I had previously spoke about companies that create games to be stored in uniformed sized boxes (like the Tiny Epic’s by Gamelyn Games) so that their line of games can be stored together for a quick and easy way to find them on your gaming shelves. I feel that this is brilliant for publishers to do because it helps keep the materials needed to manufacture the games uniform and on hand for when the next print run is needed. For example, if all your games are designed to fit in a 4”x 6”x 2” box, the manufacturing company can stock up on the cardboard and all they have to do is print the appropriate box label. Quick easy and ready to go.
The company I want to talk about today has created a line of games in what they are calling the “Dark Cities” series. Each of the games are based around a historical city and around a specific event that occurred there, hence the year that is part of the title. They are also designed to be played in under an hour even with higher player counts. These games are quick to learn and fun to play. Façade Games has designed the games in the series to look like books for keeping upright on the shelf. Out of the four games in the series, we have tabled three of them so far. The one we haven’t played is the one that required the most players at the minimum count, which is also the first game we will look at.
Salem 1692
Volume 1 in the series
“Hunt down the witches before you become one of them! Will you be the hero who purges your town of witches, or will you be wrongly accused and hanged for witchcraft? Or perhaps you will become a witch yourself, escape conviction, and bring Salem to the ground in hysteria.” (facadegames.com)
This game is a 4-12 player game card game in “witch” you are either a witch fighting to stay alive or a townsfolk member trying to find and eliminate the witches. You will be working together to accuse or defend another person in the game; however, you won’t know if you are helping a witch or not. At certain points in the game the witches secretly communicate with one another to eliminate a townsfolk member. The question is, can you save the town from all the trickery or are you a witch having fun with the hysteria?
One thing I do like about this game is that they use historical names from the actual event in history. I have a connection to this event with being related to one of the last people accused and killed in the trials (but not featured in this game). Do you have any witches from Salem in your family tree?
Tortuga 1667
Volume 2 in the series
“A Spanish Galleon floats nearby, and you’ve talked your crewmates into working together to steal all of its treasure. What you haven’t told your fellow pirates is that you have no intentions on sharing the treasure once you have it. Your crewmates have told you that they share your loyalty and that they’ll help you maroon the greedy pirates on your ship to the rocky island of Tortuga. But you’ve seen your friends’ loaded pistols and heard their whisperings of a mutiny. You know that nobody can be trusted.” (facadegames.com)
Argh matey… it is another pirate themed game that is for 2-9 players. Tortuga in 1667 was a main base for buccaneers in the Caribbean at the time and home to many famous pirates.
This game you have a secret loyalty to either the French or the British (but don’t tell anyone) and are trying have the most treasures in your hold when the armada arrives. You will vote on what actions to take each turn as well as playing event cards that can give you an edge and maroon your fellow crew mates. Who you trust is up to you; let’s just hope that your fellow pirate you helped is actually on your side.
All of Façade Games were funded on Kickstarter and this was the first one of theirs we backed (Salem 1692 was before we began backing projects).
Deadwood 1876
Volume 3 in the series 
“There's gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota and you’ve come to find (or steal) your share. You’re staying at one of the three major establishments in Deadwood where you and your associates are working together to steal some of the gold-filled safes floating around town. But you suspect that the “friends” you’re working with are secretly plotting to keep all the gold for themselves. Will you be ready to turn on them before they shoot you in the back?” (facadegames.com)
Gold was first discovered in 1874 in the southern part of the Black Hills and in 1876 the northern part was “invaded” by miners and the western town of Deadwood was founded.
This 2-9 player game is all about challenging your opponents for the gold that might be locked up in safes that they have and/or challenging for an available spot at one of the three locations in town. This is a simple “play a card, roll a die” game. Each card has two options to choose from, using a gun for a challenge (top of the card) or using an action that is on the bottom of the card to help you or another player.
In the end, there can only be one winner so potentially there will be a fight-to-the-finish, a final showdown at sundown, a quick-draw on main street, a… well, you get the point. This game is quick to learn and fast to play.
For some reason we missed the Kickstarter for this one but was able to pick it up with the next game and have enjoyed how fast the game really is to play.
Bristol 1350
Volume 4 in the series 
“You are racing down the streets, desperate to escape into the safety of the countryside. If your cart is the first out of town you and your cart-mates win! Or do you? Some villagers on your cart may secretly already have the plague. If you leave town with a plagued villager on your cart, you will catch the plague and lose! What will you do to make sure that doesn’t happen? And who will you trust (or betray) along the way?” (facadegames.com)
Bristol, right before the plague, was the third largest city in England only behind London and York. However, it was estimated that the plague took anywhere from a third to half of the population.
This 1-9 player game (their first solo game in the series) is another in which is quick to learn and fast to play. Each player will have 2 symptom cards and if at any time throughout the game they add up to more than five, you have the plague (even if later you are at five or below, you still have the plague). Each player gets to do one action and at the end of each round of play, if the dice shows two rats of the color of the card you are in, you mingle with the others in your cart and are at risk of getting infected. Are you fast enough to leave town and escape the plague?
We did back the Kickstarter campaign and were very happy with the results.
Final Thoughts
As a company, Façade Games does a nice job overall in terms of game design, aesthetics, quality of materials, and cost of the games. Each game costs $25 dollars (great price range for families), fits nicely on a bookshelf (meaning not a big bulky box), and are easy to learn and play.
The game boards for Tortuga 1667 and Bristol 1350 are neoprene mats that roll up into the book which are great for storage. The biggest drawback to the games though is that if you are like me and sleeve your cards, it will be a tight fit in the boxes.
I do love that the games in the series are based on actual historic events. From pirates in the Caribbean to the American Wild West, and from the Black Plague to witches in colonial America, I am curious to see what they bring out next.
If you like to support small game companies, Façade Games is one that I would highly, highly, recommend. They are great communicators, they listen to their supporters, they put out high quality work, and they are true to their commitments.
(Pictures of the individual games come from the Façade Games website)
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