Great Kids Games, that are possibly also great late night drunky games

Kids games…lets be honest, a lot of them really are terrible. Too often they are a gimmick with bright colors on the box that are more toy than a game. There are some really good ones out there though. I always say to parents, that it is more important to find a game that they want to play. Don’t worry about the kids; kids love all games and just want to play with you, so if you also like the game they get to play more 🙂

There are some good classics out there. Guess Who, Operation and Battleships all have fond places in my memory. Others like Snakes and Ladders make me want to tear my eyeballs out (incidentally this games origins are in India and were used to teach ideas of Karma, and how good deeds would move you closer to Salvation, and bad deeds towards reincarnation as a lower form of life). Kids often get frustrated with it as they know they have no control over the game and when they lose will get upset because in games of chance we will more often than not focus on the bad breaks rather than the good ones.

Fear not though, those crazy Germans (and a few French) are experts at making kids games that are fun for both adults and kids. In my opinion a good kids game needs the following:

  • Decisions. You need to feel that you have some control over what you are doing.
  • Luck. A healthy dose as well. Its the great equalizer, meaning that parents don’t have to lose on purpose as they will often just get unlucky.
  • Great components. Its needs to have fun bits and a little gimmick will often help, In a lot of cases this will be a magnet…in Kalimambo its miniature turds!
  • A story element. If the game has a good theme then kids will get into it and enjoy the story feel of it. If they lose they will often not even care as they enjoyed the process so much.
  • Surprise. Some element of the unknown that breaks up the game. Something hidden, somewhere, somehow.

After you’ve put the kids to bed it’d be nice if the game was fun enough to play with grown up kids and by grown up kids I mean slightly sozzled adults. Well I’m an adult and have 2 kids and sometimes get a bit sozzled…I even have a friend or two, so here’s primarily a list of great kids game, with their adaptability rating to turn into a late night stooopid drunk game:

Spooky Stairs

spooky stairs
Its kind of like the aforementioned Snakes and Ladders I just roundly dissed, but good. First to the top of the stairs wins. Roll a dice and move that many steps (sounds familiar?). However on two sides of the dice there is a ghost, if you role that you take a ghost piece and plonk him on your pawn. A magnet will lock him in place. Eventually you will all become ghosts and guess what, you get distracted for a second, turn back to the game and….just a second, which was my guy? That’s right they all look the same. Not only that. Once you are all ghosts if you role a ghost, you can switch two players on the board. I know, you think you wont forget, how could you forget? Trust me…YOU WILL FORGET which is your piece. Once one gets to the top, reveal who it is and you have winner.

Its quick, only taking 15 minutes, and simple for little ones. Kids do not care if they win or not, their favorite part is looking under the ghost at the end to see who has won, which they think is hilarious when they find out Mummy was moving their piece by mistake the whole time.

Sozzolometer – You can probably guess that this game works pretty well with silly adults. It even comes with an ‘advanced’ rule where instead of switching ghosts you can switch the player colour markers instead, just for added confusion. The moment when someone says how they will not forget this time and then halfway through the game , pauses and goes ‘**** I totally forgot which one is mine’ is priceless. 7/10.

The Enchanted Tower

Enchanted_Tower_IN
The winner of last years Kids Game of the Year. Its like a cross between pop-up pirate and an advent calendar. One player is the Sorcerer, the others jointly control the Robin. The object is to find the key hidden in the board by the Sorcerer and try one the the 6 key holes to free the Princess, who will pop out of her tower if the correct hole is chosen. The Robin gets a head start to start searching, but the Sorcerer knows where the key is hidden. Magnets under each piece will lift out the key if you go to the right spot. The bits in this are awesome. Kids love hiding the key (and will often be quite sneaky by opening numerous holes so you can’t get a hint by hearing where it goes). They love the excitement of putting the key in and hoping the Princess will pop out. The Sorcerer will often pretend to go one way to throw the Robin off the trail and when the keys pops out it looks great.

