Roguelikeboardgamelike: Cryptic Comet's Occult Chronicles

Good news, everyone. The Occult Chronicles, the latest game from Vic Davis, aka Cryptic Comet, aka creator of splendid video-based boardgames such as Armageddon Empires and Solium Infernum (be sure to revisit our infamous diary about that one), is now available to buy and play. This one's a singleplayer game which finds a hopefully happy middleground between roguelikes and boardgames. It's got a classical theme, in the grand old theme of boardgames such as Arkham Horror and Betrayal At House On The Hill: an occult investigator investigating a spooky mansion, wrestling with threats to his sanity as well as to his life. Hmm. Does 'Occult Investigator' pay well? If not, perhaps he should consider becoming a vet.

It's akin to his oeuvre, but for the first time he's very much pursuing a single character focus rather than his traditional army-based fare, and toning down (though not removing) strategy in favour of roleplaying. "I really wanted to make something for board gamers like myself who end up playing solo on the kitchen table at 2 am," he tells me.

I really, really like the sound of it, and hopefully the practice too - I've got a copy here I'm going to take a look at later this week. Meantime, there's a reasonably detailed breakdown of how it plays here.

The dev's currently doing a 'beta buy-in program', which means you're paying for early access to an unfinished version, but while it's pretty much feature-complete he's grateful for any player input on bugs, balance and usability options.

So take a gamble if you like, or otherwise hang on for some impressions from me soon. Presuming you trust what I have to say, that is. You really should, I'm always right and honest. Also I can introduce you to this guaranteed get rich quick scheme I'm in. You even get a free iPhone 6 for joining, subject to terms and conditions.