Upwind Games LLC is a company releasing their first game –a fantasy card title called Khëdu– and they kindly sent us a copy to preview. It is hard to believe this is only their first game with its well crafted story, smooth card mechanics, and gorgeous artwork.
The design isn’t finalized but we are already loving the sci-fi artwork and gorgeous blue and gold dice. The box might change but overall it fits nicely in a tiny box that is easy to bring to game night. The color scheme and fantasy artwork stuck out to us the first time we saw it and as more images were released to the public it showed us that this title would be one to look out for.
We found it unique that their website has a page in development for the lore for the universe in which the game takes place. It definitely shows the dedication that is instilled into each card. The artwork on each card is very well done and helps immerse you in the universe.
We recommend checking out their how to play video as it created the quickest start for us as visual learners. The rule book is still being edited and finished but the video is quick and gives you a sense of how fast paced the game can be.
You can do a few things on your turn. You can discard a card to get 5 focus coins, select a champion, discard cards to battle or you can spend focus coins to use a power up card for that turn anytime before the dice roll. If you end your turn with more than 20 coins, you turn 20 coins into a relic. The game ends when you have 3 relics or 5 relics (depending on whether you want a short or long game, respectively).
The fighting mechanics are unique, you can either battle as the champion in front of you or you could battle with one of the units in the middle of the table (known as The Wild). Battles are resolved with dice and the values that you roll. Cards have an amount of dice that can be rolled and a value that is essentially their defense stat. Depending on what fighter the numbers vary. They also have a value of cards that must be discarded to activate the card. This keeps the expensive stronger cards from overpowering the weaker cheaper cards. You can choose to activate a weak card and battle a strong card and earn the rewards of battle. This can be a good strategy to use but beware since it is a double edge sword that can cause you to lose your champion.
It is definitely very interesting to play a game where you purposely want to lose a battle to get better spoils of victory in the future. You can also attack your opponents as well. Spell cards keep you on your turn and vary in what they can do. They can make it easier to battle, increase stats or costs of activating cards.
Language Barrier Playability: The game relies heavily on symbols, numbers and themes more than words. The only issue would be translating the spell cards as explaining a card would reveal other players possible strategies and eliminate the element of surprise.
Replayability: Good. The game is short, quick and has a lot of ways to play and different strategies that you can try out. It is a game you can play a few times in a row and try different strategies each time.
Artwork: Excellent. The amount of detail in each card is great. The artwork radiates sci-fi wastelands and helps immerse you in the Khedu universe.
Quality: This is an odd one in that we cannot necessarily say much since the final product will be different. The small compact game travels easy and takes up little table space. The dice are by far our favorite part of the game and we hope that they do not change.
Strategy: Light but varied. The strategies are not complex to understand but there are different ways in which you can play. You can be aggressive and attack everyone and everything or you can bide your time and cast spells to weaken opponents before battle. It is short and quick enough to try multiple strategies in a few games.
Instruction Manual: The final product will be different. The instructions are still being modified and finalized as well. Moreso, the wording than gameplay. The rules are easy to understand if you watch the video and get a few turns in.
Organization: Great. The small game is a deck of cards, some tokens, and some dice. It all fits in a small package and is easy to store.
Sushiball Games 