IDW’s ‘Masque of Red Death’ Comes To Kickstarter Next Year

Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

Masque of Red Death is an upcoming competitive social deduction game with hand management and Take That mechanics. Players take the role of nobles vying for the princes favor during a masquerade. Over the course of the game, players attempt to gain popularity by hobnobbing with the prince as he moves from room to room.  At the same time, they will be dealing with rumors which will affect the popularity of the players as well as hint at where the Red Death will appear later in the night.  However, disaster strikes at midnight and the prince is killed! The Red Death moves around the board, killing whomever crosses his path. Maintaining your popularity will be meaningless if you can’t survive the night. The player with the highest popularity that survives the night is the winner.

The Red Death would have been a lot more efficient with shotguns.

Masque of Red Death is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe which tells the story of Prince Prospero and a 1,000 nobles who have taken refuge in an abbey to escape a horrid plague known only as the Red Death. At midnight a figure shrouded in red, wearing a death mask appears and moves through each of the abbey’s 7 colored rooms. The prince follows the figure demanding to know his identity. But when the masked figure turns to face him, the prince cries out and falls dead. The remaining guests charge the figure and forcibly remove the mask revealing, to their horror, nothing underneath. The figure is Red Death itself. The guests all succumb to the disease and the story ends.

via IDW Games

Masque of Red Death – Kickstarter Begins Jan 10, 2018

IDW Games announces the social deduction board game, Edgar Allen Poe’s Masque of the Red Death. Coming to Kickstarter on January 10^th 2018, Masque of the Red Death features distinctive art and is fully illustrated by Gris Grimly. Game design by Adam Wyse, this game of deduction places you as nobles at a party looking to gain popularity before the Red Death arrives.

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With art from Gris Grimly, this marks his first tabletop game, allowing his art to cover the cards, boards and game pieces all incorporating his unique style which captures the tone of this sinister story.

Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s story and Canadian Game Design Award Finalist, Masque of the Red Death pits you and 4 to 7 players against each other as you hobnob with the Prince. But disaster strikes at midnight! Players have to balance their actions carefully between currying the Prince’s favor and discovering what rooms the Red Death will visit. After all, the highest social standing only matters if you survive.

Jerry Bennington, VP of New Product Development, said “Gris Grimly has done an incredible job of creating the tone with his fascinating art style and understanding of the story being told. Partnered with Adam Wyse’s thematic game design, this game is sure to give players a wonderful experience fitting right into Edgar Allen Poe’s world.”

Planned as a Kickstarter, this social deduction game of popularity and danger, Masque of the Red Death will be launching on January 10^th 2018 and will be available in stores soon after fulfillment.

• 4 – 7 Players
• 30 – 45 Minutes
• Ages 12+

Join us on Twitch January 9th to watch a live play through!

Author: Matt Sall

Matt has loved games of all kinds his whole life: board, video, war, roleplaying. He's worked as a writer for BoLS since 2017. He's worked as freelance editor for board game rulebooks and has designed many of his own games as well.