The land of Peregria is a magical world where every trope can be found that makes a story a true fairytale, from seven-league boots through fairies to talking mice. The four protagonists are especially important: here come the sword-wielding Hero, the trained warrior Heroine, the scheming Dark Wizard and the tyrannical Evil Queen. The players create a story with their help throughout three acts: the player who earns the highest score by properly playing twist and treachery cards by the end of the tale wins.

2-4 players can play this competitive “fairytale manager” in which the four protagonists can be controlled by anyone. The evil characters may place treacheries on the territories of the map, which produce victory points at the end of each act; the good characters, on the other hand, may solve these treacheries, thus gaining reward and stopping the flow of points for the bad guys. For these actions the given character and the player controlling them both gains points: moreover, players may bet on which side’s representative will score highest by the end of the game, earning some extra victory points if they prove to be right.

The good characters can improve their skills required for solving treacheries, the evil characters may raise the requirements for their treacheries by placing guards and traps on them, while characters from both sides may get companions and magical items to help them on their journey. Every action costs plot points, so the players have to consider how to spend their limited resource in each act.

There are currently three advanced add-ons that can be played together or separately: in Endings, each player draws 4 ending cards, gaining points for 2 of them if they are fulfilled by the end of the game; Final Showdown lets the players play secret conflict cards to influence the struggle between good and evil at the end of the game; while the Adventures of the Wanderer adds a fifth protagonist, the neutral Wanderer, who can both play and solve treacheries, but his actions affect his position on a good-evil scale. If he leans too much towards a side during the game, he joins that side – he may even represent that alignment in the final showdown.

Strengths

• widely popular fairytale theme
• the player may play both as a hero and a villain, even within a single game
• the large variety of treacheries, twists, companions and items increases replayability
• the add-ons let the player adjust the complexity of the game
• the commonly controlled characters provide high interaction between players

Designer’s note

I am the kind of game developer who loves world building and telling a story through a game. Peregria is the textbook example for this mentality: it is mainly a tactical game, those who pay closer attention to each story card and event may experience a unique story each time they play the game. It already has 3 add-on modules but I think this theme provides plenty of opportunities for expansion.