Mansions of Madness (2nd Edition)

We have played two senarios with the app.Beaware the app only comes with 4 free scenarios with the base game!!Extra add-ons unlock a few more and others cost $7.99 each!The two scenarios we have played were the easier ones. We feel the app lets it down. It's not really always clear what your goal is and on the 4the scenario it seemed like a story was possible but ended up just get swamped by enemies at the end and then took easy way out. I feel better work into the app stories could make this an incredible game. But that's just our current thoughts, I will try to learn it more and continue to give it ago.

Best board game ever. It's somewhere in between D&D and Clue. Where D&D has a million rules and unlimited potential (to the point of being overwhelming) but offers story line co-op gameplay. Conversely, Clue promises mystery and structured gameplay but is far too narrow and doesn't really tell a story at all. Mansions is the happy medium. Story driven, co-op, mystery, with a fair amount of open play yet a structured.

A splendid evening investment, with a few caveats.

The *atmosfear* in the game is *phantastic*- replete with evocative imagery on both the cards and game components. The board state is reasonably managable, while skill checks have enough mitigation to reward player agency. Certain missions are extremely difficult, but it ain't a game if you can't lose. Personally, I find said challenge highly thematic- given its implications of madness and despair and find games wherein loss is rare to be more an excuse for beer & friends rather than dungeons & dragons. My only gripe with this title is the miniature quality, wherein costs were clearly cut. Attaching many enemies to their bases is impossible without glue, while some have a small foot peg that may or may not affix properly due to inconsistent molding. Size was also ... MoreThe *atmosfear* in the game is *phantastic*- replete with evocative imagery on both the cards and game components. The board state is reasonably managable, while skill checks have enough mitigation to reward player agency. Certain missions are extremely difficult, but it ain't a game if you can't lose. Personally, I find said challenge highly thematic- given its implications of madness and despair and find games wherein loss is rare to be more an excuse for beer & friends rather than dungeons & dragons. My only gripe with this title is the miniature quality, wherein costs were clearly cut. Attaching many enemies to their bases is impossible without glue, while some have a small foot peg that may or may not affix properly due to inconsistent molding. Size was also not properly considered from a design perspective, as many of said figures do not fit well on the board- crowding it at times. Fortunately, this is offset by the game being more atmospheric than combative, and the fact that the investigator minis at least come adjoined to their own bases, requiring no assembly whatsoever. Ultimately, yes. I would recommend this game. The content and mechanics are well written/executed, and if it wasn't for a few fiddly component gripes- I would've given it 5/5.

Digital-assisted boardgaming at its finest!

The original edition of MoM was a fantastic game by the time you actually got to playing it. However, that was severely handicapped by the fact that a single player had to spend 30-60 minutes of prep time on their own to set up the board in secret. Also, that GM player had to be absolutely 100% accurate in their setup - if they made any of a number of possible mistakes (such as placing a face-down key item behind the door it unlocked rather than in front of it), they would render the entire scenario unwinnable for the rest of the players in a way that might not be discovered for an hour or more of playtime. MoM 2nd Edition cures this issues *phenomenally*. The downloadable app now serves as the Game Master - it controls the setup of the game, keeps track of what ... MoreThe original edition of MoM was a fantastic game by the time you actually got to playing it. However, that was severely handicapped by the fact that a single player had to spend 30-60 minutes of prep time on their own to set up the board in secret. Also, that GM player had to be absolutely 100% accurate in their setup - if they made any of a number of possible mistakes (such as placing a face-down key item behind the door it unlocked rather than in front of it), they would render the entire scenario unwinnable for the rest of the players in a way that might not be discovered for an hour or more of playtime. MoM 2nd Edition cures this issues *phenomenally*. The downloadable app now serves as the Game Master - it controls the setup of the game, keeps track of what revealed locations give out what items, and gives direction to the NPC and Monster characters in the game. The mechanics of the gameplay are nearly identical to 1st Ed, and most importantly the app doesn't *do* the gameplay for you - it merely serves as an accountant to keep track of the hidden wheels turning behind the scenes, or to serve up what would previously be cards drawn and read from. The app actually enhances these elements significantly - there is now flavor text for all of the various points that players caninteract with, NPCs that may have dialogue trees to explore, and even ominous (but subtle) sound effects if one chooses to have them on. Most importantly, this allows *ALL* the players at the table to be allies working for a common cause, rather than having most players working as a team against one person who works to wreak diabolical mischief on them and stymie their efforts. The major mechanic that has changed is the wound and sanity system. In first edition those two stats were merely hit point pools, slowly whittled away until they hit zero and potentially killed a player flat out. Now, characters still have a maximum amount of each type of damage they can suffer, but instead of just taking tokens that show how beaten they are, the inflictions are individual cards drawn that may have deleterious effects ranging from 'no further penalty' to 'broken limb' which may cause a character to drop all but two items or start moving at half speed. Similarly, the sanity cards drawn may have minor inconveniencing effects, or significant hurdles the player has to overcome or avoid. Most crucial, the player no longer dies as soon as their wounds hit zero - instead they become 'wounded', slowing them down and removing some (but usually not all) of the hits they've suffered. If they hit their wound threshold again, they are finally dead - which puts the entire game into a 'sudden death' mode, where the rest of the characters need to reach their victory condition within one turn, or the scenario is lost. This may read as a significant killjoy that might drag a game to a halt prematurely, but in actuality it means that individual players are no longer left to putter around in the kitchen (or wherever) if they die early and the rest of the team is still finishing the game. Also, the increased durability means that characters are not likely to be flat-out eliminated on an individual level quite as quickly. Even more interesting is the 'insanity' mechanic - if a character suffers madness greater then their threshold, they go through a similar reset as the wound system... except instead of becoming wounded, they become permanently insane. The player then draws a secret card that sets out exactly what their lunacy drives them to do, and generally gives them a new win condition to meet that may be... significantly at odds with the other players (or outright antagonistic)! Think of it as the traitor mechanic from Betrayal at the House on the Hill, writ small. *Very* entertaining... Lastly, the app itself. It is simple to use through either a touchscreen or a mouse/touchpad interface. It will run on smartphones, tablets, or full laptop/PCs - altho it clearly shines best on a tablet that can be passed easily from player to player to input actions and read results from. Also (and this is a HUGE draw for legacy players), the app has an option to include game pieces from any first edition sets you own when constructing the scenarios! This is fantastic news and prevents all those great monsters and map sets from languishing in dust because of the edition change (and makes the 2nd ed price tag a bit less onerous). Also, with the app as the GM, the game can be played as a solo experience, with the game owner playing multiple characters themself against the GM app. All in all - a spectacular edition, incredibly handily solving the greatest setback from 1st Edition and setting the bar for how future digital-assisted tabletop games should be set up. Definitely recommended!

