Kickstarter Preview: Monster Mansion

To date I haven’t paid any attention to Kickstarters in this blog under the theory that it’s better to talk about games when they’re done and published. However, two current Kickstarters caught my eye, so I decided to give them some attention in this and an upcoming column. In each case, the Kickstarting publisher sent me a prototype and I gave it a play, so that I could write about it here.


Monster MansionKickstarter link ) caught my eye because it’s a new co-op game. Though I’ve only touched upon the category of games here, I’ve actually written a book on the topic with Christopher Allen that we hope to get to print next year. So, it’s a topic that’s near and dear to my heart.

Enter Monster Mansion. It’s a game where you’ve been dropped down into the basement of a monster-filled mansion and are trying to get out. All you have to do is make it through three dungeon rooms, get to the stairs, rush through three mansion rooms, then make it out the exit.

Monster Mansion Components

Easy enough? Of course not. Continue reading

New to Me: Summer 2014 — The Season of Very Good

Another season has gone by, and though I didn’t play anything new that was great in Summer 2014, I played a whole bunch of new games that were very good, and that I’d happily play again, so here’s my look at The Season of Very Good.

The Very Good

Damage ReportDamage Report (2014). Following in the footsteps of Space Alert (2008) and Escape: The Curse of the Temple (2012)Damage Report is a real-time cooperative game. It’s a game of logistical resource movement, where the real-time play is all about getting the right stuff to the right places in time, while a 3-minute timer of doom relentlessly adds to your problems.

As a real-time game, Damage Report does a great job of keeping you frenzied: you try and keep abreast of the larger picture while constantly being dragged down by the need to take your own moves and monitor your own timer. As a cooperative game, Damage Report does a good job of giving you opportunities for working together: you try and get the appropriate supplies to your friends (or on the flipside, reveal what supplies they could bring you) — and the challenges put in your way are tough. The phrase “logistical cooperation” doesn’t sound that exciting, but the game turns out to be joyously frantic and adrenaline-fueled. The cooperative play works, but the designer really got the real-time play right. Continue reading