Vagrantsong

It’s been quite a while since Jack and I played a more adult-oriented game, but we had some alone time this afternoon while Toby was at a party, and Henry was with his grandparents. We decided to dive into a game of “Vagrantsong.”

“Vagrantsong” falls into the boss battler sub-genre of dungeon crawlers, where the central focus of the scenario is a battle against a single boss. While games of this type have been around for years, “Kingdom Death: Monster” really brought it into the forefront of the hobby. More recently, “Oathsworn” has taken it to new heights. One of the advantages of “Vagrantsong” is that, in comparison, it is relatively affordable.

The game revolves around you playing as vagrants who have found themselves on a Ghost Train. Your objective is to unravel the mystery of the Ghost Train while battling “Haints” (ghosts) as you move from car to car and attempt to restore their humanity.

The game is divided into rounds, with each player taking a turn and the “Haint” taking its turn between players. This structure is quite unusual since, typically, bosses scale their power for more players, but in this game, the boss’s power is scaled by giving it a turn after every character. As a result, there’s a fair amount of upkeep, and you’re constantly controlling the boss, which can slow down the game between player turns.

On your turn, you can perform various actions, including moving, rummaging (taking a token from a bag to gain an item), investigating (examining areas of interest on the map), patrolling, and using a skill unique to your character. The game employs an interesting coin mechanic, allowing you to place your coins onto actions on your card to perform different actions. Many actions provide bonuses for repeating them. However, most actions require a dice roll, and success depends on rolling above a specific number. This can lead to some disappointing moments when you achieve very little. There’s a unique mechanic where rolling a six grants you an extra turn, although, in practice, chaining multiple sixes is statistically improbable. Balancing your coin allocation adds a cool strategic element to the game.

The “Haint” then takes its turn, involving drawing a token from the bag and resolving the corresponding action.

The game comprises several scenarios, and what’s interesting is that players don’t necessarily need to win to progress to the next scenario. Whether you win or lose, you advance to the next scenario and continue until you’ve played all of them.

Between each scenario, there’s a phase where you can upgrade your character. However, if I’m honest, most of the upgrades don’t seem particularly noteworthy or impactful.

Each fight uses the same map, which means that the game relies on the personality and mechanics of the individual bosses to create a unique experience each time. While it succeeds to some extent, there’s a feeling that the game could have embraced even wackier mechanics.

I’ve played the initial scenario and a few others with a teenage group. Jack grasped all the mechanics without any trouble, and there’s only a bit of rule management required. Generally, as long as you play with a reasonably intelligent six or seven-year-old, they should be fine with this game. While it’s a spooky game, from a child’s perspective, there’s nothing overly scary here.

Regarding the rules, one of the major issues I encountered was that many parts of the rulebook were fairly unclear. Even after reading through the entire rulebook and watching a video playthrough of the first scenario, I still had some questions about specific scenarios. The company has released a rulebook reprint, which I don’t possess, but if you purchase this game in more recent Kickstarter or retail versions from next year onwards, it’s likely to include the new and hopefully improved rulebook.

The artwork in this game is absolutely stunning, reminiscent of the golden age of animation, similar to the indie shooter “Cuphead.” One of my biggest takeaways is the desire for a “Vagrant Song” TV show that I could watch with the kids, as it looks superb. The decision to use acrylic stands rather than miniatures works exceptionally well and enhances the visual appeal of the game. Some ghost characters should have had individual stands, and these are being added in the upcoming expansion.

In summary, there’s a lot to love about “Vagrantsong.” It’s one of the more accessible boss battle games available, and the artwork is absolutely stunning. Overall, it presents a premium package with fantastic shelf appeal.

While playing the game is enjoyable, and I’d play it again if someone suggested it, there are a few areas that I think could be improved. The rulebook isn’t great, and the fact that almost every system in the game relies on dice rolls, with essentially no way to stack the odds in your favour, can sometimes result in struggling to complete a task, artificially extending the game. Additionally, the “Haint” moving every turn creates a fairly large gap between each player’s turn when it doesn’t need to be there. The Kickstarter for the reprint, along with two new expansions, has recently launched, and despite the issues I have with the base game, I’m very interested in backing it in the hope that some of these issues will be addressed.

Ultimately, I really want to love “Vagrantsong,” but while I’m glad I own it and fully intend to play it again, it’s difficult to solidly recommend.