Vast: The Crystal Caverns
- Players
- 1-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 150 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 10+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 3.7 / 5
- Year
- 2016
About the game
Vast: The Crystal Caverns is a fully asymmetric adventure game for one to five players exploring a living, dangerous cave system, where each participant takes on a completely different role: the daring Knight, the swarming Goblins, the colossal Dragon, or the sentient Cave itself. Every role has unique pieces, powers, and paths to victory, from combat and stealth to environmental manipulation. Players can mix and match roles for anything from a tense one-on-one duel to an epic four-player showdown. No two combinations play remotely alike, giving it near-limitless variety.
Hobbli's Notes
Vast is one of the boldest experiments in board game asymmetry, with each role feeling like a genuinely different game bolted onto the same shared cave. That ambition is also its biggest hurdle: teaching four completely different rulesets at once takes real effort. For groups willing to invest the setup time, it delivers an experience unlike almost anything else on the shelf.
What we like
- Radically asymmetric roles each offer a genuinely distinct experience.
- Mixing and matching roles creates enormous replay variety.
- Solo mode allows practicing individual roles.
- Strong thematic cave-crawl atmosphere throughout.
Keep in mind
- Teaching four different rulesets simultaneously is a steep task.
- Long playtime and high commitment score demand a dedicated group.
- Balance between roles can vary depending on player skill and combination.
Who it's for
Best for adventurous gamers ages 12+ in groups of 1-5 who enjoy fully asymmetric, high-variety strategy games.
