Senda de Luz y Sombra

Take the reins of your nation, send the troops into battle, unify the provinces and ancient kingdoms and restore the glory that shone in the past. Your decisions count: Will you be a charismatic and merciful leader, or will you prefer to be cruel and feared? Path of Light and Shadow is an empire-building game designed by Travis R. Chance, Nick Little and Jonathan Gilmour, with illustrations by Beth Sobel. It allows games of 2 to 4 players, ages 14 and up, lasting about 90 minutes.

The central board shows a large map divided into 12 provinces, which players can conquer. Each province belongs to one of the 4 kingdoms, based on its type of terrain: in the forest the forest nations have their abode; in the hills, the empire of the Mountain clans; in the plains the citizens of the sacred valley reside and the rivers are controlled by the river sovereignty. In addition to the subjects of each kingdom, we find 5 factions that will allow us to improve our hand of cards: the Commons, the Marked Ones, the Hordes of Zurd, the Halax Guild Lords and the Numerai. Each of these factions is specialized in specific aspects, such as combat or construction, and will serve to focus the strategy we want to take during the game. Through the mechanics of deck building, control of areas and majorities and hand management, players will have to accumulate more influence than their rivals if they want to win the game.

Path of Light and Shadow takes place over 3 phases (or years, in the game), each of which has 4 rounds. At the end of each phase, players score influence for the state of their nation. In their turns, players will be able to move their leader across the map and take a large number of actions, and the large number of cards and upgrade options provided by the game means that no two games will ever be the same!

The cards in our hand represent the diversity of people in our nation, both from the different kingdoms and the different factions. With their combat, defense and work values, we can fight, gain new allies or improve structures, which unlock useful powers throughout the game. However, exercising leadership involves making difficult decisions. Depending on how we treat our population, we will earn pity or cruelty points, which will be reflected in a morality marker. Depending on our alignment we will be able to unlock new abilities that can be decisive throughout the game.

Every action has consequences in Path of Light and Shadow, not only in our hand of cards. If players conquer provinces, it is very possible that during combat they cause damage to the structures and that their value in influence points becomes less and less. We will have to think very carefully whether it is worth taking our soldiers to the battlefield to plant the banner on a pile of rubble and ashes.

Develop powerful technologies, forge profitable alliances and lay siege to rival fortresses to gain the most influence on the board. Path of Light and Shadow is a must-have for lovers of civilization games. All those who are looking for a good challenge and enjoy having a lot of choices at their fingertips to plan and carry out different strategies will find it in this title. Expand your influence and rise to victory!