Sergo and I will be shooting an Essen video this week in honor of the biggest convention in the board game industry, and Scythe by Stonemaier Games is one of the games we mutually decided to include in the video. As such I thought it would be a good time to mention Scythe on the site! I’ve been following Scythe for a long time now and am always excited to hear updates. For anyone unaware of this alternate history, steampunk, strategy game click to read more! It looks like a game that a lot of people are going to enjoy!

Scythe is set in Eastern Europe following a large war between man and giant mechs. In the wake of this war the leaders of nearby countries are attempting to sieze power again. That’s where you come in! You are the leader of one of these factions!

From the Stonemaier Games website;

“In Scythe, each player represents a fallen leader attempting to restore their honor and lead their faction to power in Eastern Europa. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs.

Each player begins the game with different resources (strength, victory points, movement capabilities, and popularity), their choice of several faction-specific abilities, and a hidden goal. Starting positions are specially calibrated to contribute to each faction’s uniqueness and the asymmetrical nature of the game.

Scythe gives players almost complete control over their fate. Other than each player’s individual hidden objective card, the only elements of luck are encounter cards that players will draw as they interact with the citizens of newly explored lands and combat cards that give you a temporary boost in combat. Combat is also driven by choices, not luck or randomness.”

In the video to follow the designer of the game, Jamey Stegmaier, talks about Scythe and some of the features that will make it unique. Among these things are the fact that resources stay on the board other than being transported to a player tableau, and that the order in which upgrades are made matter rather than just the sum of the upgrades. Give the video a watch if it sounds like something you’d be interested in. Just bear in mind that the video is from 2014 so it’s a little dated now, but no less interesting!