Critical Role Announces First Queen by Midnight Expansion Quarter Past

Hear ye! Hear ye! The Midnight Queen’s kingdom is officially expanding! Queen by Midnight from the Critical Role tabletop publishing branch Darrington Press has announced Queen by Midnight: Quarter Past, an expansion that can be integrated into the existing deck-building game or enjoyed standalone, arriving November 13.

Queen by Midnight introduced players to its cutthroat world of power-grabbing princesses last year with the Darrington Press title’s August release. Designed by Critical Role producer and behind-the-scenes fixture Kyle Shire, the game was demonstrated to the show’s audience in a let’s play that crowned Aabria Iyengar Midnight Queen. However, players like Iyengar weren’t the only ones earning prestige, as the game scored Best Art Nominee and Best Board Game nominations at the 2023 Tabletop Awards. Nearly a year after its lauded launch, the world of Queen by Midnight is now offering its first expansion with Quarter Past.

Quarter Past‘s standalone quality and capability for 1-on-1 play offers a unique appeal to both returning Queen by Midnight players and those new to the game. The expansion throws four new princesses into the running for Midnight Queen and features 80 additional Bazaar cards. Though each of the deck-building game’s four new princesses has distinct play styles, Quarter Past‘s mechanics largely follow the precedent set in the flagship game. However, the mechanical updates that have occurred in Queen by Midnight‘s expansion create further flexibility by accommodating 1-on-1 competition.

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Games like Queen by Midnight, Till the Last Gasp, and now Quarter Past represent Darrington Press’ expansion into original board game concepts outside of Critical Role‘s core fantasy setting of Exandria. The tabletop publishing branch of Critical Role launched with the corporative board game Uk’otoa, inspired by the actual play show’s Mighty Nein campaign. Since Uk’otoa, Darrington Press has offered original titles like Queen by Midnight, further tie-ins like Bells Hells Caper Cards, a new edition of Alex Roberts’ For the Queen, and launched their own TTRPG systems such as Candela Obscura and the upcoming Daggerheart. Queen by Midnight: Quarter Past illustrates yet another phase of growth for the fledgling tabletop publisher as it begins to expand on its successful titles.  

Queen by Midnight: Quarter Past will be available for purchase online or at a friendly local game store on November 13. In the meantime, the original game and its intricate clocktower centerpiece can be purchased through the Darrington Press website or brick-and-mortar retailers.