So, you’re looking for a new abstract 2 player game, right? Do i have one for you! Hermetica has great components and great gameplay to go with it. It is exactly what you are looking for in an abstract. Great replayability and the ability to come back from a bad start if you have one. It has the feel of a game that has the staying power of a modern chess, but relatively quick and easy to learn.
Hermetica is not a game that I really got at first – it took me a minute, but I’m glad I stuck around . After watching the gameplay video and rules, it is actually quite simple in concept, but deep in strategy and gameplay. And it’s tons of fun. Let’s take a look:
Hermetica is a 2 player game. You either play the Sun or the Moon. Your goal is to get your Sun or Moon piece (your Adept) to the other players base. On your turn you have 3 actions points to spend – you can move any one of your pieces for 1 action – bringing a new playing piece into the game costs 2 actions. Each piece can only be activated once per turn. You really utilize the unit’s abilities to compliment each other and perform combo moves that either eliminate a player’s piece or set you up for this next turn.
Each player only has one Adept, but a number of other pieces to work with. Let’s take a look at them:
The Adept – Each Player has only 1 of these. 
It moves 2 spaces on a turn. If captured you do not lose your Adept, it is returned to your starting area on your next turn for 2 action points. The Adept can place a Shield at any point during its movement, and does so in any adjacent space not occupied by a Barrier. If this space contains an opponents elemental unit, it is destroyed. An Adept cannot capture the opponents Adept. 
The Shield- the Shield is deployed by the Adept and can block for the Adept or capture the other player’s elemental pieces. A Shield can be deployed again on a subsequent turn by the Adept and is then simply taken from wherever it currently is and redeployed beside the Adept once again.
Water, Fire and Earth (each player has 3 of each type of these elemental pieces). Only 5 of your element pieces can be on the board of any time. If one of these pieces is captured, it is eliminated from the game. 
Each of these elements has its own unique characteristics and abilities.
Earth is all about pushing and crushing your opponents pieces. An Earth elemental piece can move 3 spaces pushing one other piece with it. If an Earth piece pushes an opponents unit into a wall or barrier- that unit is destroyed. 
Fire elemental pieces can move 4 spaces and can move an top of barriers or friendly Shields. If they do this they also have the option of moving the Shield with the Fire piece. Alternatively the Fire piece can shoot fire in a straight line up to 4 spaces – destroying the first enemy unit it encounters. 
Water flows until it hits something. It can move all the way across the board if the way is clear. Once The Water unit hits something, it has the option of moving it (be it a Unit or a Barrier) to any of the spaces adjacent to the water unit not currently occupied by a Barrier. If this results in a Barrier being placed on an enemy unit, it is destroyed. If it moves a Wall out from under a Fire unit, the Fire unit is destroyed.
There are also obstacles that not owned by either player but greatly effect your decisions. Barriers can be moved by Water, occupied by Fire or used by Earth to crush your opponents. The Borders and Walls act as boundaries for all units. Earth can crush units into them and Water stops when it comes in contact with the Borders or Walls. Fire can land on top of the Walls but not the Borders.
Each Elemental unit also has a special ability that pertains specifically to the player’s Shield (but not the opponent’s). Water can move around the Shield when it comes in contact with it, instead of moving the Shield. This can allow you to position the Water unit where it will do the most good for combo moves or on subsequent turns. The Earth unit can push the friendly Shield as though it were another unit. Fire can land on top of the friendly Shield and then drive it around until it is ready to move off of it. Shields are awesome. 
Your object is to get your Adept into the other player’s starting area, their Horizon. First one to do this wins. Since you can only move each unit once per turn, the more units you still have available, the better your chance of winning.
So this sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t once you get going. Plus there are handy reference cards for each type of piece, so if you get stuck in your first couple of games, you can check those and quickly be back to the game.
So what do we think?
Hermetica is basically awesome. The Components are incredible, the Gameplay Is for real and the Table presence is really striking.
There is a tiny bit of a learning curve for the unit movements, but honestly I would just spend a few minutes on the game’s website watching the tutorial videos and you’ll be all set. In fact, you can go there now and play live games against real opponents. Don’t be upset if you lose the first few games, you’ll catch on soon enough.
The strategy possibilities are super deep. The combos you can create using different types of units on the same turn are intense, and really are where the game is truly replayable. You can go with all sorts of strategies. Some games I have had all Water on the board and suddenly moved my Fire into action to shoot the other units and take a clear advantage. Other games have seen me smashing everything in sight using my Earth units. In fact, I haven’t played any 2 games that have played remotely the same. Like most abstracts, there is a clear advantage to players who have played before, but you really don’t mind losing the first couple, because the gameplay is so fun. And most games are finished in about 20 minutes.
I really feel like this is going to be one of those games that hangs around for a long time. It has the potential to be one of my perennial favorites like Onitama and Raptor. It’s also one that you can bring out to people who are straight Chess players, or even a quicker game for folks who like war games. It really should appeal to a wide range of gamers.
I can’t say enough about the components and the table presence.
Every time I roll out the game mat and start explaining it to new people, others at our game night come over to see what we are playing. The box is even fantastic, although it’s a bit long for most of my shelves and bags. But this is a small price to pay for greatness.
I’m truly sold on Hermetica and will be teaching it, and playing for a good long while. NInja Approved!
Hermetica was send to us in exchange for an honest review which is exactly what we provided.