Book of Nox - Unboxing and Product Review

I attended the UK Games Expo on Saturday 4th June, where upon I stumbled across a small independent stand. I was drawn to the 3D Dungeon Tiles and from there proceeded to have a chat with the games creator, before making a purchase. There were two version on offer - standard and deluxe. The deluxe version is the one I will review today. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to play this game yet, but I am going to rectify that in the not too distant future.

This is my first crack at an Unboxing (or should I say Un-Nox-ing) review. I wanted to add variety to my Sunday slot. Also, you'd better sit down to read this, it's rather long...




Introduction.
Book of Nox is a Dungeon Crawler from a small company called Games Shed. This game was self funded and produced, so no Kickstarter or Indiegogo involved. The models, 3D cast resin tiles and production are the work of one man (and his play testers of course).

"It is the year 1891, just a few months after the murders at Whitechapel. You are a member of an exclusive club called 'The Society', whose aim is to study the occult, and protect humanity from any that would use such knowledge to do harm..." - excerpt from the introduction to the game.

So, lets have a look shall we?

Packaging.
As soon as I opened the box, I was impressed with the amount of stuff you get! As you can see from the title image, and the one below, the packaging is as you'd expect from a game that uses resin floor tiles. Everything is wrapped in bubble wrap so it doesn't damage the box, and the tiles were banded together. The box contains everything you need to be able to start playing. The game is still relatively new, and the guys at Shed Games are working on new tiles and models - I can't wait to get a hold of those!



Contents.
As you can see, this box is fairly full! The box itself is around A4 in size and about 3" deep. The rules are an injet printed copy, folded and stapled in the middle. Not the best quality for a board game, but upon speaking to the creator, there will be a living rulebook on their website, which I presume will get updated as new characters and rooms become available.

The resin rooms were banded together by type, and as you can see from the photos, there is a raised lip on the edges to signify the walls. There were actually two versions on sale at the Expo; the standard version which has regular floor tiles, textured squares, but no raised walls, and the deluxe version which I bought which also had extra cards (to allow you to play bigger dungeons), different doors, collapsed corridor and even a huge pillar!

The cards are fairly small - in fact the yellow Fantasy Flight card protectors are the correct size for these cards, so thats worth mentioning, especially if you like sleeving your cards up.

The miniatures are white metal, and were bagged up according to type - Characters, henchmen and evil characters.

Lastly there is a big bag of D4, D6, D8 and D10 - plenty to be on with!

Full list of contents for standard and deluxe versions can be found at the following link:
http://www.shed-games.co.uk/product-category/book-of-nox/

Let's explore the dungeon.
Here's a few pictures of the rooms and components, along with how a dungeon may be laid out.


These are the floor tiles for Deluxe version of Book of Nox. 


This is the rest of the box. 4 doors and 4 trapdoors along with all the models, cards and dice.


A typical dungeon layout (I haven't added the doors to the portals at this time).

The Cast.
These models are all fantastic sculpts, with a good level of details and appear to be true 28mm scale. They are glued to 20mm square bases. A word of warning - because of the scale, some weapons are extremely flimsy, so you need to be extra careful when assembling.  During assembly I realised these models aren't going to survive in a box full of resin! I have come up with a solution at the bottom of this blog.

There are 6 main characters to choose from. They are (from left to right): The Manservant, The Cursed One, The American, The Lady, The Gentleman and The Immortal.



These two are the main evil characters: The Scion of Dawna (this model comes with two right arms, one with a staff as shown and one with a sword) and the Possessed Cultist.



This is the full set of bad guys including the two above. You get a good selection of cultists with a variety of weapon options. You get the following models: 2x Cultist with Sword, 2x Cultist with Sword and Shield, 2x Cultist with pair of Swords, 2x Cultist with Spears, 2x Cultist with Crossbow, 1x Disciple with Bull Whip, 1x Disciple with Greatsword, 1x Disciple with Mace plus the two characters above.



Putting it all back in the box.
I mentioned my concerns about the models earlier, and I have the solution! Plastic tray with compartments and a bit of bubble wrap - sorted! Everything else stacks neatly in the box with room to spare.


Container goes in first, with corridor sections on their sides.


The rest goes on top.

The Verdict (or the brutally honest bit).
For a game that I bought on a whim, I'm very impressed. The guys at Shed Games have made a very nice product. A lot of thought has gone into the story and the imagery of the models, however I feel this is let down by a box that's not very interesting (it's easy to miss on a shelf or in a box with other stuff) and the graphic designer in me wants so much more from the rule book. Unfortunately there are no images in the rules themselves - no painted miniatures and nothing to make the pages interesting to look at, other than pouring through pages of text. Some of the fonts are different throughout but on the whole it reads well. As mentioned earlier, the models will take a battering if put back into the box once assembled, so it is essential you invest in a container to keep them safe. Additionally, there are no character cards for reference. A character sheet download should solve this.

Don't let the packaging and rules design put you off though. There are enough models with enough variety to give you a good painting challenge, plus the floor tiles will look so much better once painted. There are photos of painted miniatures and floor tiles on their website that are well worth checking out, and a Facebook page where a few people have been posting their painted models. The living rule book has more content than the copy I have and it's easy to reference on a tablet.

All in all, this is a very polished product. The strengths are obvious - great miniatures and components and great rules. If you are doing a game yourself, and its new ground, you are always going to play to your strengths. Designers cost a fortune, so the only option is to design everything yourself to keep your costs. At the end of the day, no one is going to produce a game and not make any money from it, no matter how much you love the hobby.

Price Point.
The Standard box is £50 and the Deluxe box is £75. If you count how many models there are (21 in total) and multiply that by the price per model, you get around £40-£45 worth of miniatures, and that's before you add all that resin and the printed cards. Essentially, Shed Games have avoided pricing themselves out of the market by offering such a great deal.

Pros.
• Fantastic range of miniatures
• Resin floor tiles and accessories make the game more interesting to view
• Comprehensive 'Living' Rule Book
• Competitive price, based on content
• Web store with all contents available separately

Cons.
• Uninteresting packaging and visuals
• No character sheets
• Flimsy white metal models in a box full of resin

I'm not going to pigeonhole this game with a final score, as I believe scores do not do a product justice. If you like what you have seen so far then thats cool.

[I am in no way affiliated with Shed Games. This review is completely independent, and is my own opinion. Photos by Necropocalypse.]