Darkleaf Gambit

TABLETOPIA NOTE: With 6 asymmetrical clans to choose from, there are 15 possible match-ups in Darkleaf Gambit. Each week until our Kickstarter launch in May 2025, we'll highlight 1 clan with dedicated setups against each of the other clans. This week's clan: tree-loving robots from a bygone era, The Murg!

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Darkleaf Gambit is a two-player, turn-based, asymmetrical game that takes your most beloved chessboard and transforms it into the mythical forest of Haggedorn.

Begin this classically competitive game by taking control of one of six clans, each offering a unique set of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Although champions from one clan to the next share similar shapes—pawns and rooks, knights and queens—the way in which these units move around Haggedorn varies dramatically. Some units protect while others manipulate the terrain while others seek only to destroy.

Each turn, you and your rival roll from a pool of dice to determine what deeds can be performed. Poker-style chips track the status—both boons and curses—of your clan’s units in Haggedorn. Once powered up, cube tokens may be spent to unlock powerful clan skills. Game progress is tracked by each player on a beautifully illustrated dual-layer board.

Maximizing the game’s asymmetry, every clan’s path to victory is also different. You may be forced to protect your king from the ranged attack of the Huldra or a close confrontation with The Murg. Ferrymen seek to push units into the void, while Erde care only for claiming Haggedorn’s sacred territories. Wildero Wibo transform your units into pawns of their own, while Hexen curse the very ground upon which you walk.

Be the first to reach your clan’s victory condition to ascend as the last true power in Haggedorn.