Lucca Changes: Giochi Uniti presents The devil and dark water

During the second day of Lucca Changes, the board game based on the new novel by Stuart Turton entitled The devil is dark water published by the Neri Pozza publishing house was presented. Stefano De Carolis (Strategic Planner of Giochi Uniti) and Sabine Schultz (Foreign narrative editor of Neri Pozza) participated to tell both the game and the book. The meeting talked about both products, and in particular about the points in common that these have despite the obvious differences due to the medium used.

The book

Sabine Schultz talked about the book, a story set in 1634 on a ship called Saardam, which is to sail from Batavia, in the Dutch East Indies, to Amsterdam. The crossing of this route lasts 10 months, a long period of time fraught with dangers: diseases, storms, pirates and much more. At the time of boarding there are several characters ready to embark, many linked to the United East India Company, one of the richest companies of the time. Among these is Jan Haan, a Dutch governor who must bring a mysterious object back to his homeland capable of changing the fate of the entire company. In addition to him are the famous detective of the time Samuel Pipps, accused of a crime for which he must be executed, and Captain Arent Hayes, Pipps' bodyguard. Upon departure, however, a strange figure casts a curse on the ship, announcing that it will never reach its destination, after which it mysteriously catches fire. Despite some fears, the ship leaves, but on the newly unfolded sails a symbol of an eye appears, the same one that also appears on the back of Captain Hayes' hand.

The book, published by the Neri Pozzi publishing house, will be published in Italy in mid-November. (available for online purchase)

The game

The board game dedicated to The Devil and the Dark Water is instead a card game based on alliances and betrayals between players who have to accumulate the tokens of the captain to to win. Players will choose one of the factions in the book, consisting of 5 character cards: 1 leader, 2 deputies and 3 helpers. The coveted victory will only come once you have obtained 9 captain tokens.

To get the tokens you will need to know who to trust. Each card has two lines, one positive and the other dark. The factions in the game will have to face each other in turn with two players who will reveal their cards. If played on the positive side both will earn tokens, while if there is a dark side, the opposing player will be eliminated. Deletions work following a pattern linked to the roles mentioned above. The leader can eliminate the deputy, while the deputy can eliminate the aide, but the aide can eliminate the leader. In addition, players not involved in the confrontation will be able to bet on which verse the others chose to get new tokens. In this game, trust is important, but cheating is also important and no choice will ever be safe. The game dedicated to The Devil and the Dark Water will be released for the United Games by December.

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