There’s a certain darkness that seems to shroud everything emerging from Dragon Dawn Productions’ forge. Their games exude a ghastly atmosphere. It is drenched in themes that… I don’t know… feel pulled straight from the shadowy recesses of a mythical netherworld. Golem Run may still carry the DNA of its dark and gritty dwarves society with whatever dwelling along in their deep caves. But this time, it brings us closer to the surface. Perhaps, there’s no place to conjure a racetrack in the underworld.
Golem Run is, at its core, kind of a race game. It employs the trick-taking mechanic as the main engine, propelling the anthropomorphic beings to the finish line. Yet, we don’t actually step into the shoes of the riders themselves. Instead, we assume the roles of high rollers. Shady as it sounds. We are gamblers — with a penchant for corruption, scheming to fix the race’s outcome in our favour.
Basically, we’re not just raising a wager on which golem will take the lead. Golem Run has more nuance. Surely, there’s a simple 1-in-3 chance of fixing the race in your favour. An accurate math… if we only had to guess the winning golem, as mentioned. We are actually also betting on the gap.
Yes, we do have to guess the distance between our chosen golem and the runner-up. It is depicted by the green dots on the cards. The Speed dots, we name them. And suddenly, it’s not just about influencing the leading golem. We also have to ensure that the gap matches the wager as well.
The suits
With three suit colours in play, Golem Run features three golems on the track —each representing one of those exact colours. From this onwards, it’s obvious. As the trick-taking round unfolds, we play cards matching the leading suit. Once all players have played theirs, we anticipate that the trick winner earns the right to decide which golem advances. It’s as simple as that…
…or is it? Well, we barely just touch the surface. Now… Golem Run has more layers of more intricate aspects, which become the building blocks of the game as a whole. For starters, players can actually lead a trick with two cards — whether from the same or different suit. The only requirement is it must be cards of identical value. This, however, changes the stake entirely.
Just as in other trick-taking games, Wild cards are also present in Golem Run. They function similarly. I won’t really dwell much in this aspect. However, we also have an additional element called Boosters. These cards are rather interesting — they cannot be played on their own, but, true to their name, are used to enhance the value of another card from the same suit. Hence, we have a tool to raise the versatility of the cards when responding or initiating a trick.
Answering a lead trick with two cards, the pair must consist of, once again, identical values — and must match one of the leading suits. While this implementation doesn’t entirely alter the meta dynamics of the game, it somehow force us to rethink the planning for the future rounds. Playing two cards at once reduces our hand size faster. It limits the option in subsequent rounds. I do like the dilemma where we have to decide whether it’s worth it, burning through our resources now — or just saving them for later plays.
Coming back to the betting
What I find amusing this time is how Dragon Dawn Productions injected a mechanic that feels surprisingly… more forgiving. In Golem Run, betting is the core aspect to earn points. Yet, the wagering system in this game is notably more flexible. It still costs us one turn, I’ll give that. But frankly speaking, we can still adjust our bets between tricks.
It is, however, unfair, to say that changing the wager costs a turn. If we see it deeper, this is actually an escape window for us when we don’t have good cards in hands to answer a trick. So, instead of forcing us to play, we are given a chance to wait and respond.
That means, this requires constant vigilance. Keeping an eye on the leading golems, the gap between the winner and the runner-up, the positioning on the track — these small details. I am glad that we have this feature in Golem Run. A fixed, unchangeable bets would have been a deal-breaker for me. With the challenge of race-fixing already in place, it would have been harder without this kind of reprieve.
Golem Run does bring quite a complexity compared to most trick-taking games on the market. That is, personally, what I admire about Dragon Dawn Productions. They can seamlessly integrate intricate aspects into familiar mechanics — and they make it work! This game is set to hit crowdfunding in 2025. So, until then, I hope I can convince you to back this game when it comes up.
I am a full-time food technologist during weekdays. However, when the calendar hits weekends, I transform into an avid board gamer. I am a hardcore Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) LCG player from Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). Current hobby: buying board games. My shelf of shame’s list is getting longer, thanks to you, Kickstarter.
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