We love how some board game designers keep inventing new types of components to be used in their creations and allow for implementing new and fresh mechanics. Last year we were enamored by a game using magnet controlled minis (The Faceless) and this year there was a title using miniature flashlights to allow playing in the dark (AVGhost). Looks like 2019 has yet another contender when it comes to component originality.
Welcome to Talenticity
Talenticity is a place like no other. A steam powered metropolis where art, magic and illusionists thrive. It’s ruled by a pantheon of gods, but the real deities for people of this universe are artists, who give their stunning performances every evening. Adored by masses they fill the theaters to the brim and show jaw dropping tricks and spells to amuse people living in the city.
Every star of local shows has a patron deity that grants him or her visions about best locales to show their talent. Gods also have their own preferences when it comes to shows and want to compete with other gods. But there can only be one winner.
Sky’s the Limit
The game is aimed at 2 to 4 players. Players earn cash in various situations, but mostly from their performances. These are done with cards you own and with bonus abilities of your character. Player’s heroes are chosen randomly and so are the gods. The basic versions of the game includes 4 of each, but there’s a chance stretch goals will increase that number a bit.
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Each turn begins with everyone picking one triangular token from the Skies area. These tokens are one of the best concepts in the game. They hide pictures of “blessed” locations that players have to perform in.
To reveal your location you’ll have to put a special decoding token (“God’s Eye”) on the triangle you drew (here’s a gif showing how the process looks). Next you put the tokens back, but the spot where you place them is up to you. That keeps your location secret to others and allows for some additional layer of tricking competitors.
Show Must Go On
After everyone is done with sky tokens, players draw cards, roll dice and spend their action points on movement, shows and performances. Doing performances allows for placing little plastic performance tokens in the location you are in. If they form a triangle and you have a corresponding sky token: you can perform a show inside the location and claim your money reward. Whoever ends up having the most money by the end of the game becomes the winner.
Time is Moneye
In Talenticity illusions and tricks exist in every aspect of life. That’s why even the currency used in the game (the “moneye”) hides certain secrets. During the game players will collect banknotes for their shows / performances. These have sets of holes punched in them. Collecting the right 3 banknotes will make the secret keywords appear and grant the owner a corresponding artifact with its own unique power – from more actions per turn to bigger profits.
Talenticity certainly looks innovative. The way in which it uses optical illusions and unusual components has managed to wow us quite a bit. From money with hidden words to unveiling invisible pictures on tokens – everything feels fresh and consistent with the theme, while the core of the game still uses classic and fun card / board game mechanics like area control.
The campaign is planned to launch on October 29th.
