When I am not playing turn-based video games, I usually play modern board games, which are basically physical, turn-based games I can play with the family. So, I got pretty excited when I heard about Monster Couch.
They are a developer that focuses on converting board games into video games. Most importantly, though, they stay true to the board games they are converting. That’s at least their goal. They work closely with the game designers and even the artists so the game matches the look and feel of the original.
They already have a couple of games out: Wingspan and Quilts and Cats of Calico. Today we are taking a look at Flamecraft, which is an adorable game about gathering goods and growing the town with artisan dragons and enchantments. Whether you are a board game player like me or a video gamer looking for something new, let’s jump in and see if Flamecraft is worth checking out.
You are a Flamekeeper. Someone who can talk to dragons. Your job is to find the best place for each artisan dragon in town. Artisan dragons are the smaller, magically talented version of their much larger relatives. As you aid the dragons and the shopkeepers, you will gain reputation. The Flamekeeper with the most reputation at the end of the game wins.
Flamecraft can be played by one to five players. Each player takes a turn gathering resources, placing dragons, and enchanting shops. The game features six artisan dragon types. These include bread, meat, iron, crystal, plant, and potion. If you play your cards right, you might even get fancy dragons that boost your reputation. The game continues until the artisan dragon or enchantment draw pile runs out.
On your turn, you can either Gather or Enchant. The Gather action lets you collect resources from the shop and the dragons there. Then, you can place one artisan dragon from your hand into an open space in the shop if you have a matching dragon type. Whether you placed a dragon or not, you can then flame one of the dragons at that location. This lets you use that dragon’s special ability. Finally, you can use the shopkeeper’s special ability, if they have one.
Each dragon type has a different special ability. Bread dragons allow you to draw another dragon from the dragon park. Meat dragons let you play another dragon from your hand anywhere in town. Iron dragons gather two additional resources from the shop or one of the dragons at that location.
Crystal dragons gather three additional resources, but they have to be three different ones. Plant dragons let you gift a resource to another player for 2 reputation. Lastly, potion dragons can swap places with any other dragon in town and then fire up that dragon to use its ability as well. Finding the best way to use each of their unique abilities will help you succeed as a Flamekeeper.
You use the Enchant action once you have gathered enough of a certain set of resources. You can view the available enchantment cards and their requirements at any time during your turn.
There are three types of enchantment cards you can use. The first type requires four of one resource type and two of another. This will reward you with three reputation, two coins, and an artisan dragon from the park. The second type requires a coin, one resource of a specified type, and three of another type.
This will give you four reputation and a fancy dragon. The last is the most challenging enchantment card type. These require three resources of three different types; however, they are worth nine reputation when you use them.
Coins count toward reputation at the end of the game, but you can also use them as any resource. As mentioned, they’re also required for some enhancements. Fancy dragons all have a unique ability that can score you even more reputation. You can gather them at some shops and when doing certain enchantments. Keep track of your fancy dragons because some trigger during the game, while others don’t trigger until the end.
You have a few options for playing with or without other players. Hot seat mode lets you play locally with bots or other people. You simply pass the mouse when it is the next player’s turn. If the people you want to play with aren’t local, you can host a game and invite them to play online.
This can work even if they don’t own a copy of the game, using Steam’s Remote Play Together feature. That’s a great feature. The third option is to join a random game online. It can be a short game (three minutes per player) or a long game (three days per player).
Unfortunately, Flamecraft doesn’t have a huge gamer base like a big AAA game does. This means the online lobby is pretty scarce. I tried to join a couple of short games and long games just to see if there was anyone else online to play.
The short games both timed out and assigned me bots to play against. In one of the long games, I was able to play against another person. It took about 12 hours to find them, though. Keep that in mind if you are thinking about finding a game against random people online.
If you don’t have anyone to play with and you don’t want to try your luck in online lobbies, there is one other option. There is a solo adventure mode with a bit of a story that you can play. The core gameplay is mostly the same, but each time you try to meet certain goals.
When you unlock a goal, you progress the story. This plays differently than a standard game against bots. Mostly because the dragons are being played in the shops in a certain order. You have to account for this while you play. There are also no other enchanting shops. It is just you trying to meet the set goals and get the highest score that you can.
Now I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the details the developers added to bring this game to life. They could have easily left the game flat like the board game version, but they didn’t. They put a lot of care into animating everything in the game. All of the little dragons move in the game.
Whether they are the artisans on the cards or the ones roaming around the town and playing in the park. The original game was already adorable, but the animation brought it to the next level. The sound effects also help to bring the game to life. Every time you go to Draco Bell, you hear steaks sizzling on the grill.
With all that being said, is this game for you? I might be slightly biased because my family owns the board game version of Flamecraft. However, I think it is a very nice, cozy game that a lot of people will enjoy, even if they haven’t played the physical game before.
The video game format adds a lot of quality-of-life features. The biggest being that the game keeps track of your resources and your reputation for you. It also highlights which enchantments you can use based on your resources. This is something I constantly had to check while playing the physical game. You also don’t have to manage a pile of little game pieces since everything is digital.
The only feature I wish they had, and maybe they can patch in, is the ability for local players to control their turn from their phone. Like a Jackbox Party game, or what Amazon did with a selection of games in their Luna GameNight collection.
Then, you could have the town up on the main screen, and everyone could have their hand of dragon cards on their phone instead of on display for the whole room to see when playing a local game.
Overall, I think the developers did a great job keeping Flamecraft true to its original format while adding their own flair. I can’t wait to see how their next board game conversation turns out.
If you are looking for something cozy to play with friends or solo, then definitely check this one out. I know I will be playing it on cold winter days on my Steam Deck by the fire with a hot cup of cocoa. You can pick it up on their Steam page.
The developers at Monster Couch provided a copy of the game.
