Thoughts on the game

[JMGraham]

I had a chance to demo Betrayal at GenCon, and was very excited about it's impending release. I picked up a copy Friday, and have had a chance to get in an additional 6 or so games.

I think the game is great; replayablility isn't an issue with the multiple haunts. In fact, the game becomes rather addictive, with players wanting to squeeze in another one just to see what the plot will be. I even played a couple of games with 2 players, which actually went very well. For two players, we each ran two explorers. When the traitor was determined, the player with that explorer ran the traitor while the control of the traitor's other explorer went to the other player (who now controls 3).

I think the most frustrating thing about the game, is that the quality and balance of the game is random. The layout of the house, items collected, and other pre-haunt random factors can have a huge influence on the outcome of the haunt, making it an easy win for either side for some games. Other games, things work out beautifully so that the game is tense, requires some deep thinking, and the outcome is uncertain til the last dice roll. Out of the games I've played so far, about 1/3 have been "great", 1/3 have been "ok", and 1/3 have been "lousy". Maybe that's part of what makes it addictive. If you have a bad haunt, you find yourself saying "that one didn't count, we have to play another!" Kind of like chasing the dragon, I guess (or in my group's case, chasing the blob - none of our games have been as tense as our first, where the all consuming blob conquered the house (barely!)) I wonder if certain haunts will rise to the top for tending towards balanced gameplay regardless of the pre-haunt conditions, or if it really is just dependent on the pre-haunt conditions.

This game is ripe for home-brew scenarios, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what cool haunts people come up with. I know I already have a couple ideas. I wonder if they'll be a tendency in home-brew scenarios to have pre-determined set-up, to provide more game balance.

ALl things considered, the really good games of Betrayal, where it feels like your inside of your favorite horror movie, seem well worth the drab games where victory is pre-determined once the haunt is determined.

Chasing the Blob,
Jim

[StarvingWriter82]

Thanks for an honest, insightful review of the game. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on this game, I'd probably buy it immediately if my regular play group wasn't still addicted to GodStorm.


Edit: About how long does the game take to play? I know there are a lot of variables, but can you give a general estimate?

[JMGraham]

I think the quickest game I've had has been about 25 minutes, the longest has been an hour and a half. Depends quite a bit on the number of players, how familiar they are with the rules, rooms, and cards, and how quickly the haunt gets activated. With a group of people who have played before and are familiar with the cards, I'm guessing around 1 hour.

Jim

[elbowmaster]

Chasing the Blob,
Jim
sexy that the blob made the cut!! muahahahahaha!! boy im ready for halloween!!

we are also impressed with your 2 player game report and how you able to make that happen, we were concerned about the 3+ game player, but youve seemed to bring an acceptable adjustment!!

that two playerness, is an important factor when we purchase games...

would really like to see some solitaire games as well that convert as well to multiple player...

-cheers

-elbowmaster

[StarvingWriter82]

There was a game I played as a kid called Omega Virus - you went around a grid trying to collect proper passkeys and other items to stop the virus. Every time you played you got to type a number into the computer so locations would be randomized, then you set a timer (the higher difficulty level you chose, the less time you got) and as you got closer to the end of the time, sections of the board would shut down until finally you were trapped (and the computer won). Looking back, the game was pretty simplistic and primitive, but it just goes to show that it can be done (the game was designed for 1-4 players and played pretty decently on all levels).

Still, I suppose there's not much of a market for single player board games anymore, as computer games are more complex, more advanced, and far cheaper than a cooresponding board game could ever be.

[Kit Darkholm]

I still have a copy of "The Omega Virus" and dust it off once in a while. The main thing that frustrated me about it ironically was the main reason I bought it - the solo play. Even at its most difficult setting for a solo player (10 minutes until the virus takes over), I still found it too easy. I've even tried rules variations where the amount of spaces your piece can moved diminishes with each Anti-Virus Device you find (0 or 1 AVD found = 3 spaces, 2 AVD's found = 2 spaces, all 3 AVD's found = 1 space). Even so, I still had plenty of time to win the game. I've throught about letting the game run down to five minutes before actually starting to play the game, but never have tried it.

While solo board games are few and far between, they do exist. Mattel's recent "Break the Safe" game has great solitaire playability. As for "Betrayal," who knows? I've been tinkering with the idea about allowing the possibility of an explorer dying by allowing a stat marker to be moved down to the skull logo during the "pre-haunt" part of the game. Think of it as a "House on Haunted Hill" scenario where an explorer has to survive a night alone in the house. No easy task, given the nature of some of the Event cards. I still haven't decided on what part Omen cards will play in this or how to mark the passage of time.

Feel free to add your own thoughts and suggestions. I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.

[Bruce Glassco]

The main thing you'd need to play the game solitaire would be a list of which haunts simply wouldn't work. In the early version of the game, the traitor was less of an integral part, and there were lots of haunts where the monsters always moved automatically and they'd function quite well with no traitor. In the released version, it would be much tougher, but you could probably come up with a handful that wouldn't need a traitor to operate. I'm not saying I plan to get around to doing that any time soon, though.