Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era Board Game Review

Predating the video games (all of the presently existing games instrumentality spot during the Third Era with objection of Skyrim, which is during the Fourth), Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era allows 1 to 4 players to instrumentality successful the sights and uncover nefarious plots passim three-act campaigns of the assorted realms of Tamriel. Whereas immoderate games – let’s usage Gloomhaven arsenic an illustration – diagnostic a azygous run that tin instrumentality dozens, if not hundreds, of hours to complete, Chip Theory has designed Elder Scrolls to beryllium a treasure thorax that tin supply dozens of smaller campaigns to explore.

In the basal box, you person entree to 5 antithetic determination books – Skyrim, Blackmarsh, High Rock, Morrowind, and Cyrodil – referred to arsenic Gazzetteers. These spiral-ringed notebooks incorporate each the cities and indispensable accusation you request to implicit the main quests for that region.

When it comes to the antithetic regions you tin explore, portion Chip Theory could person simply near them arsenic conscionable unsocial representation layouts oregon quests to prime from, they person gone the other mile and made each consciousness similar its ain unsocial character. Each 1 not lone features its maps of unsocial locations and overland spots to explore, but it besides comes with peculiar mechanics that interaction different elements of gameplay, including adding abilities to enemies you whitethorn encounter.

Blackmarsh, for example, features a shifting upwind strategy that volition hinder your movement. High Rock has civilian unrest that whitethorn restrict what actions you tin instrumentality successful towns. These elements further adhd to the property and immersion of this adaptation, which makes maine admit the full acquisition that overmuch more.

A run is composed of 3 “sessions”, with the enactment pursuing leads oregon helping retired connected a quest fixed to you by 1 of the game's 8 imaginable guilds, which, with the extremity of each session, further provides choices arsenic to however you privation it to proceed next. Regardless of the quest you take to tackle during a session, they volition ne'er past much than 12 (in-game) days, with each time providing a caller enactment to partake in, beryllium it stopping by and resting astatine the adjacent municipality to restock connected items and larn caller skills, delving into dungeons, oregon helping a passerby. And if you're similar me, who easy gets sidetracked successful the video games with the occasional broadside quest, past you volition beryllium pleased to cognize that determination is simply a ample platform of broadside quests to instrumentality portion successful present too, including immoderate hilarious and much outlandish ones similar getting idiosyncratic immoderate home-cooked meatloaf. No, I’m not kidding.

A azygous run league usually took astir 3-4 hours for my friends and maine to get through, but this was chopped down to astir the 3-hour people erstwhile we truly had a grip connected however Elder Scrolls and our characters worked. This means that it is wholly doable to comfortably implicit a full run implicit a weekend, oregon adjacent conscionable 1 day. This information unsocial has made Elder Scrolls acold much alluring to play, adjacent if it isn’t precisely a tiny oregon speedy crippled to acceptable up. Granted, this clip can, and will, fluctuate depending connected what broadside quests you determine to tackle, however you program retired your days, and what enemies you look disconnected against.

My favourite portion of the Elder Scrolls video games is the seemingly bottomless rabbit spread that is the quality instauration system. I’m blessed to study this has been carried implicit into the committee game. All of the series’ races, presented connected ample cards you support adjacent to your subordinate board, are here, with each enactment having a antithetic allocation of basal stats and a peculiar ability.

This is lone the start. You besides prime from antithetic classes and limb styles to further customize your avatar, each of which adhd antithetic dice and actions you tin instrumentality during the game. And for folks who similar a much enactment role, determination are options for you too, similar being a Pilgrim that specializes successful letting your enactment instrumentality escaped actions portion successful town, oregon swapping retired treasures, oregon taking the Speech endowment that tin assistance you speech your mode retired of fights, removing enemies from the board. I’m not going to mathematics it out, but betwixt each of the disposable options to prime from, determination are A LOT of permutations of characters you tin play as.

The assorted stats and skills you determine connected are each slotted into your subordinate committee into 4 lines, with 2 slots unfastened connected other sides from 1 another, with six spaces between. You lone person entree to these six spaces to amended either of the skills that are crossed from 1 another, meaning that to amended one, you bash truthful astatine the imaginable disbursal of the other. I emotion however this makes adjacent leveling up oregon picking your archetypal skills truthful overmuch much of a strategical workout with consequence, but it besides provides adjacent much outlets to messiness astir successful consequent run play-throughs.

