What is False Hearts XCG?

Genre

An XCG (expandable card game) that supports 2-6 players.

Game Summary

An expandable card game with a dark fantasy aesthetic where a "Party" and a "Boss" battle for battlefield supremacy. As players progress through the game, the lore of each boss will be revealed through the memories held within their false hearts.

Player Experience

Players choose to play as a "Class" (party member) or a "Boss". Players create a grid using battlefield cards. Players move their "Class", "Boss", or "Minion" cards upon the grid, engaging in combat by selecting and activating skills from their skill cards.

Target Audience

Without heavy or complicated ideas and intuitive-to-grasp mechanics, False Hearts is marketed to casual players who enjoy playing tactical/strategy games. False Hearts was designed with casual kitchen table play in mind. This means that you can play however you’d like as long as you abide by the core mechanics of the game.

Gameplay Overview

The playgroup selects which players will play as "Party Members" and which player will play as the "Boss". Parties consist of 2-6 players who select a "Class" to play. The goal of the "Party" is to defeat the "Boss" and reveal their true heart. The goal of the "Boss" is to defeat the "Party".

Each boss has three hearts; a true heart, and two false hearts. False hearts are printed on the back of two of the battlefield cards that make up the grid. During the game, both the party and the boss may use skills to search battlefield cards to try and locate false hearts. When a battlefield card is searched, the card is flipped over to reveal either a battlefield card or a False Heart. Once a False Heart is revealed, it stays revealed for the rest of the game. No player can occupy a False Heart space, but the False Heart can be attacked by both party members and the boss.

When a false heart is attacked, a "Memory" (skill) that is attached to that false heart is chosen at random and activated. The memory (skill) may have a positive, negative, or neutral affect on the party, bosses, or the grid itself. False hearts do not have to be destroyed to win, but they must be revealed in order to kill the boss. However, players and may miss out on beneficial effects or lore if they choose to ignore them.

Inspiration

Video games such as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring are the main inspiration for the overall dark fantasy aesthetic and tone of False Hearts. Rather than telling you a story, these games are known for featuring snippets of lore built into the environment, items, and it's characters.

Tactical/Strategy games in the vein of Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem were the main inspiration for the tactical/strategic gameplay found in False Hearts.