Choose your own review: Space Hulk Death Angel: The Card Game

I used to enjoy Choose Your Own Adventure books, and I thought the format would make for an interesting review ....

You are in the midst of a quest to a strange new land! (OK, let's say you're at the dry cleaners.) As you leave the merchant stall with your new magic rune (three business shirts, light starch), you look across the parking lot and notice a game store that you've never heard of before. You feel drawn to it -- you're sure you hear a voice telling you to visit. What do you do?

a. Walk into the store. (Go to #1.)
b. Leave and go home. (Go to #2.)

1. You walk into the store and are greeted by a kindly man. He introduces himself as Manager -- he's the Subaltern of Merchants. He is organizing his wares, and you notice a game you've never seen, called Space Hulk Death Angel: The Card Game. Noticing your interest, Manager asks if you are familiar with cooperative games. How do you answer?

a. "What's a cooperative game?" (Go to #7.)
b. "I hate cooperative games; why bother to play with people if there is no winner?" (Go to #3.)
c. "It depends upon whether there's a traitor mechanic. Without a traitor mechanic, it always seems as though one person runs the show." (Go to #4.)
d. "I enjoy cooperative games -- even without a traitor mechanic." (Go to #5.)

2. You mount your steed (get into your car) and drive home. You can't help but wonder what the voice meant, but now you'll never know. (Seriously? What kind of adventurer are you? The end.)

3. Manager answers, "You were wise to speak with me first, my friend. This game will not serve your purposes. You may want to visit a friend of mine named 'BoardGameGeek' in the land known as Internet to find other options." You are disappointed to hear this, but you feel as though you have made the correct decision. (Go to #9.)

4. Manager answers, "You were wise to speak with me first, my friend. This game will not serve your purposes." If you don't already own them, you may want to consider Battlestar Galactica, Shadows Over Camelot or Saboteur." You may want to visit a friend of mine named 'BoardGameGeek' in the land known as Internet to find other options." You are disappointed to hear this, but you feel as though you have made the correct decision. (Go to #9.)

5. Manager answers, "You may find it worthwhile to buy this game, but maybe not. Death Angel's theme involves playing out a futuristic gun battle between space marines and aliens known as Genestealers. How does that sound?" How do you answer?
a. "That sounds really cool!" (Go to #6.)
b. "That doesn't sound like something my group would enjoy." (Go to #8.)

6. Manger answers, "Very good, my friend. Death Angel is largely a card game with a few markers and one die. There is no board -- not even a player mat. There are no fancy figurines. How does that sound?" How do you answer?
a. "That's OK with me -- it makes the game more portable and keeps the price lower." (Go to #10.)
b. "That doesn't sound like something my group would enjoy. My group really likes a nice board and some components." (Go to #11.)
c. "Did you say a die? Hold on there; my group doesn't go for rolling dice." (Go to #12.)

7. Manager answers, "A cooperative game is one where the players work as a group to defeat 'the game.' The group either wins or loses as one team. Does that sound like something you and your companions would enjoy?" How do you answer?
a. "That sounds cool." (Go to #5.)
b. "That doesn't sound like something my group would enjoy." (Go to #3.)

8. Manager answers "You were wise to speak with me first, my friend. This game will not serve your purposes. If you don't already own them, you may want to consider Pandemic, Shadows Over Camelot or Saboteur." You may also want to visit a friend of mine named 'BoardGameGeek' in the land known as Internet to find other options." (Go to #9.)

9. You leave Manager's merchant stall. You feel good about the decision you made. As you mount your steed (start your car), you look up to see that the stall has disappeared -- it now appears to be a seller of poor-quality armor (a Radio Shack). You stare in disbelief, but then hear Manager's voice. "Do not fear young adventurer. I will return again when I am needed." You ride away, vowing to return to the wise merchant in the future. (The end.)

10. Manager answers "It sounds as though you and your companions would enjoy Death Angel. Furthermore, Death Angel is enjoyable solitaire if necessary. Please meet me at the front of my merchant stall if you would like to complete your purchase." (Go to #9.)

11. Manager answers "You were wise to speak with me first, my friend. This game will not serve your purposes. If you don't already own it, you may want to consider Shadows Over Camelot." You may also want to visit a friend of mine named 'BoardGameGeek' in the land known as Internet to find other options." (Go to #9.)

