‘Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum’ Surpasses 400% Kickstarter Funding in First Day

Dark Gate Games has a hot Kickstarter project on their hands as the miniatures driven fantasy/horror game Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum easily passed 400% of its funding goal less than 24 hours. The title is a one versus many style action game where the one is the Witch Master, and the many are the heroes battling the encroaching evil. The game is for two to five players, ages 14+, and plays in 90-120 minutes. Currently there’s one day left to score the early bird specials: for a $100.00 pledge you receive the core game and an exclusive hero, the swordsman or for a $145.00 pledge you’ll also receive the first expansion, The Cursed Fjord. The project runs through February 12 and the expected delivery date is January of next year.

From Dark Gate:

As the many planes of existence turn and churn, occasionally worlds come into alignment. For brief moments in the multiverse’s timescale, these Conjunctions allow objects to slip from one world to another, sometimes unnoticed, sometimes causing chaos.

One such Conjunction occurred between Earth and Neemoss, during the Dark Ages. Two dimensions could not be more different. Physics in this alternate plane is more akin to magic and its corrupting effects create worlds of monsters and cruelty. When items from Neemoss appear on Earth they are still imbued with their magical essence, which is soon discovered by healers, alchemists, fakirs and all manner of snake-oil peddlers. But things become decidedly worse when the Conjunction strengthens and the first Witches from Neemoss cross into our plane of existence.

Help the Heroes master their newfound magical powers as they defend their lands from the malevolent Witches and the disciples they summon. Or control the Witches as they complete their rituals to ravage the Earth!

Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum is an asymmetric “One vs Many” miniatures board game for 1 to 5 players. A team of people control a small band of Heroes defending villagers from a single player controlling the vile Forces of Evil. All players manage a pool of stamina that is used to pay for their character’s actions. Game play is dynamic with little downtime: turns alternate between the two forces with a player on each side taking one or two actions each turn, so long as they still have stamina.

Play is organized around scenarios with unique objectives. The scenarios can be linked into a longer campaign or played individually if your group is more casual. Story driven scenarios, game mechanics, detailed miniatures and lush modular boards bring the game world to life.

Can you use the magic of Neemoss to defeat the invading horde? Or will you complete your Dark Rituals to summon the ultimate evil?

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...

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