A Late Night Bite

By Guest, in News

fury-of-dracula-encounter-ambush.png The carriage bounces along the road, and my weapons jingle reassuringly at my side. I seek the fiend that is responsible for my sorrow. He took my wife, and left me for dead. I shall see him buried in the ground properly, and this time, permanently. I have faced his wolves and his offspring. Now I seek to face the creature in combat.

A remake of the 1987 Games Workshop title, Fury of Dracula embodies the paranoia and desperation of searching out the archfiend himself. Fury of Dracula pits 1-4 players against the mental acuity of a player acting as the vampiric fiend, Dracula! Scott Clifton , Retail Communications Associate, is a huge fan of this game, and had this to say. “ Fury of Dracula is a blast. I love the heavy theme, as you look for Dracula throughout the cities and surrounding areas in Europe. From fighting the vampires he spawns, to trying to figure out where he is going, the game is tense the entire time. I prefer being Dracula, but I do love hunting him down and staking him. An excellent game to play at a Halloween party.”

Dracula begins the festivities each turn. Day becomes night, or night becomes day, as the celestial bodies chase each other through the sky. Dracula becomes far more powerful at night, while he is severely weakened during the daylight hours. The fiend then moves to a new location, placing a card on the track. As he moves from town to town, he leaves behind terrifying encounters for the hunters to find. From Ambushes and Assassins to Plagues and New Vampires, the hunters will need to stay sharp to avoid all of the pitfalls Dracula leaves in his wake. His ultimate goal is to spawn six new vampires, while the Hunters wish to drop Dracula to 0 health.

fury-of-dracula-mina-harker.png

Dracula goes first each turn, then the Hunters follow in order from Lord Godalming to Dr. Seward to Van Helsing and wrap up with Mina Harker . Moving about the board, players have the choice of roadways, railways, or by boat. Moving on the rails can get you to go faster, as you roll a die. The die has sides X,0,1,2, and 2/3. These results will be how far you move, and can indicate you get to go nowhere. Use these steam powered devices at your own risk!

If Dracula should move into a space containing a Hunter, he immediately attacks them! At the start of combat, every player (not just the one in combat) gets to play cards that will affect the combat.

For example; Van Helsing enters combat with Dracula during the day. Dracula realizes that he’s in trouble, so he plays a Trap card, giving himself a +1 bonus to his combat rolls for the duration of this combat. None of the Hunters have any cards to play, and Dracula has nothing else to play, and Dracula has nothing else to play, so the players move on to the next step.

fury-of-dracula-encounter-peasant-revolt Once all cards have been played, the Hunter and Dracula build their combat decks. These decks comprise all of the options, weapons, and tactics that either Dracula or the Hunter can employ in the upcoming conflict. From Holy Water and Stakes to Fangs and Claws, the combatants will not want to hold anything back. Dracula is significantly weaker during the day, so the Hunters will want to strike when the sun is full.

Both players place a card face down in front of them. Cards are revealed simultaneously. Both players then roll a die and add any bonuses from their cards. The fighter with the highest total wins the round. To find out the result, the winner looks on the right hand side of his card until he finds the name of the card his opponent played. This is the result of combat.

A big part of the strategy here is to win, but to also guess what the result will be if you win. Winning is good, but you will need to anticipate what the end result will be.

Fury of Dracula is a fast-paced deductive game, that sharpens the minds of everybody playing. Dracula will be attempting to hide his every movement, and the Hunters will be canvassing all of Europe and part of Asia in their quest to eliminate the fanged fiend. Each game will be different, as the options and tactics that Dracula can employ shift turn by turn. Do you possess the drive to end Dracula’s foul reign? Do you have the cunning to avoid the scouring eyes of the Hunters? Find out with Fury of Dracula !

Check out the Support page for rules and player aids, including the reference map (pdf, 600 kb)!

Fury of Dracula is a deductive game that pits one player, playing the role of Dracula, against up to 4 other Hunters seeking out the lord of vampires. Dracula uses secret movement to avoid these Hunters, and is trying to spawn six vampires, before the Hunters stake him.