by Ed Fortune
Til The Last Gasp is the latest game from Darrington Press (the publishing arm of Critical Role), and it’s neither a roleplaying game nor a board game; instead, it’s an exciting blend of the two.
The premise is that this two-player game simulates a desperate battle between two fictional characters. This is The Princess Bride “You killed my father, prepare to die” levels of drama here, with many rules to turn it into an actual game rather than just another improvisational theatre exercise.
Players pick a character and agree on a location. Pre-generated characters are provided (and they cover most tropes), but you’re encouraged to create your own. Each duellist is a collection of narrative prompts; for example, a famously cruel pirate captain who on the surface seems implacable but secretly cares for her crew, or the innocent-seeming farmhand with incredible luck who hides an ancient heritage, etc. The locations are fixed, and each has rules that elicit the vibe of the place, so the arena has a prompt for a grand entrance, the castle has stairs that give one character a slight edge, etc.
Gameplay-wise, this is a dice-driven, action point game battle strategy game. It’s not an RPG; there’s a definite winner at the end. However, you and your opponent decide the stakes and story behind the duel. So, for example, you may skip mechanically advantageous choices because it fits the story you’re telling better. This is where the Drama Cards come in; these are story prompts that are primarily for flavour, stuff like complimenting your foe or expressing an earnest desire. Sometimes these also do something mechanical (such as giving you extra dice). Mostly it’s for flavour. If you run this game as a pure, by-the-numbers, card-and-dice skirmish system, it’s okay. If you actually go for the drama as intended, it’s heaps of fun.
And yes, that might mean going outside your comfort zone a little bit. That’s fine. The game also has an X-card mechanic, which is there in case things get awkward or the story goes into territory you don’t want to explore. In many ways, this is a game to get people familiar with roleplaying in a fun and simple way. But it’s also just a fun game to play with friends.
Components-wise, this is solidly put together. The card stock is solid; the art is nice yet vague, allowing the players to let their imagination roam. The game evokes a cinematic vibe throughout, and we get orange and teal dice, which is a nice nod to Hollywood action movies.
Strangely, the game Til The Last Gasp most reminded us of wasn’t the many, many strategy skirmish games we’ve reviewed other the years, but Fog Of Love, the prosaic collaborative card game about complex relationships. Though the two games are radically different, they share an essential principle; using game mechanics to solve storytelling problems in unexpected ways. Til The Last Gasp is a game about creative expression and incredible sword-fighting duels.
The game isn’t tied into any particular setting; Darrington Press seems to be increasingly keen on telling stories interestingly rather than connecting all of their products to the very merchandisable Critical Role brand. This frees the game to be any story you want, and if this is the direction Darrington Press intends to take its range of games, then we’re really excited about its forthcoming games, such as Illuminated Worlds and Dagger Heart.
A modern classic and one for board game and TTRPG fans alike.
