Announcing - Vagrantsong

[Waldo]

Hey Wyrdos,

This week, Waldo woke up to the sound of a train passing through the night. Only problem? There’s no train tracks anywhere near the office. 

So, while we figure out where all that (locomotion) commotion came from, let’s take a look at our next board game.

You’re just one from a handful of trainhoppers trying to find shelter from the storm. You don’t recognize any familiar faces, and come to think of it, you don’t even remember seeing them hop on the train with you. But every one of them swears up and down that they just got here. And based on your own experience, you can’t help but believe them. The strange thing is that everyone seems to be from a different part of town - or towns - places you’ve never even heard of.

After a few handshakes and how-do-you-dos, you all try to settle in the best you can. But without a haybale or old cushion to call your own, neither the train nor the situation bring you much comfort. The only thing you all have in common, it seems, is the welcoming hand that helped each of you aboard. White glove, loose skin... couldn’t forget it if you tried…

You can download this wallpaper here!

Hop aboard the Silver Ferryman and welcome to…

Vagrantsong is a 2-4 player campaign game that takes place on a haunted train, with heavy inspiration taken from American folklore, folk songs, and ghost stories. As a fully cooperative boss-battler, you and your new friends will take on the roles of Vagrants who are trying to escape this ghostly train. You will have to work together to face your fears, reveal the mystery behind the Silver Ferryman, and devise a plan on how to stop it.

Haints, the lost spirits aboard the Silver Ferryman, will do everything in their power to ensure that Vagrants stay just as trapped in this place as they are… It’s up to the players to figure out how to save these lingering souls while also trying to free themselves before it’s too late.

Throughout Vagrantsong’s 20+ Scenarios, you’ll be facing off against many Haints, each with their own unique mechanics, goals, and challenges. Every Scenario is completely different – all killer and no filler!

Haints are fully automated; there’s no need for a game master or another player to take up the role. Performing a Haint’s Action is as simple as drawing a Token from the Bindle bag.

Don’t worry about taking too much time to play. Setting up Vagrantsong is quick and easy. Two minutes of setup can turn into 45 to 90 minutes of play, depending on the player count and Scenario.

As you progress along the tracks of Vagrantsong’s story, the many mysteries of the train will unfold before you, whether through a song in the distance or the choices you make along the way. Each Scenario will have a series of Event Tokens to uncover. They can appear at multiple points during the game, offering aid to Vagrants while simultaneously revealing more of the game’s story. But be careful; oftentimes an Event Token will initiate something dastardly and unexpected!

Don’t forget that everyone has a story, even the Haints that are trying to keep you here. During each Scenario, you will be presented with Rituals that may be completed to remind the Haints of their lost Humanity, granting you and your friends potential boons for the future.

Choices made throughout the campaign will have you trigger Moments, which are special (and sometimes secret) elements to the story, and may even provide a deeper understanding of the world around you. But be careful! Some choices will stick with you for the rest of your ride.

Now it’s time to let the Vagrants shine.

With 6 Vagrants to choose from, each with their own unique Passives and Skills (as well as the ability to combine over 80 Skill cards, 30 Junk cards, and tons of Actions), the opportunities to customize your playstyle are endless.

During your turn, you will place your Coins onto Actions you want to perform. With only 3 Coins to place, you’ll need to plan ahead and strategize with your teammates, as you won’t be able to place Coins on the same Skills you did on your last turn. But don’t worry; Vagrants can always move, investigate the train, patch themselves up, rummage for stuff, or just give the Haint a good old-fashioned walloping!

Let’s take a look at one of the six Vagrants now.

The Cursebearer has been running for a very long time. Armed with her guile and trusty knife, she hopes to defeat the creature of darkness that pursues her… she just needs to figure out how.

She is an aggressive, Haint-focused Vagrant who is always on the move. With her powerful strikes and a potent Passive Effect, the Cursebearer is willing to remind any Haint of their lost Humanity so long as they don’t get in her way.

That’s just the basics of Vagrantsong. There’s a lot more ground to cover, and in the coming weeks, we’ll be diving deeper into the unknown in upcoming Waldo’s Weeklies, so make sure to stay tuned! We are aiming for a pre-release of Vagrantsong at Gen Con, with its official release coming early fall.

Before we go, let’s take a sneak peek at some of the goodies inside:

[Butch]

I was hoping for a full miatures game. But then I have so many of them at home and a quick set-up game hopefully will get a chance to be played more often.

[Harlekin]

Very nice concept and packed in a fresh new setting for a coop crawler/battler. 

Looks very promising. Coop games are still a big thing and campaign and scenario based games sell very well. Should be a success!

[Gheist]

On 6/9/2021 at 9:05 AM, Butch said:

I was hoping for a full miatures game. But then I have so many of them at home and a quick set-up game hopefully will get a chance to be played more often.

I have a whole shelf full of miniature board games, which tend to not get painted and take up a needless lot of Shelving Space. I am thankful for every well thought out game tha doesn't dump more miniatures on me.

[Aaron Lopez]

I got to play a demo of this at Gen Con this year. It really was a lot of fun. I am not sure who was running the demo, but they really did a great job showing off the game.