Merissa (12066 KP) created a post
Sep 2, 2020
Farmer's Dynasty
Video Game
FARMER'S DYNASTY – the unique REAL-LIFE SIMULATION offers a totally new farming simulation...
Straight Songs Of Sorrow by Mark Lanegan
7.5
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Album
Straight Songs Of Sorrow combines musical trace elements from early Mark Lanegan albums with the...
Passing Strange
Show
Passing Strange is a comedy-drama rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of...
Shrek the Musical
6.5
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Show
Shrek The Musical is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David...
Union Black by Skindred
8.0
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Album
Union Black is the fourth album from British reggae metal band Skindred. It was released on 25 April...
Tenet (2020)
7.7
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Movie Watch
Spy thriller with SF elements from Christopher Nolan. A covert operative enters a strange world of...
time travel
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
6.8
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Video Game
Tenchu is known for its stealth gameplay and the eerie settings of feudal Japan. Tenchu was one of...
Solomon Wendt (30 KP) rated The Big Book of Madness in Tabletop Games
May 5, 2019
The game mechanics feature deck building, spell casting, cooperation, and some randomization of spells available and monsters to defeat. There are schools of magic related to the four elements; air, earth, fire, and water. Each element has two magician students that specializes in that element for a total of 8 different characters, each with their own special ability. There are four decks of spells, again related to the elements, that is randomized during set up, changing what spells are available game to game. Similarly, the monsters you must face are randomized, so the chance of having the same exact game as another is rare. The gameplay remains consistent, though.
Over the course of 6 rounds, players work together to defeat monsters. It is a pure cooperation game. No one has any secret objective and should communicate with other players. Games of this fashion, such as Pandemic, tend to end up having one or two people make all the decisions for the group. It my many plays of the game, I have only had that happen once or twice. The variation in spells, magicians, and elements usually make a player uniquely helpful to the group, allowing players to choose how they want to build their character. Although each magician has an elemental alignment, you can choose to focus on different elements and spells and are not limited to one type of role. Each element of magic has a different role to deal the challenges players face, meaning a good balance can be very beneficial. However, due to the randomization, it is possible either the spells or the monsters leave one of the elements non-essential, but that is fairly uncommon.
Overall, the game is very enjoyable and can be played multiple times with different variations. The difficulty can be adjusted if ot feels it is too hard or easy. My group that plays about once a week are clearing the 2nd difficulty 50% of the time and haven't cleared it with a variation yet. It can be a challenge and has elements of luck and strategy. It is a fun game to play with friends, especially because it is cooperative, and I would recommend adding it to your collection.
The game is 2-5 players and runs 60-90 minutes. It is family friendly and a great game for those who love magic fandoms such as Harry Potter.
