Cursed Lands: Morgulia
Designer: Shawn Shultz
Artist: Mike Livolsi and Shawn Shultz
Publisher: Horizon Point Studios
Year Published: 2023
No. of Players: 2+
Ages: 14+
Playing Time: 30-90 min
Main mechanic / Theme: Tabletop Miniature Skirmish / Gothic Horror Fantasy
Step into the Cursed Lands of Morgulia and battle…if you dare!
Disclaimer: Publisher provided a copy or prototype of the game for this review.
Overview:
From the Publisher: Cursed Lands: Morgulia is a miniature agnostic tabletop skirmish game of horror and battle for 2+ players in which warbands vise for power, glory, and riches in the haunted and dangerous lands of Morgulia while attempting to avoid madness and death. Beware however for, even if your warband achieves its goals, it may yet fall to its own corruption!
*Note – Cursed Lands: Morgulia contains horrific and, occasionally, mature themes that may not be suitable for more sensitive audiences. Player discretion is advised.
My take: Cursed Lands: Morgulia is a very interesting setting and system for tabletop miniature skirmish wargaming. The medieval gothic horror theme is pretty interesting and lends a different feel to this as opposed to others that I have played. Being miniature agnostic does not mean that you can make any miniatures work with the game (a squad of space marines won’t do you a whole lot of good here), but it does mean that the manufacturer of the miniature does not matter nor, in my opinion, does the load out of the physical miniature as in some other games. Combat is easy to learn and not overly complex for anyone who has played tabletop miniature skirmish games before (new players may take a bit to catch on to all of the steps involved in a typical combat, but this is no different from any other tabletop miniature skirmish game that I’ve played.) Everything that you need to know to play the game is all contained in one, non-cumbersome, hardcover manual (or PDF).
Gameplay and mechanics:
The rulebook contains detailed and complete instructions for building and equipping warbands and playing the game. As mentioned, this is a miniature agnostic game, so there are no special miniatures that you have to buy from company x, you just need to find the miniatures that work for you for the warband(s) that you want to build, additionally, the book encourages you to adapt the rules as you see fit to work with the miniatures that you want to use. As always, communication with your opponent is key so that everyone is on the same page and there are no nasty surprises during gameplay that sour the game for other players. Round structure and turn actions are well laid out in the book. Combat seems fairly intuitive with the only caveat to me being rolling under your ability scores rather than over which is a little counter-intuitive when you’ve played a lot of 4+, 5+, etc. dice rolling wargames.
Theme, Artwork and Illustration, Graphic Design and Layout
I really enjoy the theme and the simple, dark, brooding artwork lends itself well to setting the overall mood. This is a game set in a universe of medieval gothic horror and the artwork lends itself well to that theme. Illustrations are included throughout the book in black and white format and add an atmosphere of horror that I welcomed as I read through the book.
Inclusivity and Accessibility:
Tabletop United believes that diversity is a source of fun and happiness. Nurturing and celebrating our personal differences can lead to amazing gaming (and life) experiences.Therefore, TTU is putting renewed emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility by adding a section in each of our reviews written after April 2021. You’ll begin to see more reviews with this section as time goes on. The inclusivity and accessibility section will critique those issues and strengths of the subject in the review based upon the unique background of the reviewer. Each reviewer views the world through their own particular lens and has a wide and varied experience from which they will write and review from.
Role playing/tabletop miniatures skirmish games really lend themselves well to inclusivity and accessibility. That is especially the case in a miniatures agnostic system like this. Find miniatures that represent whatever it is that you are looking for and they can be incorporated into this game, within some basic parameters. Paint them or modify them however you want to fit the vision that you have for your warband. The limitations are really up to you. As far as the rulebook, there is more of a European medieval tone to it overall, but there is no suggestion that warbands can’t be from other continents or cultures. It’s really pretty open to individual interpretation in all aspects. I would say that the few illustrations in the book where race/gender can be determined has a white male slant, but there are probably more illustrations throughout that are racially/gender neutral. The illustrations are all black and white and what little color is included in the color is not crucial to anything game related, the red text on the back cover is difficult for me to read and I have no color blind tendencies but it all just flavor text and meaningless in game context except for the website which is also listed on the first page of the book itself. Text inside the book is a little on the small side especially for those who are vision impaired so this may be a problem for some. Using my phone to magnify the words worked well to a point but the letters really start to break down when increasing magnification to 20x or more.
What worked:
The format, layout and comprehensiveness of the rulebook really worked for me. The open nature of miniature, scenery and playing surface requirements mean that this is going to be a really affordable skirmish game option that could be a good introduction to this part of the hobby for a lot of gamers and remain highly enjoyable to gamers of all experience levels. Rules are comprehensive without seeming cumbersome and the game itself seems easy to learn and enjoyable to play.
Final thoughts:
Overall, I found the Cursed Lands: Morgulia rulebook to be a fun and comprehensive guide to a novel, approachable tabletop skirmish game system that is easily accessible and affordable for many to be able to pick up and play. The hardcover rulebook is available for $35.00 and the book is also available in PDF for only $10. Use the miniatures that you want to use for your warband (within reason) and this is a great option to have skirmish battles with your friends on the cheap with a good quality ruleset and resource guide.
Find more info on BoardGameGeek.com / Kickstarter
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Stefan Yates
Stefan Yates is a professional in the Office of International Programs at Kansas State University. Finding ways to work gaming into work, he serves on the university’s Alternate Reality Game Committee and is a co-Faculty Advisor for the Board Game Club. He is also a PhD student whose field of research is Gamification in Student Programming. He enjoys playing (and mostly losing) almost any type of game and likes to work in multiple game sessions per week whenever possible. An avid solo gamer with an additional interest in tabletop miniatures games, the stay-at-home orders of the pandemic were not particularly concerning as there was always painting to do and terrain to build. Stefan is also a book and movie collector and a huge football fan (go CHIEFS!)