Pawns of Perdition Board Game
In a group of 3, I developed a board game for my Communication and Gaming class. The game’s objective is to escape the 7 layers of Hell before anyone else. It uses dice rolls and “prayer cards” that can either provide a boon to yourself, or sabotage another player. It has been tested extensively to good results, and people have reported having fun with it. I did want to actually produce it, but did not have the means to do so.
RULEBOOK
Basics
3 to 5 players
~10-30 min playtime
Components
Game board
3 six-sided dice
30 prayer cards
5 player pawns
Win Condition
Escape Hell by reaching the final “escape” space. The first person to escape wins.
Setting Up Play
Set all pawns on the bottom "Start" space.
Shuffle all prayer cards, and deal 3 cards to each player.
To determine who starts first, each player rolls 2 dice; add the two numbers, and the highest number goes first.
Gameplay Loop
Roll 2 dice (movement roll).
Move forward that many spaces.
Depending on the space you land on, something may happen. Refer to the space types section.
Space Type
Each space type only takes effect when a player lands on them with their movement roll; if a player lands on one due to a prayer card, or if they move backwards/forwards due to another space’s effects, they act as safe spaces and nothing happens.
Safe (blank): nothing happens and your turn ends.
Blessing (blue): roll a single die, move forwards that many spaces, then your turn ends.
Torment (black): roll a single die, move backwards that many spaces, then your turn ends.
Draw (gray): draw a prayer card.
Sin (purple): corresponds to the 7 deadly sins. There’s a different effect depending on the layer; see below to see what each layer’s sin space does.
Sin Spaces (by Layer)
Greed – The player steals 1 random prayer card from another player.
Lust – Forces the player to give 1 prayer card to another player.
Pride – The player swaps spaces with the player ahead of them.
Wrath – The next player’s turn is skipped.
Gluttony – The player discards all of their prayer cards and redraws the same amount.
Sloth – Skips the player’s next turn.
Envy – The player restarts at the beginning of layer 7.
Prayer Cards
Each player starts with 3 randomly-dealt prayer cards before the game begins, and they remain a secret to other players.
Any cards not dealt are left face-down in a draw pile.
Prayer cards are single-use and are discarded once used.
Prayer cards that only affect the person playing them can be played on their turn.
Prayer cards that affect other players can be used at any time.
If the prayer card draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile and use that as the new draw pile.
Any cards that modify a player’s own movement roll must be played before they roll.
FAQs
Does a player need to land on the escape space directly in order to win?
> No. The player can win by either landing on the escape space or going past it.
For the sin space on layer 1, how is the card chosen?
> The player getting stolen from must present all cards face down, and the player stealing chooses one.
For the sin space on layer 2, how is the card chosen?
> The player being stolen from chooses which card to give up.
For the sin space on layer 4, what if the rolling player is in front?
> Nothing happens, and the game continues like normal.
When can the following prayer cards be used? (Sanctuary’s Blessing, On the Wings of Angels, Beacon of Hope, Cleansing Flame)
> These prayer cards must be played before the movement roll.
Can multiple prayer cards be used at once or in one turn?
> Yes. There is no limit to how many cards you can play at once.
Reference
Space Count (64 spaces total)
Safe – 19
Blessing – 10
Torment – 14
Draw – 12
Sin – 7
Escape – 1
Prayer Card Effects
Sanctuary’s Blessing: double your total movement dice roll.
Infernal Exchange: swap places with another player of your choice.
Holy Determination: if you land on a blessing space, roll two d6 instead of one.
Gift of the Righteous: if you land on a torment space, ignore the effects.
Angel’s Shortcut: skip to the beginning of the next layer.
Second Chance: re-roll both movement dice, you must take this result.
Hell’s Grasp: choose another player; they move back 6 spaces.
Unholy Bargain: if you land on a torment space, pick another player to suffer the effects instead.
Forced Exchange: look at another player’s prayer cards and choose one to take.
On the Wings of Angels: add 6 to your movement dice roll.
Hellish Reckoning: choose one player; they lose their next turn.
Omen of Suffering: make another player reroll all of their movement dice.
Soul Conviction: if someone plays a prayer card against you, it’s discarded and nothing happens.
Beacon of Hope: roll an extra d6 to your movement roll.
Cleansing Flame: for your movement, roll 3 dice, choose which 2 rolls to keep and discard the third.