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Venture Forth - A Board Game

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

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Venture Forth - A Board Game

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Product Description

Across the realm, ordinary souls are longing for their dreams. Some seek wealth or power, others seek knowledge, but all pursue their own personal quest. Guiding your party, you populate a fantasy world with adventurers and enemies, recruit new companions, and venture forth out into the world of adventure! This is a EURO-Style game with an Adventure theme. Collect WILL and complete life goals for your characters to gain victory points. In Venture Forth, players have a party of adventurers who each have their own personal ambition. Achieving an ambition allows the player to convert that adventurer's will into points and to possibly level him up. All ambitions require the player to venture forth, which means moving his party from one site to another along a path. One of the main actions in the game is playing an enemy or adventurer card to these path spaces. Once a path is completely filled in, any player can choose to venture forth down it and encounter each card one by one, recruiting adventurers, defeating enemies, and possibly gaining treasure along the way. A combination of resource management, path planning, and timing will help you along the way.

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    Excellent Value for a great game!
    5 out of 5 stars
    Excellent Value for a great game!
    This game really surprised me! Very simple, but a lot of tactical play! Really feels like you are gathering adventures to encounter foes, find treasure, and finish ambitions! Excellent value for under $20. I recommend it!
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    Top reviews from the United States

    • Ruben Zurita
      4.0 out of 5 stars Played it once
      Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2013
      Verified Purchase
      Liked how easy the game mechanic was, while offering a variety of tactical options. It is not a fighting game. but there are ways to screw with others.
      2 people found this helpful
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    • Anthony Trezza
      5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun
      Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2016
      Verified Purchase
      I liked this game a lot. It has a moderately complex play (in my opinion) with a big replay value. There are enemy cards, treasure cards, and hero cards. None of the cards repeat, each is individual. That is a huge positive to this game. I wish the cards were bigger.
      During the game you are going about trying to get the most victory points. Theres different ways to obtain them. After a few plays, I noticed various strategies you can use, including ways to stop other people from gaining points. I really enjoyed this game, and surprised at the affordable price. I was also looking for a Greek Mythology themed game, and it was perfect.
      One person found this helpful
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    • MJ in SLC
      3.0 out of 5 stars This game has well thought out mechanics, but I ...
      Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2016
      Verified Purchase
      This game has well thought out mechanics, but I give it only 3 stars because the decisions in it did not seem that interesting to me.
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    • Taylor Brewton
      5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Value for a great game!
      Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016
      Verified Purchase
      This game really surprised me! Very simple, but a lot of tactical play! Really feels like you are gathering adventures to encounter foes, find treasure, and finish ambitions! Excellent value for under $20. I recommend it!
      Customer image
      Taylor Brewton
      5.0 out of 5 stars
      Excellent Value for a great game!

      Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016
      This game really surprised me! Very simple, but a lot of tactical play! Really feels like you are gathering adventures to encounter foes, find treasure, and finish ambitions! Excellent value for under $20. I recommend it!
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    • Rebecca Toltz
      5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
      Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2014
      Verified Purchase
      Husband loved it
      One person found this helpful
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    • P. A. Sellers
      5.0 out of 5 stars A Xiphos Wielding Good Time!
      Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2012
      My first real exposure to Greek mythology came in the form of motion pictures - Clash of the Titans, to be more specific. You may have thought that I would have read and enjoyed the Greek myths through any number of classical writings, but at seven years old my voracious reading habits saw me absorbing such memorable classics as Henry & Ribsy andHarry the Fat Bear Spy rather than classical mythology. However, seeing Clash of the Titans blew my fragile little mind and really made me realize just what it was I had been missing. I begged my mother to buy me a book on Greek Mythology - and bless her heart, she did. A day or so later, my mother returned home with a brand new copy of D'Aulaires Book of Greek Mythology..

