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Dean Gregory (18 KP) rated Scotland Yard in Tabletop Games

Jun 5, 2019  
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
1983 | Deduction, Travel
7
8.2 (5 Ratings)
Tabletop Game Rating
Clever asymmetrical gameplay (2 more)
Strategic
Beginner rules available for younger players
Can end up hinging on luck and guesswork (0 more)
Catch Me If You Can
Scotland Yard is an asymmetrical game of deduction and deception, depending on which role you take. Mister X must move in secret to stay out of the reach of the law long enough to escape London (22 turns), while the detectives must work together to trap and capture him.

The board is a map of London divided into numbered stations and linked together by coloured lines, depicting routes and different modes of transport - yellow for taxis, blue for buses and red for the underground. There are also a handful of black routes for ferries, which are available only to Mister X under special rules.


The mechanic of a player moving in complete secret on a tabletop game is one I never would have thought was possible, but Scotland Yard manages to pull it off, and make it work well. Mister X plots their movements with the use of a special pad and paper by writing down the station number they occupy, covering it with the ticket they used to make their move. This is the only clue the detectives have as to where X might be. It works extremely well.

Mister X also has access to two special tickets - a X2 ticket allows them to make two moves in one, and a black ticket allows them to use any mode of transport, with the added bonus of showing them to take ferry routes. Smart use of these powers is necessary to get out of scrapes, as they also have to reveal their location every 5 moves, starting with move 3.

Detectives have a limited number of tickets for each mode of transport, so in order to win they need to coordinate their movements so they don't waste tickets unnecessarily. However, if there are less than 4 detective players, each detective not controlled by a player is replaced with a police officer who is universally controlled. The police can move freely without the need for tickets, making them far more versatile than detectives. This is presumably to balance the difficulty for smaller teams, but it ends up making a game with all 4 detectives considerably harder than a game with only 3. The level of care and consideration that must go into each move makes playing the detectives a completely different experience to playing as Mister X.

I came into the game thinking it would be heavily skewed in Mister X's favour. After all, most of the moves they make are in secret, they're completely unhindered by tickets, and they get a couple of special powers to boot. On top of that, the detectives first two moves are complete guesswork, so X gets a head start. In practice though, staying 3 steps ahead of the detectives is vital to survival, and when they work together well it can be ready for X to put themselves in an impossible situation. It takes careful planning to stay ahead of the game.

There is a beginner mode which is aimed at younger players. The differences are that the number of rounds Mister X needs to survive for is 13 instead of 22, red underground routes are unavailable to all players, and most of all, Mister X remains in the board all game, only disappearing on the turns where he would appear in the regular game. I can't really offer an opinion on this version, but I can see the appeal of it, even if it defeats the concept of the game a bit.

This is a bonafide classic, and a solid challenge no matter which role you take on. As long as the game doesn't devolve into a series of guesses and lucky breaks (which, due to the nature of Mister X's movements, can be a regular issue), it offers an evening of smart gameplay with a solid replay value.
  
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Amy Norman (1042 KP) rated The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross in Apps

Sep 6, 2020  
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross
Games
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
App Rating
If you are a fan of the anime or manga, then you will enjoy the episodic nature of this turn based role playing game.


The game follows the events that we have seen unfold within the anime.
It does this by interspersing amazing cinematic cutscenes, with turn based battles, and some written/'speech' cutscenes (with character animations).

The gameplay is simple, you get to select 3 characters, and 1 reserve.
During the battle you are allowed to select 3 different actions (if you have 3 heroes standing) in each round, you can buff/debuff, heal, remove ailments, or select one of many types of attacks.
The amount of enemies per level differs, but you will usually remove 3 enemies, and then the boss will appear, sometimes accompanied by a few more mobs.

As you move through the story you will have some characters added to your 'Heroes' tab. However, there are many events that allow you to draw tickets in hopes of receiving more.
There is the usual in-app purchases, this comes in the form of gems, and you can use these to purchase characters, weapons, and some other items.
You can also earn gems through other methods, and I have been content enough with the amount I have been able to obtain.

There are so many different ways to enjoy this game, as there are so many things that you can improve with regards to your characters.
I feel like there is something for everyone in this game, as there is a PVP element, and you can also join 'Knighthoods', so that you can work with others to attack bigger bosses (a bit like raids).

I recently enjoyed the crossover event with Attack on Titan, and in a limited time (due to my being unable to play) managed to unlock one of the characters.
This isn't the only other anime crossover that they have done, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

I have been playing this for a long time now, and am still enjoying it, and have a long way to go to complete the story.
If you are a fan of The Seven Deadly Sins then I highly recommend this game, as it is really immersive, and is like living through the anime/manga yourself.