Bestie Board Game Review

The first humans arrived in the Wild North, drawn by its rich and beautiful landscape. Lush forests grew everywhere, lakes teemed with fish, and clear, powerful streams flowed from the mountains. The Northerners quickly began to transform their surroundings. They built settlements, cleared forests, fished, and hunted the local wildlife. Until now, nature watched its destruction in silence, but it has finally begun to fight back. Beasts have emerged from the deepest darkness—furious, mystical creatures whose claws, fangs, and magical powers are impossible for an ordinary human to withstand. Bestie attacked sheep, wild boars, lone travelers, and occasionally even entire villages. The settlers were forced to hire experienced hunters capable of tracking, stalking, and killing the beast before it could slaughter them all.

A Few Important Facts

Bestie was created by Aron and Elon Midhall and Assar Pettersson, with the Czech edition published by Tlama games. The game is for 2-4 players aged 14 and up, with a playtime of roughly 30 minutes per player. Although the box is standard size, you will feel it is packed to the brim once you pick it up. Upon opening it, you will find a wealth of tokens, wooden and cardboard figures, cards, and much more. All components and cards are of standard quality, but the same cannot be said for the illustrations, which are absolutely breathtaking. Every card, figure, and component is in the style of dark Nordic fantasy and perfectly sets the atmosphere for the entire game. The rules are written very clearly across about 17 pages. They are so well-written that we didn't have to flip through them much during our first game, which is rare for us.

What awaits us in the Wild North?

Before starting, players choose their roles. One player (ideally the one who knows the rules best for the first game) takes on the role of the Beast, while the others become hunters. There are 6 beasts and 6 hunters to choose from, each character being completely unique and offering a very different gameplay experience. The player controlling the beast should sit opposite all the hunters. Players then select one of the 4 available scenarios and set up the game board according to the rules.

The game is played over several “days.” A day is divided into dawn, day, and night. During dawn, a card draft takes place. Each action card has text for both the hunter and the beast. Therefore, players must choose very carefully which card to keep and which to pass to their opponent. Even at this stage, card selection is crucial and significantly influences the course of the coming day. The next phase is the day, where players take turns playing cards that allow them to perform various actions. Cards are divided into those with a red symbol and a blue symbol. A player can play up to two cards, but only one of each symbol. The final phase is night, where players receive rewards for completed tasks, discard unnecessary cards, upgrade their character, and begin a new day.

To win, the Beast aims to kill a certain number of settlers, while the hunters must either kill the beast or prevent it from killing and survive until the last night. Let's take a closer look at the beast.

The player controlling the beast sees on their dashboard how much health the beast has, which terrain type provides an advantage, and how they can upgrade their character. Each beast has so-called spawn that can be summoned to the game board to make life difficult for the hunters. On their turn, the player can kill animals, settlers, or attack hunters. For every animal or settler killed, they gain wrath, which can be used to upgrade their abilities. Movement is very specific. The beast figure on the game board only represents its last known position. Movement is hidden; the player secretly places a movement card in a designated spot and marks their current position on a mini-map behind a screen. Until they are revealed or attack, they remain hidden from the hunters. The beast also possesses special ability cards that can be combined very nicely once the character is upgraded.

Hunters also have their own ability cards that make the beast's stay in the Wild North very unpleasant, as well as a character board showing their health and any upgrades. When a hunter player moves and is in an area where the beast is located, or has passed through it, the beast places a track token on that location. By tracking the beast, hunters try to figure out where it went. Once they are sure they have reached the location where the beast is, they can search the area and, if revealed, attack. Hunters also have the option to set various traps, build watchtowers that reveal tracks, and buy useful hunting items.

Our impressions?

Playing as the beast versus the hunters is very different, and we dare say you feel completely different experiences with each role. The playstyle is also different. The player as the beast plans and thinks several steps ahead. They should be able to react to the hunters' moves as best as possible and try to outsmart them in every situation so they don't know where they are. The beast has 5 movement options: north, south, east, west, or staying in place. The ability to stay in place is what confuses hunters the most, as they never know if you are still in that location or if you have moved on. The beast usually has the task of killing some wildlife on the first day to gain bonuses during the night phase, especially wrath, which upgrades the beast. As the beast, you must think very strategically, and every mistake you make will sting and ruin most of your plans. On the other hand, if you are flawless, it will be very difficult for the hunters to kill you.

In contrast, hunters don't have to plan their steps as far ahead. The most important thing is their cooperation and communication, which is absolutely key to victory. Hunters try to think like the beast and guess what it is up to and where it is going. Then, using deduction, they follow the tracks to catch the beast. By setting traps and using hunting items, they don't give the beast a moment to rest, turning the game into a real hunt.

The board game has a very strong atmosphere, and you will completely immerse yourself in your character. From the game board to the gameplay, you feel as if you are walking through the Wild North yourself. Each character has a story on the back of their board that draws you even further into the plot. Throughout the game, it's like a cat-and-mouse game, only it's not always clear who is the cat and who is the mouse. These roles often change quickly. For a moment, the beast has the upper hand, and a little later, the hunters do. Sometimes the beast laughs as the hunters desperately try to figure out where it is, and then the hunters laugh as they corner the beast—and it has to struggle to escape. Until the very end, it is not clear who will win. The game creates very tense situations, and you won't be bored for a single second.

The two-player game is not bad at all, only the hunter player takes on the role of two hunters. The process of discussing and communicating is lost, which is a shame, but you will still enjoy the game. With 3 and 4 players, the game shifts gears completely; in fact, with 4 players, they play on a much larger map. Personally, we find the game slightly better with 3 players. Two hunters can coordinate much more easily than three, and the beast doesn't have to wait as long for its turn to come around again. However, with a well-coordinated team of hunters, the large map is no obstacle.

Some of you will look in vain for plastic miniatures in the box, but their absence doesn't matter at all. The cardboard figures are beautiful, and grey plastic miniatures would sometimes not have space on the game board and would slightly break the atmosphere. The only minor flaw is with the cardboard figures in their stands. They don't hold perfectly and often fall out. This problem can be solved by gluing them or purchasing plastic holders.

If the basic scenarios in the game get a little stale, don't despair! In the box, you will find a QR code that redirects you to the Midhall studio website. There you will find countless scenarios created by the players themselves, and what's more—you can create scenarios yourself, and other players around the world can play them. Hats off to Midhall studio for a very effective solution to the replayability of this great game.

Rating

Bestie is definitely not a game you play once and then let gather dust. After all, trying out all the characters is tempting. Moreover, with each subsequent game, you will become a much better hunter or beast. And that will open up more and more possibilities for how you will act in future games. The hidden movement works absolutely perfectly, and we can't praise it enough. The game's difficulty is suitable for everyone, it just might take a while for the Wild North to get under your skin. The Nordic dark fantasy suits the game very well, combined with great gameplay, a huge portion of fun, and a fascinating, unforgettable experience. We struggle to find negative words for Bestie; perhaps only its addictiveness can be criticized. Right after finishing, you will be looking forward to the next game.

So, sharpen your fangs, prepare your traps, and head off to the Wild North!

author Daniel Korčák