Preview: The Forges of Ravenshire

The forges are running dim and Ravenshire is in need of a new Forgemaster. Earn the most money and become Ravenshire's new Forgemaster. Forges of Ravenshire is a new dice placement and engine building game designed by Sam Stockton and published by B. A. Games is coming soon to Kickstarter.

Forges of Ravenshire is a dice placement game where the position palyers place their die allows them to gather resources to build up your forge and guild. The forge is what produces the final products that fulfill the contacts that earn players money. If you have the most money at the end of the game you win.

The game has four rounds each with three phases. Each player starts with 3 dice and they roll them at the beginning of their turn. During the first phase (gathering) players will take turns placing a die and taking a die from the main-board. When a player places a die on the game board they take resources matching the space and the number on the die. Then the player takes a die from the main-board (and gains the appropriate resources) and places it on their player-board on the guild half. Then depending on where the die is placed they preform the guild actions in the column underneath the die. The play then proceeds to the next player and when each player has done this 3 times the gathering phase is over and then the production phase starts.

The second phase of the round is the production phase this is done simultaneously by all the players. Players move the dice from the guild side to the forge side and they will produce materials that are used to fulfill their contracts. Anytime during the production phase players may complete their contracts. When a player completes a contract they can add extra finish to the item, there is a standard, mithral and embergem finish that can be applied mirthal and ember gem will give you an added bonus.

I have been excited to get this one on the table and when it finally arrived it did not let me down.

The final phase of the game is when players check to see if they gain the bonus titles. The rest of the turn is just housekeeping. The board resets and the first player mark moves one and finally all players roll the three dice from their player boards. Then players are ready to start the next round. After four rounds the game is over and the points are tallied. There is one sub system of the game that is worth mentioning, that is the Reputation system. Reputation is earned a few ways and as a players reputation moves forward and unlocks better contracts and get more bonus cash at the end of the game.

The single player version of the game works well and maintains a level of fun that is present in the multiplayer version. The AO (Automated Opponent) is not complicated to run, it however does provide a formidable opponent for the players. There is a simple deck of cards that are assembled that dictate the AO's moves each turn. The single player mode in this game by no means feels like an add on, it feels natural.

I have been excited to get this one on the table and when it finally arrived it did not let me down. Forges of Ravenshire is a fun game that plays intuitively and packs a lit of fun. I love the system of placing dice and then taking a different die off the main board. The game boards make the game very intuitive. There is information detailing in the most simple ways next to each space where a player can place a die. the pre-production copy we have played was high quality and felt like a final version of the game. The game is sure to be a success on kickstarter when it launches.

Players: 1-4

Year Published: 2023

Recommended Ages: 12+

Time to Play: 50-100 minutes

A copy of Forges of Ravenshire was provided to Bert's Tabletop Games for review purposes by B. A. Games. The copy of Forges of Ravenshire featured in this article is a pre-porduction copy and the end product may differ.