HomeGame ReviewsCovil: The Dark Overlords Board Game Review

Covil: The Dark Overlords Board Game Review

Covil: The Dark Overlords is an area control and resource management board game. As an overlord, use your resources (including your handy minions) wisely to take control of the region and amass riches!

Covil: The Dark Overlords Board Game Stats:

 

Players: 1-4 players

Time: 45 minutes

Ages: 13+

By: Vesuvius Media Ltd.

Retail price:  ~$35 on Kickstarter

Categories: Area control, fantasy, resource management

 

Covil: The Dark Overlords Game Play:

 

In Covil: The Dark Overlords, players compete to control the regions surrounding a town. As an overlord, you will use your henchmen, unique powers and powerful relics to take control of the land, growing rich and ever more powerful.

Each player starts with their overlord and champion hall, as well as 5 henchmen, 1 gold and 1 hp as resources.

Your campaign is divided into 4 days, each with three phases: morning, afternoon and night.

In the morning you can summon and ready your troops.

The afternoon is spent taking actions to move, attack or acquire new mercenaries or more resources. You are limited by your minions, so choose your actions wisely. And don’t overextend yourself, or you’ll face a rebellion!

At night, you gather your gold from your controlled territories (count it carefully like a good evil overlord) and rest.

The player with the highest amount of victory points after 4 days wins!

 

Covil: The Dark Overlords Review:

I was lucky to play this board game on Tabletopia with the creator himself! I can’t wait to get my own copy after production.

First things first: getting started. Game play is easy to learn and the game has a good flow to it. The “days” have the right pacing and overall the game clocks in at a great time length at about 45 minutes.

This time length is perfect for families!

And it is a very family-friendly game. With cute, cartoon-y art that appeals to both kids and adults, the characters draw you in. From the gruff Captain Ironbelly to lovely Red Riding Hood, you’ll see both new characters and recognizable ones (with a twist).

The art is beautiful and matches the theme perfectly. The juxtaposition of evil and cuteness is enticing.

Who doesn’t want to be an evil overlord, directing their minions, growing their territory and raking in the riches?

The rules and cards are very straightforward. The rules are easy to learn and teach, yet also leave some room for experienced players to grow their strategy.

There are many options as to how you want to win. You could hold your cards for more points, fight and take over more land, or counter what your opponents are doing. The unique game play pits players against each other in a fun way that isn’t prohibitively competitive.

I would compare Covil: The Dark Overlord to Small World and Radiant. If you liked either of those area control games, you’ll love Covil!

Overall, I am super excited for this game to come out in a couple of months. It’s already fully funded on Kickstarter, which is no surprise since Vesuvius Media has successfully funded and published four games. These guys know their stuff, and it shows in the brand and community they are building.

Interested in learning more about Covil: The Dark Overlord? You can fund it on Kickstarter right now!

 

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