Scales of Fate
- Board's Eye View
- 44 minutes ago
- 2 min read
We featured IV Studio's Veiled Fate on Board's Eye View back in 2023. It's a hidden-role deduction game for up to eight players. It was playable with just two players but very much at its best at higher player counts. We were intrigued to see how the ideas behind Veiled Fate could be transitioned to a game expressly designed as a strategic two-player head to head, which is exactly what the design team of Max Anderson, Zac Dixon and Austin Harrison have achieved with Scales of Fate.
In Scales of Fate, each of the players draws two cards that show them which two (of nine) demigods they will score for. You play on a 3 x 3 modular grid and can move any of the demigods, not just the ones in which you have an interest for scoring. You also have pieces that can be placed adjacent to spots on the grid affecting either all the tiles of that colour in the row or column, or just the adjacent tiles.
At the end of each of the three rounds, players score either the difference between their two demigods on the 'renown' scoring track, or, if they are on the same position, you score that value. You lose points if you've made use of a demigod's power. Players are trying to deduce from each other's play which two demigod cards are held by their opponent, however, and if you guess both correctly you'll gain three victory points. There are no points for guessing just one of their two cards and you lose a point if both your guesses are wrong. The points in Scales of Fate can be delicately balanced so it's not unusual for victory and defeat to be determined by the accuracy or otherwise of the end-game deductions.
There's a depth of strategy therefore as players seek to maneuver demigods up and down on the scoring track, using bluff, double-bluff and misdirection so that they don't make it too obvious which cards they hold; all the while trying to discern their opponent's cards. Some information on demigods' positions has to be shared at the end of each round, so canny players will want to manipulate the various demigods positions so that the information they have to share is of minimal value... And it's possible, by the way, that players could be holding one or more of the same demigod cards... Oh, and you can use one of three demigod powers once per game but, if you do, it'll incur you a negative point.
Tho' it looks quite complex, we've been very pleasantly surprised to find how quick the game is to teach and learn. The iconography on the tiles is all-important but it's all remarkably intuitive: even on a first play, this isn't a game that will have players hunting through the rulebook before they take each turn.
And despite the depth, Scales of Fate plays superquick. Our plays at Board's Eye View have all come in at around 20-25 minutes, so you can play the game as a filler or accommodate multiple plays back to back.
