What squeaks behind the gate?
There are cards and markers in the box. The package is a bit too large for the contents, but at least the molded part is functional and the components will not move when being moved. Quite thin cards are not a problem to use, because dedicated T-shirts were attached immediately, which is a huge applause for the publisher. They look nice and will definitely extend the life of our game.
I had difficulty understanding the instructions. Reading it, I theoretically knew what to do, but when it came to summing up my knowledge before the game, I did not know where to start. Re-reading should have helped, but it didn’t. Eventually, I spread the cards and we started the first game with the assumption that we will get it on the way. And it was a good decision. Although I looked at the instructions many times, after the duel was over, I finally knew what it was about. The rules are not difficult, but understanding them and remembering the icons is not possible right away. In this case, it’s best to learn while playing.
A card duel
Everyone has three gates that must be guarded and attacked at the same time by the enemy. Above them there is a place for three defenders, and further for the offensive. The play areas are separated by the gate health counters. When the values of all of a person’s gates drop to zero, his opponent becomes the winner.
Players have an initial weakness deck which they will build up by summoning increasingly powerful creatures (Sovereigns, Warriors, Primitives). You can throw creatures straight into the fight or put them back in your discard pile, which is never shuffled. This is an interesting procedure and rare, but thanks to this, we have the opportunity to plan the order in which we will select monsters for the hand later in the game. After playing the development phases, i.e. buying and placing cards, and attacking, we replenish the hand to five.
The expanding deck is always a problem because we wait a long time for the best cards, so we have the option to discard creatures from the game. By reducing their number by removing weaker units, we will be able to use the stronger ones every now and then. However, you should also take into account the crystals, which are the currency of summoning cards for us. We collect them on a regular basis, discarding creatures with the appropriate symbol. Getting rid of them from the deck will make us unable to afford another one.
When choosing monsters, their color and skills are important – main and side. We can use them at different times of the game. Some are activated when put on the table, others when defeating them, and some when defending or attacking. Vertically adjacent cards of the same clan (color) allow Force Fusion, i.e. +2 to attack, while horizontally they trigger side domain actions. There are a lot of icons and it is their list that I most often looked at in the manual. After a few games their importance becomes obvious, but you have to get through the initial ones.
The manual also describes the three-player and solo game variants. In a single-player game, we fight an imaginary opponent and our goal is also to destroy his three gates. However, with three players, each has two gates, and the attack is directed at a given opponent depending on the column from which it is led. I am glad that the authors tried to expand the audience by adding these options, but the card game shows its full potential in a duet and I think that it was designed for such a duel.
It was nice in this land of darkness
Ostium is quite a smart card game and it’s a pity it didn’t reach a larger group. I’ve heard complaints about graphics which I think are pretty atmospheric. Maybe I would change the box because the dark content does not match the white background, but the visual aspect is fine for me.
On the other hand, I believe that most players have bounced off the manual or the translation of seemingly complex rules by other people. With the cards unfolded and a few moves, the game gains momentum, although it may take a while to find the best setting to activate the skills you need. The more that you cannot plan your moves forward, because after the enemy’s attack, the battlefield can change dramatically.
In Ostium you can find some interesting solutions that I have not seen before or are rare. Building your deck for the next turns, a very strong connection between the skills of creatures and their arrangement in relation to other cards of the same color, and gaining currency to buy new creatures on a regular basis without marking it in any way are the ideas that definitely distinguish this title. A high entry threshold can prevent novice players from enjoying the game, if they decide to play after the rules at all. However, I sincerely recommend that you try this game at least two or three times before making your final verdict. You can really surprise yourselves.