Sozzolometer – nope sorry, doesn’t work I’m afraid. Its strictly one for the kids, but you’ll also enjoy it with them. 3/10

Banana Matcho

banana-matcho-board
Huzzah, it has a picture of a blinged out Orangutang smoking a banana on the front, that’s a good start. Its a race to the top of the fruit tree. You play in pairs, one person rolls the 6 fruit dice looking to get sets of fruit (e.g. 3 pineapples, 3 pairs of fruit or a fruit full house), the other rolls three monkey dice trying to get three monkeys. You can roll as fast as you like, setting aside what you want to keep, its a race. As soon as 3 monkeys are rolled or the fruity player is happy, you bash a squeaky banana and the winner moves up the tree. Then the dice are passed one place to the left and a new pair battles. The player rolling the monkey dice only ever move up one spot if they win, whereas the fruit dude can move up to 12, so all other players are cheering for the monkeys. Its a lot of fun and dice will go everywhere. Its only really suitable for 6 year olds and up I would think, as younger children would have a hard time rolling the dice and processing a good roll as quick as an adult.

Sozzolometer – we’ve had post bar people hit the cafe looking for something new, but not in a state to learn anything difficult and this goes down very well. Everyone is cheering for the dice and when those three monkeys hit you’ll hear a big roar and a lot of laughs. 9/10

The Magic Labyrinth

The-Magic-Labyrinth-Board-Game-L2
Its a Maze game, where you can’t see the maze! Its hidden under the board. You can add pieces of the maze to make it easier or harder depending on how old the kids playing are. Again a powerful magnet is used, this time to hold a metal ball in place under your wizard piece with the board in-between. You wander through the maze trying to pick up tokens, but when you walk over an ‘invisible’ wall it’ll knock your ball off and you have to go back to the start, remembering not to go that way again. Its quite a thinky game, with a good memory required and kids love the maze aspect with the walls.

Sozzolometer – you probably will have a hard time remembering your own name, never mind where the walls are. Don’t play this one. 2/10

Loopin’ Louie

loopin louie
This is it, the ultimate kids/adult game. The plane spins around and you use your lever to knock him over your chickens so they don’t fall down. Last man with chickens wins. Kids love it, adults love it. We all love it.

Sozzolometer – ’nuff said. 10/10

The 2014 Game of the Year – Did they get it right?

 

The Spiel des Jahres is the Family Game of the Year awarded annually in Germany. Its the best game for people who enjoy board games, but only play occasionally, buying perhaps one or two a year. It therefore needs to be:

  • accessible
  • fun
  • easy to learn
  • original

I’ll start by saying that the three nominations this year were excellent, all three would have been worthy winners. The winner was, however, Camel Up. It was also the last to get an English release, so we have the least experience with it, but over the last two weeks it has been taught 30+ times here at the Cafe so we have a good idea of its strengths and weaknesses with the average gamer.

Most of our customers are not avid players, in general they are people who have played some Settlers, Pandemic and Ticket To Ride. We are lucky that they are very receptive to being taught new games and as a result all three of the nominations have been forced upon our willing clientele multiple times. So, did they get it right? If I and my staff were the SDJ Judges would we have picked Camel Up? Let’s find out.

Splendor

splendorbox

This was the first of the three to darken our doors and to say it has been a hit at the Cafe is an understatement. People absolutely loooooooove this game. It gets played over and over again, with people coming just to play it because they still can’t buy their own copy. My staff love it because its so quick and easy to teach while the customer feels they can sink their teeth into something with substance. The ‘if only I had just one more turn I would have won’ or the ‘ I know I can do better’ aspect is what keeps people coming back for more. All age ranges enjoy it, as exemplified by our tournament pictured below, with participants from every demographic.

DSC_0007

However, it did fall flat for a fair few people, lacking a bit of theme or being a bit dry. As a Cafe owner, tables playing Splendor I knew were always enjoying themselves, but they never looked like they were, with a lot of silence punctuating the odd ‘its your turn’ or ‘you b@$##rd I was going to take that.’

