Inferno – Review

Inferno by Red Mojo Games is a real highlight of my gaming year: a game for ages 14+ for 1 to 4 players with a playtime of about 120 minutes. It was developed by Fernando Eduardo Sánchez, with artwork by David Benzal and Cristian Casado Otazu. Originally from Spain, it was released in 2024 and immediately captivated me with its dark and fascinating theme: we send souls to the underworld – inspired by Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy".

Lohnt sich Inferno?

Inferno bekommt von uns 9 von 10 Punkten. Das ist bei uns ein absoluter Knaller. Dafür spricht: Einzigartiges, düsteres Thema stark umgesetzt. Dagegen spricht: Lange Spielzeit (ca. 120 Minuten). Spieleranzahl: 1–4.

Profile

• Players: 1–4
• Age: 14+
• Duration: approx. 120 minutes
• Mechanisms: Worker Placement, Resource Management
• Theme: Dante's Inferno, Soul Management

The Nine Circles of Hell: Where Color and Movement Decide Everything

The game board shows the underworld at the bottom with several concentric circles symbolizing the nine circles of hell from Dante's work. Each circle has a specific color that corresponds to color-matched souls that we can send down into the underworld. Each position on the circles offers action spaces that we activate by strategically moving our souls. Above ground, i.e., in Florence during Dante's time, there are only eight actions, divided into four different action spaces – with two actions always belonging to a common symbol.

Moving the souls forms the core of the game. Per turn, you may move one soul exactly one step from one circle to the next. If another soul is in the way, you can simply skip over it. If your soul lands in a circle of a matching color, you permanently place it there and receive the points indicated at the edge of the field. Therefore, it is important to skillfully plan in advance which soul is sent where – and when a detour is worthwhile to reach the correct circle in the end.

Where do you get new souls from in the first place? Fresh souls come from the graveyard, for which you have to pay the "Ferryman of Death" with the Drachma resource. As a general rule: all actions underground cost Drachma, while actions above ground in Florence are paid for with Florin – two strictly separate economic cycles that you must keep an eye on in parallel.

Florence: Sins, Family, and the Tower at the Core

The actions in Florence revolve around sins and your family life. You can open street stalls, steal barrels from the market (which only children are allowed to do), use family members for actions, and have new children who are available to you as additional labor. Children can even perform some actions for free, while adults have to pay for them – a charming, thematically fitting twist.

A central component is the tower on your player board, which you can expand during the game. The tower offers storage space for guests and barrels. Barrels in four different colors can be stolen from the market and used for particularly powerful actions. Guests in the tower are also essential, because without a suitable guest in the correct color, you cannot make any accusations.

What does "Accuse" mean? In certain locations in Florence, each symbolizing one of the deadly sins, you can accuse other characters – provided you have previously placed a worker on the corresponding space and accommodated the appropriate guest in the tower. Accusations bring you progress on special color tracks, which in turn unlock powerful actions and valuable points. At the same time, you must protect the accusing family member by accommodating them in the tower – if you have no more space free there, you are left with only a significantly weaker emergency action.

Dante advances: The countdown to the end of the game

Whenever a player passes or makes an accusation, the Dante figure advances one space on its own track. As soon as Dante reaches the end of his path, the game ends immediately. At certain spaces on Dante's path, individual color rows are also scored: whoever is furthest ahead on the corresponding row at this point receives a certificate, which counts as a multiplier for the corresponding points at the end of the game. There are also half certificates that can be combined into full ones – an additional strategic layer for everyone who wants to compete in multiple colors at the same time.

This Dante track creates a palpable, steadily growing sense of time: every accusation, every pass brings the inevitable end closer, and you must carefully calculate whether to risk another investment or rather work towards the completion of your current plans.

Häufige Fragen (FAQ) zu Inferno

Für wie viele Spieler ist Inferno geeignet?

Inferno ist für 1–4 Spieler ausgelegt.

Ab welchem Alter ist Inferno geeignet?

Inferno ist ab 14 Jahren geeignet.

Wie lange dauert eine Partie Inferno?

Eine Partie Inferno dauert ca. 120 Minuten.

Welche Spielmechanismen nutzt Inferno?

Inferno setzt auf Worker-Placement, Ressourcenmanagement.

Wie bewertet Brettspiel Teddy Inferno?

Brettspiel Teddy bewertet Inferno mit 9/10 Punkten.

My conclusion

Inferno is for me a profound game with an exceptionally strong theme and a unique soul management mechanism, the likes of which I haven't seen in any other title. The combination of strictly separated resource management, multi-generational family planning, and tactical soul placement makes Inferno one of the best games I've played this year.

It is undoubtedly complex – with a playing time of around 120 minutes and many interlocking subsystems, this is definitely not a game for a quick evening session. But it is precisely this complexity that pays off: every decision feels significant, and the morbidly fascinating theme is not just tacked on, but truly permeates every mechanism of the game, from soul color to family planning.

For connoisseurs and frequent players who want to engage in a demanding, thematically unique experience, Inferno is absolutely recommended. Casual players, on the other hand, should be aware of the high entry barrier – this game needs to be learned and played multiple times to unfold its full potential.

Pros & Cons

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