Board Game Roundup
Splendor, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Shadow Hunters*
Splendor: Splendor was a game that I found quite zen. There's no contact between players, very little tension (unless someone reserves a card you really want), and not a whole lot of forward planning. You start out collecting chips that represent different gems. On each turn you can choose to collect 3 different gems, or two of the same gem as long as there are at least 4 available. As the game progresses you use these gems to purchase cards. Each card requires a different number of gems to purchase and provides you with a free gem or points and a free gem, but unlike chips the cards (and gems on the cards) stay with you for the remainder of the game and can be used on any round. There are also nobles - I guess that's what they are, they all looked like they were pretty upscale back in the 1600's - who provide you points but no gems if you meet a certain condition, such as having collected 3 cards each of 3 different kind of gems. The first person to 15 points wins.
There isn't a whole lot going on in this game, but I can see why people like it and why it was nominated for and won so many awards. It plays quickly (~30 mins), scales nicely from 2 to 4 players, and as long as they can count and know their colors, any age of gamer can enjoy Splendor with equal chances of winning. This isn't something I'm going to rush out and buy after having played once (which I have been known to do), but if someone has it and wants to play I wouldn't turn it down.
There isn't a whole lot going on in this game, but I can see why people like it and why it was nominated for and won so many awards. It plays quickly (~30 mins), scales nicely from 2 to 4 players, and as long as they can count and know their colors, any age of gamer can enjoy Splendor with equal chances of winning. This isn't something I'm going to rush out and buy after having played once (which I have been known to do), but if someone has it and wants to play I wouldn't turn it down.
Betrayal at House on the Hill: This is a game my husband and I have wanted to play since seeing it on Tabletop. We like scary movies and this game is a like scary movie you get to experience first hand. The first part of the game has you exploring a creepy, abandoned house. As you enter a new room, a random tile is placed on the modular board and if there are any events, omens, or items you resolve them (or take the item). Since the board is modular and you decide how pieces will be oriented, it reminded me of the Winchester Mystery House with doors leading to brick walls, a balcony surrounded by rooms, and stairs that led nowhere. Each player has different stats (knowledge, speed, might, and sanity) and different events or omens could have you testing your abilities to get certain effects or items, such as having to test your knowledge in order to crack a safe and get the items inside. Each time an omen card is revealed you perform a haunt roll by rolling 6 dice; if you roll a number equal to or less than the number of omen cards already revealed the haunt begins. There's mounting tension with the haunt rolls as omen cards are revealed, and I actually was feeling more and more nervous the more and more omens we found.
Once the haunt begins, you consult the book to see which haunt occurs and who the betrayer is. This game I ended up as the betrayer, and had to go away to read my special information on what my goal was for the rest of the game. The other players read from a different book on what they had to do to defeat me. This particular haunt I controlled some weird plants that crept around the house trying to catch the other players and drag them away to eat them. The other players had to make a special item to kill either the plants or me. I would win if I killed all players or obtained and destroyed their special item, and they won if they killed me or used the item to kill a certain number of my plants. This particular haunt didn't last long because the others lucked out big time. Apparently they needed a book to create the special item, and because we were all together at the time the haunt began, I had to drop the book right there for them to pick up. Also, we were all hanging out in the basement and there was only one entrance, so it was tough to get the plants down there seeing as they could only move 2 rooms at a time each round. Then it turns out the others could only kill my plants in a couple of rooms of the house, and one of them happened to be the only room adjacent to the basement entrance. Needless to say, they won easily since they blasted my plants every time they tried to get to the players in the basement.
There's a lot more to Betrayal at House on the Hill than what I explained here (such as attacking players during the haunt), and I encourage you to check it out for yourself. My husband and I liked it a lot, but the game requires at least 3 players and since we mostly play with each other it's not something we're rushing out to get. It is on our list and I'm sure we'll add it to our collection some day, but if you have 3 players I'd highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself. It only takes about an hour to play, and with 50 different haunts in the base game and never knowing who the betrayer is until the haunt begins, there's tons of replay value. This game is sure to entertain for quite some time.
Once the haunt begins, you consult the book to see which haunt occurs and who the betrayer is. This game I ended up as the betrayer, and had to go away to read my special information on what my goal was for the rest of the game. The other players read from a different book on what they had to do to defeat me. This particular haunt I controlled some weird plants that crept around the house trying to catch the other players and drag them away to eat them. The other players had to make a special item to kill either the plants or me. I would win if I killed all players or obtained and destroyed their special item, and they won if they killed me or used the item to kill a certain number of my plants. This particular haunt didn't last long because the others lucked out big time. Apparently they needed a book to create the special item, and because we were all together at the time the haunt began, I had to drop the book right there for them to pick up. Also, we were all hanging out in the basement and there was only one entrance, so it was tough to get the plants down there seeing as they could only move 2 rooms at a time each round. Then it turns out the others could only kill my plants in a couple of rooms of the house, and one of them happened to be the only room adjacent to the basement entrance. Needless to say, they won easily since they blasted my plants every time they tried to get to the players in the basement.
