A frequent question I see online is:
I’m interested in getting into a new game, should I go with Cursed City or Blackstone Fortress
The Internet
It’s a tough question. They’re both still currently available new, from Games Workshop or your friendly local game store. Cursed City costs a bit more, but dollar-wise it’s not a deal breaker. Also, your preference between fantasy (Cursed City), or sci-fi (Blackstone Fortress) may sway your decision.
Both have:
- Tons of great models
- Digestible rules
- Amazing art
- Atmospheric theme
- Beautiful table presence
- A reasonable amount of expansions (more on this later)
- Companion novels
- A similar game system with activation dice with specialized combat dice
Blackstone Fortress was developed first, and came out in 2018. Cursed City came out in 2021 and is a bit more distilled than Blackstone Fortress. They both are a bit light on strategy, though some of the newer expansion heroes for Cursed City make it more interesting. Some of the things that were slimmed down for Cursed City make Blackstone Fortress a bit more intriguing to play.
In Blackstone fortress, you’re frequently deciding when to take cover, when to split up, and when to strike!
In Cursed City, you’re generally making different strategic decisions. You’re blocking attack routes, rescuing a swamped comrade, or lining up the best combo to eliminate enemies.
Where these games differ:
- By the rules, Blackstone Fortress hostiles activate and more independently from each other. This is both great fun and lengthy tedium. We often streamline distant hostiles to speed things up.
- Cursed City has VERY few hostiles with ranged attacks. This isn’t nearly as big of a deal as reviewers who played half of the first scenario would lead you to believe. You will find vampires and rattling skeletons SPRINTING at you. There is little breathing room in either game.
- Blackstone Fortress employs “cover”. Cursed City doesn’t, and has more segmented boards and no wide expanses.
- Blackstone Fortress has a very fun bazar-like atmosphere on Precipice where a wide variety of equipment can be purchased. Cursed City has next-to-nothing happening between adventures.
- Equipment in Blackstone Fortress is critical to your success. So far, I’ve found Empowerments to be more ancillary in Cursed City.
Expansions are a sore spot for both games
Cursed City expansions are still available from some retailers, offer some improvements to the game, but come with no included miniatures. The Blackstone Fortress expansions are robust and well developed, though out of print, expensive, and rare. So either way, you’ll be mostly unsatisfied with expansions.
Having said that, you don’t really need the expansions. The in-box experiences for both games offer LOTS of game time. If you’re like me and only play once a month if you’re lucky, you’ll be playing for a loooong time before you complete the core narratives. Then tackle those pesky expansions headaches when you get to them.
Both games have expansive fan made expansion content: Cursed City, Blackstone Fortress.
Conclusion
If you don’t dig sci-fi, get Cursed City.
If you are squeamish looking at vampires, blood, and zombies, go with Blackstone Fortress.
If you want a game that may occasionally get new content, dive into Cursed City. There have been multiple supplements in White Dwarf this year (after years of silence).
If you want a 12% more robust game, buy Blackstone Fortress.
If money is no object, get both. They’re both tons of fun and you’ll enjoy reading and learning both systems. The minis will keep you painting for weeks or even months. You can’t go wrong.
Additional reading on the topic
