Call to Adventure Board Game Review

The long-awaited game Call to Adventure has finally arrived in a Czech edition. It is a narrative role-playing game, and as the box art suggests, you will be choosing between good and evil. Despite its size, the box is surprisingly light. Inside, you might expect a large game board, a playbook, miniatures, and plenty of components typical for narrative games. To our surprise, the box contains only a few decks of cards, some tokens, and runes. Can a narrative game consisting only of cards actually be good?

Call to Adventure is created by Chris and Johnny O’Neal. The Czech version is published by Mindok. The game is designed for 1–4 players aged 13 and up, with a playtime of about 30 to 60 minutes. The card quality is top-notch, and the illustrations are breathtaking—each one could tell its own story. The game also includes rune “dice” that really set the mood. The rules are clear, simple, and span about 10 pages.

How do you play Call to Adventure?

At the start of the game, each player takes a player board. You then draw two cards each for your hero's origin, motivation, and destiny. Choose one of each to form your starting story. For example, in one of our games, my hero was a peasant by origin, swore revenge, and their destiny was to become a powerful conqueror.

Each card has a unique ability. In the corner, you will find a skill that your hero can use, such as Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, Constitution, Charisma, or Intelligence. The destiny card lists the conditions you need to meet to earn victory points at the end of the game.

Set up three decks of act cards on the table. For the first act, lay out four cards: traits, challenges, allies, and adversaries. On your turn, you can take any of the face-up cards if you meet the requirements. Completing challenges and defeating adversaries involves casting runes. Place the chosen card under your origin card. Once you collect three, you move on to collecting cards from the second act under your motivation, and finally the third act under your destiny card, which ends the game.

These collected cards form your hero's story and determine your score. At the end, everyone tallies their points, and the player with the most wins. But that is not all—now everyone should recount their hero's story to highlight the atmosphere and essence of the game.

Our impressions?

Choosing your initial cards is very engaging, and at first, you won't know which ones to pick. As you acquire act cards, you will face choices between good deeds and crimes, determining whether your character becomes a hero or a villain. The card acquisition process is simple and depends on your personal preferences.

The most interesting element is completing challenges using runes. The more symbols of a required skill you have on your hero board, the more runes you cast. Then, you roll the runes to see if you succeeded. You can boost your chances by using dark runes, which grant experience but hurt your karma.

You can also use action cards to help yourself or thwart your opponents' plans. However, player interaction is quite low. The system of tucking cards under your starting cards is clever and effective, though it is a shame that it covers up those beautiful illustrations.

You won't break a sweat playing this; I would classify it as a relaxing game. The concept of a narrative card game is unique and really sparks your imagination. The card only provides inspiration, but you decide what your hero does, creating endless possibilities for how their fate unfolds. You will truly feel like you are living through your hero's story. Overall, the game is simple and suitable for children, helping to develop their imagination and creativity, which is a huge plus.

Final Verdict

Call to Adventure is perfect for anyone who loves to use their imagination and wants to relax while playing a board game. It offers a solo mode, but with the right group of people who can vividly tell their hero's story, it becomes a fantastic narrative experience. Storytelling is the main aspect of the game, and it helps that you won't mind if you don't win. The stories are often so interesting that many authors would want to use them for a new adventure book. So, don't hesitate—run to our imago shop and fulfill your hero's destiny.

author: Daniel Korčák