Cursed Empire originated as a tabletop role-playing game that was released under the title of Crimson Empire in 2003. The game was designed by Chris Loizou and is currently being updated to the third edition and utilizes a dark fantasy setting. Players will take on the roles of characters in a broken world known as Thargos, trying to rebuild while also making a name for themselves in the process. It uses a light mechanics system primarily focused around d100 and d20 rolls. There are several supplements available as well as a graphic novel that can be used alongside the game. Players both new and familiar with Cursed Empire can visit the world of Thargos in a whole new way thanks to an upcoming card game from Chris Loizou and Bryan Steele that will be launching soon on Kickstarter!

For this review, we are using a 2-player core set that came with preconstructed decks. After constructing and shuffling their 60-card decks made up of Missions, Actions, and Lasting cards (plus four Character cards that are not shuffled in), players will start by determining the first player. Players will draw the top card of their decks and flip them face up to compare the value in the top right corner; the player with the highest valued card is deemed the first player. Next, each player draws a full hand of cards that will need to contain at least two Missions. Games of Heroes of Thargos are played in a 3×4 grid. The four columns are known as “lanes”. Beginning with the first player, players will take turns placing their four Character Cards one at a time into one of four “lanes” making up the outer rows. This process is repeated for the middle row except the cards being used are Mission cards and the last player to place a Character will be the first to place one. Once this grid is completely laid out, the first player may begin their first turn.

Heroes of Thargos has a pretty simple turn structure. At the beginning of your turn, players will draw up to their maximum hand size. From there, they may then play one Lasting card and then choose to either play an Action card or attempt to complete a Mission. If playing with the factions rule variant, then the Lasting card played will need to have a matching faction symbol in its upper left corner with the character you choose to play it on unless that character is a rebel in which case they ignore this restriction. Action cards will have various effects on the game that include effects such as drawing cards, milling cards off an opponent’s deck, or moving cards from one battle lane to another. If a player chooses to attempt a Mission from the center of the board then the character at that location will need to meet or exceed the number totals of the Mission, any effects at that location if applicable, and the stats of the opposing player’s character. They do this by choosing any cards they have in their hand that they want to add to their own totals using the PAM numbers in the upper right of those cards and playing them face down. It should be noted that if a Mission requires to check more than one stat then a stack needs to be made for each of those stats and will be added separately. The opponent will then do the same, but has the restriction that they must put at least one card in each stat row the attacking player did before placing any others they choose to play. cards are then flipped over and totals compared to see if the initiating player can match or exceed the opposing sums in each necessary statistic. If they do, then they will take the Mission card and add it to their total victory points as well as execute any effects on the Mission card. The defender will then need to replace the Mission with another from their hand or reveal cards one at a time from their deck until they find a Mission and discard all the others that were not. If the attacker loses then their character will be flipped to their injured side if they are not already. The first player to meet or exceed their victory point goal at the end of their turn will be declared the winner. As an alternate, it should be mentioned that if a player cannot draw at least one card at the beginning of their turn they will lose leaving the opposition to revel in the glory of their victory.

As an introduction to the world of Cursed Empire, I’m not entirely sure Heroes of Thargos quite hits the mark. While it does include art and characters from the RPG, those unfamiliar with the setting will feel a bit lost when it comes to the lore. This being said, knowledge of Thargos isn’t necessarily needed to play the game as the mechanics are meant to be simple enough for anyone to pick up and understand. To be perfectly honest, though, some of the players in our game group took to this game quite easily while others struggled to wrap their heads around the overall strategy or the purpose behind specific cards. Like with most deck construction games, it is crucial to learn your own deck to understand the synergy as well as what each card does. This does mean fumbling around a bit as you experiment and change things up until you get the hang of it. This is not a negative to the game, however, just a part of learning a game of this genre. We also seemed to struggle a bit with meeting the scores we needed to win and found ourselves opting to either try and be the last man standing or just mill each other out in attempts at point denial instead. Though these strategies are different than what the game intended, sometimes it was the only option available when the games were down to the wire – and they can get close! I really wish I had gotten to play the proposed story mode as I feel it would have connected me to the world a bit more and brought a better sense of immersion so I’m hoping to learn more about that once the Kickstarter campaign launches. All in all, the game plays quickly and I really enjoyed playing with my friends!

All photos of Spartans Unleashed product were taken and edited by Krista.