tim Tim TIm TIM TIMMY!!
Costa Rica
-
I have read about this one a lot, and have read a bunch on Reaver games who is the publisher. I like the Zombie theme and this is kinda a Frankenstein theme since you are trying to piece together a monster from 8 different body parts you need to get from the grave. It is a small box but I think the whole thing works great together.
I got to game all day yesterday at 2 different games shops - which is a luxury for a guy on vacation who lives in the rain forest of Costa Rica. We had time for a faster game and a half hour was a perfect choice for us. There was 5 of us ( Jared - who was the only 1 who played it before and was teaching it to us, Alex, Shandra, Brent and I ) We where at The Haunted Cafe in Ft. Collins Col., for open game night - a great place game.
Picture thanks to:
Sam Healey
United States
Homestead
Florida
Picture thanks to:
Jackson Pope
United Kingdom
Newcastle upon Tyne
Everyone gets a screen to hide their $ ( you start with 12 gold ) and their card that has pictures of the 8 body parts you need to collect. You also get a reference card that shows you how many of each body parts there are. There is a big stack of cards ( small square cards a little bigger then a Carcassonne tile ) that are the general draw pile for everyone. Whoever goes first draws a card and can buy it for gold equaling the # showing on the card - and also how many points that is worth at the end of the game for you ( the head, brains, heart, and torso all range from 4 - 8 points so the 8 pt. one is in great shape, but the 4 point one is pretty beat up ). You can also sell it for half of it worth and put it in front of you where others have an option to get at it but at a big cost. Or you can bid on it in an auction but then everyone else gets to bid after you, if someone else out bids you and everyone else then you get the $ they are paying for it. Who ever completes their Monster first says - It's Alive and the game ends, who ever completed their monster gets 5 bonus points, then you count up all the points from you body parts and who ever has the highest points win.
This is a very cool game and I love the mechanics to it. It is a balancing act trying to have enough $ to get what you want, but also deciding what body parts to go for and what to skip. The auction thing is very cool as you get the money directly so most of the time it is better to put it up for auction to get more $ out of it then selling it for half the cost of it ( rounded down ).
Jared had an advantage having played before, but not that much since it is a simple game at heart, but really fun. People who have good memories and can track what other people are getting, how many body parts in total, have an advantage here - that is not me. I felt Jared had the early lead as he was getting stuff at auction and most of us where buying stuff at regular price - which he said was overpriced. There are 2 wild card in the mix that are very cool. The uprising card costs you money and the fresh grave is a 9 or 10 pt tile that is a wild card and can be used anywhere on your body - a wild card. Jared got the first uprising so this helped us all. Alex got 2 of these, and Shandra 1. Brent and I went with out getting one. I took some low point body parts early thinking completing my monster first was a good thing. It is a lot of fun bidding on everything, but half the time you have no money and you have no chance of getting anything. When you are low on $ and you take a draw you are hoping to get a high point card, a couple of times I got really low points one and you just have to wait for your turn again ( the only real slow down time of the game that I saw ). It felt like Jared always had $ and him and Alex went back and fourth a lot with bids and where really helping each other. It was a very close game none the less. I did get one Fresh grave card for 9 points so I thought I was doing well.
Near the very end I figured out that I had put my brains on my heart space ( they look very similar as they are both in jars and only the 1 eye is the big difference in the pictures ) - if it was not for this I think I would have won, but who knows? Anyways after going back and fourth a lot I only need 1 more piece to complete my monster and then Jared went out. Jared ended up with 53, I tied for 2nd with 50 so I did very well I thought.
I prefer shorter games and this was a perfect length for me. I bought this game because I know it is going to go over big in my group but mainly because I had a blast playing it and want to play it again. I am also the game explainer in my group so a game that is easy to learn makes my job easier.
Game On'
-
|
|
