Board Game Review: Infinities: Defiance of Fate

There’s a new Kickstarter coming, which brings interdimensional rifts and dice-chucking action to your tabletop.

Infinities: Defiance of Fate merges the styles of a dice game with board game modular tile mechanics and some card game elements.

Two factions vie for control over an area surrounding a rift which mashes fantasy and sci-fi worlds together. During the course of the game, players will draw from two separate stacks of tiles, one from the Sands of Varra (the fantasy setting) and the Genesis Circuit (the sci-fi setting). They will create units who will explore and conquer the lands surrounding The Rift, the place where the two worlds emanate from. The leader each player chooses will help guide your playstyle, as each has specific advantages.

After the players have placed the initial starting tiles, play begins. During your turn, you will roll five dice, which have symbols on each side. Each symbol allows you to perform certain actions: playing cards, moving your pawn, using your leader’s ability, or damaging enemy units.

The game is very strategic. You have a lot of options open to you, but the game moves quickly as you can only perform the actions seen on the dice. Some of the icons can be confusing to understand at first, but after a playthrough, we were able to quickly move through and refer less and less to the rulebook.

The theme is thick in this game. The artwork is fantastic, even with placeholders in some places, as this was a prototype copy. Each tile is individually named with you having no idea what any of it means, but wanting to know more: What exactly are the Ruins of Old Jach’Rem? The artwork on the cards as well is dynamic and interesting. Each faction’s graphic styles are different as well, almost as if you’re mashing two different games, a sci-fi and fantasy game, together. It works here, and doesn’t feel inconsistent.

The game has two different gameplay styles as well. Skirmish is a straight up battle, where the two factions fight for control. Randomly generated win conditions mean that you have to change your play strategy each time. Adventure Mode changes the game, with scenarios changing the game. Each scenario leads into the next, so you can play a campaign over the course of multiple games.

I really enjoyed Infinities: Defiance of Fate. The theme is great; I’m a sucker for interdimensional rifts. The artwork is great too, really invoking the two worlds the game presents. The gameplay is fast and dynamic with lots of different choices presented for the players. The hybrid of dice game and board-building strategy game is great. While I played the prototype copy, I look forward to seeing what the final copy looks like.

You can learn more about the game and get ready to back their Kickstarter by visiting their website. I’ll add the Kickstarter link here once it goes live.

Vatal Entertainment Studio sent a copy of Infinities: Defiance of Fate to Dice Monkey for review.