Game Review - KeyForge: Call of the Archons

Mechanics: collectible card game (CCG)

Game difficulty: average

Game duration: 40-60 min

Number of players: 2

Best number of players: 2

Language: English is required to play the game

I've never been drawn to making decks and I admire people who can sit for hours planning and optimizing their decks. But despite that, I am aware that one of the most historically influential games has been Magic: The Gathering, which still makes millions for its publishers. In recent years, many other alternatives have appeared on the market, such as Android: Netrunner or Game of Thrones: The card game, but no game of this type has been as accessible as Keyforge.

Subject matter

Ugh, I was really trying to get to the point. So the players represent the leaders who have gathered the seven races, who are competing with each other to make the keys that will allow them to access immeasurably valuable knowledge. There's really little logic to the theme, but each player actually controls three races that fight the other player's three races. The first player to collect the resources for the three keys will be the winner. The lack of real theming is made up for by the very different races and their associated mechanics, which really feel thematic and relevant to each race.

Components

This will also be my biggest criticism of the game. First off, I'm not the biggest fan of the cartoonish graphic design on the cards, but the design isn't bad or low quality, it's more a matter of taste. However, I see a serious problem in the packaging and storage of the game. Namely, KeyForge is mostly sold in small packs of 37 cards, the packaging of which practically has to be thrown away after opening and the player himself has to think about how to store his cards. Also, the game requires tokens, which can be obtained in the game's starter kit. It's just unfortunate that these starter sets weren't available in stores or online for a long time, and one starter set with two full decks and tokens costs as much as four decks individually. Consequently, many of the players use and combine chips from other games. For example, I use Imperial Assault. Therefore, I am forced to admit that the components of the game could have been more well thought out, the possibility to functionally save the small boxes or to buy the game tokens separately would make it much easier to store the game.

Mechanics

But despite the component problems, KeyForge has gained respect and admiration in the eyes of many "gamers". Why? Three reasons - uniqueness, mechanics and collectability.

Uniqueness – every deck of cards that is purchased is unique, created by an algorithm, so no two decks are alike in the world. It consists of 36 cards and a reference card representing 3 of the 7 available races. This means that every time you open the game pack, the player will feel like it's Christmas, because you never know what will be in your stash. In this day and age of reviews, unboxing videos, and an internet full of pictures for every game, this is a very refreshing feeling.

Mechanics – despite the uniqueness of the game, its mechanics are not only good, but also exciting and addictive. At its core, KeyForge is another card game where the cards are activated, they have various key words that pretty much everyone already knows, BUT the main hook of the game is that the player can only play and use cards of one race per turn, and this choice is great! Very often you have to make a difficult decision whether to choose a race already played on the table or try to strengthen cards from another one. Often the cards players want to play are from two different races, but only one can be played. Of course, the clearly defined end result - three forged keys - is also well polished, but it is the racial differences and the choice between them that make the game deep.

Collectability - if other collectible card games require investing hundreds of euros and a lot of free time to create powerful "decks", then KeyForge solves this problem by completely cutting off the possibility of combining cards. Players play with the shoes that have been purchased, so everyone can be competitive in the tournament. Also in Latvia, a KeyForge community has already formed, which organizes various official tournaments. Also with very interesting rules, such as those where everyone opens their game stack only at the start of the tournament, or players take the weakest sets with them and give them to the opponent to play with. I recommend those interested to join the Facebook group: LCG Riga.

Multiplayer

Since each kava is unique, players who purchase new KeyForge sets never get 100% of the game. The combinations are extremely numerous and varied. Therefore, the multiplayer is very high.

Rating

KeyForge shows very well that new solutions are always possible in the world of board games, and with the development of technology, new concepts for creating unique games are also possible. I recommend everyone to at least give KeyForge a try because trading card games are an exciting part of the hobby and there is no other game on the market as affordable as KeyForge yet. Even if you're not into tournaments like I am, this is a good game to add to your collection and play with someone as a couple. Rating 7 out of 10. I didn't put more directly due to ill-conceived storage solutions and lack of tokens.