Updated: The rebooted Kickstarter is here, and it looks really special! The campaign is already more than a third of the way to its funding goal.
In Too Deep is an upcoming board game from designers Josh Cappel and Daryl Chow and tabletop company Burnt Island Games. It’s live on Kickstarter now!
A couple of months ago, I got a chance to try out the game on Tabletop Simulator for a sneak peek at the cyberpunk adventure. My time with In Too Deep has me very excited about the Kickstarter campaign and the next big thing from Burnt Island Games.
Here’s the world in which we play:
In the year 2087, central governments have fallen. What remains are fragmented city-states struggling to hang on to law and order while criminal organizations wait for the right moment to seize power. As a cop in a secret experimental program, you just might be able to turn the tide of illicit activity in New Dawn City and take back the streets for law-abiding citizens.
Cybernetic implants have given the criminal underworld a technological advantage. These underground market enhancements make them faster, stronger, and more agile than the average human, but you have found a way to exploit that power. By infiltrating their cerebral upgrades, you can gain control of these criminals like never before. Going deep undercover into the minds of your targets, you’ll need to participate in crimes of escalating seriousness to get your hands on the critical evidence you need.
Exploiting the cybernetic implants of criminals to infiltrate their minds is cool enough. But these lieutenants of the ominous Syndicate organization are heavily upgraded, so players can eventually take advantage of their powers in order to affect the state of the board.
On their turn, players will be hooking into criminals, committing crimes, and gathering intel on the Syndicate so that the law enforcement can finally cut out this cancerous growth from the city.
The game oozes theme. And I love that.
Gameplay
There are a lot of moving parts that coalesce during a game of In Too Deep. And while the initial explanation of rules might seem overwhelming to an inexperienced gamer, everything fits within the narrative background, and the mechanics all tie together. And each turn is actually quite simple. A player only has a few choices to make, so play proceeds smoothly.
Here’s what a turn looks like:
1) Hook into a Syndicate criminal. You can either draft one from the middle who isn’t being controlled by another player or you can pay to remove another player’s access and hook into their criminal.
2) Gain Grip, which is an indicator of the level of influence you have over the criminals you control at the moment, as well as the ability you have to control their special powers.
3) Perform two actions, which are a combination of moving, activating spaces on the board, or utilizing criminals’ special powers.
4) Determine if you’ve committed a crime. There are story crimes and more minor illegal activities that can be completed by a player if certain criteria are met. Once completed, these crimes provide benefits like points, corruption, and evidence.
So it happens pretty quickly. You might have a lot of strategies you’re considering on a turn, but the gameplay is light in terms of complexity.
Beyond each turn, though, is the progression of story chapters. Three chapters divide the game into segments, and players will be looking to complete story crimes, gather evidence and file it with their superiors, and manage the corruption that they’ve accumulated while hooked into the criminals. The further you dive into the minds of these criminals, the more effective your turns will be, but the more you’ll lose yourself in the corrupted Syndicate. And the more jobs you complete, the more evidence you’ll collect, and the closer you are to destroying the Syndicate.
At the end of the game, you’ll determine whether you’ve foiled the Syndicate and if any of the players are penalized for going too deep.
In Too Deep encourages you to gain Grip with different criminals and creatively maneuver throughout the city in order to commit crimes and gather intel. Your goals shift throughout the game, and your loyalties might as well.
Expectations
I loved my time with the game. I’m excited to try it again and experiment with the innovative mechanics. I’ve played a lot of board games and, usually, when I’m learning a new game or teaching one to other players, I can refer to past games with similar mechanics as an example. One game might have the same tile-laying mechanism as Betrayal at House on the Hill. Another might have the same variable player powers as Pandemic. Et cetera.
But In Too Deep really has some unique gameplay. If you’ve played many board games, everything will still make sense, but it felt unique in how your actions developed over the course of the game. All while being closely tied to the theme of undercover law enforcement diving into the messy world of crime.
There weren’t any moments when I thought something didn’t sync well with the background narrative. Which is a pretty substantial compliment to the game. Plenty of games have themes or stories that don’t always mesh well with the mechanics. Sometimes, a dissonance between those two parts of the game exists.
I didn’t feel that way while playing In Too Deep.
It’s a medium-weight game with some really thrilling potential. My favorite part was gaining Grip with certain criminals and starting to exploit their special powers during the game. There’s a feeling of investment as a player that is mirrored by the narrative concept of becoming familiar with a character to the point of losing yourself in them. It’s such a cool design choice.
Conclusion
In Too Deep launched on Kickstarter today, and I really feel like this will be a special game. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and share it with my friends.
The theme, the innovative mechanics, and the whole package seem to indicate that this can be a game-night regular.
Also, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I love the artwork. It screams futuristic cyberpunk crime noir, and I think it would look so great on the table.
If you want to read more about the game, you can check out the Facebook page here or visit the Burnt Island Games website.
And stay tuned to GameTyrant for more updates on In Too Deep and other tabletop games.