Fun but complicated

It’s a fun game to play. You definitely need to allow time to read through the instructions to know how the game works. There are also good informational YouTube videos out there that help explain the rules. The app is a cool feature. It’s the first game that I’ve played that makes it interactive between an app and board game. If you like cooperative games, this is an interesting one to try.

Ghostly Mysteries

If you like Chuthulu type mysteries, then this is the game for you. This game is a bit app heavy and in our first game, we found ourselves occasionally forgetting to go back to the board to move our pieces there. It is easy to get used to though and I can imagine that the number of pieces and the amount of board/rule management that would be required without the app would be very cumbersome and could take some of the joy out of the experience. The app acts kind of like a GM, which is nice if you are looking for a game everyone can just jump into without the need for a GM. If you like games where you get to solve a mystery with your friends or role-playing type board games, definitely give this one a try. There is plenty of replayability too, so if you like this kind ... MoreIf you like Chuthulu type mysteries, then this is the game for you. This game is a bit app heavy and in our first game, we found ourselves occasionally forgetting to go back to the board to move our pieces there. It is easy to get used to though and I can imagine that the number of pieces and the amount of board/rule management that would be required without the app would be very cumbersome and could take some of the joy out of the experience. The app acts kind of like a GM, which is nice if you are looking for a game everyone can just jump into without the need for a GM. If you like games where you get to solve a mystery with your friends or role-playing type board games, definitely give this one a try. There is plenty of replayability too, so if you like this kind of game the investment is worth what you get out of it.

Mansions of Madness (2nd Edition)

Instead of having piles of cards and a player telling you what it is happening you have an app. The app does a great job of streamlining and simplifying this process. This is also great news for groups that want to play pure co-operative games. The game boils down to following the instructions on the app and using the board for player markers and monsters. In some ways this does feel like it is almost an app game but the experience with your friends and family is excellent. The music and voice acting really help to set the mood.All of the components are top notch. The miniatures have a good amount of detail. My only complaint is that 3 of the minis kept popping out of their base buy a little glue solved that problem. The insert is the Fantasy Flight valley and ... MoreInstead of having piles of cards and a player telling you what it is happening you have an app. The app does a great job of streamlining and simplifying this process. This is also great news for groups that want to play pure co-operative games. The game boils down to following the instructions on the app and using the board for player markers and monsters. In some ways this does feel like it is almost an app game but the experience with your friends and family is excellent. The music and voice acting really help to set the mood.All of the components are top notch. The miniatures have a good amount of detail. My only complaint is that 3 of the minis kept popping out of their base buy a little glue solved that problem. The insert is the Fantasy Flight valley and once expansions are purchased storage will become an issue.With the app leading the game you only have a few scenarios. This will definitely be a game where you will need expansions and to purchase more of the scenario packs as they become available. There is a good amount of variation in the same mission within the app but I do see it getting stale after running the same one with the same group after 5 or 6 times.I recommend this game if you and your group love thematic experiences and game play. The rules are light and straight forward. After 5 minutes anyone should be good to go.Great game but scenario additions and expansions will be required.

