Tritons are amphibious creatures that somewhat resemble the Zora from Legend of Zelda. Unlike humans, they are blue, have fins and move better in water than on land. They used to keep themselves a little more hidden from humans, but a group of traders are eager to seek contact. Not everyone agrees … Riverbed Hunt will soon launch its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, but we were allowed to test a prototype for you.
Goal and setup
Riverbed Hunt is a semi-cooperative game with hidden roles for a group of at least 4 and up to 9 players. So like many hidden roles games, a larger group is a requirement because of the social aspect, and to be perfectly honest, these kinds of games play the best with a larger group.
Players are assigned a secret role at the beginning of the game and depending on their role, players may also be part of a group; the traders, who want to trade seaweed to humanity, or the separatists who prefer to live in isolation. The separatists therefore try to secretly sabotage the traders, without giving away their secret role. If a team (or a player, since there may also be a profiteering scalper running around) manages to achieve their goal, they win control of the riverbed and also Riverbed Hunt. Has enough seaweed surfaced? Then the traders win. Are there enough logs to seal off the river? Then the separatists win. With enough coins, the profiteers are happy.
The exact game setup of Riverbed Hunt varies by the number of players. Players set up the goods track (to indicate how much wood, seaweed and coins have surfaced) and the game board. At the designated spots on the game board, place closed tiles that players will turn up. Give players their hidden roles and they are ready to dive and perhaps sabotage.
Gameplay
Players can move around the game board during their turn to visit new tiles. They can also secretly discover tiles to reveal information about them for themselves. In addition, players can also surface the tiles and work together. In this way, players can possibly reveal the tiles and also uncover or sabotage the seaweed and/or coins and collect logs in order to achieve the different goals (unknowingly).
Players can also play action cards for special powers and abilities in order to bend the game to their will and influence the course of play.
Verdict
Through the different (special and normal) actions, players gain secret information and work together to achieve the goals. Through the behavior and certain actions of players, you can possibly deduce which players are secretly separatists. In this way, you try to unmask each other.
Riverbed Hunt can be compared to other hidden role-playing games such as Shadows over Camelot, Avalon, the Resistance, Werewolves and Bang because of its gameplay. Players must cooperate and depend on each other, but because players can sabotage, all players must be on their guard (also to avoid being caught as a separatist). It is a nicely designed game with a clear and simple gameplay, which is likely to please fans of hidden role-playing games.