However, this game has been the most popular game in the Cafe’s first year (not called Cards Against Humanity) and the list of people waiting to buy it (both hard core gamers and regular Joes) would make the Encyclopedia Britannica look like short story. Will its lack of perceived ‘fun’ hurt it though?

Concept

concept

Game #2 to arrive. Now that’s a game where people look like they are having fun. This is kind of like Charades on a board. So far the record for a group playing Concept is 4 hours straight. Rules take about 45 seconds and are best explained through a demo, which is awesome because I like playing the game A LOT. The genius of the game is the fact that the ‘describer’ can only say YES, and watching people wandering off in completely the wrong direction and being unable to tell the they are on the wrong track (unless you call someone bashing a Question Mark on the board a lot, as a way of saying they are on the wrong track) is very amusing. It really brings out the creative juices as you try to use the limited options available to describe your card. We have had the odd group that only thinks its OK, they are usually looking for something more competitive though or find the descriptive process too difficult. It doesn’t play well as a two either which kinda blows for us as we get a lot of couples in the Cafe. A lot of fun, but lacks that winning edge and needs a decent sized group to play. A thinking mans Cards Against Humanity, is that enough to win?

Camel Up

Camel_Up_Spiel_des_Jahres_2014

New kid! Welcome to the store. 2-8 players eh? Many have made that claim, but do you actually play well across such a wide spread. Indeed we have tried all those numbers and….well yes you do. To be fair, your sweet spot is 3-6; you become a lot more tactical with 2 and a bit of a party with 8, but at only 30 minutes you don’t out stay your welcome and usually you are only warming people up. Almost everyone plays this at least twice, most three times. That dice pyramid is excessive but awesome and adds to to the sense of fun. Everyone loves it when a camel, seemingly completely out of the race, literally rides on the back of everyone else to victory. Or when a player who is losing backs a camel to the hilt in the hope that the three dice come out in the exact order to give them a last gasp win. Awesome fun. It is a little awkward to teach, however. People need to play one leg and then the ‘Oohhhh I get it’ comes out. This means we usually have to stick with them through that first leg and check in a few times to makes sure everything is tickety-boo. It feels the most ‘boardgamey’ of the three and has gone down a storm so far with those who get it. Its main downside is it is too tricky for some people. The leg betting and race betting causes confusion quickly and puts people off. Another excellent game, another worthy contender. Too fiddly though?

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Did they get it right? Its wonderful to see people having fun here, which is why I enjoy watching people play Concept and Camel Up. They look like they are having a great time! But people love Splendor, they just love it. The reception has been incredible for that game across all demographics. Personally if I could only own one of the three, it would be Concept. Putting on my impartial hat though, I have to go with Splendor as the winner, it plays well as a 2 player, which is very important for a huge portion of the gaming community and is a game that people want to play instead of doing other things.

So well done Splendor! You beat out a stellar crowd and my own favorite. Lets hope next years crop is as strong.

Here’s some thoughts from my staff here at IBGC:

Jade – Camel up is wacky fun! Concept is whacked and splendor is the slam down whack daddy! I loved em all but splendor and concept hold a place in my library and an heart while camel up is a high possible maybe probably gonna buy it next week, I have an addiction.

Dave – Splendor is totally the best.

Dawn “the Amaze-nificent” McNeil – I actually enjoyed all three finalists. Splendor might edge ahead of Camel Up in re-playability, but I can see why Camel Up took the prize (3D pyramid dice roller… woooo!). And Concept is just straight up good times

