Ignite, Game Review

The races have lived in peace as long as is remembered. But, the time of peace is ending. Though many people have prospered, the land hasn’t. Lava fields now flow and many areas have become barren. There isn’t enough good land for all the races to survive. Warriors are rising up to battle for their people—battle for their survival. I stand now for my people. Are you standing against me?

Ignite, by Ginger Snap Gaming (website and Facebook), is a deck building game where your cards determine movement and combat. The game is in the last stages of development and I had the opportunity of playing a three person game with a friend and Darren Terpstra, the developer, at SaltCon (website and Facebook page) 2018.

What sets Ignite apart is, along with building a deck, you have warriors taking to a field of battle. The deck is used for movement, attacking, defending, and being able to buy more cards. Each player also has a racial ability they are working with. So, instead of just playing your own hand and determining how to collect cards that are worth more, you need to build a deck promoting your abilities while minimizing your opponents’ advantage.

Game Play

Each player takes on a different race. Because we were playing a prototype in a limited time we didn’t get the full selection. Each race has a racial ability. For example, I was playing orcs which allowed me to take more damage. My two opponents had a race allowing them to move through lava and the other was gifted with weapons, allowing them to defend with a weapon and not just shields. We each had three players to place on the map.

Our map consisted of the bazaar surrounded by the barrens and the edge being the village. The board has variability, allowing it to be different boards every game. It is also two sided to add additional terrain features. Everyone started in the village which is important for building your deck.

As long as you have one of your people in the village, you can buy a card, or if you have someone in the bazaar you can buy or sell one. You are limited to the number of cards you buy by the number of characters you have located where they can purchase something.

During a game there are 16 cards that are available to build your deck. Currently, I counted 50 cards developed for use. There is a good mix of cards available. Darren wasn’t sure which ones would be part of the base game.

The cards in Ignitehave multiple uses. Foremost, cards provide movement, weapons, defenses, and spells. This is a game designed for players to be offensive, so there is no healing. This works well to balance the time of the game. This also plays into the changing strategy as the game progresses.

Further, cards have earning power for purchase more cards. You have to decide when to use the card you are holding and how.

Because everyone starts with the same deck, the start of the game is mostly managing your buying power to build a stronger deck. Movement to the bazaar improves the ability of building your deck by allowing you to sell weaker cards to purchase stronger ones. The combinations allow for combat to continue until a player loses all of their fighters.

 

Because Ignite is designed for up to 8 players, there is an end game rule allowing players who have been removed from play to still remain active. This is really good since a game of Ignite is expected to last 20–

30 minutes per player.

Artwork

Ignite has wonderful artwork. The pictures are great representations of what to expect from the card. Some of the work I saw is worthy of being made into posters or other prints.

Overall

Ignite is a game for players who enjoy deck building and those who enjoy strategy. It effectively combines creating your deck with a map for movement and combat.

There is a lot of replay-ability. With the reconfiguration of the map, the number of races, the choice of cards to include, and having to reshuffle your deck means that it is virtually impossible to have the game play the same way twice.

Flexibility exists for the size of the gaming group available. Ignite is designed for 2–8 players, allowing for it to be available for the gaming group without as much concern as to who is going to be able to make it that night.

I enjoyed Igniteand my friend gave Darren his first loss at his game. After we walked away we talked over how this one is going on our Kickstarter watch list.

I stand over my last foe. The shades of the other races have fled back into the shadows. There is now enough food for the people—they will live. Peace has once again come to our race.

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