Post by Kirei on Jun 15, 2013 9:51:17 GMT
Gloom
A Storytelling Card Game for 2-4 players
Published by Atlas Games
Gloom is a story-telling game for 2-4 players; whereby each player takes control of 1 "family" of 5 characters, each with their own bizarre bit of fluff-text, and attempts to make them as miserable as possible before killing them off in unspeakable (and usually unbelievable) circumstances. The game works by each player playing a certain number of cards onto a character that is in play, not necessarily their own, granting either positive or negative modifiers to the affected card. That's where the real genius of this game's design comes in: unlike card games such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon & Magic: The Gathering where you have to hide your stat modifier cards under the card they affect, constantly having to check what does what, Gloom's cards look like this:
That's right. They're clear. So when you play or receive a modifier, it goes on top of your cards, cancelling and/or changing certain effects and leaving you with a clear total and your character still visible!
The gameplay mechanic is fairly simple and doesn't sound all that great on paper, but when the action of storytelling is included this game becomes so much more fun!
The characters can meet their demise in so many different ways (See the Geek & Sundry playthrough below for a great example of how this game plays)
The game also has a nice selection expansions to allow for extra players and even more ways to make your characters miserable! (As well as an alternate universe version set in H.P. Lovecraft's infamous Innsmouth of the Cthulhu mythos)
This game is great for parties and is a really good way to help people new to roleplaying get into the world of imaginative storytelling. Every time I've played it's been a different and hilarious experience (from cats rising repeatedly from the dead because they want to go to the bookshop to Scientists abducting other family members for bizarre experiments involving pond-water).
There are additional cards that can help you score more(less) points that you can only hold under certain circumstances, and for me, this is the game's only failing. They operate on a first-come-first-serve basis and you can only ever have one at a time (fair enough), but you can lose them so quickly and sometimes without even realising it, meaning that your score can get muddled and, depending on who you're playing with,arguments can break out. Like with Monopoly,the best gaming experience and easiest wins go to the person that pays attention to everyone's moves.
I love this game, the way it's designed and its general grimness even if some of the rules are a little tricky to begin with. For me, this is definitely a top-10er.
8/10
