When choosing your next board game, it's essential to understand how different games align with your preferences, especially regarding complexity, strategy, and gameplay style. Six Sided Summoner is a game that blends strategic depth with a unique thematic setting inspired by Japanese folklore. To help you decide if this is the right game for you, let's compare it to other famous board games of varying difficulty, comparing three main features: combat & strategy, character development, exploration & adventure.
Moderate Complexity: Six Sided Summoner
Combat & Strategy: Players roll dice to determine actions, choose attributes, utilize attack sources, and apply various modifiers and status curses. The double-layered HP system introduces an innovative twist where losing traditional HP results in a STOP status that blocks inventory slots rather than eliminating players from the game.
Character Development: Six Sided Summoner features a unique character progression system focused on managing a 12-slot inventory and customizing a skill tree. Players advance by discovering and utilizing Omamori talismans and Yokai powers, unlocking new actions and abilities as they progress.
Exploration & Adventure: Exploration in Six Sided Summoner is robust and dynamic, featuring an evolving map with modular tiles, day and night cycles, and epic events. The map changes based on player decisions, including the opening of Tori gates, which can unleash curses and alter the game world. Interactions with NPCs, territory control, and the risk of consequences from exploring unknown areas add to the game’s sense of adventure and replayability.
Six Sided Summoner Demo is available on Tabletopia! Click here to play.
Light Complexity: Talisman: Revised 4th Edition (2007)
Talisman is a classic game that has been a gateway into the world of board gaming for many players (First edition was released in 1983!). Its simplicity and reliance on luck make it accessible, though it may lack depth for those looking for more strategic gameplay.
Combat & Strategy: Simple and dice-driven. Players roll a die, add their strength or craft value, and compare it with the opponent's roll. Minimal strategic depth. Luck plays a significant role, and there is little variation in combat outcomes. The simplicity matches the game’s overall light, casual nature, but it may not satisfy players looking for deep tactical combat.
Character Development: Leveling up by collecting trophies and improving stats (strength and craft). Items and followers provide additional abilities. Minimal choices for customization. Characters develop linearly with little variation. Character growth is simple, making the game accessible but less engaging for those seeking deep progression.
Exploration & Adventure: Players move around a fixed board, encountering spaces that trigger events, monsters, or other challenges. The game is highly random, with events mostly determined by dice rolls and card draws. Exploration and adventure are light-hearted and casual, appealing to players who enjoy unpredictable, luck-driven experiences.
If you’re ready to move beyond the simplicity of Talisman and crave a game with more strategic depth and meaningful choices, Six Sided Summoner is a perfect next step.
Moderate Complexity: Runebound (Third Edition) (2015)
Runebound (Third Edition) offers a rich blend of adventure and strategy, with a focus on exploration and character progression. It’s well-suited for players who enjoy a moderate level of complexity.
Combat & Strategy: Dice-based with skill checks. Combat involves rolling dice that provide various symbols used for attacks, defense, and other abilities. Moderate complexity, requiring players to manage and optimize their dice rolls based on their character’s skills and abilities. Combat feels dynamic and closely tied to character abilities and development, offering a good balance of strategy and theme.
Character Development: Gaining experience, purchasing skills, and acquiring gear. Characters can evolve in different ways based on choices made during the game. Moderate depth with various paths for character development. Players can tailor their characters to different playstyles. Character progression feels organic and meaningful, contributing to the game’s adventurous spirit.
Exploration & Adventure: A modular board with various terrain types. Players explore by moving across the board, uncovering quests, encounters, and challenges. Quests and encounters offer a narrative-driven experience, with players choosing their paths and challenges. The exploration feels dynamic and open-ended, with players crafting their own stories within the game’s world.
If you’re a fan of Runebound and are looking for a game that offers deeper strategic challenges, particularly in combat and character development, Six Sided Summoner is an excellent choice.
Moderate Complexity: The Witcher: Old World (2023)
Witcher: Old World is a game that appeals to those who enjoy deep strategy and immersive thematic experiences. It’s complex enough to satisfy seasoned gamers but still accessible.
Combat & Strategy: Card-based combat system where players build decks representing their Witcher's abilities. Combat involves playing cards to create combos, manage resources, and outmaneuver opponents. Medium complexity. The card system allows for strategic planning and adaptability, with a focus on timing and synergy. The combat is highly thematic, reflecting the tactical and dangerous nature of being a Witcher, with an emphasis on preparation and skill.
Character Development: Deck-building and leveling up. Players improve their Witcher by acquiring new cards, enhancing existing abilities, and gaining trophies from defeated monsters. Character development mirrors the growth of a Witcher, with a strong emphasis on mastering various skills and tactics.
Exploration & Adventure: Open-world with a map representing various regions. Players travel across the map, encountering quests, monsters, and events. Strong narrative-driven experience with a variety of quests and choices that affect the game world. Exploration is central to the game, capturing the essence of the Witcher universe with its blend of monster hunting and moral decisions.
If you love the strategic depth and thematic richness of Witcher: Old World but are interested in exploring a game with more emphasis on engine-building and resource management, Six Sided Summoner is an excellent fit.
Complex: Mage Knight Board Game (2011)
Mage Knight is renowned for its deep complexity and extended playtime, making it a favorite among gamers who relish intense strategic challenges and don’t mind investing hours into a single session.
Combat & Strategy: Card-driven with deck-building. Combat involves playing cards from a hand, combining their effects for movement, attack, and defense. Extremely high complexity with deep strategy and long-term planning. Players must carefully manage their hand and resources to overcome enemies. Combat is highly thematic, reflecting the powerful, strategic nature of the Mage Knights as they conquer and explore the world.
Character Development: Deck-building, acquiring new cards, artifacts, and skills. Characters become more powerful by expanding and refining their decks. Extremely deep and complex character progression. Players have a high degree of control over their character’s evolution. Character development is central to the game’s experience, reflecting the increasing power and influence of the Mage Knights.
Exploration & Adventure: Modular board with hex-based movement. Players explore different regions, uncovering locations, enemies, and resources. The game is highly strategic, with exploration leading to resource management, tactical battles, and quest completion. Exploration feels like a grand conquest, with players carving out their own paths in a vast, open world.
If you’re intrigued by the depth of Mage Knight but find its complexity and length daunting, Six Sided Summoner provides a more accessible yet still strategically rich experience, with a lower entry barrier that’s ideal for both seasoned gamers and those newer to complex board games.
Final Thoughts
Six Sided Summoner is a versatile and strategic game that offers a unique experience across various levels of complexity. Whether you’re transitioning from lighter games like Talisman, looking for more strategic depth than Runebound, exploring new mechanics like those in Witcher: Old World, or seeking a complex game with a lower entry barrier compared to Mage Knight, Six Sided Summoner has something to offer.
If you enjoy games where your strategic decisions are crucial to success, where combat is more about building and optimizing your approach than telling a story, and where exploration and character development are deeply integrated into the gameplay, Six Sided Summoner could be the perfect addition to your collection.
Commentaires