Scales of Fate is a two-player strategic deduction game from IV Studios that released recently after a Kickstarter Campaign last year. The game has a setting inspired by Greek mythology that it shares with IV Studios’ 2022 game Veiled Fate where each player tries to increase or decrease the renown of their two secretly assigned demigods while trying to guess which demigods their opponent was assigned.
Gameplay
The gameplay loop is very simple and takes place over three rounds, or ages. Each player takes turns to do one of three actions, placing heroes on the boards to take standard actions, placing servants to score renown for heroes, or using one of the three single use powerful god actions to warp the game state.
The primary method of end game scoring is to have your two secretly assigned demigods on the same amount of renown to receive that many points or on different amounts of renown and receive points equal to the difference. In order to achieve this, therefore, you are using your actions across the three ages to move them into the perfect position to score.
At the end of each age the two players have to reveal a predetermined piece of information about their demigods (such as if either one has between 8 and 10 renown) to allow their opponent to try and guess which demigods they have.
After the three ages, each player reveals their guesses which they will have made based on the revealed information and any hints based on their opponents actions over the three ages. Depending on their accuracy players will then gain or lose points, before final scoring the determining the winner.
Replayability
Scales of Fate is an incredibly replayable game for a number of reasons. Firstly, as with all deduction games, you’re playing your opponent as much as you’re playing the game, which means each new opponent is an entirely new experience.
Secondly, the game only takes about half an hour even on your first playthrough (not counting rule learning which I’ll get onto shortly). This makes it perfect to play several rounds of during a game night, or to slip a single round in between longer games to act as a pallet cleanser of sorts.
Finally, each age includes 3 different cards (or 4 different in the Kickstarter Editions) to determine board set up and which hint you’ll be receiving to make the board slightly different for each game you play, so you can’t just rely on the same strategy every round.
Rulebook
Normally I wouldn’t bother having this as a section in my review, but I think it’s important to here. The rulebook is the sole letdown in an otherwise amazing game. It is significantly denser and more complex than it needs to be, and introduces the game concepts in a strange order that has you wondering about the importance of pieces before they are relevant. There is a video link at the start of the booklet and although I have not had a chance to view it myself I would suggest checking that out even if you normally wouldn't, especially if you’re finding the rules confusing, because once you understand them properly they’re actually very simple.
Components
The components are nothing short of gorgeous. In all versions of the game the cards, pieces, and board have lovely art of the Greek mythology inspired setting including epic demigods and the foreboding abyss.
If you have the deluxe version, however, you’re in for a real treat. All the pieces are replaced with chunky printed wooden pieces, which are lovely to handle and fit very satisfyingly onto the dual layer board with its gold foiled edges.
The kickstarter deluxe edition even comes with drawstring bags to store all your pieces in after a game, gold foiling on the demigod cards, and metallic gold paint on several of the wooden pieces. If you get the chance to pick this edition up, don’t miss out because it’s so satisfying to play with. (Not to mention the gold foil on the box makes it a great display piece on your shelf between games!)
Conclusion
To conclude this review, the gameplay is straightforward, enjoyable, and highly replayable, and is definitely going to become a staple of my boardgame nights. The pieces are lovely even in the standard edition, but the deluxe and kickstarter editions look even more amazing and are highly recommended. The only weak point is the overly confusing rulebook, just do yourself a favour and watch the how-to-play video, or let someone who already knows the rules teach you.
