Welcome to our first behind the scenes feature. We'll be giving a glimpse into the in-development gameplay today, specifically the Exploration Phase.
Every scenario in the Campaign Book begins with an introductory prologue, followed by the Exploration Phase. Scenario goals can vary, but in general you will be presented with several exploration point options that you may choose to explore based on a short description of what you see there. Every exploration point uses up 1 point of your Life Force, so you'll have to be selective in where you choose to explore as Life Force is limited in this phase. Do you want to look straight away for your target and engage with most of your Life Force intact? Or risk starting the battle low on Life Force but maybe gather some flora to use as Barter Points (the currency in Harbor of Blight) back in town? Or perhaps luck out and find something truly rare while exploring? The choice is yours.
The black & white prototype map reveals a few more aspects of the game to the keen eye that we will only touch on here. All maps will be in a spiral bound lay-flat Map Book. Every single map is custom-designed to match the art style and unique feel of the world of Blight. Gameplay will also use a hexagon overlay to make the Combat Phase more interesting in regards to line of sight and directional targeting.
Every design choice in Harbor of Blight is with speed of setup & takedown in mind to keep you immersed in the game. As of this posting, the Campaign Book will have a mini-map with the layout of exploration tokens on it which guides you on where to place the transparent tokens on the map. The map itself will in most cases also have some visual representation on it of what you see in the area for extra flavor, hence the preference for transparent tokens to be able to see the map book unobstructed.
Harbor of Blight is a work-in-progress, with a Kickstarter Launch planned in early to mid 2025 when the game is near completion. So we are very open to feedback from the community on features you would be interested in seeing. Let us know on any of our socials!
