This is a deceptively straightforward game that challenges the player to solve issues in a particular, rune-guided way. You have to come up with clever solutions, no need for violence.
Right now, I have a dozen tabs open to get my own rune set because this is a mechanism I can see myself using frequently. Playing was reassuring and inspiring and my character's story is not over yet...
I finally got around to this, and I'd call it my short game of the year. I know nothing about mountain climbing, which hampered my gameplay until I decided to make it a mountain walk instead, which fit better with the 'rest and meet new people' narrative, though I ended up reusing NPCs instead of constantly bringing in new characters.
This led to a deep, moving story about people I'd never thought I'd write about. I absolutely adore how the game builds up from 'a character with a mission, now go!' and keeps asking questions and setting up situations so you learn more about them as they go on.
The summit phase had me on the edge of my seat, turning cards and scribbling furiously. (My character made it, but she'd have been ok with turning back).
My only quibble is the weather tables; I had too many hot/sleet or hot/hail events and needed to tweak them a bit, but that didn't distract from the story.
Beautiful, varied use of cards and random tables. I'm not sure I'll play this again any time soon, and I'd definitely want to learn more about what it's actually like to climb, but well worth the time.
The organisation of this game is top notch. Everything is clear – what is the game loop, what can I do on my turn, how do I progress. There's even a mechanism for getting past a series of lousy dice rolls so you can continue to have fun rather than getting frustrated.
(I haven't had time to play yet, but wanted to express how impressed I am with the game design – this was fun to read.)
Your link for ladder tables leads to a 404; it has been replaced with https://www.mindstormpress.com/2021/08/26/ladder-tables
(Have not yet played the game; it's interesting, but I'm overwhelmed.)
