Corin was playing the Tabletop Simulator version (identical to the physical version) of Grimslingers with myself and several other strangers from around the world for a few hours on several evenings.
If you are interested in Grimslingers, there is no other review out there that describes the game so well and touches on it's many subtle nuances. It's a lengthy write-up, but it's worth reading!
Thank you so much Corin for writing this!
Grimslingers is an excellent card game for 2-4 that mixes strategy, luck, and planning. Each game is about half an hour (give or take time based on how long people spend thinking). I had an opportunity to play with the developer, and I had an absolute blast!
The game itself is fairly simple, but there's a lot of thought and depth that goes into it. Your objective is to either work in teams or as individuals to eliminate all your enemies by reducing their health to 0. You do this with a set of base spells, as well as your selected three "Signature Spells," which together make up your hand. Before I go into more detail about what makes this game so fun, however, you'll need to know a bit more about how the game works.
Grimslingers operates in two phases: Standoff and Aftermath. During the Standoff, players have the chance to take several unique risk/reward-type actions, including sacrificing health for energy (which you need to cast spells), attempting to hide from enemy attacks, or "surging" to make your attack more powerful at the cost of more energy. Players then select a spell and target to play from their active hand. This is actually where the depth of the game comes in; each spell has a unique effect, and is weak and strong against one other element.
During this short period, you have to figure out what your opponent(s) will play, and who they will target. And of course, each player could also be playing one of their signature spells, which can have a huge impact on the turn. But once all players have made their decisions, the spells and targets are revealed. And the ever-so-aptly-named Aftermath phase then begins.
During the Aftermath, players resolve spell effects based on their targets and spells selected. Damage is dealt, the energy costs are paid, and if two players are slinging spells at each other, then they have a blackjack-style showdown to figure out who bests the other, unless one of the player's spells is weak to the other (IE, lightning beats water). After that, all the used spells become inactive (or, if a signature card, removed from the game), and the round restarts.
The fun (and challenge) of this game is in reading your opponents and using your cards/actions wisely. There's also an element of resource management, as using a spell not only takes energy, but will either render it inactive for the next turn (which will make one of your other spells not as powerful), or remove it from the game (if it was a signature spell). You have to balance what you need against what you think your opponent will be playing. For instance, do you play the Earth spell, which reduces incoming enemy damage as its bonus? Or do you try to deal more damage with a lightning spell? Or, perhaps, you could try to recover some health with a water spell; but do they have its weakness on the table in front of them? These are the sorts of things that will go through your mind. And if you enjoy that kind of thing like I do, it's glorious.
The signature spells I've mentioned can really help swing the tide of a game, and add a lot of flavor and replayability. These spells can do anything from healing your character, to reflecting an attack, to some of the more interesting effects, like transferring the damage you take into health or energy, or even simply "vanishing" for the next turn. But they come with expensive tradeoffs. I misused several signature spells which are designed to counter enemy abilities when no one targeted me, and I both wasted the spell and most of my energy. But when used well, they are intensely satisfying and rewarding. In one particular 4-player free-for-all, there was some inital snickering as all the targeting cards showed they had aimed at me. They laughed and were very sympathetic until I simply grinned and pointed to the spell I had played, Redirect, which let me turn any spells cast at me this turn at new targets.
Cue the maniacal laughter.
I would like to emphasize, however, that these spells in no way upset the balance of the game. There were several times that I received the brunt end of a redirect, or had my energy sapped, or was otherwise foiled by an unexpected play. But again, careful planning and awareness of what my opponent and I both needed helped me prevail, even though I was at a disadvantage. The game's energy system also does a great job helping to ensure that these cards remain fair and balanced. The powerful cards all have high costs, and might leave you wide open for a counterattack!
Gameplay aside, the game also looks fantastic. The art was done by the designer himself, and it looks professional, sylized, and is well-themed. The visuals do a great job helping to distinguish and guide players through color-coding spells, weaknesses/strengths, and determining what resolves first. There's also a lot of smaller, loving touches that have been put into the game which gives it real character that many others lack. A quick example of this is that your energy and health indicators both have two separate sides, each with their own personality/quips that show as you get beaten up (or use up energy). Although this doesn't change the game at all, it's small details like this that really show that the developer has put a lot of thought and love into the experience, and I can't applaud him enough for it.
For anyone who likes mind games, strategy games, card games, and/or games for small groups, I couldn't recommend Grimslingers more. I'd highly recommend at least trying it once if you get the chance. Looking forward to getting my hands on a physical copy soon!
