Theme
"Since the dawn of time, you've been protecting the spirit world from the threat of the shadows. Your mission has never been more perilous. Before the moon is at its zenith, you must restore balance to the different worlds to keep the universe from falling into chaos."
Shamans is a trick taking social deduction game for 3-5 players lasting a variable number of rounds. Players take on the roles of either Shamans or the shadows and on each round are dealt cards secretly and randomly. The Shamans win the round if they manage to either eliminate all the shadow players or the shadow pawn has not reached the end of the track when all the players have played their cards. The shadows win the round if the shadow pawn reaches the moon on the final space of its track.
Let's take a minute to admire just how beautiful this game is - the artwork is simply stunning, the details on the individual Shaman cards are exquisite and the world cards are simply beautiful. The board is wonderfully designed, simple and doesn't take up too much space (plenty more room for snacks). The production value of this game is second to none and you won't be disappointed if like myself you love a pretty game.
At the start of the game, players are secretly dealt their role (a Shaman or a Shadow) and a hand of cards. Players then have to play tricks unlike most trick taking games however you don't actually have to follow suit and in some instances it may benefit you not too.
The lowest card played gets a token from the board with a special ability which will either reveal your role, eliminate a player or move the shadow pawn.
Final Thoughts
If your not a fan of social deduction or hidden role games then this might not be the game for you, that being said what sets this apart from others is even though you're in a team (either the Shamans or the Shadows) you as an individual are trying to win the game. So if you are a Shaman and have a pretty good idea who is the shadow player it might actually benefit you to eliminate the other shaman from the round. It's this small twist that keeps the game fresh and as the rounds themselves are pretty quick, unlike a game of Secret Hitler for example, there is a good chance in one game everyone will at some point be a shadow and have to mix up how you are going to play the game.
Overall, Shamans is a wonderful game, it looks beautiful and is so easy to play I would 100% recommend you add this to your collection.
If you're interested in Shamans then visit the wonderful people at 'Out Of Town games' who kindly gifted me a copy of this game for review.