Robyn – I think concept should have won. It is an amazing game that takes very little explanation and has everyone playing at the same time. It is a great game to bring out at Christmas to involve my parents, younger sibling, and even my grandma! Because everyone gets to guess at once, there is no down time, so no waiting and being bored. And trying to give good hints so your answer is guessed makes it challenging. It’s fun as a 2 player game, and you can play it with more people, while including everyone! Camel up is an exciting game with lots of luck. The game mechanic is super simple and because of the luck, you can be good at this game even if you suck at strategy games like me 🙂 the dice tower is super awesome, and I am often rolling the dice every turn because it is so much fun to shake it, flip it upside down, and push the little tab in to release a single dice. It is a bit boring as a 2 player game, but it seems to be more exciting the more people you have. And it definitely gets loud with people cheering on their favourite color camel. Splendor is a great game, very easy to pick up, and quick to get good at. There are a lot of games very similar out there. The builders is a game with similar game mechanics, but in a small travel size which is more convenient. I do however, Love that the jewel tokens are heavy, poker style chips. It is very satisfying paying for your card with them. It works awesome with 2 players and more. But it only plays 4, which sucks because my family has 6 people, which means someone if left out. Although I put camel up as my second pick, I still really enjoy splendor for replay value.

Arlo – Camel Up is the best, anyone who disagrees is wrong.

Curtis – People like race games and the genre is due for a comeback: Camel Up is a start. It isn’t the best race game in my opinion but it is engaging on a very addictive level. Spendor, like Candy Crush, has shiny parts, is easy to learn, is enjoyable, is addictive, is involved, and only has superficial thematic elements. Concept is a game about communicating with deliberate limitations to explore ideas surrounding an unspoken concept within the group. Concept is clever and nonlinear, which is why it is such a big hit. Overall, I go for Splendor though.

Recent(ish) Library Additions

Its been quite a busy last 6 months here at IBGC, loads of game have been added to the library, some you may have seen, some may have passed you by. Here are a few of the highlights you could try next time you come down.

Sushi Go – A wonderful little card drafting game. You take a card from your hand put it in front of you face down, and pass that hand to the left. Everyone else does the same thing at the same time. One you are ready, reveal the card you picked and then pick another one from your new hand. The art is cute as a button and the game play is simple and fun. A classic for years to come I think.

Sushi-Go-Pudding

Splendor – nominated for game of the year, it has been a mega hit down at the Cafe. The only problem we have with it is having none to sell when people play it and want to immediately buy it. Simple rules, with great components, but lots of choice make for a great game. You collect gems and then use them buy the cards which give you discounts to buy more expensive cards with more points. First to 15 wins.

splendor

Freedom: the Underground Railroad – this is a co-operative game believe it or not. You are trying to help slaves escape from plantations in the South to Canada while progressing the emancipation movement through financial donations. Sounds great? Its really good and bloody hard. I’ve played it a few times and been soundly thrashed every time

FreedomMap

Dungeon Fighter – Another co-operative game, but this one is a dexterity, dungeon crawl that can even be played solo. There is a big target laid flat in the centre of the table that you must try and hit. You but you do this by bouncing dice off of the table on to it, tricky? Yes, very! You wander through rooms trying to beat monsters till you get to the big boss, which you must beat to win. You can get power ups to help you, but they will often involve having to toss the dice under your leg first, or rolling it off your nose or perhaps doing a 180 degree turn and then bouncing it all with your eyes closed! The art is awesome as well.

dungeon fighter

Boss Monster – A card game, that borrows heavily from the classic Nintendo art style. You are a dungeon boss and must create your own dungeon with the intention to both attract and defeat heroes looking for the goodies your rooms hold. Its pretty simple game-play, but both the art and quick play make this one very popular down here.

boss monster

Istanbul – Winner of this years Kennerspiel des Jahres (complex(ish) game of the year), this is a first to x gems game. The board is a series of tiles that all do different actions and can be configured differently every time you play it. You have a stack of workers that you drop off at the different tiles to do the actions available there, however you will eventually run out of them and need to collect them again, so trying to be as efficient with your movement is the key to the game. Plays in less than an hour and has done well so far in the cafe.

istanbul-game-being-played

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Dual at Mount Skullzfire – Do you like Munchkin, but find the art a bit tame? Then try this sucka! Make a three part spell such as this one (not for the faint of heart):

esw_3xcard

and try to knock out the other Battle Wizards to be the last man standing. Its bonkers and comes with a Mount Skullzfire that does nothing except be…well…Mount Skullzfire!

