Ballads & Tales: Journey of the Brave is an immersive dungeon-crawling board game for 1–5 players. Choose your playstyle: solo, co-op, or game master mode, and embark on atmospheric adventures filled with mystery and danger.
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ABOUT US
• Boardgame • Action-RPG • Immersive • Tactical
• Solo/Coop • Game Master • Replayability • Eventful Gameplay
• Treasures • Traps • Magic • Fantasy
60 Min.
Age: 14+
1-5 Players
Gather your party of daring heroes and stand together against bloodthirsty minions. Venture through perilous forests, descend into shadowy dungeons, and uncover the ruins of once-magnificent fortresses. Answer the call of helpless villagers – and rise to become the legendary heroes that bards will celebrate in ballads and epic tales.

Here’s just a small preview of the richly illustrated components you’ll find in the base game

of Ballads & Tales: Journey of the Brave.

Thrilling Adventures in a Spellbinding World The beautifully crafted components of Ballads & Tales bring countless scenes to life and invite you to fully immerse yourself in its magical world. Everywhere you go, there’s something new to discover: • Mysterious dungeons, ancient ruins, enchanted forests, and lively villages • Glittering treasures waiting to be claimed • Powerful magical artifacts • Rare materials to forge and upgrade your weapons and armor • Fascinating characters with stories of their own
A Variety of Unique Heroes From the very beginning, one of our main design goals has been to create varied gameplay and high replayability. Nowhere is this more evident than in the heroes of Ballads & Tales – an element we’re especially proud of: • Each hero comes with a unique special ability. • Your choice of heroes shapes the overall strength of your party. • Different hero combinations open up new ways to support one another.
A Bestiary of Fantastical Creatures Just like the heroes, every creature comes with unique abilities that turn them into dangerous and unpredictable opponents.
Easy-Entry Components The rules of Ballads & Tales: Journey of the Brave are intuitive and straightforward, so you won’t need to re-read the rulebook every time you return to the table. All profile stats are clearly represented with symbols. Dice are color-coded for quick and easy recognition.
The Assassin’s character card: The front displays her profile stats along with the weapons and equipment she can use. On the back, you’ll find background details about the character and her available spell points.
A Playable Work of Art Ballads & Tales is more than just a board game – it is a playable work of art, created through our collaboration with the gifted artist Valbona Atanaskovska, or Bona for short (www.bonaskunst.de, Instragram). Having admired her work for many years, we were overjoyed when she agreed to bring our characters to life in her distinctive style. Rather than designing them digitally, Bona painted every character – for both the base game Journey of the Brave and its expansions – in oil on canvas, with loving attention to detail. This traditional approach is rare today and turns each hero and villain into a true work of art. Her expressive portraits and the luminous quality of oil paints give the world of Ballads & Tales a unique vitality and nostalgic charm. In addition to the characters, Bona also created the cover, card backs, items, event cards, and spell cards – and we couldn’t be happier with the results.
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Ballads & Tales: Journey of the Brave, Dungeons of Forbidden Necromancy, Under the Lost Ruins, Castle in the Endless Mist | copyright © 2016 - 2024 Benjamin Brinckmann All rights reserved.
FAQ

The base game comes with 30 double-sided tiles, offering a wide variety of scenarios – from shadowy dungeons to open outdoor areas and even the

interiors of houses.

Photo of the prototype with early German-language components from the base game Ballads & Tales: Journey of the Brave.

Both the base game Ballads & Tales: Journey of the Brave and the expansion Dungeons of the Forbidden Necromancy offer atmospheric stand-alone adventures, each with unique creative challenges that make every quest a one-of-a-kind experience.
• Blow up the exits of the sprawling Kobold caves. • Venture into the deadly Decomposition to recover a priceless tome. • Break the ancient curse that transformed a poor merchant into a single gold coin. • Escape the clutches of the invulnerable Nightmare. • Rescue a young maiden from the grasp of the ruthless Norgs.
600 Cards for Endless Variety and Replayability • The base game of Ballads & Tales offers an enormous scope with 600 cards across multiple categories – ensuring every adventure feels fresh and full of surprises. • Merchant Cards let heroes equip themselves in countless ways: weapons, helmets, armor, and consumables to strategically prepare for lurking dangers. • Defeated creatures grant Essence Points. Once the party has collected eight, the mysterious Krugh appears – offering a particularly tempting selection of rare items. • Treasure and Resource Cards reward heroes with loot during their quests. Treasures may hide magical items with powerful effects, while resources can be used to enhance weapons and gear with entirely new abilities. • With Crafting Cards, heroes can gather ingredients and brew potions, adding another layer of tactical depth. • Event Cards constantly change the flow of the adventure. With a pool of 50 different events, no two quests ever feel the same. • Equipment Cards determine the gear of creatures at the start of each game. While their skills remain fixed, their equipment is randomized, creating refreshing variety. Accessories add magical power, and Elite Cards can turn ordinary foes into fearsome champions. • Boss Cards create intense and unforgiving encounters. With scripted combat behaviors, they transform boss fights into epic, boardgame-style battles. • Each hero has their own Skill Cards, shaping their playstyle. To unlock new skills, heroes must earn Trophy Points through special challenges. This dynamic system keeps progression action-packed. • Adventure Cards bring twists and surprises into solo and co-op play, with unique triggers that can dramatically alter the course of a quest. • Key Cards are sometimes required to unlock new paths or activate mechanisms during an adventure. • And finally, the extensive pool of Spell Cards ensures a wide variety of magical powers for both heroes and creatures.