      To this day, it's one of my favorite books and it's still in print, to boot! In fact, I recently purchased a copy for my daughter (I'd have given her mine, but my copy has been read so many times that I'm surprised it's still as intact as it is) so that she, too, could revel in these timeless classical tales. From the intense rivalries between the different Greek Gods to the incredible adventures of the many Greek heroes, the book is truly an amazing compendium representing some of the greatest tales ever told, with some truly memorable illustrations added to bring these stories to life. It's an amazing book and one no fan of Greek mythology should be without.

      Suffice to say, when I realized that my next review was going to be for Minion Game's Venture Forth, a title whose central theme lies among those very same Greek stories, I was immediately pumped. Examining Venture Forth more closely, it appeared to be an adventure game, where one would form a party of heroes in search of fame and fortune, encountering mythological beasts on a field of battle and earning treasure the like of which are spoken on only in legend. It reminded me, at a glance, of Talisman, but with a Greecian theme thrown in for color. As I began setting up the board and reading through the rulebook, I found that Venture Forth was something different, perhaps vaguely reminiscent ofTalisman, but for the most part, a wholly unique experience - and that was a good thing. We'll touch on this more in a bit, but for now, let's get into how the game is played!

      Venture Forth is an adventure game, the likes of which I've never actually seen. The premise is simple: Form a group of adventurers and move from temple to temple in an effort to complete your adventurer's ambitions. As ambitions are met, characters have the ability to level up, thus earning the player points. As the game progresses, players will "venture forth" across the board, dispatching creatures, earning treasures, meeting more adventurers and gaining points. At the end of the game, the player who has earned the most point is declared the victor.

      Certainly a simple premise, but as you'll see, there is far more to this game than meets the eye.

      The game comes with a double sided board - one side that seems geared more for beginners or those learning the game, the other being more for those more familiar with the game's unique machinations. Once you've chosen which side of the board you wish to use, all of the tokens and cards are separated into piles, both on and off the board. On the board itself, you'll find the encounter deck. This deck makes up the bulk of what you'll be playing with as the game progresses. Within it, you'll find several different card types, including:

      Adventures - As the game begins, you'll start with one adventurer in your party. These cards have a number in the upper left hand corner that represents both the power of the character, as well as the cost to hire them into your party. For example, the Thief card has a power level of one in battle and to hire him into your party will cost you one gold coin. In the upper right corner is a symbol representing the adventurer's desire (important for the purposes of scoring treasure, as we'll talk about later). At the bottom of the card is a text box that explains that adventurer's life's goal or ambition. For the Thief, it says "Steal Valuables: Encounter an Enemy Desiring Coins". If theThief meets this goal at some point in the game, he will level up and gain points - if he has the will to spare (which we'll talk about shortly).

      Enemy Encounters - These are the people in your neighborhood that you don't want to meet. Gorgons, Hydras, Minotaurs, Lions - if it's in a Greek Myth, it's probably making a cameo appearance in Venture Forth. Like adventurer cards, enemy cards also have a number in the left hand corner of the card representing it's power - and it's usually a lot higher than you'd like it to be. However, you can't purchase these cards or add them to your party. Instead, your party can bear arms and destroy the creature in your way or suffer the agonizing defeat at the hands of your worthy foe. In the upper right hand corner, you'll find a symbol, as well, but this symbol represents what your party will lose if they are to fall to these creatures in battle (some creatures are considered "vicious", and display two symbols, so be careful)). You could lose some gold coins, you may lose some will or you may be forced to take a despair cube, which is not a good thing.
      \
      Also placed on the side of the board are the will and despair cubes, the cache of gold coins and the explore counters. We'll get to their use in a moment, but let's continue setting up! Each player is then dealt a hand of six encounter cards, as well give a few gold coins with which to begin the game. The starting player is granted three coins, while remaining players are provided with four. Beginning with player one, each player removes an adventurer card from their hand and places it face up in front of them, creating the humble beginnings of their legendary party. They then pay the price in gold listed on the card itself and finally place a level one card underneath their adventurer so that they can clearly see what level the character is at (as well as how many will they're going to need in order to level their adventurer up). Once all the players have placed an adventurer onto the table, the game begins!

