The Tale of Alf Blomwell, a Paupers’ Ladder Gas Miner
Journey across Brighthelm with an avian companion for all sorts of adventures in the charming setting of Paupers’ Ladder.
I was rather surprised to discover that it had been a couple of years since I last played one of my favorite solo games. Where has Paupers’ Ladder been?! Ha! Without any hesitation, I brought this back to my table to explore more of the world. All of the newly updated components from the second edition seemed amazing, and I couldn’t wait to get back to playing!
Game Overview
Game Name: Paupers’ Ladder
Publication Year: 2019
Designer: Paul Stapleton
Artist: Paul Stapleton
Publisher: Bedsit Games
Solo Mode: Included in The Moon Towers
A character and bird set out across the world, typically to achieve a trio of virtues before time runs out. All sorts of encounters exist, from monstrous hazards to little slices of life in the various cities. There is a quirky vibe in the hand-drawn art that makes each adventure charming and fun!
First Play
February 26, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
August 22, 2025
Expansions
6
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
16
Play Time
45 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
38" x 26"
Low Score
N/A
Alf Blomwell
There are a ton of characters available to play as, and each one has a unique portrait and special item. I chose to go back to the base game and play as good ol’ Alf Blomwell!
A gas miner? Oh, yes. That very common profession of going into the swamps and collecting gas. Everybody knows this. Ha ha! I do love the professions: They’re so unique!
Note that there are 2-player and 3-4 player characters, but the only difference is in the virtue thresholds: 30 or 40.
From the bird cards, Alf ended up with a rotund partridge as his magical companion. All ready to traverse Brighthelm!
Difficulty Levels
This solo sheet includes almost everything to know about the solo mode, which doesn’t differ from the main rules too much. Most important is the choice in difficulty level.
It plays into how many lives characters have, along with the starting time. For time waits for no one… Not even a gas miner from Bluevale! I moved up to the hard difficulty level.
And to make sure I got the full experience, I used all of the content I could. That’s right: The Cutty Stark would sail!
The game has never struck me as one that’s meant to be particularly punishing, but I do enjoy a survival challenge.
Take Cover, Alf!
Barely outside of his hometown, Alf immediately ran into trouble in the thick forest to the southeast. Watch out!
A dragon erupted from the treetops, where it had been mostly hidden. Well, someone took a page out of that book.
Most hazards have the opportunity for a solo character to try to hide, and Alf was successful! He dove under some fallen branches and leaf litter, then safely crawled away.
Defeating hazards is a crucial part of gameplay, but this early on, it was a guaranteed defeat. Better to know what lurked in this forest and possibly return in the future!
Lost and (Not) Found
Alf had a really original name for his partridge… She was known as Partridge. Ha ha! It didn’t take long to train her, which is a fun moment of unlocking a special bird ability.
She spent a long time in the northern mountains, possibly enjoying the view of the Cutty Stark lazily meandering through the sea surrounding the island. Very pretty!
However, Partridge was not at all skilled in locating the lost villagers. Lilacsville put out the call, and she answered…
Only to swoop around for about 5 or 6 turns before she finally found a villager! Gold star for you, Partridge. Ha ha!
Free-Form or Achievement-Based Storytelling?
One of the neat products that I have are coloring books that serve as almanacs to Brighthelm. Additionally, they have hundreds of achievements to check off! These can be very basic, like encountering a card, or going so far as to define a special condition to complete. These are amazing, and I imagine I’ll have some fun with my color pencils down the line!
Initially, I thought about tracking all of the details to start marking off these achievements. It’s a great way to experience the game, but I quickly fell into a cozy spot that reminded me of my plays in Vantage. Did I really need to feel like I was marking off the specifics? Or was it enough to enjoy the moments within each character’s story, recording very little?
Of course, it was the latter! At least for now, I don’t feel like I’m in the mood for playing with a checklist. Don’t get me wrong: It’s a wonderful option. Just not something that appeals to me at the moment. Looking through these books is so much fun, though, and I know there are some encounters I hope to stumble across eventually. But today? Storytelling only!
