Unlike most hidden movement games, Beast doesn’t just incentivise aggression; it demands it. Pitting multiple hunters against a single, player-controlled monster, this asymmetric experience is as much about skulking in the shadows as it is popping out of nowhere to devour a boar or terrorise a settlement, with the team of player hunters forever giving chase. Studio Midhall has returned to the Beast universe with Ashfall, the game’s third and final expansion, which acts as a narrative crescendo and introduces a handful of new mechanics that elevate the base game experience, setting the final hunt into motion in glorious fashion.
As a quick reminder for those who need it, Beast is a clever many-versus-one hidden movement game that sees one player embodying a mighty creature, pushed to violence to protect its land, while one to three others play as hunters tasked with bringing the monster’s life to an end in the name of progress. Gameplay is centred around playing cards from your hand, with each turn consisting of a beast or hunter playing up to two action cards (one blue and one red), before the turn order continues. Various objectives will dictate setup and win conditions, with the beast often succeeding by killing X number of townsfolk, while the hunters find glory in thwarting the beast or taking its head.
Drafting action cards at the beginning of each round, including the beast, objectives that force the beast player to go on the offensive, and player abilities that introduce progressively scaling power are all elements that set Beast apart from the hidden movement genre, and the main reason why I love it so much. With Ashfall, we don’t get a new map or a legacy-style narrative like in previous expansions, but what we do get is a raft of new characters and a handful of tweaks that smooth off almost every rough edge that came with the base experience.
The flashiest additions to come with Ashfall are its three new hunters and three new beasts. The base game offers an impressive level of replayability, thanks in large part to the many permutations available with the roster of hunters and beasts, and these inclusions deepen that selling point in a big way. While it’s unlikely that even the most diehard Beast players will have seen every combination, new characters with new abilities are always welcome, especially when they are as well-developed as the ones we see in Ashfall.
The three hunters consist of Bram, Nora, and Draug, each of whom offers a widely different gameplay style. Bram is all about area control, with his immoveable and impassable barriers reshaping routes and funnelling beasts (when played correctly). Nora, on the other hand, allows players to interact with the sheep, boars, and bears in a way we haven’t yet seen. Not only shifting them across the map, potentially cutting resources off from the Beast, Nora can also turn these woodland creatures into commandos, attacking the beast on her behalf. In one of our games, we almost managed the killing blow on the beast using a sheep, and let me tell you, the table was rapturous at the thought.
The final hunter, Draug, is the most complex, but also the most rewarding. Able to resurrect by spending Grudge tokens, he not only returns to the game immediately, instead of the next round, but he comes back stronger, having unlocked a new buff or ability. While Draug is the trickiest to wrangle in terms of strategy, once you’ve found the sweet spot, he can be an absolute death-defying menace.
All three of the hunters offer something different, and none feel weaker than the rest. Braum is certainly the most basic, but he can be vital to a hunter team’s plan. While Nora may not always feel immediately useful, she often shows up when it matters most. It’s a fun trio that I’m keen to continue exploring with.
On the other side of the fence, we have three new beasts: Ragnar, Lyndan and Yeltr, and Omma. My preview copy only gave me access to Ragnar and Lyndan and Yeltr, so I can’t speak to Omma, Butcher of the Mist, but if they stack up to the other two beasts, we’re in for a good time.
Ragnar gives Beast fans exactly what they’ve been asking for: a big, fire-breathing dragon. And that fire is game-changing. Rather than upgrade abilities during the night exclusively, Ragnar’s abilities are enhanced immediately, with Grudge tokens going directly onto his board. This sounds overpowered, and it often is, but hunters have the chance to strip these powers away by dealing damage, which swings the advantage back in the other direction. His flame has a nasty habit of dealing damage from afar, while also pushing hunters, livestock, and townsfolk around the map, dictating the flow of encounters. Without question, Ragnar is my new favourite beast, and so far, I’ve only died to him, so that’s saying something.
Lyndan and Yeltr, on the other hand, are companion beasts, with Lyndan sending Yeltr out to deal damage in its stead. This is a symbiotic relationship, though, so if Yeltr perishes, Lyndan is dealt damage. Additionally, Lyndan and Yeltr generate Harvest, a unique resource gained by dealing damage to hunters and used to immediately activate abilities. I found it harder to get my head around moving two equally important beasts around the map, as summons are typically more expendable, but I can foresee some truly nasty strategies being possible with Lyndan and Yeltr.
Outside of new characters, Ashfall also introduces some additional components to the base map that drastically improve the game’s flow and playability. Hidden Passage from the Shattered Isle expansion has been ported over with Ashfall, giving Drenched Isles and The Northern Expanse more traversal options for beast and hunter alike. This is felt most when the beast is seemingly boxed in, only for the mere threat of a Hidden Passage being enough to cast doubt on the best laid plans.
The more substantial change, in my opinion, comes in the form of boats. These new pieces are placed on various settlements across the map and can be interacted with by a hunter, burning any action card. In doing so, they can transport themselves and the boat to any other settlement without a boat already present. Not only does it give hunters a way to move about more freely, but it solves Beast’s biggest issue to date.
Until now, the base game was only accessible for a three-person player count that took place on Drenched Isles. When played with at the cap and on the larger of the two maps, the beast could easily create distance from the party and win the game handily as the opposing team burnt all of their cards simply trying to close the gap. By giving hunters a way to quickly navigate larger distances, Ashfall has effectively raised the player count by one, which will positively affect many a board game group.
Beast’s third and final expansion is shaping up to be its greatest. It’s not simply that Ashfall introduces three worthwhile hunters and two (potentially three) standout beasts, but it also reshapes how players will interact with the game itself. Making base maps more dynamic is a huge win for Beast, and it’s a change that will see this already excellent hidden movement game find my table far more often than it already does.
Beast’s third and final expansion is shaping up to be its greatest. It’s not simply that Ashfall introduces three worthwhile hunters and two (potentially three) standout beasts, but it also reshapes how players will interact with the game itself. Making base maps more dynamic is a huge win for Beast, and it’s a change that will see this already excellent hidden movement game find my table far more often than it already does.
The crowdfunding campaign for Beast: Ashfall is currently live on Gamefound.
Preview copy supplied by the publisher
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