As a member of the Charming Family, you’re just trying to live your best life, in peace. Unfortunately, the villagers in Banebridge seem hellbent on making sure that doesn’t happen. They are working overtime to turn up evidence against the family, and prove foul play. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, so it’s up to you to do whatever it takes to protect the Charming name. Whether that involves bribery, coercion, or even….murder.

What Is It?

Cooperative – Work together to resolve enough crises to win

Deck-Building – Players start with a few deed cards for their character, and can add more to their deck throughout the game to give them more options for actions and trait symbols

Hand Management – Players can use deed cards for actions or traits each round, and must manage their cards effectively to pay costs and make the most of each card/symbol

Variable Player Powers – Each character has a unique ability that they can use to help them in their quests to protect the family. Using abilities will give the players Fear, but they can usually be powerful, making it worthwhile

Worker Movement – Players can move once per turn to a different location and do an ‘on-arrival’ action there. They will need to be in certain locations to resolve crises cards as well

Who Is It For?

  • 1 to 5 Players – Fine for any count. More players does give access to more abilities, but it also does make it a longer game at higher counts
  • Ages 14 & Up / Mid-Weight Gamers – There’s a lot of upfront rules loading, and a lot going on in-game, which might be too much for younger or less experienced players
  • Fans of cooperative games, spooky themes, deckbuilding, and worker movement
  • Players who don’t mind a hefty rules undertaking

PROS

  • Theme – Fun, spooky theme. I like the idea of being the monsters versus fending off monsters
  • Aesthetics – I like the game art, I think it fits the vibe of the theme well
  • Components – Nice quality overall, I like the big player mats
  • Variety – A whole bunch of characters to choose from, alternate location tiles to change up the board, and you can choose your difficulty level
  • Helpful reference cards
  • Being able to shuffle your deck whenever you want, not just if your deck runs our, is unique and gives you the possibility to see certain cards more often
  • I like that solo mode doesn’t require you to use multiple characters, as I’m not big on that myself

CONS

  • Rulebook – It’s an ultra wide size, so it’s awkward to hold and flip through, and reference during the game. It also just felt very wordy and a bit clunky. It was hard to get through the first time in order to get into the first play, so I wished it was a little more streamlined/cleaned up
  • Length – Can run long for what it is; after a while some turns start to feel a little repetitive
  • Luck – Like most cooperative games, there’s a fair bit of luck
  • Quite a table hog

Final Thoughts

This game definitely has a lot going on, and with so many characters to choose from, you can really try something new every game. While your approach/strategy may change depending on your character/special ability, it is also important to keep in mind that this game does have a fair bit of luck (dice rolls, card draws, et cetera) so just be ready to deal with that too.

I did find the rulebook to be a large roadblock when trying to get into the game initially. I just thought there was so much information, to the point of confusion, and it could have been edited down a bit. So, I’d also say it’s better for players who like to really invest in a game; the more you play it, the easier it should get, so you won’t have to reference the rules as much.

Overall, I’d recommend this one to co-op fans who like a game on the larger and longer side, and want something thematic for spooky season.

Additional Information:

Designers – Harvey Cornell, Carlie Cornell
Artist – Carlie Cornell, Teresa Guido
Publisher – Dragon Phoenix Games
MSRP – $54.00
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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