Last Friday I had a chance to attend my friend Troy's game night. He has a large selection of horror themed games that we are attempting to play in September and October as Halloween approaches. We got to play a couple games at this most recent gathering. Last Friday Last Friday night was the 13th of September and a full moon adding to the fun of playing horror themed games. First we played Last Friday: Return to Camp Apache, this is the expansion to the original game Last Friday. It is designed by Antonio Ferrara and Sebastiano Fiorillo and plays up to seven players. Last Friday is a hidden-movement, one versus many game. In this case, the majority of players play cooperatively as stereotypical college students within a horror setting – at a camp in the woods. The players are periodically made aware of the previous locations of a maniac and a demon who both make hidden notes of their movements behind a screen as they stalk the campers. The game is played over the course of two chapters. The results of the first chapter determine the setup for the second. During the first chapter the camper players (college students) attempt to locate keys located in tents around the camp which unlock different cabins as well as find equipment and helpful items by discovering clue tokens along the way. The goal in the scenario we played was for the campers to find the Sheriff and a Witch inside cabin locations and attempt to protect them for 15 rounds. The maniac and the demon had the goal of attempting to kill the campers and/or the Sheriff and Witch. In our game, the campers ended up having two or three casualties and the Witch was also killed. The Sheriff and a couple of campers survived through the first chapter. This was a favorable chapter end for the campers. Next, we started the second chapter. This is where the expansion Last Friday: Return to Camp Apache get's a bit tricky to follow. In the second chapter, the campers who had been running from the maniac and demon trying to protect the Sheriff and Witch, must now continue to evade the maniac while attempting to find and defeat the demon. The player playing as the demon (predator) must now attempt to find and defeat the maniac (prey), while eluding the campers. The maniac must try to kill the Sheriff and/or all the campers while avoiding being found and killed by the demon (predator). It's a circle of terror. Each entity is attempting to elude one enemy while hunting the other. Also, to add to the confusion, one cabin catches ablaze and the fire spreads during the first three turns of the second chapter. This narrows the trails and locations players can traverse thus shrinking the map. While playing this second chapter, our group was a bit concerned and confused as to how some of the mechanics and timing would work out. As we got underway, it didn't take long for the players playing the campers to locate the area in which the demon was lurking. The campers ended up finding/defeating the demon. A victory for the the four of us playing as the campers and thus the end of the game. This was my first time playing Last Friday. I have only played this expansion and not played the base game before. The expansion was innovative in how it utilized two "bad guys". I don't believe I've played another game quite like it. It's not too often you can play a strategy table-top game with seven players. Most seven-player games tend to be more social or party games. That being noted, it did feel like there were some loopholes in the second chapter rules. Although it didn't occur in our game, it seemed like there could be an opportunity for the maniac and demon to cross paths, not knowing it for two to three turns. In that case, there could possibly be a way the maniac might satisfy his win condition without knowing that the demon had in fact already found and killed him a turn or two prior. I'm sure that situation is probably rare, however it was a concern of ours as we interpreted the rules. Overall, I had a lot of fun playing this game. Players get to choose from a selection of characters with slightly different abilities and the cooperative aspect was fun. The maniac and demon players had some special abilities they could use to their advantage, making there hidden movement even more difficult to track. All seven of us seemed to enjoy the game and the banter. The theme certainly fit the date. Since this was my one and only play of this game, I'm not prepared to give any definitive statements regarding Last Friday: Return to Camp Apache. If my overview and description sound interesting to you, then you may want to look for this one. You can also link to the Board Game Geek page by clicking here. Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu The second game we played at Troy's lair was the H.P. Lovecraft themed Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu. If you haven't played any of the Pandemic games, I highly recommend as a cooperative game option. Many consider Pandemic to be the first choice when introducing people to coop games. Click here to learn more about the world of Pandemic on the Z-Man Games site. Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu is a cooperative game for 2-4 players, and plays in about an hour. This version of Pandemic is set in an H.P. Lovecraft horror setting. Players each choose an investigator card and corresponding miniature. Each with its own unique special ability. The game is set up with a number of locations on the map being occupied by cultists. The goal of the game is for the players to seal gates located in four different towns, thus preventing the Great Old Ones entry to this world. The old ones will spawn Shoggoth's and Cultists on the board as play progresses. Investigators can lose sanity during the game. Once insane, the player flips the character card over to the insane side with altered stats and special abilities typically hindering that investigator. If the group is successful in sealing all four gates before time runs out (when card deck is depleted or all cultists on the board), then the investigators win as a team. If not, Cthulhu claims victory and all players lose. In our play of the game, Troy, Mike, Rich and I did well. I don't think any one of our characters went insane. At one point there were only about three cultists left, if they would enter the board before we could defeat others, then the game would end in defeat. Luckily, we bounced back from that point, defeating several cultists and shoggoths along the way. As time was running out, we had only four cards left in the deck. That meant that we would have three more player turns in which to achieve victory or suffer defeat. Thankfully we had the cards and abilities to do it. With on player turn left to go, our team of investigators defeated the Great Old Ones and won the game! Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu was a lot of fun. In many ways, I think it was a bit less complicated than the original Pandemic game. If I owned this game, I think it would replace my copy of Pandemic. I enjoy the Cthulhu theme and its altered style of play. The artwork was well done. The graphic design and color schemes worked well. I think the simplified map and the use of the Great Old Ones cards on the board to alter game play were all nice variations on the original. If this theme is up your alley, I would most definitely recommend playing this version of Pandemic. If cooperative games and/or horror themed games aren't your cup of tea, you may want to steer clear of this one. To read more about Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu click here for a link to the Board Game Geek page. The group enjoyed playing games on Friday the 13th at Troy's lair. I want to pay a special thank you to Troy for inviting me to his game nights and for allowing me to take some photos during gameplay. If you have any thoughts to add about either of the games played or other horror-themed games, please share by clicking on the comments option within this blog post. Feel free to connect with me through my contact page on this site. And...
Game on!
2 Comments
Troy
9/16/2019 04:36:44 pm
Great write up! Wonderful summation of both games. And, it's always an honor when you join us. See you soon.
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King
9/16/2019 05:00:00 pm
Thanks Troy! I truly enjoy your gaming events. I have learned a lot about different types of games and am excited to continue gaming with you and the other friends you’ve introduced me to.
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