I’m still not ready to do a full review on the Slay the Spire board game. I need to play with more of the characters. But part of my journey along the way to get ready to review is that I want to play it multiplayer. And last night I got a chance to play it two player. The Slay the Spire video game is solo only, so does the board game still feel like Slay the Spire at two players?

How Multiplayer Works in Slay the Spire

The game doesn’t change drastically. It does change up a few things, though. Firstly, each character fights their own enemies for the most part. Sometimes they won’t because it’s an elite or boss who the group fights as a whole. But when it’s a regular enemy, each player gets their own. You don’t need to attack your own, you can attack one of the other characters monsters since you are working together. But the monsters in your row, facing off against you, will only deal damage to you, with a few exceptions.

The other thing is what when you face a boss or elite, what you face off against becomes not two things, though some elites are an exception to that, but a larger pool of health. That is how the game scales it. And those elite and boss monsters hit everyone with their attacks, it isn’t going up against just one player.

Those are the main differences. Everything else is generally the same but it scales potentially for more players. The shop doesn’t get more items or anything like that. But the boss when defeated gives you more options to choose from, but both players are choosing from the same pool.

Add Strategy

Multiplayer, I’ll just say it right now, works very well. I think the best part about it is the added strategy that it adds to the game. You no longer just think, how do I beat my enemy the quickest, it is about how you can support your opponent. They might have an enemy that inflicts vulnerable on them. In the board game that is double damage on the next attack. And if you only have six health, that can be devastating for your chances.

So, you might need to take a hit on your row and help them empty theirs. Or, since you know what the enemy is doing, you might need to focus fire on that single enemy to take them out in one turn. But there is a lot of strategy going on. In my two player game last night, we had a combination set-up to take out my enemy, since I couldn’t heal at rests anymore, and then the other player focused on defense and triggering a damage dealing power card. But your strategy will be different because, like the actual game, you need to adjust on the fly.

Does the Game Take Longer?

Another aspect that I like about Slay the Spire multiplayer is that you don’t need to take turns to play cards. As long as you are on the same phase, attack, or enemy activation you are good. You might decide to take longer because you want to discuss strategy, but it’s not going to drag the game down with a lot of downtime. And avoid that downtime is important because otherwise it might be a solo only game. At four players I expect that the game will again take slightly longer with more strategy to discuss each round, but again, not more downtime.

And while the game did take longer, I won’t say that it didn’t. The game is still a fast game. Once the other player knew how to play the game, turns were flying faster than they do while I stream. Mainly because I’m not talking through everything in as much detail. It’s more, I can take out my guy. Or should we focus on your row. That is the conversation that happens, less explaining every step of the way. So the game is still quick, which is very important to me.

Is It More Complex?

No, I don’t think so. There are certainly elements, like I chose to play the Ironclad this time. When I got vulnerable I generally wanted to be the one to hit that. Why, because I play other big attacks. But it is minor timing things like that which you need to think about.

The game is not going to give you a lot of combos to worry about. In fact, nothing really combos off of each other except maybe vulnerable. And even that is such a standard rule in the game that it isn’t more complex. It’s more if you want to save that vulnerable for next turn, just play that card after your allies have used up their energy.

Final Thoughts on Slay the Spire Multiplayer

I want to try at more player counts than just one or two. I suspect that I will want to play it more at the one or two counts than say, three of four. But we’ll have to see. And eventually I will do a full review on this. But I like the game a lot. I think that it offers a lot of fun choices and multiplayer might even be better than the solo game. Mainly because of that bit of extra strategy in the game.

Let me know your thoughts on the Slay the Spire board game. Do you prefer it solo or multiplayer?

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