Vantage Review

Join us on our continuing mission to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilisations.  To boldly go where… no, wait, wrong IP. How about this, a long time ago in a galaxy….

1-6 Players 120-180 Mins Age: 14+

Designer: Jamey Stegmaier

Artists: Valentina Filic, Sören Meding, Emilien Rotival

Publisher: Stonemaier Games

"We are the cusp of the unimaginable, the start of the long journey outward." - Ray Bradbury

Vantage is an epic sci-fi adventure offering from Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games.  This grand opus was 8 years in the making and from the way Jamey speaks of it, you can tell its been a labour of love and a passion project.  Having had the chance to now experience it for myself, how do I feel it holds up and just what manner of gaming experience does it provide?

The concept of Vantage is a simple one at it’s core.  You play an interstellar explorer who’s mission comes to grief and you crash land on the planet you were sent to investigate. Each player takes on a single character whom, after a series of brief choices, begins their foray into the world from one of many starting locations on the planet. This method serves two functions, to randomise each players starting location, and to a limited degree, the difficulty level.  Once on the planet, players use location cards to gradually discover points of interest, interact with the denizens of the planet, referred to throughout the game as sentients, and find items that will aid their adventure.

A dice pool is used to engage in and resolve actions on each location card and players are normally faced with up to six choices on each card based on six categories under which these actions fall.  For example a ‘move’ category action for a specific location could be ‘climb’ in reference to a staircase, ‘leap’ when faced with a chasm or ‘guide’ when helping lost travellers to find their way. Each of the six action types are colour coded so you’ll be able to readily identify the category each action falls into.  Your character, items and any potential companions you have in your tableau of up to nine cards can provide benefits depending on the category, for example a knife could help with both a combat or survival related action. The various combinations over the course of the game are staggering and due to the way character selection and the subsequent first mission functions, the options are virtually limitless and as such, each player’s experience will be unique even over endless play throughs.

"The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." - Carl Sagan

Vantage offers immense freedom of exploration and discovery, and provides a rich world full of otherworldly wonders and alien mysteries to uncover. Players are sure to find plenty to do each and every time, whether exploring solo or as part of a group of up to 6 crew mates scattered across the planet. Each location contains unique artwork representing an encounter players can engage in. Mountain vistas, extra-terrestrial encounters, ancient structures, every new card offers fresh intrigue and it certainly triggered the explorer in me. I liken the experience to a tabletop RPG only without the need of a game master or even a group for that matter. A unique narrative gradually unfolds with each session, and should you find yourself at the end of a play session, whether successful or fatal, you will quickly be able to reset and get a fresh game going with a new character in no time. Certainly other games offer large, endlessly re-playable adventures, Gloomhaven for example, but none that I have played provide the ease of entry and speed of set up relative to the amount of content that Vantage offers.

This clean, concise system keeps the focus on the narrative and exploration elements allowing the players to immerse themselves in the adventure, the game mechanics quietly fade into the background as you become fore accustomed to them and before you know it, you’re simply exploring an alien world as casually as you would turn a page in an engaging novel.

Helping to set the scene for your forays into this uncharted land is the glorious artwork on the cards.  Every card has unique imagery specific to its location, which is an impressive feat given the vast number of cards involved. Artists Valentina Filic, Sören Meding and Emilien Rotival must have been working overtime to bring so many incredible images to life. This alone goes a long way to elevating Vantage in my view as I love distinctive art in games.

“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you” - Neil deGrasse Tyson

While Vantage does what it does very well, there are of course a few rough edges as is to be expected in any game of this scope.  The foremost issue would be the limited player interaction, due to the nature of the gameplay, while multiple players share a game session, their paths are unlikely to cross, however if a player should find themselves encountering a location previously insisted by another, the affects of the previous player will have an impact on the location, affecting the available options. While there isn’t a lot of interplay between characters, I believe the joy of a shared experience around the table with friends, witnessing their discoveries and seeing the various outcomes is core to Vantage’s gameplay. It’s the little spoken of ‘shared experience’ game mechanic which I think deserves more attention.

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” - Arthur C. Clarke

Stonemaier games has always maintained a good to high standard of production quality, balanced with environmental responsibility. To that end, Vantage presents a solid experience right out of the box, with very little plastic to be found.  For some, this could come across as lacking in quality.  No custom insert, no plastic or acrylic tokens, no metal coins etc.  I myself love a deluxified game with all the bells and whistles, but Vantage simply doesn’t need any of that. If you do require a little more rock in your roll then Stonemaier sells neoprene play mats and metal coins as add ons.  The only complaint I might make is the storage is a little bare bones to the point where I do worry about damage occurring to the cards and components if care is not taken.

Overall the components are solid and serve their purpose well, nothing too flashy and the focus remains primarily on the cards and the gameplay. The individual art, the vast multitude of locations, items, characters and other points of interest is really quite remarkable especially for a retail base game.  I think as board gamers we are often conditioned to expect a functional game at launch but eagerly await the inevitable expansions to provide a compete experience that realises its full potential. Vantage just says, here’s everything, go nuts! It’s quite refreshing.

“Was there anything more exciting in life than seeking answers?” - Isaac Asimov

Vantage is a glorious romp across an alien world brimming with intrigue, exotic locations and memorable mysteries. It’s exploration in a box and I am already looking forward to launching into my next adventure.  If you’re looking for a fun afternoon of quiet adventure and peaceful discovery or a group session filled with shared joy then I have no hesitation in recommending Vantage to all my fellow explorers. I hope this one hits home for you as it did for me.

Thank you for reading and for your patience during Above Board’s extended hiatus as we relocated from New Zealand to our new home in Japan. It’s been a real-life adventure that is still in the early stages, so bear with us as we strive to bring you more gaming goodness as often as possible.  In the meantime, please remember to follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook community or just check in with us from time to time here at Above Board.  All are welcome at our table, as long as you follow Wheaton’s Law, - “Don’t be a dick.”

Finally, a huge thank you to Stonemaier Games for providing a review copy of Vantage!

See you next time!