A bit of haggling, a lot of elements and the recurring doubt “is it worth it?” — Pact with the Devil game review

The game is very attractively released and definitely catches the eye. Many colorful elements, a catchy name and the ability to assume specific roles sound like a good combination and an interesting idea. However, is this a game worth having at home permanently?

Pact with the devil is a strategic board game in which we will find a whole lot of elements. In order to delve into the game, it is worth planning a moment in advance (both before the first and subsequent attempts) to disassemble the entire set. With the next games played, the preparations last much shorter, but it is worth knowing that the threshold for entering the first game is quite high.

A whole lot of elements

The game includes 4 two-tier player screens (which look very nice and serve as a hiding place during the game), a main board (with moving parts), a two-layer Inquisition board, 95 cardboard resource tokens, 54 cardboard coin tokens, 32 achievement tiles, 20 angel tokens and devil wings (we get them for the good or bad actions we choose, and with more devil wings we are visited by the inquisitor, because we start to look suspicious), 17 tokens for voting and guessing the player roles, 16 action tokens, 4 chests for making secret pacts (these require several pieces to be combined, but work very well for stealth resource trades), 8 Soul Fragment Tokens, 8 Indulgence Tokens, 14 Jester Tokens, 8 Reminder Tokens, 6 Spare Tokens, 80 Building Cards, 20 Event Cards,11 Inquisitor Cards, 12 Request Cards, 16 Courtier Tiles, 2 Cardboard Angry Mob Figures, 16 Markers, Rulebook, 4 Reference Cards (very important at the beginning of your adventure with this title) and 2 Token Containers.

As you can see, there are many things to arrange, and the instructions are also not the easiest. It is also worth adding that in order to start the competition, you need to buy one more element – an application on your phone, because without it there can be no secret exchange of resources. This is an interesting solution that guarantees secrecy. However, what will players do when this application disappears from the store? Or phones will stop supporting it? Or would people who don’t have a phone want to play Deal with the Devil (unlikely, but it’s still one of the scenarios)? Making a board game dependent on a mobile application is not entirely good. Coming back to the advantages of the title – each of the elements is colorful, visually interesting and seems to be durable.

What is this about and why the inquisitor and this wild mob outside my castle

To delve into a deal with the devil, we need 4 volunteers, because that’s exactly how many people the scenario has been planned for. The random roles I mentioned earlier are cultist, devil and two human rulers. Our main task is to collect a large amount of resources and not lose your soul to the devil. A full skirmish lasts 5 rounds, and each of them consists of as many as 8 phases (so we have a lot to go through). Not only does everything look complicated at first, but it also requires you to constantly look at the sequence of behaviors so that you don’t miss anything. Fortunately, around the third round, we more or less know what and when we should put on the table and what resources are crucial for our role. After playing the entire campaign, there is also the certainty that, despite the hard start, this title is definitely manageable, which in my case resulted in a loud sigh of relief.

What am I fighting for?

My primary issue I had with Deal with the Devil was a lack of emotion. I’m kind of expanding my kingdom, gathering resources, trading with other players, and trying to either keep my soul in place (or take it from others), so there’s a lot going on. At the same time, I can sip tea, talk to friends, and even watch a series in the background, because the whole thing is not accompanied by any emotions. There is nothing in the board game that would awaken an intense spirit of competition, or the feeling that you have to try very hard not to get caught by someone. You have to make thoughtful economic decisions because you could end up with several inquisitors in your castle and your role will be revealed quickly, but so what? Both of these aspects are simply elements of the game, and there are many of them in this title.

Mushroom pickers will be pleased

Summing up my experiences with Pact with the devil , I can say that it is a very calm, economical board game, which if you have 3 people next to you all the time, you may like it, but it is certainly not a party title. The high entry threshold (20 pages of instructions), the need for additional time to assemble all the elements and the constant supervision during the execution of subsequent moves are tiring at first, but with time they can be mastered. I will not be a big fan of this game, because I lacked competition, emotions and energy in it, but it is certainly not a bad or ill-considered game.