iOS, Android, PC/Mac •
If you’re not familiar with the Dresden Files, here’s a quick synopsis: Harry Dresden is a wizard in Chicago and there’s all sorts of supernatural shit that happens and he saves the day and no one ever uses the word “muggle”. That pretty much covers it. It’s a good series, but I’ll admit I stalled during book 2 planning to get back to it, and just never made it there. Now there are 15 books in the series and that might be too high a mountain to climb. Yes, I’m that lazy.
Luckily, there’s a Dresden Files card game in the works and, even better, there’s a digital port of it as well.
The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game [whew! -ed.] is the full title and, as you might be able to guess, it’s a cooperative game. That means you can play with friends, but also means it plays well solo which is always a plus. From the entry at BoardGameGeek we get this:
This is a tightly tuned, strategic, cooperative game that feels intense, vital, and a little bit risky (thanks to dice and other factors) throughout play. At 30 minutes per session, gameplay is fast-paced and down to the wire. In this game, players take on the role of Harry Dresden and his allies, investigating cases and taking on foes from the books. To accomplish this, you’ll share a common pool of action points (called Fate points), and each player must choose between taking an action or generating Fate points each turn. Solve more cases than there are foes left standing to win!
Sure, it sounds a bit like copy, but it also reminds me of another game that Kelsey and I have been playing way too much of lately, Arkham Horror: The Card Game. That one, as far as we know, isn’t coming to digital any time soon, so bring on The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game [do I really need to keep typing that? -ed.].
Even better, today we received a little preview of gameplay. Take a look at the video below and we’ll keep you informed on any new developments as TDFCCG [Ha! -ed.] gets closer to release which should be happening soon for iOS, Android, and PC/Mac.
I enjoyed the concept of the first book, but I found the writing to be only average and the plot had a little too much deus ex machina for my tastes. Maybe the writer matures over the series of books, but I have yet to pick up the second. Who knows, maybe this summer I’ll give it another go.
I’ve heard that the first few are a bit rough (I think they’re the author’s first books), but they get really good as the series proceeds. I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, but found some of the writing a bit meh. Still, a fun read if you’re not looking for anything too deep.
I’ll pick them back up some day. Just keep finding other books that take precedence.
I can definitely confirm that the books greatly improve after the first few ones, when secondary characters start recurring and the author finds his voice. I’ve re-read the story from the first book last year, and was surprised by how plain the first books were compared to my memory.
I love the series. It’s relatively fluffy, guilty-pleasure type reading.