Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal and the Device Race
Race against time in a quest for ancient parts that spans a variable city layout in Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal.
It’s always nice to work in a solo board game that takes less than 20 minutes from setup to cleanup. My deep dives are definitely not stopping, but something called to me when I spotted the box for Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal! Such a simple design, but I only played it a couple of times. Time to remedy that problem and get the game to the table!
Game Overview
Game Name: Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal
Publication Year: 2011
Designer: Todd Sanders
Artist: Todd Sanders
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
I’m having way too much fun with new photography angles! In a nutshell, the game is a race against time to locate 6 ancient, hidden parts in a variable city.
My understanding of the rules was always a little shaky, so I took some time to make sure I knew what I was doing!
First Play
November 17, 2019
Complexity
1
Latest Play
May 23, 2020
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
5
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
6
Game Area
28" x 28"
Low Score
4
Simple Trackers
Aside from keeping track of the remaining time, stats like knowledge and strength play a vital role. These cards are about the easiest way to see these rather fluid values.
Over the course of play, these resources must be spent in order to locate the mysterious parts in specific parts of the city. Simple to track, but very difficult to manage!
My initial attempt resulted in plenty of knowledge and a little strength. I could have gone the other way, though.
All in all, it took about a minute to get everything ready to go. Off to the city for an exciting treasure hunt!
The Society Hall
Everything begins at a central location. But… Where’s the city? That’s the best part of the game because it changes.
A stack of facedown city sectors may be explored. The character can move off of a card in any direction that features an arrow. Here, all 4 directions were an option.
Some locations feature special abilities, too. If I wanted to, I could recover 1 health or gain 1 strength by spending the required amount of time. But time is limited, of course!
What else is limited? The number of city sectors. This introduces another challenging element to gameplay.
Into the Catacombs
Off I went! Certain city sectors show a gear icon, which triggers a special card to be drawn from the locations deck.
This is where luck can play a major role. Sometimes, it’s just not possible to advance from a newly placed location card. Or, a specific part might never show up.
I ended up in this impossible situation in the end. The city sector underneath this card was fine… But I ran out of the city sector cards. There was nowhere to go. Game over!
Part of this might sound frustrating, yet it also boils down to planning the city layout as much as possible.
An Incomplete Device
With 6 different parts to collect, the race against time felt like quite the undertaking. I got close to completing the Antikyhera Device, but 5 parts wouldn’t power it up.
The introductory backstory gave me a good reason to go as quickly as possible to ensure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. There was nothing worse than that!
Gameplay boiled down to exploration and resource management. It was an interesting combination.
Of course, bad luck and some poor planning ruined my efforts on more than one occasion. But I was determined!
Through the Streets
I love the design of the city sectors. Everything feels like it belongs in a steampunk environment. Just perfect!
The only minor gripe I had was the way the location cards didn’t always lay as neatly on top of the city sectors. My organized grid fell to pieces during a few turns.
Random city sectors meant that I couldn’t exactly control in which directions the new cards were placed. Still, I kept the play area in a reasonably compact sort of space.
Things looked pretty good as I closed in on my final part. But time was ominously ticking down. Would I make it?
A Complete City
Between the literal light and shadows, I managed to reach the final collection site. Success! This photo turned out wonderfully and captured the limited time aspect.
Things took an odd turn when I ended up stuck near the southwest area. To the north, and quickly!
With less than 20 hours left, I had to make an agonizing journey across the city to hunt down the second part. It took 6 hours. Hire a horse and buggy next time! Goodness.
Only a single trap sprang up along this journey. There was no stopping me… This time. Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 3-5
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Required Play Space: 28″ x 28″
Setup Time: Almost None
Play Time: 10 Minutes per Play
Outcome: 4, 5, and 6 (1 Win and 2 Losses)
The creeping shadows of night were in sight, but victory came with a decent amount of time left on the clock.
This little game is something I enjoy playing from time to time. It’s a fun puzzle with some interesting concepts!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
5
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
Victory Conditions
Locate All the Antikythera Parts
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 time.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal? There is a surprising amount of depth to the decisions for something so seemingly lightweight. How do you structure your city? Some decisions allow the city sectors to remain in a fairly compact area… Which can be quite strategic. I’m glad I got this little gem back to my table!
I greatly appreciate you posting about the game. And the great photos you took, really cool to see. Thanks.
Thanks, Todd! Awesome work on this game, as with all of your other designs. My rating might sound a bit harsh, but it’s so hard to give a game a single value for a rating. It’s more a personal scale… I should really explain that soon since 61% doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like the game. Quite the contrary here!
And I really should thank Ron from the 1 Player Guild and SGOYT for sending me this beautifully crafted version. Maybe I can make something as nice as this one day when I attempt some print-and-play projects!
Keep up the great work with everything you do for the solo board game community!