Black Fleet – The second game from Space Cowboys, the makers of Splendor. Its a Pick up and Deliver game, where you take control of a merchant ship trying to collect goods and take them to other ports around the board, while simultaneously controlling a Pirate ship you use to pinch other peoples goods. You use the money you collect to develop fairly bizarre special abilities (such as being able to surf over an island in your Merchant ship…useful indeed). A bit more chaotic than Splendor (OK, a lot more chaotic), but a blast to play…c’mon let out your inner Pirate!

Black-Fleet-ships-GoF14

Also recently arrived:

  • Five Tribes, the Euro style hotness from GenCon, a worker displacement game that has people drooling enough to put a Wet Floor sign out.
  • Dead of Winter: A Crossroads game. This is the one I am most excited about. A semi co-op Zombie game where there MAY be a traitor, and all the good guys share an objective they need to complete to win plus each individual has a secret personal objective they also need to complete to win, leading to some serious conflicts of interests. You can also play as a messed up Mall Santa and get bitten by the Zombies and try to heal yourself, but if you fail you cause other people to become Zombies….so much brilliance in one game I hope. I will let you know when I actually play it 🙂
  • Archer the Game
  • Walking Dead Board Game
  • Machine of Death – Game of Creative Assassination
  • Diamonds – an excellent trick taking game
  • Munchkin – Adventure Time

GenCon – the Releases!

GenCon just happened. Its a big board game convention in Indianapolis, now the 2nd biggest release point for games other than Essen and definitely the largest in North America. Over 250 games came out this year and here are a few of the highlights to wet your appitite:

1.Five Tribes (Days of Wonder) – Bruno Cathala

fivetribes

DoW’s first Gamers game. Early reports on this are very good, with people really excited after initial plays, here’s some blurb:

“Designed by Bruno Cathala, Five Tribes builds on a long tradition of German-style games that feature wooden meeples. Here, in a unique twist on the now-standard “worker placement” genre, the game begins with the meeples already in place – and players must cleverly maneuver them over the villages, markets, oases, and sacred places tiles that make up Naqala. How, when, and where you dis-place these Five Tribes of Assassins, Elders, Builders, Merchants, and Viziers determine your victory or failure. “

Available – September

2. King of New York (Iello) – Richard Garfield

kony

It’s King of Tokyo, but in New York…with a bigger Board!

“What’s new in King of New York is that you can now try to become a star in the big city; more specifically, you can achieve “Fame”, which nets you VPs, but superstar status is fleeting, so enjoy your time in the spotlight. The game board for King of New York is larger than in with each monster occupying a district in the city and everyone trying to shine in Manhattan. When you attack, you can displace a monster in another district, whether to escape military forces or to find new smashing opportunities. Yes, smashing because you can now destroy buildings and get bonuses for doing so, but the more destruction you cause, the more intense the military response.”

Available – October

3. Dead of Winter: A Crossoads Game (Plaid Hat Games) – Jonathon Gilmore/Isaac Vera

dead of winter

Zombies!!! Phew it had been 27 seconds since the last Zombie game came out, getting worried there for a second…the people who made this apparently loved the Battlestar Galactica game, but wanted something quicker and with some improvements (in their opinion anyway). The result was this:

Dead of Winter is a meta-cooperative psychological survival game. This means players are working together toward one common victory condition — but for each individual player to achieve victory, he must also complete his personal secret objective. This secret objective could relate to a psychological tick that’s fairly harmless to most others in the colony, a dangerous obsession that could put the main objective at risk, a desire for sabotage of the main mission, or (worst of all) vengeance against the colony! Certain games could end with all players winning, some winning and some losing, or all players losing. Work toward the group’s goal, but don’t get walked all over by a loudmouth who’s looking out only for his own interests! “

Available – October

4. Imperial Settlers (Portal Games) – Ignacy Trzewiczek

imperial settlers

Probably the hottest game at GenCon and by the guy who did Robinson Crusoe. It reimpliments his earlier game 51st State. Hopefully it’ll get a Canadian distributor soon.

