The Night Cage Review - with Tom Vasel

Tom Vasel takes a look at a game in the dark!

Intro 0:00
Overview 1:03
Final Thoughts 4:56

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[danhalstead]

FLGS Owner. We played this at GenCon and loved it, bought a bunch to bring back to the shop, and they all sold within 2 weeks. There's more strategy than Tom is letting on, and the theme is at an 11. Definitely ordering more.

[JosefFerguson]

Played this for the first time a few months ago with all the lights off at a cabin trip in the middle of a huge thunderstorm!

[TheErnieforss]

2:45. I wasn't sure about this game. But the sound effects sold me. 3:47. 2:00. 5:15 6:17

[kyelj]

I'd agree with luck playing a major role in the basic game. But as soon as you get to the advanced game with the key keepers, there's a lot more planning and strategy required to succeed.

[nicolehage]

I wondered how the Night cage compares to Sub Terra. Did anyone play both?

I own and love Sub Terra, you also build a dangerous world with tiles that create a cave system. You face dangers, horrors and try to find the exit before you collapse and before your torch runs low. I love the tension and the creepy atmosphere in Sub Terra.

[joeltremblay]

I agree with Tom on everything in the video. The game play is perfect for the theme, no adjustment needed. Ranked in the top 10 of my 100+ game collection. The main strategy of the game is managing which tiles fall off. NOT EASY. I have never had a run away win...almost always down to last 5 tiles or less. I agree with another reviewer, similar in many way to nightmare/atmosphere (which I play every Halloween) in theme and atmosphere. Great game!

[whataboutki]

Well, now I'm pretty interested... I love when a theme really shines through.

[R.A.Stewart]

I agree 100% with this review. Played the KS version. It would be great to play on a night the power goes out...

[danielvilllareal]

I recently got and i liked it. Reading the rules had the same effect on me too.
Doesnt it give you some "the cube" vibes? Like the movie "the cube".

[Kman]

I pre-ordered my retail copy and it still hasn't come in yet 😅 but im excited to try it even more now!

[Hemlock]

Played this game last weekend at the Southern Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta and loved it. Looking forward to picking up a copy and playing it by candlelight.

[nicoleredheart]

My husband and I just picked this up the other day. I've seen reviews and wanted it for a while but WOW!! It blew away our expectations!! Very original! Our new favorite game! 9/10 easily!!

[topgun]

I backed it on kickstarter and when I first backed it I thought it sounded ok but it was nothing astounding. Then I actually got it and played it. It is much better than I thought it was going to be. One thing Tom didn't mention is Final Flickers. This is what happens at the end of the game when your stack of tiles runs out. On each players turn you have to discard an existing tile on the table. So your existing board starts to shrink. And if at any point any of your people are not on a gate and their last remaining pathway to the gate has to get discarded ... that's it. All of your guys can't make it to the exit and you all lose ... so it increases the sense of urgency ... a LOT. This game does have luck but it is more strategic than you would think. You definitely want to be close together so that if one person finds a key they can camp next to it and keep it lit and they won't have to stay there long for you to get there to grab it. You cannot carry more than one key so you can't grab a 2nd key to give to someone else. Note: You can't have a player rest ON the key tile because it is a cracked tile, which means on the next turn after someone enters the tile, it flips over and becomes a pit and thus is lost forever. And, you want to be close to each other so that if you get hit by a monster and go lights-out that you can quickly get your candle relit. But (there is always a but) ... you don't want to be TOO close to each other because then it increases the odds that a monster that spawns will potentially hit more than one player .... or appear in a place where it is impossible for all players to get out of the way to avoid being hit. This is a HARD game. Not unbeatable .. but just the base game is enough of a challenge that you will need to play quite a few times before you are likely to win. On a tangent ... I remember someone saying a while back that people supposedly dream in black and white. I'm not sure I believe that, but then I pretty much never remember my dreams ... so that's one explanation as to why this is black and white ... as you are supposed to be trapped in a nightmare essentially. The candle tokens ... I think they are different heights as a color-blind mechanism (so people who are color blind can pick out which token is theirs). All in all this is a good game and definitely one that will be staying in my collection (and will most certainly come out every Halloween).

[JonnyLuscious]

as others have said, i would be interested in a comparison between this and the sub terra games and expansions.

[punzzle]

The scariest game of the year. Sounds pretty awesome to me.

[necrotoaster]

Watched the review, bought it before the end of the final thoughts. This is totally my jam. 😁

[michaelwampole]

Sounds like if you played in a dim room with a black light it would be amazing

[labyfan]

I'm definitely a thematic person. I don't care one anyone says about them, but I love the very thematic Video Board Games Nightmare/Atmosfear which are coincidently also games you play in dim light and need to collect keys by way of dumb luck. lol So this one appeals to me.

[pauls]

I backed this on Kickstarter and I'm very happy with the gameplay and the fun to be had with its straightforward rules.

[ralelunar]

This would've been a good review to hold off on uploading until tomorrow, to kick off the start of spooky season