Tabletop Game - Vampires at the Gates

In the very heart of dangerous lands, you must lead a fortified settlement. Despite the protection offered by sturdy stone buildings, you do not feel safe. Unspeakable horrors lurk in the darkness beyond the village gates… As night falls, vampires and other monsters emerge from the shadows and surround you! To save the villagers under your care, organize the village's defense, summon heroes, and… send the most dangerous monsters to your neighbors!

«Vampires at the Gates» is a dynamic game with a draft mechanic, during which participants first choose cards to build their village and then exchange monster cards with each other, which attack and damage each settlement and its inhabitants at the end of each round.

In the game, you will encounter 4 types of monsters, each with its own characteristics. Demons cannot be defended against in ordinary ways: a demon's attack either leads to the hero's demise or the application of the demon's wickedness. Werewolves may not seem like such a terrible threat, but that is until they unite into a pack — at which point they rapidly gain power. Witches become more powerful when there are many of them in your neighbors' villages, which makes you more cautious in choosing the cards you give to opponents during the draft. Finally, vampires are not endowed with special effects — they have strength and nothing more, but their strength can be much greater than that of other monsters.

How to Play?
The game lasts for 2 rounds, each of which is divided into 3 consecutive phases.
1. Construction Phase
In this phase, players choose one village card from their hand, place it in their settlement according to certain rules, and then pass the remaining cards to the next player. These actions are repeated 6 times until players run out of cards in their hands. The village cards may depict buildings that act as defensive structures and serve as the placement for inhabitants or heroes, who have special properties and can help you during the monster attacks.
2. Monster Phase
In this phase, players distribute monsters between villages twice: players receive 3 monster cards, give one card to the neighbor on the right and one to the neighbor on the left, keeping one card for themselves.
3. Attack Phase
The attack phase occurs simultaneously in all villages. First, players with at least 1 demon in front of them apply its wickedness. Then, monsters attack in the order of initiative tokens laid out in a row during the game setup phase. During each attack, the attack's strength and the sum of the village's defense are determined first, and then these figures are compared to determine the outcome of the attack.

The game ends after the attack phase in the 2nd round is completed. When scoring points, each player receives 1 point for each inhabitant in their village and for each monster remaining next to the village. The player with the most points wins.
 

Game Features
- Atmosphere
- Interesting illustrations
- Availability of solo mode

 
Who is this game for?
- For horror fans
- For lovers of quick games
- For those who enjoy draft mechanics

Box Contents:
- 66 village cards
- 60 monster cards
- 4 monster initiative tokens
- 125 double-sided "Inhabitant/Threat" tokens
- Game rules
- Solo game rules

Game Duration: from 25 minutes
Number of players: from 1 to 5