      On each player's turn, they must choose on of four actions:

      Play a Card - Playing a card simply requires the player to choose either one enemy or one adventurer card from their hand and place it on an empty path location on the board. The board itself is loaded with empty path locations, all connected by different, unique temples. These connecting pathways are the routes you will travel by during the "Venture Forth" action phase of the game, but only once all cards along a given path are filled with cards. Regardless of the type, the card is placed face up and must match either the area of the paths origin OR the color of the card connecting it. For example, a card placed next to a blue "Shore" path must have a matching blue border in order to be placed on the board.

      Once the card is placed, the player may then claim the resource identified on the path space their card has now claimed. In some cases you might earn a will token, whereas some spaces earn you a bit of gold. Some pathway spaces even grant you twice the will, but force you to give a free will counter to every other opposing player! If the resource shown on the path features an explore counter, you'll also place an explore counter on the board. These counters are important, as they will earn you treasure should you complete the path on which they lay. They also serve another purpose - when the last of the explore counters is placed, each player has ONE more turn left to earn some points.

      After that, it's game over!

      After placing a card, the player draws back up to a hand of five and play continues with the next player.

      Venture Forth - In the Venture Forth phase, a player takes his playing piece and attempts to clear a finished path by encountering each card along the route. If they encounter an enemy card, the fight it, adding the power level of each member of their party together and seeing if they can best the numerical beating that the monster they're up against is dishing out. In the case of a tie, the creature is defeated. If the adventurers are victorious, the card is removed and discarded, leaving the adventures to happily move on. If the party fails, however, they must examine the upper right hand corner of the creature card and remove whatever token is displayed. In the case of a vicious monster, they lose double and the card is now considered wandering - meaning that another player can find it on a different turn. If the monster you fought is wandering when you come upon it and you also happen to lose, it is discarded (though you still lose some kind of token).

      You might also discover another adventurer on the path, which is great, because you can always use a few members in your party (one adventurer does not a party make and generally speaking, you're going to get a huge beat down when you encounter a monster all by yourself). If you can afford their asking price, you may add their card to your hand. If not, you simply pass them by with a smile and a song and they, too, become wandering. The same rule applies when you meet a wandering adventurer, the only difference being that if you can't afford them, they are discarded from the path.

      Make an Offering at a Temple - All paths are connected by different temple spaces honoring the different Greek Gods. I won't go over the powers exacted by each and every temple, but you are allowed to make an offering of gold or treasure in order to gain specific bonuses. For example, one temple has you trading a gold coin for two will, while another temple allows you to trade in one treasure card for two gold pieces. These spaces are incredibly helpful and you will find that they come in handy in a pinch.

      Regroup - Have a hand of cards you can't really play? Discard one or all of them and redraw up to five! It will cost you a turn, but bum cards can cost you far more if you aren't careful.

      Now, I realize that I've been throwing around a few words here that have not been clearly defined and I'm sure you're wondering what their purpose is within the game. Let's talk for a moments about will, despair and gold coin tokens.

      Will tokens represent your character's will (a positive trait) and are placed on their respective card, thus enabling that character to enact a few abilities, the most important of which is the ability to level up and score. As I said, each adventurer card has an ambition listed on it and if that ambition is met while venturing forth on the path, you may score points or even level that character up - but only if you have the available will to do so. At level one, you can score three points should your character meet their ambition, though at a cost of one will token, which is removed from that character's card. Should you have two will at level one, however, the character gains a new level (becoming level two), you score four points AND you lose a despair token if the character is currently carrying one. As the game progresses, you will need more and more will to score and level up, so you need to really consider card placement on the board, as well becoming more and more savvy with temple offerings. Will is an important, nay critical to the success of a character in this game.

