Use the power of words to defeat evil monsters in Spell Smashers

A new card game wants to prove once and for all that the pen is mightier than the sword. Or, at least, it's just as good as one, anyway.

Spell Smashers is the latest design from Lanterns: The Harvest Festival creator Christopher Chung, and sticks to a classic fantasy formula: players are heroes who head out into the world to defeat monsters and collect loot, before taking a break at the local tavern and purchasing better equipment to tackle even bigger baddies.

The difference here is that these heroes aren’t using metal and magic to take down evil – they’re using the power of words.

Players spell out words using letter cards to beat monsters, which rewards them with extra letters to use in future battles. The monsters can gain their own linguistic advantages, though, through the attachment of adjectives.

If players take damage during a fight, the wounds manifest as awkward combinations of letters that are tougher to use during a spell-off.

Chung has been joined on the intriguing project by Raiders of the North Sea artist The Mico, who lends his distinctive visuals to the game’s wordy gameplay.

Spell Smashers will be out this October.