In perusing The Geek I have noticed that most reviews give general game information, and what I really wanted was what exactly goes into the gameplay. Is there area control? Blind bidding? Resource production? Or maybe some good old-fashioned luck? On top of that I really wanted to know was how these elements meshed together to form the gameplay. Like was it a strategy vs. luck game? How about tough choice resource management? Or maybe something like a concealed element blind bidding game. I believe this is the alchemy of the game, the part the makes each game unique. In each review I will go over the usual elements (Theme, Components, & Gameplay), but I will also give the Alchemy of each game, and also a Philosopher's Stone (my own feelings/thoughts) score for each game. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks and enjoy!
The Alchemy of a Board Game -
Mystery of the Abbey
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The Usual:
Theme:
Each player assumes the role of a monk investigating the murder of Brother <PERSON> in the Templar's Abbey. Through investigative prowess and their keen deductive skills players will ask a number of questions to the other players will trying to be the first one to solve the murder of Brother <PERSON>.
Components:
The components for this game are of excellent quality. Days of Wonder never fails to do top-notch work on their games. The artwork is quite stunning, and the small touches in the game components are a sight to behold. The cards are printed on normal size card stock.
It even comes with a tiny Mass Bell.
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An inherent problem with deduction games, usually, is that they require a sheet of paper for player's to keep tabs of their hunches. When the supplied pad runs out, one must usually order a new one.
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(An Example of the player's Suspect Sheet. The game comes with a pad of 50 of these.)
Personally, I prefer more of a contained system for games.
Starting the Game:
A culprit is randomly, and secretly, pulled from the suspects deck, and placed away from the player's. The remaining suspect cards are dealt to the player's. The number of cards dealt to the player's is determined by how many players there are. 118
Any remaining suspect cards are placed in a pile, face down, in the Parlatorium.
Each Suspect has five different characteristics. They are:
Bearded / Clean Shaven
Hooded / Unhooded
Fat / Thin
Father / Brother / Novice
Templar / Franciscan / Benedictine
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(In the Example above Brother <PERSON> is a Franciscan Brother who is Bearded , Hooded , and Fat )
Each player also receives a suspect sheet (showing all of the possible suspects) and a Deduction Notebook. Two of the Monk Dice are rolled to determined who was the last player in the Confessionals. The first player is determined by rolling the last Monk Die. The first player receives the Mass Bell, and the Mass cards stacked in order.
Goal of the Game:
The goal of the game is to be the player with the most points, based on who the culprit is, at the end of the game. Player's earn points for correctly guessing each of the five characteristics of the culprit. Points are also awarded to the player who correctly guesses who the culprit is. Incorrect guess on the culprit's characteristics, or the identity, earn the player negative points.
Gameplay:
Each phase is made up of four rounds. Phases are separated by Masses which brings all players back to the Chapel, an exchange of a number of suspect cards, and an event card is drawn. The exchange of suspect cards is determined by the phase the game is in, and is most always to a player's left. The Event Cards slightly change the gameplay from phase to phase (locking rooms, speaking in chants, Suspect Card revelation, etc).
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During a player's turn they may move up to two rooms. A player must move at least one room, and can not use two-room movement to re-enter the same room.
If a player ends their turn in a room that another player's pawn is in that player must ask a question to a player who's pawn was already in the room (if multiple pawns are present, the player who entered the room may choose which player to ask the question to). The question can be any question so long as it does not reveal a suspect's name. The player who has been asked a question has the option of answering the question. If the player does not want to answer the question they can choose the "vow of silence," which ends the moving active player's turn. 937