
ASSASSIN’S CREED® BROTHERHOOD OF VENICE will be released in November.
Unfortunately, the big game box did not make it to SPIEL22, but now we can confirm that Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice will be available as a German edition via HeidelBÄR Games in November. The board game contains all scenarios of the original version and will be offered for SRP €129.95. The project was realized together with our publishing partner Synapses Games, which is responsible for the retail version of Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice, as a partner of the game studio Triton Noir. Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice will be available for purchase both online and in well-stocked retail stores.
Assassin’s Creed® as a board game
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice offers cooperative gaming fun for up to four Assassins. In addition to the four playable Assassins: Alessandra, Bastiano, Claudio and Dariâ, there is also an Ezio Auditore miniature. Each of the playable assassins has their own unique abilities. In general, the game offers a mixture of characters that you know from the video game series and characters that were created exclusively for this game.
Thereby, the gamers game comes with 26 playable memories and a lot of game material. Over 130 stand-ups represent your opponents and characters relevant to the stories. The assassins move across the varied game board with miniatures. With over 40 double-sided terrain pieces, you create a new game environment in every memory and have to adapt your strategy to the new circumstances each time. The main distinctions here are between interiors, streets and rooftops.
Memories are a central element in the Assassin’s Creed® video games. With the help of a machine (Animus), players can relive memories stored in their DNA. Since the mission is time-limited, each mission represents a separate memory. The more successful you are at replaying the memory, the higher your synchronization will be at the end. This element was also adopted in the board game. After each memory, you check how many goals you completed and earn points for it. If you even manage to fulfill all the goals, you were able to achieve full synchronization and place a corresponding sticker in the memory diary.
Sneak, fight, reinforce
It is crucial for the success of your mission to find a good balance between stealth and open combat. The different equipment you can collect throughout the game will help you to improve your character and expand the Assassin’s Guild.
Dodge enemies, climb towers and roofs, or use secret hiding places in case you are ever discovered. Later in the game, you’ll also have weapons at your disposal to attack enemies directly. Be careful, though, because you’re never alone and an open fight will draw attention to you.
Towers in Assassin’s Creed® stand for one thing: unlocking new objects in the environment. This is also the case in this board game. Climbing the tower allows you to synchronize and recognize new objects. Afterwards, the famous Leap of Faith will take you back down, and you’ll land in a cart or haystack.
Each reminder starts and ends at the quick travel station. After a reminder, you can record and “save” your game progress in the diary of memories. This even allows you to change the number of people after each reminder and adjust the level of play.
The board game is set between the video games Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed® Revelations and takes place in Venice in 1509.
However, prior knowledge is not required for the board game. Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice is a tense, cooperative miniatures game with a compelling story-based campaign that provides hours of fun.
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice is for 1-4 people ages 14 and up and takes approximately 60 minutes per reminder. Available in German from November for an expected RRP of €129.95. The game includes 5 highly detailed Assassin figures, over 40 terrain pieces, over 20 dice, 4 player tablets, 6 mystery envelopes, over 40 markers, over 150 large cards as well as over 200 small cards, a game manual and a campaign booklet.
The gameplay
Even though Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood of Venice offers you numerous gameplay options, the game gradually introduces you to each aspect of the game. For example, in the first memory you’ll start without any weapons, and you’ll also have relatively simple objectives. Gradually, more objects are added, such as weapons or new enemies.
The tableau represents your character overview. There lies your character card, your weapons and equipments as well as the action and condition cubes. Armor, for example, causes your life bar to increase.
Each round consists of four phases, which are dealt with one after the other. In the event phase, you draw an event card together and apply the respective effect, which can be positive or negative. This can affect individual assassins or the entire group and is valid until the end of the round at the most.
After that, you may use the action cubes in the assassin phase. You can spend them in any order and even take turns with the other assassins. Used action cubes were placed next to your tableau. You can use them to move, swap equipment with assassins on the same field, use weapons or hide and search corpses. You always move orthogonally, unless an obstacle like a wall prevents you from doing so. Decisive are the black edges of the terrain parts, which represent the walls and restrict your movements.
Next comes the enemy phase, which also consists of 3 steps: Each turn, new guards enter the map (reinforcement for the enemies) and then they move (movement of the enemies). If any enemies are in range of discovered assassins, they attack (The enemies attack). The attack is dealt with the combat dice. For each hit symbol, the hit Assassin removes one condition die from the tableau.
Finally, at the end of the round, you check whether the game is over or a new round begins. For example, the first reminder ends when you have freed all the Assassins from the prisons and run back to the Fast Travel Station. If all the assassins have been discovered, you will have to start the reminder from the beginning.