Back to Vantage: How Very Different is an Open World?
Experience an open world full of mysteries and wonder to explore over and over again with the adventures possible in Vantage.
There was no way Vantage was leaving my table after I had such an awesome initial session with it! This is an ambitious sort of design that simulates an uncharted planet, and there is no set path to follow. Actions provide branching options across a staggering number of different locations. As I can now attest, even the same setup leads to unique stories!
Spoiler Alert
This post includes some more details about some things that can be found in the game. You won’t find solutions to any puzzles nor the specifics of what happens, but please note that there is more here than what will be found right at the start. As this is a game of discoveries, I highly recommend not reading unless you’ve played at least a few times yourself.
For those who are curious and don’t want to risk spoilers, I continue to love the game and had the rarest of rare occurrences… Ended up with the same starting locations as my first couple of plays! It was wild! Even with what might seem like repetitive plays, the adventures were vastly different and only felt like I was building up my world knowledge.
Lastly, I kindly ask that no spoilers be shared with me. I’m loving the discovery piece of this game, and although I’ve probably missed some better actions so far, I’m excited to keep exploring. Might take me ages, but I love this idea. Thanks!
Game Overview
Game Name: Vantage
Publication Year: 2025
Designer: Jamey Stegmaier
Artists: Valentina Filic, Sören Meding, & Emilien Rotival
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
1 of 6 characters takes on the main role of exploring a planet full of possibilities. There is a central mechanic to manage challenge dice to adventure for a longer span of time, yet the system is designed for exploring and telling memorable stories. And, of course, solving the world’s mysteries!
First Play
July 22, 2025
Complexity
2
Latest Play
August 3, 2025
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
11
Play Time
1 Hour & 30 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
36" x 20"
Low Score
N/A
The Most Helpful Box
A lot of gameplay centers around pulling cards, either for locations, or a myriad of other situations. I’ll simply classify these smaller cards as “item” cards to avoid spoilers!
You might spot my go-to character, Tina, peeking out from one stack! This little divider is immensely useful in simply marking the current location to make putting it back easy.
The box stays out during play in a very functional sense. Cards remain in easy reach to make sure they’re organized.
My favorite part are the gigantic icon references on the sides, though! Excellent reminders right in front of me.
Tina’s Déjà Vu
Well, well, well! If you’re familiar with the starting setup, there are 126 different starting locations. What are the odds of landing at the same place? Approximately 0.8%.
Guess who hit the jackpot? Ha ha! In a most unexpected twist, Tina was back at this starting location.
Now, gameplay is supposed to be very different, even at the same location. So I put this to the test to see if it was true.
Whoa! This adventure couldn’t have been more different. With just a couple of different choices at the start, I didn’t have anything close to the same kind of adventure. So cool!
Solving a Puzzle
I have a spoiler alert at the top of this post, but note that this isn’t actually a complete picture of what’s going on here. More of a glimpse as I try not to give anything away.
Tina traveled into what I can only describe as a mysterious swamp, and I was utterly mesmerized by the setting.
Plus, there was a puzzle to solve! I loved this so much. It didn’t seem to make sense at first, but then it came together and I reached the correct solution after a bit of thinking.
It’s hard to gauge what the difficulty level of every puzzle will be, but this felt absolutely perfect for what I wanted.
Energized to the Core
Thanks to a few tricky situations, Tina ran out of time relatively early on. My initial plays averaged about an hour, and this play came in at just over half an hour. Tina… Ran?!
Still, it featured elements I hadn’t seen before and a rather hilarious twist. Let’s just say that Tina might have made a social blunder at one point with her race to grab anything!
Actually, I really had fun making choices that felt like they were true to her character. Like that time I chose to shove…
I knew it was a bad idea. But what would Tina do? I just sat there saying, “Tina, no. NO, Tina!” And it was glorious. Ha!
