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Board.game Original

Hollowreach

Co-operative descent

1–4 players20–30 minCo-operativeLight

Everything worth having is further down than you want to go.

PlayPlayable

Ready to play now.

A demonstration of Hollowreach, played by the computer against itself.

Hollowreach — playing itself

Ways to play

  • Alone, against the computer

    Your own pace, no arranging anything. Take a move back whenever you like.

    5 opponents, weakest first
    • NervyWorks the first floor and climbs out at the first excuse. Cannot make the haul without you.
    • CarefulWorks one floor down and keeps the lantern close. Brings back a share, never the haul.
    • SteadyReads the flood schedule and leaves a floor on time. Still needs you for the deep floors.
    • WillingWill open one more door while already holding something.
    • Sure-footedKeeps back less light for the climb than anybody else: comes home with more, or runs the lantern out trying.
    Play alone

  • Together, in the same room

    1–4 players. One device goes round the table, or everybody plays off the same screen.

    Play in the same room

  • Online, at a table

    A room code, joinable from anywhere. Pause tonight and pick it up next week from your device.

    Play online

About

A vertical ruin, flooded from the bottom, with one lantern between you. Every level down is worth more and costs more, and the only real decision in the game is when to turn around.

How it feels

  • Pressure, then relief
  • Shared light
  • Push your luck

What the design is for

  • One lantern

    Only whoever is holding it can see what is behind the doors on their floor. Everyone else is counting doorways in the dark and taking somebody’s word for it.

  • The turn-back problem

    Full hands do not go down stairs. The first thing you pick up ends your descent, and everything after that is deciding whether one more door is worth it.

  • Two clocks, and both are public

    The oil is what you spend and the water is how long you have. The round each floor goes under is printed on the wall from the first turn.

  • A table for one

    The first game on this shelf you can open on your own without pretending the computer is an opponent.

Best at
3
Kind
Adventure
Table
Co-operative
Studio
Board.game Originals

The opponents

  1. Nervy

    Works the first floor and climbs out at the first excuse. Cannot make the haul without you.

  2. Careful

    Works one floor down and keeps the lantern close. Brings back a share, never the haul.

  3. Steady

    Reads the flood schedule and leaves a floor on time. Still needs you for the deep floors.

  4. Willing

    Will open one more door while already holding something.

  5. Sure-footed

    Keeps back less light for the climb than anybody else: comes home with more, or runs the lantern out trying.

Achievements

0 of 5 earned

  • Everyone Out

    Bring an expedition home with enough to have been worth it.

  • The Bottom

    Carry something up from the deepest floor of the ruin.

  • On the Last of It

    Get out with two oil or less left in the lantern.

  • Alone Down There

    Make the haul on your own.

  • Nobody Left Standing

    Win without the light ever running out mid-round.

Key art

Key art — Board.game art system

Hollowreach — key still
Hollowreach — key cover
Hollowreach — key backdrop

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