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How Long Will Your Light Last?
The Night Cage
Y
ou pull yourself along a stone passage, inching your way in complete darkness, with nothing but your fear and the dim glow of candle to guide you. You freeze, panic rising inside you, as you sense something else moving in the suffocating darkness, just beyond the flickers of your candle – and it despises the light. In this deeply thematic, chilling cooperative game, Smirk & Dagger Games has once again created a truly evocative experience, one that will leave your palms sweating in anticipation of what lies beyond the reach of your candle’s dim light. After all, that’s what any horrorthemed game aspires to and The Night Cage delivers a continual state of unease and existential dread. In The Night Cage, you awake in a purgatory-like void … trying to escape
before the darkness overwhelms you and your lights go out forever. To do so, each prisoner must first find a Key and then turn them in unison at a Gate tile, thereby escaping The Night Cage. But of course, it’s never that easy. Of particular note is the game’s unique candlelight mechanic. Much of the board is in perpetual darkness, as a prisoner’s candle only illuminates the passages directly adjacent to them. Therefore, as players move, the light moves with them and exposes new pathways while those they have left are removed from the board completely, consumed in the darkness forever. This means that anyone retracing their steps would find all the passages had changed. It is a simple mechanic that makes players feel they are hopelessly lost in a labyrinth. But there are only so many tiles before
you run out. Nothing brings this more sharply into focus than the game’s most prominent element, a dimensional tile holder in the shape of a candle. Cleverly, as each tile is removed from the stack, the candle appears to burn down slightly, keeping everyone painfully aware that when the candle burns out, so has your hope of escaping. It’s not just a perfect way to organize and hold the tiles, it’s a brilliant bit of theater and a perfect way to signal the end game. Should the last Gate fade into the darkness or too many Keys become lost, the players will lose. Or, worse still, if there aren’t enough tiles left a Prisoner may become isolated in darkness and unable to reach the Gate, spelling a chilling end for you all. While the darkness itself is your main foe, monsters called Wax Eaters seek to extinguish your candle. These motion-sensitive creatures strike out in all directions, causing players to go “Lights Out.” Thereafter, you’ll stumble blindly onto new tiles when you move. In addition, everyone loses three tiles from the communal stack, hoping that precious Keys and Gates are not discarded that could lose you the game. The Night Cage, by designers Chris McMahon, Chris Chan and Rosswell Saunders, won several design competitions over the course of its development, including the ION Award, and it is easy to see why. The illustrations, also by Chris Chan, are evocative, minimalist, and stunning to look at. The key tokens are custom metal sculpts both beautiful and haunting. Everywhere you turn, there is another reason to own this game. So don’t be left in the dark! Preorder a case today. April 2021, SND 1007, $39.99 Players 1-5, Ages 14 and Up, 50 minutes smirkandlaughter.com/the-night-cage 203-733-5314 smirkanddagger@gmail.com smirkanddagger.com
SHOBU BACK IN STOCK! SHOBU is a beautifully crafted abstract strategy game for two players. Instantly familiar, uniquely challenging and featuring beautiful, natural elements for incredible table appeal. Ages 8+, 30 minutes.
The Deadlies Cindr
Date Dragons, Without Getting Burned! Are you a dragon looking for companionship? Or just the adventurous type, looking to join the exciting dragon dating scene? Cindr is a ‘push your luck’ dice game that allows 1-5 players to set up a dating profile and meet the dragon of their dreams. Will you be the first of your friends to find love and fulfillment?
GREED, PRIDE, WRATH... just three of the 7 Deadlies you will encounter in this devious little “take-that!” card game for 3 - 5 players, ages 10+. Each suit has its own unique, wicked power, themed to its namesake. Great family-style card game or dastardly filler!
Cutthroat Caverns
Anniversary Edition Without Teamwork, Youʼll Never Survive. Without Betrayal, Youʼll Never Win! Cutthroat Caverns, one of our most critically acclaimed titles, is a devious, semi-cooperative, emotionally-charged game of betrayal and “kill stealing” in a classic fantasy setting. This Anniversary Edition is a beautifully envisioned reboot, upgrading the art, materials and rules set. 3-6 players, 30/60/90 min, 14+
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