1920s New England. There have been strange happenings among the small township of Arkham Massachusetts and somehow, someone you know it involved. They have left a letter or made a call imploring you for your help claiming it to be, "A matter of life and death . . . and perhaps worse." You fail to see or understand what could possibly be worse than a truly life or death situation. Either way you follow the instructions that lead you to one of the oldest mansions in the city. You wonder what could possibly be so important about such a dilapidated old edifice. Yet, in your honest desires to help your friend you step inside. Little did you know that you were literally stepping into hell. You have now entered the Mansions of Madness!
Mansions of Madness is what I consider to be the best example of a horror themed game on the market. Whilst Arkham Horror is the best Lovecraftian game on the market due to its true incorporation of "cosmic horror," Mansions of Madness leaps across the bounds of more than just the Cthulhu Mythos and becomes applicable to almost any style of the Old Dark House genre. In addition Mansions is often compared to Betrayal at House on the Hill, but Mansions is a better game as far as mood and theme are concerned hands down. I have yet to find another game that captures the dark and claustrophobic atmosphere so present in horror novels and films.
The first time my game group played this game was one of the biggest events for us. all of us had grown up playing Clue and adored the dark mansion setting. This game was basically a dream come true for us. The first time we played we had all kinds of candles set up, dark mood music, and a chilling atmosphere to boot. It was one of the most enjoyable game experiences I think we've had.
Although Mansions has a plethora of complicated rules the concept itself is rather simple. You and the other investigators enter an old mansion and explore. If you run into monsters you either fight or run. Underneath this simple layer of storytelling you have puzzles mysteries to solve. Also, one player will play the "Keeper" or in other words all the bad stuff. Basically this game is a close as you can get to role-playing without actually cracking open a book. The system for this game is loosely based off of the Call of Cthulhu Role Playing Game. Having actually played that game I would say that Mansions of Madness comes very close to the experience I had in playing Call of Cthulhu. The upside is that you have beautiful playing pieces to represent all the monsters, rooms, and characters.
Mansions of Madness is what I consider to be the best example of a horror themed game on the market. Whilst Arkham Horror is the best Lovecraftian game on the market due to its true incorporation of "cosmic horror," Mansions of Madness leaps across the bounds of more than just the Cthulhu Mythos and becomes applicable to almost any style of the Old Dark House genre. In addition Mansions is often compared to Betrayal at House on the Hill, but Mansions is a better game as far as mood and theme are concerned hands down. I have yet to find another game that captures the dark and claustrophobic atmosphere so present in horror novels and films.
The first time my game group played this game was one of the biggest events for us. all of us had grown up playing Clue and adored the dark mansion setting. This game was basically a dream come true for us. The first time we played we had all kinds of candles set up, dark mood music, and a chilling atmosphere to boot. It was one of the most enjoyable game experiences I think we've had.
Although Mansions has a plethora of complicated rules the concept itself is rather simple. You and the other investigators enter an old mansion and explore. If you run into monsters you either fight or run. Underneath this simple layer of storytelling you have puzzles mysteries to solve. Also, one player will play the "Keeper" or in other words all the bad stuff. Basically this game is a close as you can get to role-playing without actually cracking open a book. The system for this game is loosely based off of the Call of Cthulhu Role Playing Game. Having actually played that game I would say that Mansions of Madness comes very close to the experience I had in playing Call of Cthulhu. The upside is that you have beautiful playing pieces to represent all the monsters, rooms, and characters.
Now, no game is completely flawless. Many games come close but none go without blemish. Mansions of Madness is flawed in the fact that it often drags during the (what I would call) the final act of the story. Usually the climax is unsatisfying in the purpose of story and too lengthy in the purpose of game play. Since Mansions of Madness generally takes a good solid 3 and a half or 4 hours of play this can really kill a game. The winning conditions are always revealed by the last clue card. From there everyone runs around trying to complete their goal, usually to no avail. It takes too long to run around the rooms to the location you need and the abundance of monsters in the way make for a tedious time. This is the part of the game that completely loses the true horror movie feel. Usually a good climax in a film is nail biting and thrilling. In here it is usually dull, frustrating, and can ultimately kill the game session while it is on its last leg.
Summing it Up
Mansions of Madness is a fun and thrilling role-playing board game. It captures a truly dark mood and storytelling experience that is hard to come by in most games. However, the sheer length of play and the usually anti-climactic ending may kill it for many gamers.
Language: 2
Gore Factor: 4
Sex Factor: 2
Scare Factor: 4
Fun Factor: 4
Overall Rating: 4
Language: 2
Gore Factor: 4
Sex Factor: 2
Scare Factor: 4
Fun Factor: 4
Overall Rating: 4