Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. If you thumb the bottom as well, I consider that a bonus. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type – Co-operative Game
Play Time: 50-70 minutes
Number of Players: 1-4
Mechanics – Co-operative Play, Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, Modular Board, Variable Player Powers
Difficulty – Moderate (Takes a few plays to get to terms with the rules and how to do well)
Components – Excellent
Release – 2008
Designer – <PERSON> –( 7 Wonders, 7 Wonders Duel, Attack on Titan: The Last Stand, Conan, Ghost Stories, Hanabi, Hurry' Cup!, The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet,Mystery Express, Oceanos, Samurai Spirit, Terror in Meeple City, Tokaido, Victorian Masterminds, Welcome Back to the Dungeon)
Overview and Theme
<PERSON>, Lord of the Nine Hells enjoyed a reign of terror before he was finally defeated during the Middle Empire. His ashes were placed in a funeral urn and buried below a Chinese village. Eons past and the lessons of the past slowly faded until there were only those that had known peace and harmony. Of course <PERSON> never really slept and rumour has spread that the shadow of his incarnation has resurfaced. But there are always those that keep watch over evil as great as this. Taoist Priests have always kept a vigil and now they too have stirred to guard the border between the living and the dead. Their mission is simple…they must use their courage, powers and faith to stand against the darkness and banish <PERSON> back to the depths of hell once again. You are one of those Taoists!
I can still remember the months in the lead-up to Ghost Stories being released, all the way back in 2008-09. The Geek was ablaze with some of the most gorgeous images I had ever seen. The colours were deep, vibrant and striking. 470
The artwork was outstanding and the art evoked the theme like few games had before. Ghost Stories takes its core concept from kung-fu films and Chinese storytelling and mythology. If you think 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' you are kind of on the money. It had a theme unlike any other on the market at the time of its release and even some 11 years later, it still stands tall as something fresh and exciting (thematically anyway).
This was my first experience of an Antoine Bauzagame and if I am to be honest I never really played it enough…I still haven’t. The game was highly respected and enjoyed by many but it probably didn’t get the full love it deserved as that time period was a heady time in the gaming scene. had been released a year before and Ghost Stories was released in the same year as and . It was the first mega-hit for , having had a few years earlier.
I never covered this game because a) I really hadn’t played it enough to do the game justice, but more to the point b) Ghost Stories was being reviewed almost constantly at the time so I didn’t feel the need to add to the chorus. Now I have the chance to revisit a classic in the co-operative sphere and impart my thoughts on the game with a decade of extra experience with all manner of games as well as the co-op genre. It's also timely to cover it now as a prototype has been spotted on the convention circuit of a re-working of the game and media reports confirm that Ghost Stories will rise again like <PERSON>. I suspect sometime in the next 12-18 months.
Can Ghost Stories still feel fresh all these years later? Is it still worth dragging out to play with so many other titles to choose from? Let’s find out…
Time to robe-up my priestess…we have ghosts to expel and a village to save.
The Components
Ghost Stories is a pretty nice production, which is led by the fantastic artwork of , the artist famous for and to name but a couple of other titles.
Village Tiles – The Village Tiles are mid-sized square affairs. Each is independent from one another but they are designed to be placed in a 3 x 3 grid to make up a 9-space village. Each tile is striking for the fact that it prominently features a given colour palette. This is a feature that is maintained throughout the production as a whole. 504