Here is the next in the series of my GEEKLIST GAME REVIEWS!
One thing that I like a lot about this format is that it lends itself well to displaying a lot of images in a nice layout. You can re-arrainge your entries on the fly and organize your thoughts as you make the Geeklist.
For my 3rd review in this format, I wanted to pick a game that will lend itself well to a review of this type - especially since there is a lot of information that can be presented visually for DOOM. Not only are the components and design of the game fantastic, there are numerous player aids, scenarios, campiagns and other additions that may have been overlooked by the casual viewer of the game entry page for DOOM.
Hopefully, you'll see some things in here to either renew or spark an interest in this very underated game from Fantasy Flight Games.
Be sure to check out the other games in my patented series of GEEKLIST GAME REVIEWS!
DOOM: The Boardgame is one of the earlier versions of the "Co-operative" style of games that have grown in popularity over the last several years.
Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings was the first of this "new" type of game and it was considered very innovative when it first came out. Other games with a co-operative element had been released earlier, but Lord of the Rings took this game mechanic to a new level the likes of which had not yet been seen. Even though Lord of the Rings was widely popular and a huge hit, it took a few years for the gaming industry to capitalize on Reiner's design breakthough as only other LotR expansions were released between 2000 and 2004. At that time, Hasbro unveiled Betrayal at House on the Hill and Fantasy Flight Games came out with Doom: The Boardgame, again both games being very successful. In 2005 Days of Wonder released Shadows over Camelot and FFG debuted two new titles, Arkham Horror & Descent: Journeys in the Dark, both of which were met with great enthusiasm by the gamers everywhere.
Recently there has been some discussion as to what the actual definition of a co-operative game is. Purists argue that if a group of players is working against anyone other than the game itself, the game should not be considered a co-operative game. Thus Lord of the Rings fits the definition, but once you add in the Lord of the Rings - Sauron expansion it no longer qualifies. I can see the logic of that, but my definition would be broader based.
For the purpose of this geeklist, the definition of co-operative play is that used in the BGG database:
"All the players, or all but one, play as a team and win or lose together."
SPI's Citadel of Blood (1980) fits this description. All players are on a team, fighting the denizens of a dungeon randomly generated by the game system.
SPI's Citadel of Blood (1980) fits this description. All players are on a team, fighting the denizens of a dungeon randomly generated by the game system.
You're quite right Darrell, Citadel of Blood is an older example of the genre. Other games I considered adding were Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel, Scotland Yard and a couple others, but they are all quite a bit older than the group I illustrated above. Lord of the Rings kind of refined and rejuvenated this type of game and so I used it as my benchmark. Even so, it took the other modern publishers several years to catch on and release their own co-operative games.
HeroQuest,Advanced Heroquest, and Warhammer Quest all have a party of adventurers banding together to fight the forces of Chaos . . . pretty much fitting that definition as well.
DOOM is unusual as it combines several genres together that typically aren't seen in the same game - Horror and Science Fiction. There are plenty of Horror games - including the multitude of Zombie games out there and there are a lot of Science Fiction games as well, but the combination of the two creates a setting that is appealing to many people - especially fans of the Alien movies.
If you can recall the intense scenes in the movie ALIENS where Ripley, Hicks and Hudson are fighting off hordes of Alien creatures on the human colony of LV-426, then you have a pretty good idea of what this game is about.
However, the premise in the game is slighty different. Players represent Marines stationed on a base on Mars where experiments in teleportation that were being conducted have gone horribly wrong and a gateway into another dimension/world has opened up releasing hordes of deadly alien creatures that are overunning the base. The Marine players must explore darkened corridors and rooms as they battle Imps, Hell knights, Archviles, and other classic DOOM monsters, all while the Invader player tries to bring them down using the legion of horrors at his command. Like the ALIEN films, the action is fast and furious.
DOOM: The Boardgame is based on the computer games of the same name by ID Software and it attempts to reproduce that typr of gameplay in a board game format.