“Imperial Sttlers is a card game that lets players lead one of the four factions and build empires by placing buildings, then sending workers to those buildings to acquire new resources and abilities. The game is played over five rounds during which players take various actions in order to explore new lands, build buildings, trade resources, conquer enemies, and thus score victory points. ”

Available – ???

5. Castles of Mad King Ludwig (Bezier Games) – Ted Alspach

Castles of Mad King Ludwig

Suburbia was one of my faves from the last couple of years and this game takes the premise of that one and adds funky shaped pieces and a Mad King, I’m all over this like a virus in a post apocalyptic world.

“In the game, each player starts with a simple foyer. One player takes on the role of the Master Builder, and that player sets prices for a set of rooms that can be purchased by the other players, with him getting to pick from the leftovers after the other players have paid him for their rooms. When a room is added to a castle, the player who built it gains castle points based on the size and type of room constructed, as well as bonus points based on the location of the room. When a room is completed, with all entranceways leading to other rooms in the castle, the player receives one of seven special rewards. After each purchasing round, a new player becomes the Master Builder who sets prices for a new set of rooms. After several rounds, the game ends, then additional points are awarded for achieving bonus goals, having the most popular rooms, and being the most responsive to the King’s demands, which change each game. Whoever ends up with the most castle points wins.”

Available – October

6. X-COM: the Board Game  (Fantasy Flight) – Eric Lang

download

Aaaaaagh, it invovles a digital App, board games are mutating…we must all Freak out! Yes its based of that game and is supposed to be pretty good and a co-op game in real time to boot. We shall see what this leads to in the future:

The app’s primary function is to coordinate the escalating alien invasion, randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans. Each invasion plan represents a general outline that the alien commanders will use to coordinate the arrival of new UFOs, plan strikes against your base, and respond to your successes or failures as it seeks to conquer Earth. The app manages all of these tasks and heightens the game’s tension as it forces you to respond in real-time. Then, after you move quickly to coordinate your response, you engage the enemy in the untimed resolution phase and feed the results to the app. Based upon these results, the app launches the invasion’s next strikes.”

Available – December

7. Cash and Guns 2nd Edition (Repos) – Ludovic Maublanc

cash and guns

A reprint of the game that makes Mexican Standoffs cool. Point your gun, get some money and point again. Its a really good big group game, so I’m glad its coming back:

“Each round, one player is the Boss, and he controls the pace of play. First, loot cards are revealed on the table to show what’s up for grabs. Next, players load their guns by secretly selecting either a “Bang!” or a “Click! Click!” card from their hand. The Boss counts to three, and on “Three” each player points his foam gun at someone else; due to his status, the Boss can tell one player who’s pointing a gun at him that he needs to point it in another direction. After a pause to observe threats and measure the seriousness in an opponent’s eyes, the Boss counts to three again and anyone who doesn’t want to risk getting shot can chicken out and remove themselves from the round.Everyone who’s pointing a gun at someone still in the round now reveals their card, and anyone who’s the target of a “Bang!” takes a wound marker and gets none of the available loot. Starting with the Boss, everyone still in the round takes one loot card at a time from the table — money, diamonds, paintings, the position of Boss, medical care (to remove a wound), or a new bullet (to add a “Bang!” card to your hand) — until everything has been claimed.”

8.Sheriff of Nottingham (Arcane Wonders) – Sergio Halaban/Bryan Pope/Andre Zatz

sheriff-of-nottingham_rjvblw

Don’t know much about this one other than the stuff written under here and the fact that the Sheriff looks utterly AWESOME:

“In Sheriff of Nottingham , players will not only be able to experience Nottingham as a merchant of the city, but each turn one player will step into the shoes of the Sheriff himself. Players declare goods they wish to bring into the city, goods that are secretly stored in their burlap sack. The Sheriff must then determine who gets into the city with their goods, who gets inspected, and who may have their goods confiscated!Do you have what it takes to be seen as an honest merchant? Will you make a deal with the Sheriff to let you in? Or will you persuade the Sheriff to target another player while you quietly slip by the gate? Declare your goods, negotiate deals, and be on the lookout for the Sheriff of Nottingham!”

