Culdcept has spent years away from the spotlight, and BEGINS makes a strong case for bringing it back. The mix of board game strategy and collectible card battles is unusual, but once you get to grips with its systems, there’s a lot to enjoy. Luck can get in the way, and the story is largely forgettable, but the gameplay gives you plenty of reasons to keep playing.
Each match takes place on a looping board where you roll dice, move around, claim empty spaces by placing creatures, and earn magic points from the territory you control. Your goal is to accumulate enough wealth and return to the central castle before your opponents. The rules sound straightforward, but things get more complicated once other players start challenging your territory. Every space can generate income or become a battleground, so deciding where to invest your resources matters more than you might expect.
Combat adds another layer of strategy. Each creature has its own attack and health stats, while weapons, armour, and spells can change the outcome of a fight. Defenders have an advantage, meaning attacking isn’t always the best option. Creatures also receive bonuses on terrain that matches their element, so simply filling your deck with powerful monsters won’t get you very far. You need to consider what cards you have available, how valuable a space is, and whether an opponent might try to take it from you.
Upgrading territory is where things get particularly tense. Higher-level spaces generate more income and demand bigger tolls from opponents, but losing one means handing over a substantial amount of magic. It’s easy to get carried away investing in a valuable location, only to leave yourself vulnerable elsewhere. Matches can become genuinely nerve-racking towards the end, when everyone is making their way towards the castle and a single bad turn can turn a likely victory into a defeat.
Deckbuilding is one of the game’s biggest strengths. With more than 400 cards available, there’s plenty of room to experiment with different combinations of creatures, items, and spells. Decks are limited to 40 cards, and your hand can only hold so many at once, so even a carefully constructed build won’t guarantee that you’ll have the right card when you need it. A powerful creature might win a fight, but a spell that manipulates dice rolls or lets you draw extra cards can be just as valuable. Finding the right balance is a big part of what makes the game so enjoyable.
BEGINS is also reasonably welcoming to newcomers, which hasn’t always been a strength of the series. The campaign gradually introduces the mechanics through matches against other characters. The early chapters spend a lot of time explaining the rules, so experienced strategy players might find the opening a little slow. For newcomers, though, the tutorials should help make sense of the many interconnected systems. Premade decks are available, too, letting you get straight into a match without spending ages putting a deck together.
Luck remains a significant part of the experience, and there are times when it becomes frustrating. Dice determine how far you move, while the order in which cards appear can leave you without a useful option at a critical moment. A well-planned turn can fall apart because of one unfortunate roll, and a player who seemed out of contention can suddenly turn things around. Losing a comfortable lead this way is irritating, but it also keeps matches from becoming too predictable. Even when you’re ahead, you can’t afford to relax.
The board designs help maintain that variety. Later maps introduce branching paths and dead ends, forcing you to reconsider your route and think more carefully about your next move. With different layouts, a large collection of cards, and matches that can unfold in very different ways, there’s a strong incentive to keep coming back. Online multiplayer and GameShare are supported, and shareable deck codes make exchanging builds with friends straightforward. The notable omission is traditional same-screen local multiplayer. For a game built around a shared board, being able to gather around one console would have been a welcome addition.
The story is considerably less interesting than the gameplay. This prequel takes place on the continent of Bavrashka and follows Kamur, a newcomer to the Royal Cept Academy, as political tensions grow and a greater threat begins to emerge. Rivalries, mysterious forces, and a quest involving elemental sigils give the campaign its direction, but the narrative rarely strays from familiar RPG territory. The characters are likeable enough, and the lighter dialogue keeps things entertaining, but little of the plot stuck with me after playing. Most of the story feels like a framework for introducing new mechanics and unlocking cards.
Optional missions offer a few more reasons to explore. Some focus on other characters, while others revisit an earlier conflict. They add a little more context to the world, but the campaign clearly takes a back seat to the competitive gameplay. Anyone looking for a memorable story will probably be disappointed. If you’re here for the strategy, however, this won’t be much of a problem.
The presentation has its strengths and weaknesses. Characters are bright and colourful, while the card artwork takes a more detailed fantasy approach, with some impressive creature designs and equipment. This gives BEGINS a distinct look, although the lighter art style might not appeal to everyone familiar with the older games. Story scenes are much more basic, relying on static backgrounds and minimal character animation. They serve their purpose, but there’s little visual life to them.
The battle interface can also make things harder than they need to be. You often have to check creature stats, elemental affinities, and terrain information quickly, and the small icons can become difficult to distinguish once the board gets crowded. Some players will adapt without much trouble, but others may find themselves stopping to check the details before committing to an attack. The soundtrack fares better, with a good range of tracks that suit the fantasy setting and provide a fitting backdrop for each match.
Culdcept BEGINS succeeds because its underlying mechanics work so well together. The story is generic, the presentation has its limitations, and bad luck can occasionally undermine a carefully planned strategy. Still, managing territory, fighting with creatures, and building a deck create a compelling gameplay loop that holds up across repeated matches. If you enjoy card games and board games that reward experimentation but leave room for unpredictable outcomes, BEGINS is well worth a look. It’s an accessible entry point for newcomers and gives returning fans plenty of reasons to revisit a series that deserves more attention.
Culdcept BEGINS turns territory control, creature battles and deckbuilding into a surprisingly tense strategy game where one bad dice roll can ruin everything. Its generic story and cluttered interface disappoint, but the depth of its card mechanics makes it easy to lose hours chasing the next win.
