Shadows Over Camelot co-creator teases possible spiritual sequel to co-op board game, Shadows Over Brooklyn
Bruno Cathala reveals “uncertain future” for follow-up to award-winning title.
Shadows Over Camelot co-designer Bruno Cathala has teased a potential spiritual sequel to acclaimed co-op board game called Shadows Over Brooklyn.
The original Shadows Over Camelot is a co-op board game that has players assuming the roles of the Knights of the Round Table, as made famous by the Arthurian legends. Featuring characters such as Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain and King Arthur himself, Shadows Over Camelot challenges players with attempting to complete as many quests - from recovering the Holy Grail to obtaining Excalibur - before the forces of darkness cause Camelot to fall.
Every quest requires at least one knight to play cards in order to get a step closer to success; however, knights must also choose to commit an act of evil in order to pass each test. These acts of evil will either strengthen the forces of darkness attempting to lay siege to the city, hurt one of the knights or add more black swords to the Round Table.
The more black swords placed on the table, the closer the heroic players come to defeat - in addition to the growing hordes of enemies outside the city walls - with the knights needing to acquire enough white swords before Camelot fails. What’s more, one of the knights could be a hidden traitor, choosing acts of evil that lead to the heroic players’ downfall until they eventually reveal themselves and wreak more havoc.
According to BoardGameGeek, Cathala and co-designer Serge Laget came up with the idea for a possible follow-up after considering how much Shadows Over Camelot “has aged” since its release in 2005.
Despite Shadows Over Camelot being named the best ‘Fantasy Game’ at the 2006 Spiel des Jahres - the industry’s prestigious ‘Game of the Year’ prize - as well as the winner of the Gamer’s Choice of the Year at the 2005 Origins Awards, Cathala feels that the “co-operative game [genre] has evolved enormously” in recent years.
Shadows Over Brooklyn is a proposed spiritual sequel to the original Shadows Over Camelot that would relocate the co-op board game to 19th-century America and focus on the descendants of the Knights of the Round Table. In the centuries since the medieval era new evils have emerged to spread misery, including fictional characters such as Dr. Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes nemesis Moriarty. The players will be able to find allies in characters such as M - seemingly a descendant of Merlin - as well as acquiring steampunk equipment to help them complete quests.
Cathala suggested the potential for players to change alignment “several times” throughout the game, alongside additional modes to turn the experience into a two-player or solo game.
However, Cathala revealed that Days of Wonder - the publisher that currently holds the rights to the original Shadows Over Camelot - is not keen on the concept for Shadows Over Brooklyn, admitting he feels “disappointed” over the current situation.
Cathala outlined several possible outcomes for the Shadows Over Camelot series, including obtaining the rights for the co-op board game from Days of Wonder and printing it with another publisher, or looking for a different company to publish Shadows Over Brooklyn with.
"What is also clear is that this project will live in an uncertain future because we [Cathala and Laget] are viscerally attached to it,” Cathala told BoardGameGeek.
As well as Shadows Over Camelot, Cathala is known for creating family board game Kingdomino, as well as co-designing beginner board game Jamaica. Laget previously co-created deduction game Mystery of the Abbey and civilisation board game Mare Nostrum.
Dicebreaker has reached out to Days of Wonder for comment.