Of Light And Darkness

[Jamey Saldana]

InChronicles of Light, you play as either Belle, Moana, Maid Marian, or Violet Parr, which is already an interesting premise. These are not Disney's four most popular characters ever, but have been chosen because they fit together well, and that's immediately to the game's credit. Using unique abilities, the heroes must clear the land of villains created by 'the Vortex', as well as working on individual quests.

Each character has two movement tiles, and three abilities that offer boons in combat or while moving. However, one of these abilities is locked until their quest is complete, and the team (Chronicles is purely cooperative) can only make six actions in total per turn, so the heroes need to balance out whose abilities are most useful, and strategise the best time to use them.

This, plus the fact that you only get six turns (seven with three players, eight with four) creates a major sense of time pressure. It's a jeopardy you don't feel much in other games, and that does add some intrigue that separates it from being 'Disney Horrified'. In fact, while the quests are simpler, the ticking clock keeps it difficult without adding complexity. On our first run as Belle and Moana, we failed to clear the board in time. But on our second, as Maid Marian and Violet, we won with a card to spare.

It's not necessarily that some characters are good or bad, either. Part of the problem was that we were playing for the first time and didn't always make the best decisions, but it also came down to luck of where our quest items and the swirling Vortex fell. Too much random chance can be a detriment for board games, but here I think the variety it brings is a positive. The board is a series of tiles that can connect in almost any order (some are land and some are water, so they must make sense), and that keeps it fresh every time.

Each character has four unique quests, with one drawn at random per character at the start of every game. It might be escorting villagers to safety, piecing together gems, diving for treasure, or finding missing keys. But mostly, it means going to a place and picking up a token, then moving to another place with that token. However, every board game sounds repetitive if you strip it back - the flavour text brings a sense of fun, but I'm not sure the quests always match up. Why does Violet need to open treasure chests?

Alongside these quests, you're trying to take out the Vortex. This tile moves around the board as you draw a new card, and summons villains as it goes. Each villain must be defeated to win, and the Vortex must be weakened (which limits its ability to summon villains), then defeated also. However, you can't attack the Vortex until the quests are done, but also can't ignore the villains or you'll have too many to take on by the end.

If you've played a Ravensburger game before, you'll recognise the dice. Each character has two in their signature colour, and can deal one, two, or three damage per die, as well as rolling a blank or taking damage themselves. Using abilities (and thus taking one of those six precious slots) adds some layer of tactics, but aside from risking taking damage, you can roll multiple times per turn with little consequence. The quests don't use combat, but it's a bit of a shame so much of the game relies on it when it's less interesting than exploring.

It also raises another issue - each hero just doesn't have a lot of villains to choose from. Sure, Disney has the mega-successful Villainous series, but each game focusses on specific headline villains. Each hero here comes with six tokens featuring villains from their movies, and Moana especially just doesn't have the rogues gallery for this to work. I've seen all of these movies, each one at least twice and some several times more, and a few of the tokens left me scratching my head. What do you mean you don't remember the eight-eyed bat?!

The villain tokens themselves, along with the quest tokens, action tokens, and cards are all excellent, keeping a uniform Disney style while adding a crystallisation effect that fits the idea of being warriors of light - another accidental nod to Final Fantasy. The real stars of the show are the character movers though, with superbly designed plastic figurines. The art is great, and each character has their own coloured bag which raises the overall quality, but the board tiles were a little curved when I opened the box - the only disappointment to the presentation.

Theme wise, it works in that 'hey I like Disney' sells, and I appreciate this cast of characters. Not that I'm complaining, but the fact they're all women doesn't appear too important to the loose lore of the game, and there's not much of a story for where this setting actually is, what the Vortex is, or why these characters are fighting it. That's probably something you only care about if you're reviewing the game, not actually playing it, but... I am reviewing the game, so what are you gonna do?

Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls Disney Edition is a great new entry in the Disney-Ravensburger partnership, and despite the name manages to offer a more unique board game experience than a Disney-flavoured version of something that already exists. It borrows from Horrified, Adventure Book, and Forbidden while remaining its own thing, and feels like a must play for Disney fans seeking something fresh.

The Marginalian has a free Sunday digest of the week's most mind-broadening and heart-lifting reflections spanning art, science, poetry, philosophy, and other tendrils of our search for truth, beauty, meaning, and creative vitality. Here's an example. Like? Claim yours:

One discovers the light in darkness, that is what darkness is for; but everything in our lives depends on how we bear the light. It is necessary, while in darkness, to know that there is a light somewhere, to know that in oneself, waiting to be found, there is a light.

Pretend, for example, that you were born in Chicago and have never had the remotest desire to visit Hong Kong, which is only a name on a map for you; pretend that some convulsion, sometimes called accident, throws you into connection with a man or a woman who lives in Hong Kong; and that you fall in love. Hong Kong will immediately cease to be a name and become the center of your life. And you may never know how many people live in Hong Kong. But you will know that one man or one woman lives there without whom you cannot live. And this is how our lives are changed, and this is how we are redeemed.

What a journey this life is! Dependent, entirely, on things unseen. If your lover lives in Hong Kong and cannot get to Chicago, it will be necessary for you to go to Hong Kong. Perhaps you will spend your life there, and never see Chicago again. And you will, I assure you, as long as space and time divide you from anyone you love, discover a great deal about shipping routes, airlines, earth quake, famine, disease, and war. And you will always know what time it is in Hong Kong, for you love someone who lives there. And love will simply have no choice but to go into battle with space and time and, furthermore, to win.

Sometimes your greatest foe is yourself. Everyone holds the potential for both great good and great evil! When it comes to the Power Rangers, nowhere is that more evident than with these powerful forces of light and darkness.

Jarrod, Heckyl, Leanbow, Merrick Baliton, and Tyzonn are all included here, alongside their more sinister counterparts: Dai Shi, Snide, Koragg, Zen-Aku, and Cursed Tyzonn. Who will triumph in this epic clash of wills and warriors?

Become part of the conversation about Light the darkness online by sharing a photo of your candle and tagging us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Use the hashtags #HolocaustMemorialDay and #LightTheDarkness.

Become part of the conversation about Light the darkness online by sharing a photo of your building lit up and tagging us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Use the hashtags #HolocaustMemorialDay and #LightTheDarkness.

All over the world, cultures separated by time and great distances built structures that aligned with the sun on the solstice such as the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, Newgrange in Ireland, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, just to name a few.

Depending on your beliefs, this can be a spiritual time, or the relaxing recharge you need before the new year begins. While taking more time for stillness, we contemplate the balance of darkness and light within ourselves. This time of year is about embracing the darkness, while celebrating the turning point where we will now begin to get a little more light each day. We are coming out of the darkness so to speak. The winter solstice is the time to honor the gifts of the darkness, while celebrating the return to the light.

Before we call back the light into our celestial rodeo we honor those important aspects of the darkness. For so many people the holidays and this dark time of the year can bring on sadness and depression. Create a space for the sadness and bring forth those emotions in a place of stillness to surrender them to be transformed by the oncoming light. To do this you may want to write about them in your journal or write them on slips of paper which you can burn in your Yule fire. Release your anger, regrets and resentments to the darkness.

Even with the best of intentions, we sometimes end up getting caught up in the movements of spending, shopping, going, eating, and rushing. Maybe, with the right inspiration and preparation, we can begin to move toward the core of what this season is about, in a more simple, natural, and intuitive way, and we can create deeper connection to the more important things in our lives.

The Pale Tree transports you to a "vision" of Orr, although it is no mere illusion - you can die and even gain credit for exploring as if you were actually in the area. The quest markers lead you around the city, although it is largely up to you to decide how you want to get there. The next marker is triggered when the vision of the tree talks to Trahearne. If the first conversation does not trigger you should logout and restart.

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