      Will also serves to boost your adventurers power for a turn, should they need it. Say you encounter a Lion - a level four creature - but your character's power level is a lowly two. Sure, that lion might be picking bits of you out of it's teeth with a toothpick later, but there are alternatives to being a small snack - exertion! If you have one will cube on your character and you choose to discard it, you may flip that character card on it's side for one encounter (not turn, mind you, but encounter) and double your power! In this case, our character becomes a level four badass and proceeds to teach that lion a lesson in manners. It's a great power, but it comes at a price - and that price could mean the difference between leveling up and just gaining some points. Both great outcomes, to be fair, but one that has a better prize at the end.

      Despair tokens, on the other hand, are something you want to avoid. Normally, you earn them by failing in battle, though sometimes you earn them by completing a path and claiming an explore counter. Once claimed, these tokens are placed on one of your adventurers. At the end of the game, any despair tokens remaining on your character is worth a loss of three points, so do your best to get rid of these counters every chance you get. Leveling up will rid you of their presence, as does the Temple of Hestia.
      Gold Coins are used to make offerings at the different temples, as well as purchase adventurers.
      Explore Counters - Explore Counters are a reward for a completing a path (should the path completed have a counter upon it). Generally speaking, these counters allow you to score some treasure cards, which can be used either to score with at the end of the game or to use during the course of the game in whatever situation is described on the card. Explore counters may also give you coins or even despair tokens, so it's the luck of the draw, but once the last token is placed, the game is almost over - each player has one more turn to score points!

      As the game continues, players continue taking turns and performing these different actions, ideally completing the life goals that each adventurer card requires. Paths will be crossed, creatures will be fought, adventurers will be met, and Gods will score some much needed cashola. At the end of the game, players add up their remaining points and the highest scoring player is declared the winner! On the whole, it's not a terribly difficult game and the rules are very clearly laid out so that you can be up and playing with a full compliment of four in roughly ten to fifteen minutes! While seemingly simple, there are certainly some tactics that we found in our sessions that make this game a lot of fun and certainly far deeper that it appears.

      First of all, the maximum party size is five and you cannot simply discard an adventurer during the game - if you invited them in, they're with you for life! This is an important facet, as you'll really want to pick and choose your party well, hopefully optimizing a group that you can easily score with. In early games, we were quickly claiming our five adventurers, only to discover that some of them were self-limiting in their goals and ultimately useless. As an example, the Priestess' goal is to recruit an adventurer, which is great because you can recruit them rapidly and, if you have the will, you can level up a few times - however, once you hit a fifth party member, she becomes completely useless, as her ambition is no longer a viable scoring option. I had her at level three, which would have granted me nine points each time her goal was met, only to discover early on that I was going to get zero points for the rest of the game because I had no way of ever recruiting anyone again. It seemed to our group, after about seven or eight sessions, that three party members seems to be the sweet spot, as it's easier to complete goals and level up, simply due to the distribution of will available - though despair tokens tend to stack up fast! Adding four or five members was often a gamble, as we discovered, one that would either pay off big or screw us over pretty hard.

      Venture Forth threw me for kind of a loop, as it isn't exactly the game I thought it would be when I first opened it. However, that's really a good thing, as the game itself is so unique, so genuinely original that it stands out as something completely fresh and new. I loved the fact that there was a questing element to the game, as it always gave you something new to shoot for, but this really isn't an adventure game at the core - it's more of a strategy planning title - as the goal isn't necessarily to just quest, but to make sure your party meets their life goals. A good player will venture forth and make their way around the board completing their character's ambitions, which in itself makes for a very entertaining game, but a great player will, through careful placement of cards, also complete their character's ambitions, while at the same time preventing the other players from completing theirs. Venture Forth is a game that will always have a place at my gaming table and I truly enjoyed the game for what it is - a completely unique spin on an adventure role playing experience.

      ** This review is a shortened version of a review I wrote for meeplesnextdoor.com **
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