Collecting Items
Not only are there all sorts of events and locations to find, but plenty of items may be collected! Alf filled his inventory with a very eclectic collection of doo-dads from his travels.
These provided him with new options and neat abilities, although Partridge couldn’t benefit from them. It’s science…
What is the air speed velocity of an unladen partridge? Is she supposed to grip all of these things by their husks?! Ha!
I had to get back into the rules a little bit so I moved slowly through the virtues, although Alf succeeded with plenty of time remaining, never losing a life once. Well done, sir!
Cursed for Life
However, I realized I never completed Alf’s personal quest… And he took on a fair number of curses. There was a point where 3 or 4 of these were active at once. Goodness!
Victory clearly has a few conditions, and it’s possible to lose. I play for the stories, though, and didn’t feel like Alf had a particularly satisfying conclusion to his lengthy tale.
No problem: I reset everything and took him out on a brand new adventure! And it wasn’t the same at all.
That’s the nice thing about the game: Even milling through a region deck usually only results in using half of the cards.
Top of the World Alf
Much better! This time, Alf completed his quest to collect iron ore and copper ore to learn a few recipes. His talent as a topographer also came in handy many, many times.
This time, he had a kingfisher as a companion. I really need to come up with better names… This one was dubbed King.
In an interesting twist, Alf never used his hard hat. Never! This was due to a few abilities where I could look through the outcome deck and rearrange some cards. Very cool!
Of course, this also meant Alf was never cursed. Never ever! So that was even better, and his story felt much happier.
Into the City Park
It was King who hung out in the Bluevale City Park to constantly figure out what might happen next with the outcome deck. I pictured him tweeting his findings to Alf!
This might have seemed repetitive, yet this is a random sort of game where I love creating little stories. It felt much more thematic than trying to force the conclusion of a virtue.
Another funny moment: In the nearby mountains, Alf and King kept finding dwarf beards. Like, 3 or 4 in a row!
And then, they managed to find an angry yeti… Those dwarf beards were clearly yeti fur, incorrectly identified. Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 13 & 14
Expansion 1: The Moon Towers
Expansion 2: This Cobbled Isle
Solo Mode: Included in The Moon Towers
Play Details: Hard Difficulty Level
Outcome: 2 Wins
Time nearly ran out for Alf the second time around, but he knew of a dragon on the southern beach. Prepared with lots of items and recipes, he raced into battle to complete his third virtue! Just such a fun and neat sort of adventure game that I’m excited to keep on playing for a long time to come.
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- Every part of the game world is carefully crafted and illustrated in a unique style that invites exploration.
- Characters are memorable for their backstories, while birds offer up tons of possibilities with special abilities.
- There is an immense amount of variety in the cards, and it’s rare to get through even half of a single deck during play.
- Stories develop naturally from the intertwined elements of Brighthelm, like quests in cities and lingering hazards.
- Each play progresses in a different way with the various cards and options available in the base game or expansions.
- Although there can be a lot of information to look at and understand, most text and icons are very easy to locate.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There are milestones and goals with specific requirements, which can be tricky to complete with the randomness.
- Setup isn’t necessarily intense, but there are a lot of individual card decks to shuffle and keep in their own areas.
- Outlier rules exist, particularly when combining expansions, and it takes a little bit to understand every interaction.
- Bad luck with the card order or dice rolls can be problematic at times, even if they add a little bit to the overall story.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Scenario Win Condition
- Overall Goal Progress 33%
Goals and Milestones
Complete the Garolium's Tournament scenario.
Win at least 1 game with each base game character. (2/8)
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite part of Paupers’ Ladder? Have you had any memorable stories in your recent plays? Although there is plenty of randomness, the journey across Brighthelm is often filled with lots of laughs. It works well, has its own vibe, and offers excellent stories! So glad to have it back at my solo table after a lengthy break… Time to follow some more characters!
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