Last year, “Blood on the Clocktower” was published in German by Funtails. “Feed the Kraken” was already a great deduction game from the Eitorfer publishing house. But these two and all other deduction games have something in common: they are only suitable for large groups. Really all of them? No, because in an alternative Victorian era we find a "Dark Romance".
Dark Romance is a pure 2-player deduction game and will be released by funtails in autumn this year. As nobles, vampires, demon hunters, swindlers or tragic poets, the players try to achieve their own goal. This always depends on who they are facing. As a noble, you should flee from vampires and not try to marry them like other nobles. The vampires try to charm the mortals, but should beware of the demon hunters who are just waiting for the opportunity to finish off the undead.
I was able to play a game online with Funtails editor Maikel beforehand. I will now tell you a little about our “dark romance” and show you how to Dark Romance can wrap someone around their finger.
A game that lives through the players
Deduction games rarely come with extensive rulebooks. Reading long instructions would also distract from the actual goal of the game - reading the other person.
In Dark Romance you try to move the correct marker to the middle on the main board. The correct marker does not only depend on your own role, but can only be named when you read the actions of the other player correctly and guess which role is sitting opposite you.
A game is played over several rounds. In each turn, the active person draws two cards and plays one of them. The passive person then selects one of the two possible symbol combinations on the card and moves the corresponding token one step towards the middle.
The players always take turns. When a token reaches the middle or six rounds have been played, the game ends. According to the role-dependent conditions, it is now checked who has reached their goal. If no token has reached the middle that is suitable for a win for one of the roles, the player moves further outwards, token by token, to find one that leads to a win for a role.
You can already see the game in action on the funtails YouTube channel.
You are not alone
Maybe you realize too late what the other person is up to, or you want to surprise them before they can find out who you are. This is exactly what you can do to secure the support of the courtiers.
You "pay" for these abilities with the wheel, mask and brush symbols, which are also shown on the cards played. For example, you can pause for a moment and draw two new cards with the monk if the two you have drawn are not a good fit. Symbols that have been used once are covered up.
One can Dark Romance in different ways. Those who want to have more "game" can play several games in a row. Then you win if you manage to be the first to win three times with the good (nobles, demon hunters) or the evil (vampires, tricksters) side.
If you give yourself over to your passion (for creative stories), you will end up playing for more than the specified time. This way you can determine a winner after one round of play.
Silent observers or talkative society
After just one game, of course, not much can be said about the long-term qualities of the game. But the fact that it can be played both “symbol-heavy” and “story-heavy” makes Dark Romance very interesting for me.
I always liked the creative aspect of games like Greenville 1989 (Kosmos), but in terms of game mechanics, all my attempts in this genre left me somewhat disillusioned. My first game Dark Romance was completely different.
You have a clear goal to work towards. Storytelling is not an end in itself that has somehow been forced into a game corset, but an inseparable part of the game mechanics. Perhaps you subtly let something of your own role flow into the story of the card you played and are then even happier when the other person still chooses the desired symbols. A good reason might make a "crossbow" card played by demon hunters interesting for vampires too.
However, for obvious reasons, you cannot rely on the stories alone. After the third round at the latest, you look to see what symbols the other person has played and what options they have chosen. A maximum of three of the five possible symbols are relevant for each role, and one of these is always the "wedding". A demon hunter is unlikely to do without the "crossbow" symbol entirely, and vampires will definitely play with a bit of a hungry stomach rumbling in the form of the "bite" symbol.
The diverse and creative scope left open to the players, the Dark Romance offers, make the game a huge recommendation for me after the first impression and I am very excited to see what the finished game will look like.
Information about Dark Romance
| Number of people: 2 people Age: from 16 years Playing time: 15-45 minutes Difficulty: expert game Classification: deduction game, secret roles, making up stories Game idea: Christof Schilling, Dr. Hans-Joachim Höh Illustrations: Hendrik Noack Publisher: Funtails Official Website: Link Price: 60 € (pre-order promotion) Publication: Fall 2025 |
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ZMan, Challengers!, Kennerspiel des Jahres 2023, Family Game,...* | 14,79 EUR |
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