Return of the tabletop adventures - The Rebel Yell

Written by: Ryan Henning on October 25, 2012

This article has been read 739 times.

?Tis the season for some creepy-yet-utterly-enjoyable board games for this upcoming Halloween

With Halloween right around the corner, and a giant blowout sale at Little Shop of Magic, located at 4160 S. Durango Drive, I figured it was a good time to blow some money on some appropriately themed board games.

Last Night on Earth

Last Night on Earth, pictured above on left, is a zombie survival game where players play against the board for their lives. In a full six player game, not needed but definitely more fun, two players control the zombies and the other four play as survivors. Survivor turns allow the survivors to roll a D6 (six-sided die) to move, search for provisions, shoot a zombie or just do nothing. Zombie turns work the same with the exception of their movement: Zombies can only move one space, but they are able to move through walls. Ideally, the survivors will have ranged weapons. If not, a zombie or two will more than likely enter the same space as them. At that point, they fight for their lives, trying to either roll doubles to kill the zombie or higher than the zombie roll to knock it back. Last Night on Earth can be played multiple different ways, simply by changing the scenario cards or randomizing the game board itself. The game even comes with a soundtrack to add to the ambiance. All of the art is a perfect blend of real pictures and aftereffects to make all the cards feel an appropriate level of creepy. For a more in-depth look at Last Night on Earth, Wil Wheaton spotlighted the game on ?TableTop.? This game is perfect for any zombie enthusiasts or anybody that loves cooperative gaming.

Resident Evil: Deck Building Game
I?m a huge fan of the Resident Evil series and this deck building game captures all the spirit of the franchise. Players start the game with 10 cards, a couple of ammo cards and a gun in their inventory. Each player plays as a Resident Evil character with their own special abilities. For example, Claire Redfield gains 20 extra damage after she uses a green or red herb. Players always have a hand of 5 cards, so there is a chance that you might not have a weapon. Because of this, players are encouraged to buy items and weapons from the shop using gold, numbers values assigned to certain cards. If a player feels confident in his/her chances they can kick in the door of the mansion. Players flip the top card of the mansion deck and attempt to do more damage to the infected they are fighting than the health they have. If not, they take the appropriate amount of damage and their turn is over. The game ends when a player successfully finds and defeats staple Resident Evil villain Albert Wesker. The game is a fast-paced race that pushes players to plan moves out turns ahead of time. Perfect for any fans of the series or anybody that enjoys strategy or card games.

Trollhalla
Admittedly, this one doesn?t fit the ?horror theme? I?ve been creating, but when a game promises a Troll version of Valhalla, you can?t really say no. In Trollhalla, players play as disgruntled trolls sick of working under bridges for meager tolls and the occasional farmer to snack on. You and your fellow players take to the seas looking for plunder strewn across the various islands on the board. Players can put their trolls in two positions, seafaring or scouting. The seafaring position allows the player to place the troll on the most favorable ship on the board. A scouting troll gives a player a Weather God card which can have adverse effects on enemy ships. Players may board the same ships, so the real strategy of the game is what order you get placed into the boat. The order dictates what plunder you receive and ultimately how many points you receive (Noblemen are worth more points than goats). The game ends when all plunder has been taken and the points are tallied. Players can receive bonuses for any number of things (collecting all of the Billy Goats, for example), so the game is more about chance than anything. This game is perfect as a break between ?serious? games or for anybody looking for a fun, more casual game.

Gloom
I love this game. In Gloom, pictured above on right, players receive one of four different families that all have different quirks. The mechanics are the game is simple. Players take a hand of five cards and attempt to play modifiers that lower their characters self-worth. Once a character has a hefty amount of negative points, players can lay down a card that kills off that character. The game ends when one play successfully kills off all of their family. The other advantage to killing a family member is that it secures the points, as other players can play positive modifiers on your characters. The real draw to the game, and the reason I love it, is that every time a player plays a card, they must create a story behind the move. Say you?re playing ?drowned by drink? on ?Cousin James,? you would need to explain what drove Cousin James to get to the point he was ?drowned by drink.? The game is less about the cards and more about creating rich, depressing stories for your characters. The game gets really fun once other players start playing positive modifiers on your characters and have to play off your previously created back story. On top of that almost all of the cards are hilariously alliterated which makes them brilliant to say aloud. This game is perfect for anybody that loves dark humor, telling stories or is an English major.

Source: http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/2012/10/25/return-of-the-tabletop-adventures/

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