Stats:
No. of players: 1-2
Amount of time to play: 60-120 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5 min

Kinfire Delve: Callous’ Lab is a card-driven, cooperative board game set in a fantasy world that is plagued by a returning Darkness. Players, as Seekers armed with kinfire lanterns, explore unique dungeons called Wells, each ruled by powerful Well Masters, to protect their world.

Kinfire Delve Callous’ Lab Rules Description:

To begin Kinfire Delve you randomly select the one of the three Master cards to face. This is the boss at the bottom of the Well. Next you draw the top four Well cards and place them orthogonally next to the Master card. Last you discard three cards from the Well deck.

There are two characters to play, Valora and Roland. Volora is a bow-wielding archer and Roland is a dwarven magic user. Each player chooses who they will play, takes that character’s Seeker card and lantern card. Also you take their player deck, shuffle it, draw cards based on the number of players and set the health tracker to ten.

On your turn you must try to resolve one of the four cards adjacent to the Master. Most of these cards are challenges but some are events. Event cards will instruct you to perform specific actions. You might add or remove progress tokens from other cards or gain health.

Challenge cards have a number in the top right and are a specific color based on their type, combat, obstacle, or puzzle. The number represents the difficulty or number of progress tokens required to beat the challenge. After choosing the challenge you wish to resolve, you may play a card from your hand that matches the color of the challenge. Some cards are multi-colored and white matches everything. Next your teammate may boost your result. They may play up to two cards using the bottom text to add to your progress. The boost section has a color and again must match the color of the challenge. If you are playing solo, you may boost your own actions. Then you gather the four dice and roll them. Any results that match the color of the challenge or are white add to your progress. You compare your total progress and any previously on the card. If that equals or exceeds the difficulty you discard it and reap the reward on it. Often the reward is discarding cards from the Well. There is also a penalty if you fail to overcome the challenge. This might be loss of health, discarding cards, or returning cards to the Well.

You start the game with a lantern card which is very powerful but inactive to begin with. Some rewards and skill cards allow you to activate it for use later. It is played in place of your skill card and is turned face down afterward.

When you are ready at the start of any turn you may discard your hand and redraw up to your hand limit. But when you do this you also take an exhaustion card. These cards are always bad and some might lose you the game if certain criteria are met. They remain in play until another card or effect lets you discard them. At that point they are shuffled back into the deck.

Play continues alternating between players until you are required to add a card from the Well but it is empty. It is time to face the Master. You flip the Master faceup, remove any cards adjacent to them, and add the four gauntlet cards. Defeating gauntlets allows you to flip them over which makes Callous vulnerable to their matching colored attacks going forward. With none of the gauntlets flipped he is invulnerable.

Defeating the Master is similar to overcoming other challenges but you won’t always have consequences for failing. Failure only results in negative consequences if you roll a black result on the white/black die. Get enough progress tokens on Callous and you win. Drop to zero health or meet a revealed lose condition and you lose.

Quick Review of Kinfire Delve Callous’ Lab:

Callous’ Lab is the latest installment in the Kinfire Delve series. All three games released play similarly, but feature different Seekers and Masters. They may be played solo, with two players or if you own more than one set, up to four players. I have only played this game from the series.

The components for this game are very nice. The artwork is great and everything looks top-notch. The cards are thick and durable and even the card backs look high end with gold foil. The box has a decent insert but it is a bit tight. The rules are well written and have examples. Here is a video that explains how to play as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PD1mO8_NFg

Kinfire Delve is a streamlined, tactically focused card game. You need to work with the cards you have to make the best of the challenges you face. This can be difficult if your hand doesn’t match any of the face up challenges. But this is rare and most often you can take on a challenge even if it means only making progress without removing it. Then dealing with the consequences.

This game features two unique characters with different play styles. The two new characters, Roland Wordforger and Valora Helmsman, offer unique abilities that encourage strategic cooperation. Roland can boost card draws for teammates, aiding in fatigue management, while Valora’s skills allow her to apply progress to challenges she isn’t currently tackling, setting up future successes.

I also like the replay value of Callous’ Lab. The Well is made up of 57 challenge cards. This design ensures that each time you play your experience is unique, with varying combinations of challenges and rewards.

Another nice thing is the size of this game. It is compact and easy to carry. You can throw it into a backpack or suitcase without worrying about damage, lost pieces, or taking up too much space.

If you’re looking for a replayable co-op game that won’t clutter your shelf or your luggage, pick Kinfire Delve Callous’ Lab up. If you have and enjoy the other games in this series, you will like this one too.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6