1 Player
Designer: Artem Safarov
Artist: Cole Munro-Chitty
Publisher: Best With 1 Games
Shred of Redemption tells the tale of a knight who long lost his way and got corrupt, only to look back and try to atone for his acts and end his life in righteousness. But does this game have too many wins or are its virtues enough to rise above?
How to Play
To setup, draw one vice die from the bag, without rolling it and set aside. Each dice have 3 faces of its main vice, and a combination of other 3. After that, draw two cards, picking one and discarding the other. Each card gives you a one time ability, as well adding some virtue tokens to the bag. Repeat this 4 more times, then use the cards to populate the token bag, and only the roll each die in order.
You start the game with 5 tokens from the bag, which are a mix of virtue and regret. The goal is to have the token underneath each vice dice to be its corresponding virtue token, and no regrets in the line.
You do that by using tokens and cards to manipulate the row. Each virtue has an effect when you use it, like swapping cards and dice, discarding regrets or drawing more tokens. Each card has one unique effect you can discard it to use or they can be used to draw more tokens too.
If you manage to reach the wining position, you still have one final trial to face that will mess up your position. Reach the wining position again and you win.
Rules and Components
The rules of the game are fairly short, but well illustrated and organized, with good structure and flow. I was able to understand the game on the first read and very little issues. There are a few points that are left implied, but nothing critical.
The dice are a bit small, but functional and clear enough. The faces are visible and distinguished from one to the other at a glance.
The tokens on the other hand are quite large, which is great for visualization and manipulation. However, the draw bag is quite small, and thus shuffling the tokens inside is a pain. Honestly, if possible get a bigger bag.
The color usage is a big miss. It’s so easy to get the colors mixed and more unique choices could have been used. Color is never a critical information, though, the symbols are, so this is not game breaker.
Score: 7.5/10
Gameplay
This is an interesting puzzle like a Rubik’s Cube. You have 5 dice to fulfill, and you need to analyze what needs to done a few steps advance so all fall in place in the same time.
You also need to understand well the contents of the bag and probability. Since the seeding is varied, some abilities will be more common than others. Drawing is often necessary, but almost always comes with the risk of Regret, and you have to be ready.
Efficiency is always important, as there is the reckoning that will wreck your well laid plans and you have to have wiggle room. Without it, the game could feel a bit too trivial, but that adds just the right amount of challenge without adding too much playtime.
Score: 8.5/10
Theme and Art
I think the theme is fascinating. It’s all about this unknown figure that led a life of sin and darkness trying to find the Redemption at its end, with time running out. It’s well punctuated not only with card names, but the gameplay feels like a reflection.
That is helped by a beautiful artwork on each illustration, and even the iconography supports well and keeps the somber and melancholic tone. It all ties well and tells a story with relatively few words.
Score: 9.5/10
Conclusion
Let me get one thing out of the way. I’m so glad to have this game. After the whole chaos and everything terrible surrounding Unbroken and The-Company-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, I was afraid that Artem would not be able to rise above, and I feel he was just a honest designer caught in a bad situation. So, in a big way, Redemption is fair for his journey.
That being said, this is a really good game. It’s quick to setup and play, but there is a lot here. And because of the combination the cards and dice, each game is a very unique puzzle and will offer very unique style of solutions.
Score: 8.5/10
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