In fact, making characters feels a spot similar a crippled successful itself, and I volition admit to busting unfastened my crippled container with the sole absorption of making a character. And each of this is conscionable the start, arsenic you besides cod instrumentality and different items during your escapade that adhd further bonuses to your character, each of which effect successful Elder Scrolls being a bundle that volition delight fans who bask min-maxing their characters successful RPGs.

But, what bully would a ace chill quality beryllium if determination was thing chill to wack with them? For fans of Chip Theory’s Too Many Bones, the combat volition consciousness akin successful Elder Scrolls. Each onslaught you usage has circumstantial dice associated with it, and its applicable stat – stamina for carnal attacks oregon magicka for spells – and your level successful that quality dictates however galore dice you tin roll. Once a dice is rolled, it moves to your cooldown area, making it unavailable to usage again until it has returned to your progressive subordinate board. Some skills adjacent supply bonuses portion successful your cooldown row, but this enactment tin besides beryllium gunked up with fatigue, which makes it instrumentality longer for dice to instrumentality and beryllium usable again.

Combat takes spot connected maps made up from neoprene hexagonal tiles that, depending connected the brushwood type, are either static oregon expanded and revealed arsenic you fight, with some enemies and players being represented by Chip Theory’s signature poker chips. Your emblematic enemies are typically picked by plucking blindly from a container composed of monster chips, each with an associated level and perchance unsocial traits, from a wide excavation and regional-specific ones. This benignant of “luck of the draw” approach, on with the inherent randomness of rolling dice for attacks, makes it truthful encounters tin plaything wildly successful presumption of situation oregon however agelong they instrumentality to complete, but adjacent the astir challenging skirmishes felt much similar breathtaking puzzles to enactment retired than chores to endure through.

If you are reasoning this each sounds overwhelming, past you aren’t alone. With its astir 100-page regularisation book, a standalone tutorial rulebook, aggregate sheets devoted to keywords defining monster traits, and more, it tin beryllium a batch to instrumentality successful and process. Just talking astir it is making my caput rotation a bit, and determination are much mechanics and different minutiae that I haven’t adjacent touched on.

Thankfully, Chip Theory Games recognizes the game's sizeable demands and offers a adjuvant hand-holding tutorial (a jailbreak successful emblematic Elder Scrolls fashion). I besides highly urge checking retired the escaped integer tutorial connected Dized. It does a coagulated occupation guiding you step-by-step – its however I learned the game. Thankfully, the moment-to-moment gameplay is beauteous straightforward; it is conscionable getting to that constituent that is the biggest hurdle.

All of that contented results successful a monolithic container weighing successful astir the 20-pound people (about 10kg for the remainder of the world). A important origin successful this game’s weight, which is connected par with a tiny canine (my Shiba Inu is 20 pounds), is acknowledgment to the constituent benignant and materials that Chip Theory is known for – plastic, neoprene, and much plastic. Everything crammed into a container could beryllium dumped into a bathtub with small repercussion (please don’t effort this), with the objection of the rulebooks, which I americium beauteous definite are conscionable plastic-coated insubstantial and whitethorn not beryllium waterproof. The prime is spectacular, but the symptom successful my backmost from hefting the monster onto my gameshelf is little so.

For each that Elder Scrolls has going for it, this is simply a crippled for radical who cognize they similar committee games and person a bully woody of acquisition nether their belts playing them, particularly analyzable ones. While the smaller run and astute league break-up marque this an approachable run crippled from a time-investment standpoint, *waves hands* EVERYTHING other makes this acold from a large “players archetypal run game” option. Folks who emotion video games should not instantly leap into Betrayal of the Second Era unless they are prepared and consenting to tackle the beast of a learning curve this crippled has. However, arsenic agelong arsenic you cognize what you are getting into and are consenting to instrumentality done it, Betrayal of the Second Era is worthy it and past some.

Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era is simply a dense crippled (both mechanically and physically) with an arsenic hefty $225 terms tag. But successful return, you get 1 of the richest tabletop video crippled adaptations arsenic good arsenic 1 of the astir replayable run games connected the market. The information that I tin bask a afloat communicative implicit the people of a weekend, oregon adjacent a day, shoots this precocious connected my database for crippled days with friends who I cognize are into much analyzable games.

Chip Theory looks to further grow connected the strategy they person built too, with 1 expansion, Valenwood, already disposable and an upcoming crowdfunding campaign, “The Heroes of Tamriel”, promising 5 caller expansions “and much surprises” that launches successful October. Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era has rapidly go 1 of my favourite run games successful my collection, and I can’t hold to spot what other Chip Theory Games has successful store for this mysterious epoch of Tamriel’s history.

Originally posted:

Sep 17, 2025 1:30 pm