When Darkness Comes...

or Go Back to GM's Call.

Game Type: Board Game
Publisher: Twilight Creations Inc.
Game Design: Todd and Kerry Brietenstein
Art: Dave Aikins
Medium: Boxed Game Expansion
Price: $29.99
Reviewer: Mark Warren

   When Darkness Comes is a new offering from Twilight Creations Inc, the makers of "Zombies!!!".  When Darkness Comes (WDC) is a hybrid boxed game that combines the Roleplaying and Board Game genres.  While there will always be complaints from purists in both camps, I think if you give it a try you will be pleasantly surprised.
   Twilight Creations Inc. is a small independent publisher. I enjoy supporting independents so I tend to buy their games and "share them with" my friends (sometimes that should read "inflict them on").  Twilight Creations Inc. has, in my estimation, shown a track record for fun and simple, beer & pretzel games that are tailor-made for wasting a few hours with friends and family of like mind. Whenever you go to your local game store to buy your favorite materials, spend an extra $3 to $5 on an independent publisher.
   "When Darkness Comes" is a board game for 1 to 6 players that has a streamlined RPG element to it. There are character sheets, statistics and dice as well as figures and counters. During play you take your generated or pre-made characters through various printed or custom scenarios and attempt to achieve various stated goals to gain experience and advance your characters, much like any RPG and/or board game.
   Let's examine the package first and then we'll look at the game mechanics.  The box is a small, densely-packed package. In fact, after I opened it I had trouble getting it to fit back in the box completely.  I love that.  The box contains:

   1 Rule Book
   1 Scenario/Background Book
   6 Pregenerated character cards
   6 Pewter minis to match the pregen characters
   15 Board tiles
   55 Encounter disks
   41 Other disks
   10 Dice
   32 Character sheets

   The rule book is a 16 page pamphlet that covers the basic rules and contains handy charts and reference tables.  Read it twice.  There are a few things that aren't clear – read the wording carefully and try not to read anything into it.  Think "Simple." There is very little interior artwork in the rulebook, mostly representations of the necessary cards or tokens being discussed. It is very utilitarian and densely packed.
   Next is the Scenario Book.  There are 6 scenarios on the book and part one of the three part campaign containing its own three scenarios (9 total).  The scenario book also features the art work of Dave Aikins. I'm quickly becoming a fan of his charcoal drawings and excellent color work.  How Dave can achieve such crisp and beautiful results on such a rough medium is beyond me. The scenarios are formatted identically (with the exception of the campaign) but vary widely in goals and execution.  Essentially each scenario begins with a story that is around 1,000 words and then has a list of special circumstance and goals.  In all cases characters are awarded experience points for achieving the scenario goals. Oddly this is one of the very few weak points of the system. The scenarios are very reliant on the introduction stories to make them fun, yet few people will want to sit through the reading of a 1,000 word story.  You will either need a patient group or a GM skilled at summary.
   The campaign is where the scenario book shines. The story is expertly and professionally written and the scenarios are fun and challenging. While the rest of the scenarios in the book are well written and fun to play, the campaign stands heads above the other material presented in the set.
   There are 6 beautifully sculpted miniatures in the box that just beg to be added to your Sci-Fi collection. These figures would easily fit into your vampire or cyberpunk games. Sadly the fine sculpting job is marred by the poor casting technique.  My figures were riddled with flash (which is easily removed in most cases) and a few pieces were completely fouled around the legs and base with excess metal. If you've worked with figures at all, none of these flaws should present any serious challenges though and the figures are quite nice once processed.
   While the figures are used to represent the players, circular counters are used to represent almost everything else in the game.  The card counters and the card "city block" board pieces are printed on heavy card stock and are durable and very well presented. The "enemy" tokens have generic stats on them for small, medium, and boss creatures and are used for different encounters in every scenario.
   There are also dice, counters for other things in the game, a pad of character sheets and some color cards with pre-generated characters on them.  A very full box!

Mechanics:
   The game mechanics are simple and fun.  In fact they are what drew me back to this game to play again after I had completed the review.  As any good RPG fan will tell you, it's the GM and not the system that makes the game. The WDC system is flexible and easily adapted to whatever kind of game you play. It is almost reminiscent of TinyRPG and I'm sure it could be used with the G.R.I.P. internet RPG system.
   The system is stat/skill based and uses "poker" dice to resolve conflict. Essentially the GM (or the situation/scenario) dictates the difficulty of the roll. Difficulties are poker like number combinations like pairs, straits, and "of a kinds".  You then roll a number of dice that matches your relevant statistic plus any bonus dice granted from specific skills and attempt to reach the target number. For example, a tough lock might require a 3S (3 strait) to open. The player would consult his/her Dex number in dice (adding additional dice for the "Lockpick" skill if present) and roll. If the roll yields 3 numbers in sequence (1-2-3 etc.) then the test is successful.  Certain circumstances allow the player to reroll one or more dice.
   There are many other subtle rules that enhance play and make this a very fun game to own and play.  There are too many skills, equipment pieces, and other things to comment on here. I recommend it for those who don't take their role playing too seriously and are looking for a fun, quick way to play without having to consult stacks of books.  Pick up When Darkness Comes by Twilight Creations Inc. and tell them I sent you.

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- Mark Warren 8/1/02