Septima: A Witch Game of Magical Potential and Suspicion
Gather ingredients to brew potions as a coven of witches, all while avoiding suspicion and gaining wisdom in Septima.
Months passed since Septima arrived, and although it missed the festive Halloween season last year, I all but forgot about it. Billed as a more accessible sort of game from the publisher, I was intrigued to see how it would work. With an interesting witch theme and a solo opponent who seemed challenging, it was time to find the wisest of the mystics!
Game Overview
Game Name: Septima
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Robin Hegedűs
Artists: Barbara Bernát & Villő Farkas
Publisher: Mindclash Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Seasons change and moon phases progress as covens work to craft potions to heal the town’s patients. Witch hunters are ever-present, though, and gaining wisdom sometimes comes with the risk of arousing suspicion. Spells and matching bonuses are also on the path to finding wisdom.
First Play
March 15, 2024
Complexity
4
Latest Play
March 15, 2024
Expansions
1
Setup Time
20 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
1
Play Time
2 Hours
High Score
37
Game Area
50" x 30"
Low Score
37
Starting Witches
I’ll begin by saying that this is billed as being accessible, and it took me days to learn the rules. Setup took ages, too, and involved several important decisions.
Now, this isn’t to say anything about gameplay, yet there are some expectations that go along with being easier to get to the table… Definitely a rather daunting process!
The components are lovely, although metal wisdom coins are rather cumbersome. A score track would have worked.
Still, despite poring over the rulebook for days and nights, I was still interested in what this world could offer!
Land of Noctenburg
The main map is beautifully illustrated. Just look at that! All of the colors capture the atmosphere and seem to convey a very magical town known as Noctenburg.
However, those large spaces aren’t actually where any leaders move to… The small triangular red or gold spaces at the corners are actually the spaces and paths.
One thing I struggled with had to do with the solo zones. They are very difficult to “see” without a guide.
I found an interesting post by someone who marked their board with a fine white Sharpie… I wish I had that board!
Spells and Rituals
Although a simplified version of the game exists, the solo mode requires all of the components. Spells are a major part of the main game, along with a ritual track.
For such an enormous board, I was rather surprised by how many cards and other elements were stored on the sides of the boards. Even this card display was pretty big.
I liked these spells, but practically speaking, only 2-4 would be the maximum chosen during a single play.
There were certainly synergies, yet I didn’t feel like I had a cohesive grasp on all of the moving parts at the start.
Seasons Change…
Many steps are involved with each round. A season involves 5 moon phases, each of which has 5 potential steps. Witch trials end each season, and then it repeats.
That might be where I struggled the most: Repetition. I felt like I was done playing after the second season, and it definitely dragged on without a lot of differences.
Did I have neat turns? Yep! There were moments when I refreshed spells, often doubling or chaining my actions.
Yet the theme felt far away. My witches were only useful in specific instances, and randomness took its toll.
Accidentally Losing Sight of the Theme
I know that this may sound like a harsh sort of review, and I do want to mention that there are certainly positive features about the game, as well as the solo mode. Feeling so disconnected from the theme, though, made it difficult for me to appreciate all of the elements. Mechanical turns and disconnected features took me further and further away.
Why?! On the surface, this should have been a hit for me. I make up stories about my characters all the time, and those can sometimes be represented by simple meeples. Here, there were a lot of issues, but I realized that it came down to the central element not really being about the witches all the time… The patients who needed healing were vital.
Yet each of these patients was represented by an icon on a token, and they cycled through. The general idea of the angry citizens made sense to pose a difficult situation during the witch trials, but this didn’t come through as thematic to me. It’s probably one of those very subjective aspects, but I wanted to understand what was going on with my experience.
Not only did I struggle to connect all of the mechanics to the theme, but gameplay felt like it lacked a distinct arc. Often, this will be found in building an engine or otherwise collecting components that lead to more interesting turns. I saw a few glimpses of this, but the final round still played out far too similarly to the first round. I wanted so much more!
