Scythe (board game)

Scythe gameplay

Scythe takes place in an alternative history version of 1920s Europe that is recovering from the effects of the WWI. Players represent different factions seeking their fortune in the redeveloping landscape. Players build an economic engine by selecting one of four main actions each turn. Each action is listed on the top of a personal player board, and players cannot take the same action in consecutive turns. They may also take a corresponding second action as listed on their player board. Actions allow players to move units on the board, trade for or produce goods, bolster their military for combat, deploy mechs, enlist recruits for continuous bonuses or build structures. The actions themselves may also be upgraded, making them either less costly to enact or stronger when deployed.[1]

Each player is given six stars, which are placed on their player boards when they complete specific goals, such as deploying all four of their mechs.[1] The game immediately ends when one player has completed all of their goals. Players then tally the money that they receive from achievements earned, territory controlled, and gathered resources based on their in-game popularity achieved; the player who finishes the game with the most money wins.[2]

Scythe was designed by Jamey Stegmaier, the CEO of Stonemaier Games, and was revealed as a Kickstarter campaign on October 13, 2015. Backers contributed over $1.8 million to the campaign.[3][4][5] Physical copies of the game were delivered to backers in July 2016; it was later released in Gen Con and other retail stores the following month.[1]

Approximately 130 alternate history artworks were illustrated by the Polish artist Jakub Różalski.[2][6] The game's theme is set in the 1920+ alternate history universe, which was inspired by the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921, and also later used in Iron Harvest.[7][8][9] The plot focuses on the conflict between several nations in Central and Eastern Europe that occurred in the aftermath of World War I. The factions are Polania, Rusviet, Saxony, Crimea, Nordic (based on Poland, Soviet Russia, Imperial Germany, Crimean Khanate, and Scandinavia, respectively).[1][10][11] The video gaming website Polygon also stated that the artwork also was "the inspiration for dozens of objective and narrative cards".[2]

During playtesting, Stegmaier asked players to quantitatively rate the game with a maximum score of ten, and described that "when I start to see those ratings creep over 8, I know we’re getting really close".[12] Scythe also includes the Automa, a solo-player mode designed by Morten Monrad Pedersen, who also contributed to other Stonemaier Games products including Wingspan and Viticulture. He stated the difficulty in designing one-player games was for the Automas to resemble human players while being streamlined, which required "a purging of unnecessary mechanics" to reduce the downtime.[13]

Scythe was released to acclaim from board game critics, who praised its mechanism, gameplay, and art. It was listed as one of the best games of 2016 by several reviewers, including William Herkewitz from Popular Mechanics, Aaron Zimmerman from Ars Technica, Tomasz Sokoluk from Rebel Times, and Peter Jenkinson from the Telegraph.[38][39][40][41] The reviewer Aaron Zimmerman described it as a "deep, puzzly, interactive Euro-style board game". Zimmerman also praised the complementary nature of the simple turn structure and the "many complex, interlocking parts" of the engine building mechanics.[1] This sentiment was echoed by Matt Jarvis from Tabletop Gaming, who praised the game's balance of depth and accessibility, the "cleverly designed" player mats, and as the encounter mechanism, which he believed "round[s] out Scythe's in-game universe and offer[s] a more micro-level human edge".[42] Several years after its release, Scythe appeared on a list from The Wirecutter of the best board games. The reviewers praised the game's "immense strategic depth" and "beautiful, steampunk-meets-pastoral idyll world-building aesthetic".[43]

Reviewers particularly highlighted Scythe's use of Eurogame-style resource management and combat mechanics found in American-style board games. Zimmerman compared the simplicity of combat to the systems in Kemet and Dune, describing it as a "tense exercise", but also noted the relative infrequency of combat within the game world.[1] Jarvis praised the "quick and highly strategic" combat system but found that resource production was instrumental for victory.[42] Luke Plunkett from Kotaku also observed that resource management and construction were more significant for in-game success than combat.[44] Różalski's artwork also received significant praise from reviewers, with Charlie Hall of Polygon acknowledging the game's use of artwork as a thematic core for objective and encounter cards and stating that each card "is a treasure".[2] PC Gamer editor Jonathan Bolding also commended the art quality, noting that "[t]he cards have fascinating scenes of agrarian life juxtaposed with smoking dieselpunk mechs and war machines".[45] Reviewing for the Dicebreaker, Alex Meehan praised the artwork displaying both the war setting and its "consequences on the ordinary people". She concluded that it was "a huge draw for players looking for a game with an arresting setting".[46] Sokoluk also stated that the most distinctive element of the game is Różalski's art style, which has helped to create hype for the game even before its debut.[41] Zimmerman was additionally complimentary, writing that the game is "tied together through the stunning art".[1]

The single-player artificial opponent, the Automa, was also well-received. Plunkett praised the functionality of the Automa as "a great way to learn the ropes before getting a crew together", but noted that there were major differences between the game's single- and multiplayer modes.[44] Travis Williams from TechRaptor agreed, saying that the Automa was "slickly designed" and praising its suitability as a non-player faction in multiplayer games.[6]

Scythe received four Golden Geek Awards from BoardGameGeek in 2016, for Board Game of the Year, Artwork & Presentation, Strategy Game, and Solo Game, while also placing as a runner-up for Most Innovative.[47] The game was also well received commercially: as of April 2021, Stonemaier Games had sold over 382,000 copies. Scythe had the highest sales of any Stonemaier Game until 2021, when it was surpassed by Wingspan.[48]

Upon its release, Scythe: Digital Edition received mostly positive reviews upon its release on Steam.[49] Calvin Wong Tze Loon from PC Gamer commended the "slick tutorial", the mechanisms, visuals and the soundtrack; concluding that it was "evocative, clever, and rewarding".[15] Keith Law from Ars Technica also praised the visuals of the adaptation and engagement but criticised the price of 20 dollars and complexity of the tutorial.[31] In a mixed review, CD-Action noted the game's similarity with the original board game, stating that "Its biggest merit in the eyes of purists is arguably also its biggest flaw – Scythe: Digital Edition offers nothing that the original board game wouldn't".[49]

• Tapestry, a 2019 board game also designed by Jamey Stegmaier.
• Scythemen, soldiers armed with war scythes.

• Scythe at Stonemaier Games