What is Moonstone - Starting Moonstone
If you're reading this then you've probably seen or heard about Moonstone somewhere or from someone. But what is Moonstone and what are some of the basic themes and how does it play? If you're wondering about the lore, basic mechanics or even list building then read on!
In the words of the official website:
'Moonstone is a whimsical fantasy skirmish game for 2-4 players, which sees you leading fairytale inspired characters across the dark lands in search of precious Moonstones.
Players compete to collect as many stones as possible before the breaking of the dawn, with bloody combat an almost inevitable outcome with such a prize in sight.'
Games usually involve roughly 5 or 6 models a side on a 3'x3' board with alternating activations similar to games like malifaux, guild ball and the drowned earth. In addition to the alternating nature of the game, both players are constantly kept in the action due to how arcane abilities, melee actions and reaction steps are resolved. Reaction steps allow models to make small movements during their opponents turn by spending energy. This allows models to constantly move about and stay in the action even during an opponents turn.
The main impact a player will usually have on their opponents turn however is through the arcane and melee decks. Unlike most wargames, Moonstone does not resolve abilities or melee by rolling dice and hitting a pre-set target number. Instead, when an arcane or melee action is resolved, both players draw cards from a deck (Arcane for magical abilities and melee for close combat fights) and attempt to outplay each other through a combination of guessing and bluffing, playing cards face-down then revealing them.
For melee, a deck of cards with half 'defensive' cards and half 'aggressive' cards assist in resolving combat. In a somewhat rock, paper, scissors fashion, some 'aggressive' and 'defensive' cards line up to deal (or prevent) large amounts of damage. For example, if an attacker chooses an 'aggressive' card which targets low, such as the rising attack, a high guard will leave target woefully unprotected and susceptible to lots of damage. On the flip side though, a low guard would protect the defender perfectly and the aggressor stunned, allowing the plucky defender a chance to counter-attack!
For arcane abilities, a slightly different deck is used which contains numbered and coloured cards as well as some catastrophe cards. Unlike melee, only one player starts off playing an arcane card, this time trying to hit a determined number and/or colour on their current ability they are resolving. Another difference compared to melee is that the player can lie about the card they've played. This can be a to attempt to succeed where the correct cards have not been drawn or even to activate some unique abilities that trigger off bluffing successfully. Their opponent may then determine, with their own hand of cards, whether they're telling the truth or not and either call their bluff or pass. Bluffing however is not without its dangers, as a correctly called or miscalled bluff can often have catastrophic consequences for one of the players!
But to what end is all this deception, bluffing and strategy for? Collecting Moonstones of course! The main objective of the game is to simply collect more Moonstones than your opponent. These take the form of D4's, usually 7, which are dropped in the centre of the board at the start of the game and are left to scatter. How you achieve this is of course up to the troupe you use. Do you destroy your opponents then pick up the Moonstones at the end as the humans do? Grab as many as possible then flee like the goblins or faeries? Or maybe collect all you need then carefully guard them like the gnomes?
However you play, you first need to construct your troupe. List building in Moonstone is simple.
1) Decide with your opponent how many models you will be playing with, often 5 or 6.
2) Select your faction. (For an overview of the factions check the link below!)
3) Pick that many models from your chosen faction.
In Moonstone there are no points, models are balanced 1 to 1. Although it looks like a lumbering troll may be far better than a puny faerie the faerie has several advantages. This includes being deftly evasive and often having triple the energy, which usually means triple the actions on their turn, when compared to the slow but hard-hitting troll.
Finally, where's best to start? Naturally, the starter set provides a great entrance to the game with all you need to play including the dice, tokens, cards, rules, measures and models. Specifically, the starter set contains two troupes, one dominion and one commonwealth with models well suited to learning the game. Alternatively, these resources can be found on the website for free along with paper dolls to substitute for the models. Here you could print out the same troupes from the starter box or could alternatively print any other box which catches your fancy as troupes boxes often work well as a self-contained troupe.
Irrespective of how you start, Moonstone is easy to learn yet deep enough for very tactical gameplay. No two games will feel the same with the bluffing and with the random nature of Moonstone setup constantly changing. The wonderfully whimsical nature of the game leads to fantastic models and troupes with very unique rules in tow. Most importantly, however, the game has (drunk) goblin pirates.
For more articles on starting Moonstone, including a more in-depth look at the factions, look here!
Moonstone - Getting Started Collection
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