Advert: Monster Couch gifted the game for the purposes of review (via the UK Board Game Review Circle). All views are our own.
The beloved board game Flamecraft has had the digitisation treatment! Let’s explore this cozy world of dinky dragons.
But wait, what is Flamecraft?
Only the cutest darn dragon game ever! In Flamecraft players take turns visiting shops and choose to either collect the shop’s resources or cast an enchantment, which not only rewards the player with points but also increases the resources you can gain from that shop in future! Players also get to play and ‘flame up’ dragons in the shops they visit, activating their special abilities (this could be getting more resources, moving dragons around, and more!).
It’s a fairly light worker placement game (this means you assign your ‘worker’ pawn to action spaces, in this case the shops) with smooth, accessible gameplay and gorgeous art from the talented Sandara Tang.
Is Flamecraft Digital flame-tastic or a damp squib?
What blows me away the most with Flamecraft digital is how they’ve managed to bring the little Flamecraft town to life, from the town design to the cute animations and lovely soundtrack. So much so that it doesn’t look like a board game anymore! I particularly love watching the little player dragons running from shop to shop and idling around. I also noticed that the dragons you can see hanging out in the park match the actual dragons cards currently available in the ‘park market’ (where you get more dragons for your hand). There are so many little details to notice, it’s wonderful.
When you first open the game there are various play modes to choose from. A ‘Custom game’ is a local game played on console, passing between players and/or using bots. Or you can connect with other players (randos or friends) through the ‘Online game’ option. I do think they could make it clearer which is which, because I started a Short Game game thinking I’d be able to invite friends not realising it would launch me straight into a game with randoms.
Then there’s the Solo Campaign, which has an overarching story you unlock when you beat score requirements (with special game set-ups). While I’ve tried the solo admittedly I haven’t played this mode much yet, partly because I’ve found it quite confusing to understand how the special set-ups work – a specific solo tutorial could have helped with this. I do want to revisit it though because I want to know the story!
Honestly, when I first saw the interface I was concerned that it would be tricky to keep track of what was happening during a game. But after going through the tutorials (which are brilliant, by the way), it was easy to follow and fairly intuitive. You can easily toggle to a more ‘board game’ view when you want to see all the shop cards at a glance. Everything else (other player resources, enchantments, park dragons) are shown in the main view in a condensed version which is handy, but again you can toggle to see them in ‘full view’ too. I will say when using the Steam Deck, some users might find some of the condensed info tricky to see, but toggling between the views is so quick to do it isn’t much of an issue. I also like that it gives you little updates at the start of your turn, like new shops opening.
Oh and absolutely not the point of the game, I appreciated that they gave a few design options for you to personalise both your player icon, and the dragon that represents you in the game! I spent way longer than needed picking mine!
FINAL VERDICT
It’s lit! (Lol, sorry).
With its wonderful whimsy and adorable dragons, Monster Couch has knocked this Flamecraft adaptation out of the park! There’s modes to suit a variety of preferences, and the tutorial makes it accessible for longstanding fans and newcomers alike. If you love cozy console games, you should check this out (and on Steam, at least, there’s a demo so you can try before you buy).