Playing DOOM is kind of very MUCH like this:
(RATED R: Clip contains heavy profanity and may be too intense for children.)
DOOM can be played by 2-4 people with 1 person always playing the Invader player and the other 1-3 players each taking a Marine. The Marines are under ever increasing pressure to complete a goal of various types before time runs out or the Invader player gets a set number of "Frags" (kills). Each game is a pre-made scenario that is designed to challenge the players to act quickly, to not waste time getting bogged down in extended combat and to find the exit off the map without dying too many times.
Players are never actually out of the game when they are killed, as the boardgame is designed to implement the feel of the original computer game version of DOOM. Like a video/pc game, players can "re-spawn" after they die and can continue on in the game almost as if nothing happened. Typically, the Invader player is trying to get 6 Frags before the Marines exit a designated area of the modular map board.
Each game turn consists of an individual player turn for each of the Marines 1st, followed by the Invader's turn.
THE MARINES TURN
Marines can perform one of 4 actions on their turn:
SPRINT - Move up to 8 & Make NO Attack UNLOAD - Move 0 & Make 2 Attacks ADVANCE - Move 4 & Make 1 Attack READY- Move 4 OR Make 1 Attack and then place 1 Marine Order.
Marine Orders are:
AIM - Allows a re-roll of some or all of his dice when attacking. DODGE- Force the Invader player to re-roll some or all of the dice when attacking. GUARD - Make 1 Interupt Attack during the Invader player's Turn. HEAL - Heal 1 wound on you or an adjacent Marine. (Marines with the Medic ability only).
That's it. Pick an action, move, shoot and possibly place an order. Marines must take their turns in order clockwise from the Invader player which adds some interesting tactical decisions to a players turn.
THE INVADERS TURN
On the Invader player's turn, he follows the following steps:
1. Draw Cards - He gets a new Invader card to his hand for each Marine playing (3 Marines - draw 3 cards ect..) 2. Spawn - He may spawn a new creature(s) if he has a spawn card and wishes to add another alien to the board. 3. Activate Invader(s) - He may activate (attack and/or move) each of the creatures on the board.
Again, this is a very simple proceedure to follow. The Invader deck of cards contains Event cards which are played at various times (described on the card) and Spawn cards which are used to add new creatures on to the board.
Spawning is an inspired game mechanism. The Invader player selects a Spawn card and he may add the creature ANYWHERE on the board that the players don't have line of sight to. It's usually impossible for players to be covering all areas and therefore there are always new aliens "jumping out from the shadows" as it were. This adds a very cool effect of creating tension and anxiety for the Marines and it is also very fun for the Invader player to do as well.
Part of the strategy for the Invader player is to decide whether to hold Spawn cards for later or play them right away as both decisions have their advantages. On one hand you can be relentless in your attacks, delaying them as long as possible and hopefully reducing one (or more) of them to 0 wounds and thereby scoring a Frag. On the other, saving them for more critical points in the game can often decide the game in your favor if they are played at an especially opportune time.
The Event cards are also very thematic and allow you to do things like suddenly closing a door behind a Marine as he passed through it or force him to lose some ammo on an attack that he thought was made without a hitch. Other cards allow you to move or attack twice in a row with an alien - again, very powerful cards that you'll have to decide (and agonize over) when the best time to play them is.
So there you have the basic flow of the game and after just a few turns, it will be 2nd nature to the players, thus allowing them to concentrate on the myriad of strategic and tactical choices they'll continually make through the game.
Posted On: 2008-05-13 15:32:21
You're quite right Darrell, Citadel of Blood is an older example of the genre. Other games I considered adding were Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel, Scotland Yard and a couple others, but they are all quite a bit older than the group I illustrated above. Lord of the Rings kind of refined and rejuvenated this type of game and so I used it as my benchmark. Even so, it took the other modern publishers several years to catch on and release their own co-operative games.
It also bears mentioning that the more recent Fury of Dracula and Arkham Horror releases are reprints of games originally released in 1987.