Planning Rituals
In order to gain more spells and refresh the used ones, it was imperative to make some progress on the ritual track.
This was a little more dizzying than I expected. Not only was I trying to match actions to get better bonuses, but there was a sort of order to follow to optimize movement.
I liked this element in general, although again, it took me further from the theme. Matching icons and following lines felt more important than getting attached to witches.
The summary card didn’t include these icons, so I had to constantly look through my cards to find the actions.
Frustrating Trials
A core element of gameplay centers around the witch trials each season. Take too many risks while looking rather suspicious, and a witch might be captured.
Seeding the crowd with loyal citizens is a vital strategy, as saving a witch on trial leads to a new member of the coven! But unfortunately, the bag draw was so random.
Even when I had the odds in my favor, bad luck led to a few witches being removed from the game by angry citizens.
This was problematic, in that I couldn’t add more witches, and also felt like I wasted actions filling the crowd.
Awesome Action Cards
The heart of gameplay comes from a set of action cards, which have some of the greatest artwork! So thematic!
In general, 5 of 9 actions are used each season. Matching either the Septima herself or the solo opponent grants a bonus, yet comes at the cost of raising suspicion.
This mechanic is so awesome, and I want to take the time to appreciate it. Despite my qualms, this decision space and risk factors were great, even if they were repetitive.
I simply struggled so much with the seasons feeling so similar, along with endless solo rules to look up.
Healing Wisdom
The major gameplay cycle centered around collecting, brewing, and healing. I split my focus on trying to win the witch trials, which backfired with some bad luck.
Maybe I’m not understanding the story, yet I found myself confused by the theme. Patients need healing… Only the witches are helping… But the town is on a witch hunt?
And if patients aren’t healed during a season, angry citizens build up because no one helped them.
I ended up using each of my witches once or twice for the entire game, which didn’t help me see their importance.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Standard Difficulty Level
Outcome: 37 (Win)
By some strange stroke of luck during the final season, I barely pulled off a victory over the Black Widow! I still might have played something wrong, as I never figured out if her witches did anything… And the blocking spiders bunched up together, so I could easily avoid them. Alas, I was hoping to really enjoy this one, but it went on for far too long and left me feeling exhausted and disappointed.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
4
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
4
Originality
Design & Theme
4
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
5
+ Pros (Positives)
- Every piece of art feels thematic and creates a world that feels unique and magical with a muted color scheme.
- Matching actions is an interesting decision point that offers additional rewards at the cost of raising suspicion.
- There are some clever synergies to discover with the various spells and witches, often leading to powerful turns.
- After a short time, the main gameplay loop of collect, brew, and heal becomes apparent and easy enough to follow.
- Wooden trackers and plenty of iconography present most of the top-level steps directly on the board itself.
- Despite the rulebook’s size, the sequence of play is relatively straightforward with strategic depth being the focus.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The time needed for setup and gameplay feels very lengthy, particularly with repetitive rounds and turns.
- Although there are a lot of seemingly neat elements, everything feels a bit disconnected from the theme.
- Randomness can make the witch trials deflating to the point that they don’t always seem worth the actions.
- Lots of components and large boards take up an enormous amount of space, but can be hard to see from afar.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Black Widow
- Overall Goal Progress 50%
Goals and Milestones
Reach the top of the ritual track in at least 1 game.
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Complete all objectives in at least 1 game.
Have 4 witches at the end of at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
What have you enjoyed about Septima? Does the expansion add to the solo experience? I may return to explore the included modules, although that will have to wait. There are some excellent elements at play here! Unfortunately, they didn’t quite come together for me with such a lengthy time investment. I might also be very bad at being a witch!
Bane of wallets are you? Not so much with this game, or so it seems. It feels like something fluffy was missed in the design process and disconnected you. It’s disappointing when a beautiful game falls flat about theme.
I really wanted to love this one! It has a unique table presence and a theme that should have worked… Alas, not this time. Hopefully, there are those who love playing, though!