Available – October

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One other big announcement was Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars: Imperial Assault. Star Wars based on the Descent system…nuff said!

imperial assualt

Grudge Match: Werewolf vs. The Resistance

Werewolf vs. The Resistance

These games are similar. Werewolf (aka Mafia or multiple other names) was the first and has been around for years now, but in recent times a bunch of spin-offs have appeared, such as Ultimate Werewolf or One Night Ultimate Werewolf. The Resistance is the pretender to the everyone shouting ‘he’s the bad guy’ throne. A little more strategic and a little more complex, its a very popular game down here with large groups, often played multiple times. Which one is for you though?

 

Werewolf:

How does it play?

In the basic game, there will be Villagers and werewolves. The number of werewolves (WW) will depend on the number of people playing (more people, more wolves). The WW know who each other are, but the villagers do not. Each night everyone shuts their eyes and the WW wake up and silently decide to kill a villager. That person is announced by the moderator (who isn’t playing) and the group has to lynch somebody they think is the WW. Chaos ensues as people start accusing each other arbitrarily of being a werewolf because they looked at them funny, or their chair squeaked when they were asleep, or they looked left when the dead villager was announced, or they just don’t like their shoes, pretty much anything can be construed as damning evidence of K9 blood. Once the lynching victim is decided they reveal if they were a WW or villager, and repeat until all the WW are dead or all the villagers are dead.

What’s awesome about it?

  • You can play as many people as you like
  • You can add tonnes of extra roles to add more ooomph to the games
  • Its funny as hell and even if you are killed you get to see who the WW are and enjoy people making ridiculous accusations.
  • Being a WW and lying your face off can be tremendous fun if your into that sort of thing.
  • Its purely about convincing people of your opinion, nothing else.

What’s not so groovy?

  • people can get sad when someone shouts at them for no reason
  • you can die and be out of the game early, which isn’t great with a lot of people playing
  • someone has to moderate the game and therefore not play.
  • If you don’t like lying you’ll have a horrid time as a werewolf.
  • There is next to no strategy, beyond manipulating people to do what you say (which can sometimes be reduced to SHOUTING LOUDLY THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN).

 

The Resistance

How does it play?

The Resistance is looking to bring down the Corporation. The Corporation have infiltrated the good guys and will try and sabotage their missions, but they don’t know who the bad guys are. Set up is the same as WW, you are secretly given a role (nice or naughty) and the Resistance need to try and figure out who the infiltrators are. There will be 5 missions and 3 must succeed in order for the Resistance to win. A leader will be chosen and they will select a certain number of people to do a mission. The rest of the table must then vote if they are happy with that group, if yes, then the group does the mission, if no , the player to the left becomes the new leader and chooses a new posse to go out a kick some booty. To pass a mission, each player secretly plays a pass or fail card, they are shuffled and revealed. If any fail card is played, then the mission is lost. Repeat until we have 3 fails/successes.

What’s awesome about it?

  • There is a strong deduction element to it, as you use peoples votes as to whom should do missions, to try and narrow down the infiltrators.
  • You can lie in a slightly more manipulating way. Because the information that comes up during the game gives you some evidence (or not) to back up your claims.
  • No moderator required.
  • Plays really quickly

What’s not so groovy?

  • Some people can be a little over-analytical and bog the game down
  • It ‘only’ goes to 10 players
  • It’s really freaking hard to win as the Resistance.

 

 

Which is better?

Werewolf! That’s because I like arguing and indiscriminate accusations. Most would probably say The Resistance (or its sister Avalon), because it has more of a game to it, but they are WRONG, so there you have it. The latest version of WW, One Night Ultimate Werewolf is an excellent new version that literally lasts one night, but because of the number of roles involved, it provides some strategy as well as the blind shouting. You would have fun with either however, but WW with a great moderator really can’t be beaten.