What is Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game?

Hello, and welcome to Masters of the Lodge. My name is Matt Calo, and I will be serving as your resident Hawk to help guide you through your hunts as we explore the rules and strategies for playing Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game. Based on Horizon Zero Dawn, the 2017 video game by Guerilla Games for the PS4, Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game was created by Steamforged Games, and backed on Kickstarter in 2018.

The Core Game is scheduled for retail release in November of 2020, with the various expansions anticipated to be available starting in July of 2021. This introductory video is going to break down the core components of gameplay, and we will do deeper dives into each aspect of the game in future videos.

For those unfamiliar with the original Horizon Zero Dawn, the game takes place in a version of Earth where humans have regressed technologically, but animal-like machines roam free in the wild. These machines vary greatly, from the lowly Watchers to mountainous Thunderjaws.

During the game, the protagonist Aloy has a chance to join an influential organization, the Hunter’s Lodge of Meridian. The Hunter’s Lodge is focused on hunting the machines for sport, earning glory and recognition for their success. This is the central concept of the Board Game, as players become members of the Hunter’s Lodge tracking down machines that will earn them their spot in the sun.

Gameplay takes place over five encounters, ending with the final hunt against a more ferocious target. As the players move through each part of the hunt, gameplay is broken down into 3 stages per Encounter: the Tracking Stage, the Encounter Stage, and the Campfire stage.

During the Tracking Stage, the current Leader determines which lesser machines will be hunted as the group works up towards the large machine at the end. During the second and further rounds, the Fledgling also acts during the Tracking Stage, getting a special event bonus to help them catch up to their fellow hunters.

During the Encounter Stage the hunters try to both shoot components off of the machines and take them out completely, earning glory. While the hunters are individually vying for the glory of the kill, they must also work together, as machines will fight back, and if too many hunters are knocked unconscious the encounter is lost.

During the Campfire Stage, the hunters who earned the most glory are awarded prizes by the Lodge in the form of Suns. After Suns are awarded, the hunters have the chance to better prepare for the challenges ahead, both in the form of gaining new skills and meeting with a merchant to spend their hard-earned salvage on better equipment.

After all five encounters, the hunters tally up the total points of their Suns, and the hunter with the highest total is declared the winner and most glorious of hunters on this day. From just that description, Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game can sound daunting to a new player, but fear not! Starting next week, we will be launching a series of videos breaking down each aspect of play, from the very start of the first Tracking Phase to the end of the game with the Hunter’s Call.

All together, there are going to be 15 videos in this series, which we will be referring to as our Fledgling Rules Overview. Armed with this knowledge, we are sure that you too can work your way towards becoming a Master of the Lodge! To stay up to date on all of our videos, please be sure to Subscribe to our channel, and leave a Like to show your support! Next week, we will start tackling Setting Up the game.