Hey Guys and Gals!
The first type of game that really got me into board games was a cooperative game. I think co-ops are a great introduction for people that haven't really played. The deal with cooperative games is you and your group are playing agains the board. So everyone wins or everyone loses. I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Cooperative Games: Ghost Stories.
Now when you think of Ghost Stories you probably think of camp fires, s'mores and a guy with a hook that for some reason makes a menacing amount of noise to alert the protagonist of their presence. Really, why is there always a hook and why is he so noisy?
In this case, however, you'd be wrong. In Ghost Stories you are Samurais defending a village from the evil Wu-Feng, who is dead and in hell. He's grumpy and holding a grudge so naturally he is sending spooky apparitions to take everyone down. So, less campfires and more old kung-fu movie, which is pretty darn cool.
First Impressions
I've had this game for awhile, but the first thing that I remember noticing was how absolutely stunning the art work is on this game.
Seriously, look how pretty this artwork is!
The components themselves are pretty sturdy and well made, the only figures that I thought were lacking were the Samurais themselves. I'll allow it though, because I think the buddhas are pretty rad.
Now, after taking all these beautiful cards and pieces out, the next thing I noticed was the rule book. This is my least favorite thing about the game. This rulebook felt really disjointed and hard to follow. I believe there is a translation issue, which I totally understand. However, it felt like it was in English, translated to another language, then translated back to English and that's the rulebook we got. Don't let that discourage you too much though, it's totally readable, just clunky the first few playthroughs.
Game Overview
I just want you guys to get a pretty high level overview of this game. I don't expect anyone to read this and be able to run off and play. That will have to be an entirely different post. ;)
The game play itself is pretty simple and tons of fun.
You'll draw one of those pretty cards and see which baddie you get. The card you get determines where you place it. If your game board is full of ghosts (oh, no!) you don't draw a card and you take a damage instead.
You then decide where you want to move or if you even want to at all. Guys, its your turn and you can move or stay put if you want to. You can get help from one of the villagers, which... You ARE trying to save them, so it only seems polite that they'd help you out. Or, being the mighty Samurai you are, you can attempt to fight (or exorcise) a ghost. You fight them by rolling dice. It's tougher than it sounds. You also get tokens you can spend on fighting them, which can help your odds and makes it less pure chance.
Rinse, repeat, until you make it down to the big bad Wu-Feng Boss and boom! Town saved! Villagers safe! Everyone gets to go home and have a cold one! Sounds easy, right?
Guys, full disclosure, this is the hardest co-op I own. Picture, just like an old Kung-Fu movie, you're characters and standing the middle of a town square and just wave after wave of bad guys are coming at you. That's how this game is. Its super hard, but it makes that win oh, so worth it.
SO? How Would You Rate It?!
Rating: 4.5/5.
It's one of my most played games, which makes that admission of almost never winning it even more embarrassing. The game play is fun, its challenging, but you feel these small senses of accomplishments throughout the game.
It's a pretty solid 4 Player game. I don't really care for how it scales down to 3 Players. It works okay with 2 Players, because we just cheat and play 2 players at a time.
If you do this, I suggest having a marker to remember who is on which turn. It can get dicey (see what I did there?) when you can't remember what color just went or who is supposed to go, and no, I told you its MY turn, or wait... maybe it's your turn?
Um. Anyway.
I hope this inspires you to give this game a look!
Later I hope to do a post on how to set up the game. I know there is a rulebook, but I happen to like pictures when setting up a game. So keep an eye out for my next post!
Happy Playing!