The Night Cage cover
2021BGG rank #1,690

The Night Cage

by Christopher Ryan Chan, Chris McMahon, Rosswell Saunders · Smirk & Laughter Games

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Players1–5
Time40–60m
ComplexityMedium-Light
Age14+

About the game

What is The Night Cage?

You awaken in the dark, your skin cold, your mind blank. You have nothing but your fear, a flickering candle, and a question: How long will your light last? Trapped and crawling your way through a pitch-black labyrinth, equipped with nothing but dim candles, you must work together to explore the maze and escape. Unfortunately, your weak candlelight illuminates only your immediate surroundings. Worse still, horrifying Wax Eaters — monsters who despise the light — lurk in the suffocating darkness for their opportunity to strike. The Night Cage is a fully co-operative, horror-themed tile-placement game that traps 1-5 lost souls within an unnatural labyrinth of eternal darkness. To win, players must each collect a key, find a gate, and escape as a group. Escape won't be easy as each player's visibility is limited by the weak light of their candle. They illuminate only tiles directly connected to their own, and when players move, tiles that fall into darkness are removed from the game. Doubling back the way you came only opens new paths, the old ones being lost forever with critical keys and gates vanishing if your light move away from them...

How it plays

Mechanics

Cooperative GameGrid MovementPieces as MapSudden Death EndingTile Placement

On the shelf

Categories

FantasyHorrorMaze

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in The Night Cage?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?