Type of Game: Asymmetric Combat, Action Selection, Territory Control
Number of Players: 1-3
Age: 12+
Designer: Jay Cormier & Shad Miller
Artist: Tyler Crook
Publisher: Off the Page Games
I was first introduced to Harrow County by fellow CBY contributor and my friend Jimmy Gaspero. It was written by Cullen Bunn with art by Tyler Crook. Jimmy had Cullen on the CCC podcast and after listening I asked for a recommendation of Bunn's. Harrow County is what Jimmy told me to read. I obtained a copy and devoured it. It was such a unique and interesting world, about a southern gothic town in the 1930s that has a history with the witch Hester and all the supernatural forces and events that come with that.
Off the Page Games was able to provide Comic Book Yeti with a review copy and we dove into the gothic goodness.
CONCEPT
Harrow County is mainly a two player game where two factions, the Protectors and the Family, battle each other over the fate of Harrow County. The Protectors lead by Emmy, a descendant of the witch Hester, and her friends are looking to save the townsfolk. Levi, leader of the Family, siblings of Hester, wants nothing more than to see it destroyed. Mason Jars containing powerful spells allow to perform actions that let their Leader and their haints, evil spirits, move around the board, attack their enemies or use special abilities. Score points by saving townsfolk/destroying houses, killing haints or occupying the Brambles hex on the board. Save the townsfolk or burn it all to the ground. It all depends on which side you pick.
HOW IT WORKS
Harrow County is a game with a fair amount of upfront rules you will need to know and the rule book walks you through a Chapter tutorial to get you acquainted with them. Since playing a few games, a new rule book has been released by the publisher that looks to make the learning process easier.
Chapter 1 looks to teach the basics and I'll highlight some here to give you a taste. Each player is trying to get seven victory points. A round is made up of two phases:
Phase 1: Actions/Turns - alternated between the players
Phase 2: Scoring and Round Reset - simultaneously by the players
Actions are portrayed as Mason Jars and breaking those Mason Jars unleashes four different types: Abilities, Wild, Legend, and Attack. Each phase players alternate executing one Action until each player has completed three. Performing the Abilities and Legend actions are where you see the difference in gameplay between the two sides. Protectors have a player board that lists out the 3 Abilities (Advance, Spawn, Strengthen) and a value that represents the amount of times you can use it. Only one ability can be selected. The Family blindly pulls tokens from a pre-built bag. What is drawn from the bag determines what the player can do this Ability Action. Legend actions let you do two things. You can activate your Legend Ability, which helps in your townsfolk saving or house destroying mission. The second action is your Legend's unique ability.
The game board is a double sided hex map in the shape of a diamond with each hex having it's own terrain type. Additional Ability tokens are scattered on these hexes and if a player ends their turn with their Leader or a haint on that hex, they can collect that token. Protectors can add it to their board increasing that abilities value and the Family can add the tokens to their bag or add to their board, increasing the amount of tokens they can pull.
The Attack action leads to Combat. Combat is very unique and incorporates one of the coolest components in a game I've seen. Strength is represented by cubes. Each player starts with three cubes on the Battleground, basically the tray holding both players' cubes. The Strengthen Ability allows you to add cubes to your combat strength. Having more units in combat gives you another cube. When an Attack Action Mason Jar is selected the cubes are gathered up and dropped into a dice tower built into the box! Inside the dice tower are obstructions that will prevent all of the cubes coming out. If the attacker has the same or more cubes in the battleground the attack is successful and they can spend those cubes to kill a haint or make their opponents Legend retreat.
Phase 2 is quicker and consists of awarding a Victory Point if a player occupies the Brambles, checking to see if seven points have been scored, switching the first player token, and refreshing Mason Jars.
Later chapters start to include a new faction, a third player, more components and more rules to the game. My favorite addition was the Tactics deck for the Protectors and the Upgrade Tokens for the Family. Setup also changes in that the Townsfolk and Buildings previously already on the map are now placed aside and deployed to the map one per round. Earning points through killing Haints also gets harder, making the games longer in length. These wrinkles are good ways to change things up for good replayability. There is a scenario that allows for three players that will not be covered that in this review, however I am very excited to test it out.
COMPONENTS
When a game has lots of components, you just hope they are of a quality make and that they hold up to wear and tear from playing. With a mix of cardboard, plastic and wood, Off the Page Games provides nice components that will fit that bill. Even the thin Storm tokens. Looking at them you fear they may rip or bend easily, but through multiple plays and multiple setups and teardowns, not one is messed up. The dice tower is the coolest part. I mean it's part of the box. C'MON! Those cubes come shooting out all over the place though, be prepared to not get them mixed up with your supply or cubes on the gameboard.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed my plays of Harrow County and I plan to get back to it shortly to continue working through the Chapters in the rulebook to get the full game experience. The choices of the action selection in the early game can be predictable, but the late game really forces some tough calls on which to take. The different factions and Legends give the replayability that is needed to get this game back to the table. The dice tower and cube combat system is fun each time it happens and my opponent and I found ourselves rising out of our seats with the more significant battles. Knowing the source material story furthered my enjoyment of the game, but isn't essential for a player not familiar to enjoy.
As with any game that steps you through game play with chapters or scenarios, you either tend to play the first scenario with different opponents over and over or you only play the game with the same opponent because you both are learning the rules as you go along. Getting a dedicated opponent is the best move to get the full experience of the game. You need to understand it's a multi game commitment. Having to constantly teach the game may burn you out on it before you even get to experience the "full" game and all the different Legends. Don't let that happen! Approach it like a campaign game.
Fortunately, I have two players that I have been playing with! A three player game is definitely in my future. One of those players is CBY Cryptid Creator Corner co-host Jimmy Gaspero. See our first combat on Jimmy's TikTok here: First Combat
If you are interested in Harrow County, check out these interviews with the Harrow County creators:
Cullen Bunn talks Shock Shop - Cullen Bunn on the CCC podcast
Tyler Crook talks The Lonesome Hunters - Tyler Crook on the CCC podcast
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