Thornwatch

About this board game

Thornwatch is a 2018 graphic novel adventure game for 3–6 players, including a Judge, with sessions lasting about 180 minutes.

Players become manifestations of the Thornwatch, scarred veterans of the Eyrewood who now exist as spirits. Summoned by an ancient ritual involving a knot of thorns tied around a birch tree, they answer the call without necessarily knowing one another or the true nature of the problem before them.

One player takes the role of the Judge, enacting the will of the Judging Wood. The remaining players each guide a Thornwatch character, while the Judge selects a storyboard that begins the adventure. After the first challenge, the group faces choices that lead to new storyboards and further events.

• Choose from the Blade, Briarlock, Greenheart, Guard, Sage, or Warden.
• Explore maps depicting the forests, swamps, and villages of the Eyrewood.
• Use character decks, playmats, trait cards, and custom dice.
• Earn knots that grant their wearer a bonus across sessions.

The game’s central momentum system tracks turn order and monster health while encouraging cooperation. It also creates dynamic combat, with priorities changing from turn to turn and round to round.

Flat pawns make heroes, enemies, and forest denizens appear like figures in comic-book panels. With branching storyboards, distinct character outlooks, and a shared need to see each summons through, Thornwatch combines narrative adventure with tactical teamwork in the Eyrewood.