They keep their hunter miniature, but they use a pad to track their movement and become invisible to hunters when they are out of sight on the board. However, Broken Covenant introduces a rules change that allows the traitor to become an agent and complete objectives just like the original agent. In the original game, the five player rules didn't really give the traitor hunter anything to do once they were exposed as helping the agent.
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The other addition is more of a rules update than a physical change. It keeps the game close and interesting for all involved. Finding a balance and throwing both sides something of a bone is a characteristic of Matsuuchi's design in both Specter Ops games. They serve the interesting twin function of giving the agent more equipment, at the same time as revealing to the hunters that the agent is on a cache (as they can see the agent player draw a card). These are certain spots on the board that, when the agent occupies them, allow them to draw a new equipment card from a small stack. Improving the Experience from its Predecessorĭespite playing the same as the original game, Broken Covenant introduces a couple of new features. These further tailor each game and add additional interesting decisions. On top of their powers, agents also have access to three equipment cards - chosen at the start of the game that give them additional powers. I've already found myself leaning towards some characters more than others as I find myself preferring some styles of play to others. Similarly, some of the agents are able to fight back when the hunters corner them, while others are able to interfere with the hunters and throw them off the scent in other ways. Some hunters encourage you to move and try to track the agent physically, while others prefer to sit back and pin down the agent's location before moving in. Combining these in different ways leads to dozens of different match ups, each with a very different feeling. The variable character powers are interesting and give each agent and hunter a unique identity. When this tension culminated in the big reveals, where we finally hunted the agent down and cornered him, the resulting experience was highly involved and enjoyable for all. We hunters, however, were constantly tense every turn we failed to find the agent, knowing that he was moving closer to his goals without us knowing what they were. As I played on a team of two hunters, my friend playing the agent commented how tense he felt waiting for us to make our moves to see if he would get away unscathed. The unknown elements lead to real tension on both sides. The hunters also have the advantage of being able to discuss their moves if two or more people are controlling them. For example, while the hidden movement naturally favours the agent, both the objective spots and the supply caches (more on these shortly) give the hunters clues to where the agent is.
There is a lot to admire in the design of the game. The game is a tour de force of hidden movement, deduction and perfect balance.
Each hunter and agent comes with a unique miniature and unique powers to make things harder for the other team.Įmerson Matsuuchi picks up where he left up in Specter Ops: Broken Covenant. Both the original Specter Ops and Broken Covenant come with four hunters and four agents. The game is spiced up further with unique character powers. At the highest player count, things change a little and one out of the four hunters is secretly on the side of the agent. The game actually plays up to five players. Their objective is to find the agent and deal damage to them at close range OR prevent the agent completing their goals in 40 moves. Up to three hunters move around on the board trying to find the agent (which can be controlled by a single player, if, like me, you need to be able to play at two). They are trying to reach three out of four objectives scattered around the board, before escaping without being killed. Both Specter Ops games have the same core mechanics: a lone agent moves secretly around a board, using a pad to track their movement. I hadn't either before buying Broken Covenant (although, I'll admit, I tracked down and bought the first game soon after buying this one). I'm not going to assume that you've played Specter Ops before reading this. Would Broken Covenant be as good? Specter Ops: The Basics We loved the original here at Zatu, with our reviewer giving it a whopping 90% score. Specter Ops: Broken Covenant is the first standalone expansion for Emerson Matsuuchi's original Specter Ops game.
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