As the many planes of existence turn and churn, occasionally worlds come into alignment. For brief moments in the multiverse’s timescale, these Conjunctions allow objects to slip from one world to another, sometimes unnoticed, sometimes causing chaos.

In Dark Rituals, a small band of willing heroes must defend their villagers from a dangerous coven of witches. Dark Rituals is a miniatures based game from Dark Gate Games with an asymmetrical one vs many mechanic with dynamic gameplay.

Turns are fast, with active players able to make only one or two actions per round. There is no fixed turn order and, after the Witch Master has activated a member of the Dark Legion, any Hero can step forward if they have the stamina.

Stamina is one of the main mechanics of the game, and a player can only make an action if they have the stamina to complete it. Players can also use stamina to aid another player or to perform Reactions to events which occur during gameplay. Stamina is restored at the end of each round.

Players can also advance their skills and improve their attributes through battles and the use of Alchemy. Better skills will unlock better items and stronger magic. However, if the Witch Master sheds enough villager blood, they will unlock stronger disciples for battle.

Each game is a scripted Encounter (scenario). These Encounters define board set-up and the objectives for both the Heroes and the Witch Master. Each Encounter is a small part of larger lore within the game and comes with a wide variety of objectives to complete.

However, while the mechanics are interesting, the real star of this game are the miniatures. I particularly like giant crossbow hero dude - I'd kill for that level of arm toning! Joking aside, these miniatures are incredibly detailed, original, and dynamic.

Dark Rituals has already surpassed it's original Kickstarter total and unlocked a ridiculous amount of stretch goals along the way. You can add your pledge to the mix here.

Do you like One vs Many games?