Combining the best of Euro and Ameri mechanics, Reign of Hades offers an innovative gameplay experience in the dungeon-crawling genre for 1-4 players, where pure chance plays a minimal role, and the fate of the gods is completely in the hands of the players.The game designed by Attila Sümegi, Richard Amann, Attila Kristóf.
Reign of Hades immerses players in a visually stunning and modern interpretation of Greek Mythology with its captivating blend of dungeon crawler elements and action-driven storytelling.
In this enthralling, co-operative campaign game, you will take on the roles of fallen heroes who were once mighty Olympian Gods. Imprisoned in Tartarus by the cunning Hades, you and your fellow players must set yourselves free and navigate the treacherous realms of the Underworld together.
Starting as mortal shadows of your former selves, you will fight to reclaim your divinity and strength, with one ultimate goal in mind: confronting Hades and taking back what's rightfully yours—Olympus.
As you make progress on the uniquely illustrated maps of the Underworld, you will encounter a variety of challenges and obstacles that demand strategic thinking and careful decision-making to overcome in a collaborative teamwork. While you fight your individual battles against monstrous foes, you will never be alone—your teammate can support you in various ways.
While the core gameplay focuses on the cooperation between teams of two, there will be a dedicated three-player variant and a thrilling solo variant for those seeking solitary adventures.
During the game design process, two important aspects were at the forefront: players actively helping each other, and combat being both exciting and strategic.
The former is characteristic of Ameri- games, while the latter is typical of Eurogames. We achieved excitement by utilizing dice in line with dungeon crawler traditions, and for strategy, we created the Dice Grid System, which forms a three-by-six matrix with sides of three increasingly powerful dice. Within this grid, players have the opportunity to move back and forth both vertically and horizontally.
Dice rolling only represents initial randomness (sometimes not even that), while tactics, resource management, and mutual assistance determine how the player can modify the outcome until it suits their needs. In this game, players decide which monster to attack and when to end the battle. The Dice Grid expands further during the game, introducing new possibilities and effects into the gameplay.
In this game, players take on the roles of betrayed and deceived Olympian gods who have lost their divine powers and are cast into the depths of Tartarus as mortals. Their goal is to escape and seek revenge on Hades, but in order to do so, they must first regain their strength and forgotten knowledge.
The gods of Reign of Hades are inspired by Greek mythology, which means that we have preserved some aspects of the characters from ancient stories, but also deviated from them in many ways to provide a diverse gaming experience. Initially, the player board is the same for all players, and every Action has the same effect. However, through collected Divinity points during the game, certain Actions can be developed. Depending on the Actions a player has developed at a given level, they can acquire different unique Abilities when leveling up.
Level-ups don't represent one big leap but rather continuous improvement. With each level, a character can develop multiple aspects. Once these developments reach the required amount, the character levels up and gains additional bonuses.
When a player develops one of their Actions, they remove the corresponding token from their Player Board and place it on a shield-shaped board used for resource tracking. Once the pattern is complete – meaning that 5 Actions have been developed – the character levels up instantly and gain additional bonuses.
Reign of Hades actively promotes players' collaboration and collective problem-solving by setting up teams of two, simultaneously acting from two different positions: Battlefield and Cover.
The player on the Battlefield will actively fight against monsters and face challenges, while the other player can support them from Cover, healing wounds, recharging or even evolving their character.The uniquely illustrated maps of the Underworld are divided into zones the characters can move between, there is no square grid or hexagons. Each zone is further split up into a Battlefield and Cover area by a unique landmark that offers a one-shot ability, through which the player's fighting positions are represented physically.
The distance between characters is measured in the number of zones between them, which will be an important factor to consider when it comes to supporting your teammate. The double-feature modifier cards, the Feat cards can only be used within range as a support for your teammate, so the positioning of team members is essential for effective combat.Supporting your teammate will recover some of your Divinity, but assistance also comes at a cost.
With the special cocktail you had at the wedding, Hades has taken your immortality, your divine powers and even your memories along with your pride. If you actively participate in combat from Cover instead of resting, you will start losing Feat cards to Oblivion, making it increasingly challenging to recover them.