New Games for April 14th, 2023 - The Surrealist Cult and the Stolen Blue Glove

It's New Game Friday! David Wiley (Cardboard Clash) is here to tell us about the new games.

Here’s what is new this week:

• Arcane Rites: Cult of the Pajoli - PDF Version
• Arcane Rites: Cult of the Pajoli - HTML Version
• Innsmouth: The Stolen Child - PDF Version
• Innsmouth: The Stolen Child - HTML Version
• Dungeon Pages: Flynn, Blue Glove Knight

https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games

Arcane Rites: Cult of the Pajoli - PDF Version

Arcane Rites is a set of gamebooks that follow the exploits of Derilion, a hunter and adventurer known as the Lightbringer to the people of Pegeara, the land she’s lived in all her life. In Cult of the Pajoli, her ward, a young girl by the name of Obishaa, is kidnapped, and she must venture into a hazardous cave system to rescue her. You must use your experience, stealth, strength, speed, and perception to help you successfully navigate the many chambers and creatures within. Not all are enemies, and it is up to you to choose Derilion’s path and actions.

If your childhood was like mine, you probably remember reading the line of Choose Your Own Adventure books, where the story would fork in various directions and, depending on your decisions as the reader, the tale would play out a little differently. Well, here’s your chance to experience something similar, although with some of the experiences you’d expect in a solo board game. You’ll be tracking stats, making skill tests, monitoring inventory, and playing out encounters as you work your way through, making the story even more immersive and interactive than ever before. With 700 different sections, plus a lengthy introduction to start the story, there’s a ton of content for the eager gamer to delve into time and again.

Arcane Rites: Cult of the Pajoli - HTML Version

Arcane Rites is a set of gamebooks that follow the exploits of Derilion, a hunter and adventurer known as the Lightbringer to the people of Pegeara, the land she’s lived in all her life. In Cult of the Pajoli, her ward, a young girl by the name of Obishaa, is kidnapped, and she must venture into a hazardous cave system to rescue her. You must use your experience, stealth, strength, speed, and perception to help you successfully navigate the many chambers and creatures within. Not all are enemies, and it is up to you to choose Derilion’s path and actions.

Yes, you’re reading that correctly, this is the same game but with an added benefit! Want to play the game through on your phone or computer screen, but don’t fancy the idea of scrolling from #3 all the way #615 and then back to a number in the 200-400 range? Well, this is the purchase for you, as every number at the end of the section has a hyperlink that will take you directly to the relevant passage so you can trim the downtime to a minimum as you’re playing! Obviously, if you are printing it out to play, the hyperlinks won’t help you any longer, but this is certainly a nice benefit for those who like a little smoother gameplay experience.

Innsmouth: The Stolen Child - PDF Version

Innsmouth is a dark and shadowed town full of secrets and danger. You play a private investigator, asked to find a child kidnapped by some of the townsfolk. But beware, the residents aren’t quite what you expect! It’s up to you to navigate the town, trying not to be seen; the higher your conspicuousness, the more likely you are to come face to face with the enemy.

If you fancy a jaunt into the world of Lovecraftian imagination, you’ll not want to miss this gamebook. What separates this from the Arcane Rites book is the need to remain inconspicuous while exploring, as that value can have a negative effect on your attempts. With 600 unique passages to spice up the adventure, you’re in for another wonderful excursion that blends the Choose Your Own Adventure style of approach with role-playing stat checks to enhance the game’s experience.

Innsmouth: The Stolen Child - HTML Version

Innsmouth is a dark and shadowed town full of secrets and danger. You play a private investigator, asked to find a child kidnapped by some of the townsfolk. But beware, the residents aren’t quite what you expect! It’s up to you to navigate the town, trying not to be seen; the higher your conspicuousness, the more likely you are to come face to face with the enemy.

Yes, this one also has two different ways to play and, like Arcane Rites, if you plan to play the game on a screen then this might be the ideal selection for you thanks to the hyperlinks. You know, to avoid unnecessary spoilers while flipping past all those pages that you might run into later, or the images sprinkled along the way. Surely your subconscious wouldn’t recall something nasty around a certain numerical point, and thus lead you to avoiding a selection in that vicinity. Eliminate the chance of that subtle guiding influence and grab this for a seamless experience.

Dungeon Pages: Flynn, Blue Glove Knight

There’s no mystery when it comes to a Blue Glove - or Blue Fist - as they’re known outside Elder elite. These thieves are called in to bash and bag the items that should never see sunlight. Flynn, doesn’t much mind the nickname, as long as he’s the best of the bunch.

Forget the really cool character, the lower portion of this week’s Dungeon Pages delight will be sure to steal the show. Why is that, you ask? Portions of several sections you’re exploring are underwater in the seaside town of Aqira. One of the enemies, of course, does more damage for every space you marked underwater which makes it a fun and intriguing puzzle - and that isn’t even considering the big boss: The Corrupt Whelk. If you roll too high with your good dice, it’ll cause all evil dice to increase making it a delightful challenge to defeat. But don’t just take my word for it, let me know how you enjoy your time in Aqira!

Game of the Week: Surrealist Dinner Party on sale for just $5!

You’re hosting a dinner party! You’ve each invited your six favorite Surrealist artists and writers, and you are responsible for keeping your guests happy and sending them home sated. That’s easier said than done, though, because these Surrealists are colorful characters, and each one has a different checklist of things they need out of the evening.

A dining delight full of writers and artists with varying tastes. Turns are simple, choosing from one of four actions to conduct, and you are trying to collect as many tokens matching a guest’s card as possible - each one banking a point when they get sent home. Sure the please dinner guests and wine & dine folks alike, this game for 2-4 players has ample room for interacting with opponents, a simple set collection mechanic that isn’t going to be as easy to execute as you’d like, and plenty of guest abilities to make the experience unique as you parse through what you can trigger this game.