if you are within range of something evil. Lovecraft would not be Lovecraft without madness cards, which make investigators almost illegitimate characters.

During your journey, in addition to battles, you will also encounter various situations that also involve rolling dice and testing your abilities. Interestingly, here you will find puzzles that you solve primarily through the app, which will be a great companion on your journey. Winning the entire game is about uncovering the secret and, above all, achieving the main task that lies before you. The journey is long, but with the right team it is always a great experience.

The Serpent’s Path takes adventurers into dangerous jungles.

I understand that some of the Starborn and Dagonists might be a little bored with this. That’s the group that the Path of the Serpent expansion is aimed at. It takes the player not to a dungeon or the home of a snake god cult, but to a brutal jungle where there’s no shortage of new threats. Luckily, you won’t have to deal with any of the old familiar faces, as you can tackle different situations with new characters. In the menu, you’ll find expedition leader Leo Anderson, explorer Ursula Downes, mechanic Daniela Reyes, or astronomer Norman Withers. As usual, each of them has their own stats, backstory, and an action they can perform. For example, the mechanic can drop two hints or a fear card after successfully solving a puzzle, which is very handy.

There are three scenarios in total. “Jungle Awakening” takes you into a terrifying jungle that has grown up on what was once a carefully tended lawn. This scenario is of medium difficulty. If you want something more challenging, I recommend the second option “Before Darkness”, which takes you to the jungles of South America. The main challenge is the “Lost Temple of Yig” campaign, in which snake priests try to free the terrifying god Yig. In all scenarios, you can count on stories that, like in the main game, are accompanied by text and dubbing in Czech.

The journey through the forest and ancient temples was very eventful for me. I was never bored for a minute. The puzzles could be a pain at times, but eventually my group managed to solve them all, even if I sometimes “bleeded” in the process. For example, exploring the temple of the god Yiga was quite a challenge.

The Serpent’s Path brings not only new explorers and destinations to the Realm of Terror, but also a new batch of monsters. Awaiting you are the angry snakemen, the mysterious temple guards, or the menacing basilisk, whose appearance resembles that of the Harry Potter stories – a giant snake with poisonous teeth, inspiring fear.

Overall, I was very impressed with the adventures added in Paths of the Serpent. The new characters are interesting, and the enemies have some of the magic I encountered in the original Dreadlord campaigns. I didn’t expect much from the expansion, but it ended up being a very decent experience.

The Realm of Dread is playing a very different card than Cthulhu: Even Death May Die.

After playing Cthulhu: Even Death May Die, I had a tendency to compare the two games while playing Reign of Horrors. However, the reality is that each title focuses on different aspects. In the case of the former, it is primarily a challenge, which involves testing your luck and willingness to take risks to the maximum. The storytelling, along with the puzzle design, plays a much larger role in Reign of Horror. Everything is supported by a dense atmosphere, which is helped by the Czech localization and the intense passages that are incredibly impressive.

So I think the basic experience of playing Reign of Horror is very good. If you want, you can enrich your gameplay with various expansions. For the purposes of this review, I personally only tested the “Serpentine Path”, but it has already shown me that there is still a lot of room for expansion. For fans of Lovecraft and his dark horror atmosphere, this game is a must.

We would like to thank Czech distributor Asmodee Czech Republic for providing us with a copy of Reign of Horror and the Serpent’s Path expansion.