Unique Plays with a Growing Knowledge Base
Never did I doubt the claim that each play could offer up a unique experience, but I will admit that I wondered what that might look like for the same starting location. Definitely put any doubt to rest with this experience! I was thoroughly surprised by the setup dice rolls. Could I have rolled again? Sure, yet I was kind of excited about such a rare outcome!
Now, I had some information that I used in some indirect ways. Meaning, I had an idea of what might not be a good idea, along with a baseline comparison for what location actions could be more helpful. Yet everything veered in a new direction after my second choice. I ended up collecting a small card I had seen before, but it came to me in a different way.
And if you haven’t scrolled down yet… Yeah, it happened to me again. Another matching starting location! If I can do math this morning, that had a roughly 0.006% chance of happening. Hurray for having the strangest experiences. Ha ha!
Déjà, Déjà Vu?
Umm… Wait a second. As I reset for another play, I randomly boarded the escape pod from my second play. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I ended up at location 137 again? Impossible!”
Well, actually not. I checked all of my dice to make sure they weren’t misprinted. Absolutely wild chances!
However, I do want to say (in a spot that already has a spoiler alert) that my second play with Tina saw her encounter a time loop in the world, and she didn’t escape it.
Apparently, my copy is making that time loop a real thing for Tina. Ha ha! So unusual, and yet absolutely memorable!
Mission Accomplished
Once again, even though I began at a starting location I was familiar with, this adventure was entirely different. I mean, Tina had once almost been eaten by a giant creature…
This time, she encountered the water’s edge and even succeeded in collecting flora samples from the shallows!
I struggled to fill in her grid, but that didn’t mean the story felt like a letdown. More cards can indicate a more productive play, yet I’m not playing to optimize right now.
However, I feel like I may move onto another character and just assume Tina is forever stuck in a time loop. Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 3 & 4
Accessory 1: Vantage: Metal Coins
Accessory 2: Vantage: Playmats
Accessory 3: Vantage: Wooden Skill Tokens
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 2 Complete Plays
In a somewhat fitting ending, Tina’s last journey took her to a very foggy and mysterious spot. Felt like it reminded me of The X-Files in some way… Because Mulder and Scully may need to examine my copy with these extreme odds. Ha! Again, though, I had an amazing time and love this game!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- There are practically endless adventures to experience with the vast amount of possibilities present within the world.
- Each location offers multiple actions, but there is usually a limitation to a single choice per play for tons of variety.
- More and more plays open up the secrets of the world in puzzles that are both small, and seemingly world-sized.
- A card grid is extremely unique from play to play and helps create the memories of that character’s adventures.
- Visiting the same locations after a few plays still leads to new experiences and a greater understanding of the planet.
- Setup and cleanup are very quick for such an open world concept, making it easy and tempting to play just once more.
– Cons (Negatives)
- A few outlier rules with the order of operations take a little time to understand, yet they’re intuitive pretty quickly.
- Errata must be noted prior to playing to be aware of the very rare cards and entries that should be corrected.
- There is some luck with the challenge dice in specific instances that can result in situations that can’t be mitigated.
- Not every card is useful and filling up a grid can feel a little haphazard if a bit of storytelling isn’t added by the player.
Victory Conditions
Reach a Natural End Point to the Story
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete at least 1 game with a fulfilled destiny.
Complete at least 1 game with a fulfilled mission.
Complete at least 1 game with a full card grid.
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite aspect of Vantage? Without sharing any spoilers, have you had any particularly memorable plays? I never thought I would see the same starting location for awhile… And not both of the ones I had seen! But at least I know how different each adventure can be, and I have so much more to experience in this world. Can’t wait for what’s next!
Great review! ‘ve managed one solo play of this so far (a loss), but I’m very excited for my next (many) plays exploring this unusual world!
– Dave ‘Dave in Ledbury’ D
Thank you very much, Dave! I’m keeping the standard victory conditions in mind as I play, but currently am sort of settling on natural story end points… I think I’ve managed a lot of technical losses, yet those still feel like wins in their own senses. Good luck exploring!