A Mike Meeple Review: Skulk Hollow

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by Pencil First Games

Shadows of Some Colossi

Okay, so if any of you happened to look at my Top 100 Video Game of All Time (if you haven't, don't worry, not many people did) you'd know that one of my favorite video games is Shadow of the Colossus.  The concept was SO cool.  You were just a regular person, scaling MOUNTAINOUS creatures, where the MONSTER WAS THE LEVEL.  Not only would you have to figure out how to slay the beast, you'd have to just figure out how to get ONTO it, and traverse it's moving body without being flung off!  Seriously, if you haven't played it, check it out.

Well, a few weeks ago, Pencil First Games told me they were releasing a new tabletop game that played in a similar way.  As a primer, Pencil First Games is the same company that published my top two surprises of last year, Herbaceous and Sunset Over Water, with both small games earning a Buy It! rating from me, so my reaction went something like this:

BUT...

I approach this game with trepidation...  With my first two Pencil First Games reviews being so positive, there's no way that they could have a THIRD amazing game, RIGHT?  Or will Pencil First and the gang complete the hat trick and slay the GIANT monster that are my expectations?

The Best Laid Plans of Foxen and Guardians...

Skulk Hollow is a two player asymmetrical strategy game where one player controls a monstrous, mountainous Guardian of their choice while the other controls a tribe of adorable little fox people, known as the Foxen, led by a member of the Foxen Royal Family of their choice as well.  Personally, I'd choose Meghan Markle.

On their turns, both players perform actions, such as Attacks, Movement, and in the Foxen Player's case, summoning more Foxen with the goal of decimating the other player's forces.  And this is done by playing action cards from their own unique decks.

Each of these cards have two different actions on them, so you always have a choice, which always give you options since, as you can see above, only certain characters can take certain actions.  The symbol of the attack has to match a symbol on the character that you want to activate.  For example, the Blue Archer can make use this card above to use the Missile Attack, while the Purple Knight can use this attack to make a Melee Attack.

You might notice there's a little boot symbol above the Melee Attack symbol on the Purple Knight...

What could that mean?

Well, you see, those Boot symbols are Leap Actions, so while the Foxen forces and the Guardian are maneuvering around this three by three Map Board:

The Foxen can run up to the Guardian and use those Leap Actions to jump ALL the way over to THIS BOARD:

A BOARD OF THE GUARDIAN.  YES.  IN ORDER TO KILL THE GUARDIAN, THE FOXEN HAVE CLIMB UP IT'S LEG AND STAB IT IN THE EYES!

As you can see, all of these different places for the Foxen to move to (and STAB!) all have their own HP Values and are all tied to various Actions within the Guardian's deck, and when a section of the Guardian's body has taken too much damage, it can no longer use that Attack.

I LOVE this mechanic.  It's SO thematic.  If a bunch of Lilliputian Swordsmen were stabbing you in the armpit with toothpicks, you'd eventually stop wanting to swing with that arm!  Eventually, the Guardian player DOES find themselves pretty overwhelmed, and you start to feel like Macaulay Culkin in the end of My Girl.

Thomas J!  NOOOOO!!!!

I have to say, overall, as a Foxen player you actually start to feel a little bad when you're JUST crippling those giant monsters.  It doesn't help that the giant creatures are called GUARDIANS.  They're not called MONSTERS.  They're not called BEASTS or anything like scary like that...  They're called GUARDIANS, and GUARDIANS protect things...

So, all they're doing is PROTECTING something, and the Foxen are ATTACKING THEM...

Are the...

Are the Foxen the BAD GUYS?!?

But in all seriousness, once the Guardian starts to feel the pain a little, this is where all the smart design choices start to shine, such as each action card having two possible actions to take, and the Guardian's ability to heal, so they're never TRULY out of the action.

Though there is a swing in momentum (the Guardian Player has a bit of an advantage early on, but as the Foxen builds up their forces, they start to control the late game) it never feels unbalanced, and most of my games that I played were very close, though the Foxen tended to win more often than not...

Monsters and Meeples

Just like every other Pencil Fist Games production, the components of this game are FANTASTIC.  The art is amazing and each Foxen Meeple has a specific symbol assigned to it so you can tell exactly which Foxen you're commanding.

I really appreciate this choice to go with Meeples.  I mean, I love minis.  I have a whole series of my blog dedicated to teaching me readers how to PAINT minis, and I could easily see this game packed with miniatures instead of meeples, however, that would also mean that this game would have been upward of $100.

The game comes with four different Guardians, each with their own decks, play styles, and even win conditions.  Grak, the giant bear, needs to kill eight Foxen to win, while Tanthos needs to sprout all six of his tentacles around the map, while each of the Foxen Royal Family Members has a unique special ability.

Buy It!, Try It!, or Fly It!

I can't believe it.  I JUST can't believe it.  Pencil First Games is three for three!

Skulk Hollow is EXCELLENT in all aspects.  Excellent game play.  Excellent integration of theme.  Excellent components.

This game DOES feel like Shadow of the Colossus the Board Game, complete with the existential guilt over discovering that YOU'RE the bad guys!

Overall, I'm incredibly impressed.  This game is a gem among today's tabletop landscape.

Smart decisions along with smart design and a reasonable price point all make for an experience that shouldn't be missed.

The Verdict...?

BUY IT!

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