Many games have random events. A common mechanic in a boardgame is drawing some sort of event card that can affect everyone. But Solium Infernum doesn't quite do it that way. Instead, you draw a card every time it's your turn to first. So when you're in the catbird seat, so to speak, you get to draw a random event that you can keep until you're ready to play. And therefore, any time an event happens, it happened because someone played it.

The catch is that many of these random events are indeed random. There's no guarantee you won't be hoist by your own petard.

After the jump, I'll tell you about the Angelic Host.

Angelic Host Incursion is one of the event cards. It brings onto the board an Angelic Host, which is that gold piece up there. She's pretty bad-ass, and she can fly a far distance. She arrives and attacks one of the legions of the player who's in the lead. Then she works her way down the list of players, flitting about the board and swatting down demonic legions over the course of several turns. Considering most players will only have two or three armies, and considering this Angelic Host is a mighty powerful creature, this is a perfect event for trailing players. It's the equivalent of that cannon bullet in Mario Kart that lets you nose your way towards the lead. Just keep your fingers crossed she goes away before she gets to you.

Other event cards aren't quite so predictable. For instance, one card causes a Place of Power to rebel and revert to neutral status. Any Place of Power. One of yours, for example. Another event card randomly destroys a legion. It doesn't sent out a powerful Angelic Host that the legion might survive if it's advanced enough. It just flat-out destroys it, no questions asked, no dice rolled, no combat values considered. And, yes, it could be one of yours.

Then there are cards that are perfect to keep in your hand until just the right time. One card instantly ends all vendettas. This is very nearly the ultimate defensive card. Let someone go through all the motions to initiate open warfare, and then just shut him down with a card. There are cards that affect resources, card that affect players' scores, cards that shut down the purchase of armies, and cards that make people think you have more or fewer victory points than you really have.

The event cards a great example of how the things that happen in Solium Infernum are driven by the players. Dice and randomness are a part of the game, but they're a small part and they take a back seat to the decisions players make and the strategies they devise.

Up next: two caveats you should know if you're thinking of buying Solium Infernum

(Click here for the previous Solium Infernum game diary.)