There's a lot more to Betrayal at House on the Hill than what I explained here (such as attacking players during the haunt), and I encourage you to check it out for yourself. My husband and I liked it a lot, but the game requires at least 3 players and since we mostly play with each other it's not something we're rushing out to get. It is on our list and I'm sure we'll add it to our collection some day, but if you have 3 players I'd highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself. It only takes about an hour to play, and with 50 different haunts in the base game and never knowing who the betrayer is until the haunt begins, there's tons of replay value. This game is sure to entertain for quite some time.
Shadow Hunters: This was the most interesting game of the night for me since we got to play it with 8 players. At the beginning of the game you get a card with a character who is either shadow, hunters, or neutral and has a special ability that only your character can use (some of them can be used all the time, and others can only be used once per game). Your character card also lists your victory condition, such as killing all of the shadow players if you're a hunter. At the start of the game no one knows what group the other players are a part of, and this must be discovered as the game progresses.
On your turn, you roll one 6-sided die and one 4-sided die (on a side note, this was my first time playing with a 4-sided die and it was really fun to roll!), and you put one of your markers on the card that corresponds with that number. These cards will let you either pick up a black, white, or green card, choose any color card you want, or deal damage to or heal other players. The black cards all seemed to be items that would help you attack others, but sometimes it backfires and deals damage to you, while the white cards seemed to be more passive effects or defense. Careful with these cards, however, because sometimes they require you to reveal your character. The green cards let you secretly ask a question of another player, and has an action for them to do depending on the answer. For instance, I pulled a card that said something to the effect of "I bet you're a Shadow. If so, you heal 1 damage. If you have no damage, you take 1 damage." The player I handed this to took 1 damage, so now I know that he is a shadow player (and that since I'm a hunter, this is someone I should be targeting).
The next thing you can do on your turn is attack a player that's in the same section as you (sections are defined on the board). You do this by declaring who you're attacking, and then rolling both die. How much you attack for is equal to the difference between the two die. For instance, if you roll a 2 on the 6-sided die and a 4 on the 4-sided die you'll do 2 damage, and vice versa if the number on the 6-sided die was higher. The player who was attacked then moves their 2nd marker up the damage tracker. A player is dead when they reach the point on the damage tracker that corresponds with the health on their character card.
On your turn, you roll one 6-sided die and one 4-sided die (on a side note, this was my first time playing with a 4-sided die and it was really fun to roll!), and you put one of your markers on the card that corresponds with that number. These cards will let you either pick up a black, white, or green card, choose any color card you want, or deal damage to or heal other players. The black cards all seemed to be items that would help you attack others, but sometimes it backfires and deals damage to you, while the white cards seemed to be more passive effects or defense. Careful with these cards, however, because sometimes they require you to reveal your character. The green cards let you secretly ask a question of another player, and has an action for them to do depending on the answer. For instance, I pulled a card that said something to the effect of "I bet you're a Shadow. If so, you heal 1 damage. If you have no damage, you take 1 damage." The player I handed this to took 1 damage, so now I know that he is a shadow player (and that since I'm a hunter, this is someone I should be targeting).
The next thing you can do on your turn is attack a player that's in the same section as you (sections are defined on the board). You do this by declaring who you're attacking, and then rolling both die. How much you attack for is equal to the difference between the two die. For instance, if you roll a 2 on the 6-sided die and a 4 on the 4-sided die you'll do 2 damage, and vice versa if the number on the 6-sided die was higher. The player who was attacked then moves their 2nd marker up the damage tracker. A player is dead when they reach the point on the damage tracker that corresponds with the health on their character card.
I found Shadow Hunters to be quite fun once I got the hang of it. With 8 players there was a lot going on, especially with the green cards being passed around. It's another fairly quick game (30 - 45 mins), and it's not a tough game to pick up once you understand how to attack and what the other characters' special abilities are, though there's a bit of luck involved in where you go on the board and who's in your section (and hence who you can attack at any given time). I also noticed that with only so many character cards available, those that have played the game before remember what special ability each character has so they have an advantage in knowing whether you're shadow, hunter, or neutral as soon as you play your ability. I can see this game becoming less fun when you've played enough to know all of the characters, but you still have to be able to kill the right ones so there is a bit of a challenge left. From what I've experienced, I think this game would shine with a lot of players, but wouldn't be very fun with 3 or even 4. I wasn't intrigued enough by this game to want it in our collection (especially since it's more fun with a lot of players), but I'd happily play again with a large group if someone has the game.
*Disclaimer: I don't own these games and have only played them once. These descriptions are my interpretation of the games after having them explained to me as we play. Since I have not read the rules, it's (highly) possible that I've explained something wrong or misrepresented a game. Please accept my apologies in advance if this is the case!
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