12. Manager answers "You were wise to speak with me first, my friend. This game will not serve your purposes. If you don't already own it, you may want to consider Pandemic." You may also want to visit a friend of mine named 'BoardGameGeek' in the land known as Internet to find other options." (Go to #9.)

Death Angel

Not much gaming going on -- too much work and too much bad weather.

I did have a chance to try out Fantasy Flight's Death Angel: The Card Game. The game allows for solo or cooperative play in the Warhammer 40k universe. The player(s) control space marines fighting their way through a ship filled with Genestealers. I had picked the game up the first week of January using a 50%-off coupon at Borders. With the coupon it was about $10.

I'll write a more complete review after I've had a chance to play a few more games, but it was tension-filled and fairly streamlined, which are the two most important factors in a solitaire game. Patrick was playing Wii while I was playing the game, and the tension must have been evident in my grumbling, since he kept asking "Dad, did you die?"

I haven't played Space Hulk (which is what the game is loosely based upon). I think Space Hulk looks like a cooler game (for any groups wanting a game with the sci-fi-dungeon craw theme). But it only supports two players, plus it's out of print and quite expensive (over $100) on the secondary market.

Death Angel: The Card Game also lacks the traitor mechanic, found, for example, in Shadows Over Camelot, Battlestar Galactica and Saboteur. Cooperative games without the traitor mechanic, such as Pandemic, run the risk of becoming group puzzles, where one player takes over, telling the others what to do during their turn -- and ruining the fun. The traitor mechanic not only keeps this from happening (since players are required to maintain a certain level of secrecy), but it adds a psychological demension that resembles poker.

So, while I had a good time with the game, I don't know that it's a must-have for most gamers.

The Boys are Back in Town

One of the highlights of our gaming is Steve's occaissional trips back to St. Louis. He was an integral part of our gaming during high school and college, but his job has taken him away for most of the last 15 years. He makes it back to St. Louis about once a year, and we always make an effort to get together for some gaming. Wednesday night, he took time from his Christmas visit and brought along his son, Tom, and his brother, Jeff. Adding in the usual crowd (Al, Al's son Jeff, Drew, Steven and me) gave us the biggest group that we've had in years. It also created a challenge in picking out a game. (The other challenge was having two Steves and two Jeffs at the table.)

We started off with a game we haven't played in several years -- Forumla De. Published in 1991 by Ludodélire (although Al owns the version published by Descartes Editeur), it is a Formula-1 themed racing game. The latest version of the game (now known as Formula D) was published by Asmodee. The rules are simple, and we were up and running a two-lap race in about ten minutes. Steve and I were leading the pack at the beginning of lap two, but I missed a turn and spun out, leaving Steve to coast to the victory. Al was one turn behind and was able to finish second, follwed by Steven.

Not quite ready to call it a night, Jeff S. (who has become a huge gamer since we last talked with him ten years ago) brought out Saboteur by Z-Man Games. Originally published in 2004, it's a semi-cooperative card game with a traitor mechanic. The players represent mining dwarves and play cards helping the group to reach a target card representing gold. The group wins or loses together depending upon whether the group reaches the gold before they run out of cards. The players share the gold (points), but the player who played the last card (allowing the group to reach the gold) gets the most gold. The player with the most gold after three rounds wins the game (making it semi-cooperative).

What really makes the game, however, is the traitor mechanic. Before each round, players are dealt a card that (privately) indicates whether they will be a loyal dwarf (for that round) or a saboteur. It's possible that more than one dwarf will be a saboteur -- with our group of eight, five or six would be loyal, and two or three would be saboteurs. We've seen this mechanic before in one of our group favorites, Shadows Over Camelot, and Saboteur played out with much of the same feel. Every slightly off-key card play creates suspicions that the player is the saboteur. This always leads to charges and counter-charges and much laughter. Nothing is better than showing your true colors as a traitor by playing a killer card at the crucial moment. And nothing is funnier than watching an innocent person (often Al) profess his loyalty while we ignore the quiet traitor who's killing us without us knowing it. Every gaming group should try out a game with this mechanic. The previosly-mentioned Shadows Over Camelot has an Athurian theme. Battle Star Galactica by Fantasy Flight would be a choice for fans of the show. If neither of these themes have special appeal for your group, Saboteur has the feel with easier rules and a shorter playtime.