Nocturne

Nocturne is a puzzling spatial bid and set collection game set in a whimsical moonlit forest, illustrated by Beth Sobel!

About the game

In Nocturne, you play as a fox mystic (a type of wizard) who casts magical spells to collect an assortment of enchanted items. You take on rival mystics, with each of you deciding when to cast the most powerful spells to move through the forest as cunningly as possible and get the best collection! Each turn you decide which items are most valuable to you and when to stop the other mystics.

In two rounds (twilight and moonlight), players compete to collect the strongest sets of magical items, such as firebird feathers, creature skulls, glowing mushrooms, mystery eggs and rare herbs. These items have value when collected in specific sets, but can also be combined to fulfill recipes needed for potions, giving you even more points!

How do you play Nocturne?

You can find the game rules here: Nocturne Rules (NL) translated by Google (note: these are the English rules translated by Google, not an official release)

English game rules: Nocturne Rulebook

A round Nocturne ...

Each round you begin with a set of numbered tokens representing your spell strength. These tokens are used to cast spells and bid on a grid of items (and special actions) on the forest floor. Once you cast a spell, your rival mystics get to cast a more powerful spell on an adjacent item, hoping to force it to them and prevent you from collecting what you need! As the forest is explored, various conditions of magical control limit paths, leading to strategic situations where players can "corner cast" and secure multiple items with less powerful spells. If your spells fall short on the forest floor, you can always make an offering to the forest spirits - magical mice who have their own treasure chest of treasures to share with you, giving you more options to expand your collection.

The setup of the forest grid and twilight and moonlight objectives, along with brew cards and special player abilities in each game, provide great variety so that no two games of Nocturne will turn out the same. Different spatial targets and situations require different strategies and tactics to outwit your opponents in this highly interactive and unique spatial bidding game!