Mansions of Madness (2nd Edition)

This is a great game and I highly recommend it. I would give this game an 8 or 9 on the BGG scale but when I look at the categories provided for this review, I realize that the value for money is a bit on the lackluster side. However the gameplay per dollar is amazing! What I mean by these two statements is that you don't really get a lot of bang for your buck in terms of the volume of content, but the content that you do get is of a very high quality and quite impressive! Plus you can pretty much play this game with anyone, even people who know NOTHING about modern board games because the app guides you through so much stuff. That being said, someone should still to know how to play the game and be able to reference the rulebook to ensure everything is on track.I ... MoreThis is a great game and I highly recommend it. I would give this game an 8 or 9 on the BGG scale but when I look at the categories provided for this review, I realize that the value for money is a bit on the lackluster side. However the gameplay per dollar is amazing! What I mean by these two statements is that you don't really get a lot of bang for your buck in terms of the volume of content, but the content that you do get is of a very high quality and quite impressive! Plus you can pretty much play this game with anyone, even people who know NOTHING about modern board games because the app guides you through so much stuff. That being said, someone should still to know how to play the game and be able to reference the rulebook to ensure everything is on track.I hate that the miniatures are of such poor quality, they look good but are flimsy, rubbery, and would not likely hold a paint job well due to the flexible plastic. Also the minis don't really fit in the base holes so most of the time the minis stay in the box and we just use the cardboard tokens. Aside from the minis, every single component is of the BEST quality of it's time, and I would even say that these components are some of the highest quality even in August 2020.The other negative thing about this game is that there are only 4 scenarios with the core box on the app. You can buy 1-2 more for $5 each but then that's all you get. Now the cool thing is that each scenario you repeat ends up being different, there is a random generator in the app that does change things up a little. After you play each scenario 2-3 times then you have likely exhausted everything new the game has to offer.I have no expansions but as I understand it, adding new enemies, investigators, tiles, and npc characters is supposed to make every scenario you already have feel different and fresh PLUS you get extra scenarios. I believe there are only 10-12 scenarios between all the expansions which seems pretty light however for most people that is plenty of game.

Mansions of Madness (2nd Edition)

Anyone who complains about the use of the companion app has obviously not even PLAYED this version of the game yet. You need to try something yourself before you can give an informed review.The app really streamlines the whole experience, as you don't get bogged down by the minutiae of setting everything up and making changes to the board. The app gives clear instructions that almost anyone can follow. This really speeds things up so that players can focus on the story of the scenario instead of the logistics.Some have complained that you don't get much bang for the buck. I completely disagree with that because a.) the quality of the game and the components more than justifies the price to me, b.) the scenarios have subtle variations, especially when you alter ... MoreAnyone who complains about the use of the companion app has obviously not even PLAYED this version of the game yet. You need to try something yourself before you can give an informed review.The app really streamlines the whole experience, as you don't get bogged down by the minutiae of setting everything up and making changes to the board. The app gives clear instructions that almost anyone can follow. This really speeds things up so that players can focus on the story of the scenario instead of the logistics.Some have complained that you don't get much bang for the buck. I completely disagree with that because a.) the quality of the game and the components more than justifies the price to me, b.) the scenarios have subtle variations, especially when you alter the number of players in the game, thus increasing the game's replay value, and c.) optional expansions can introduce new characters for use with the core scenarios, also increasing the game's replay value.My wife and I are not huge horror fans (to each their own). However, I borrowed this game from a friend to see if she and I would like it and because it is currently out of stock almost everywhere. We both LOVED it because it plays more like a mystery novel than a horror movie. And with the co-op mechanic, we aren't competing with each other, so my wife can enjoy it as much as I enjoy a great 4-X strategy game.I am planning on buying this as soon as it's back in stock and gifting it to my wife. I know that she wants to own it, too.

Mansions of madness

Great tabletop game for socializing, -laughs and intense close calls.Game scenarios vary in lenght and in diffuculty.Pros:+Great fun with friends (can be played solo)+Interesting scenarios if you are into lovecraftian setup+So far strategies and tactics required have been deep but forgiving.+- Luck aspect. Can make up for hilarious turn arounds, satisfying consequenses or just demoralizing death blows.+- There are a lot of rules and condtions that you nees to be aware of. (As to be expected from a game like these)+- Figurines. Great details and very well scaled. Everything is in dark grey plastic which itself is fine and i personally like the convenience of them, but some people would probably want to paint them if possible. (I haven't got a clue if you ... MoreGreat tabletop game for socializing, -laughs and intense close calls.Game scenarios vary in lenght and in diffuculty.Pros:+Great fun with friends (can be played solo)+Interesting scenarios if you are into lovecraftian setup+So far strategies and tactics required have been deep but forgiving.+- Luck aspect. Can make up for hilarious turn arounds, satisfying consequenses or just demoralizing death blows.+- There are a lot of rules and condtions that you nees to be aware of. (As to be expected from a game like these)+- Figurines. Great details and very well scaled. Everything is in dark grey plastic which itself is fine and i personally like the convenience of them, but some people would probably want to paint them if possible. (I haven't got a clue if you could paint them and ending up them looking decent, but i tought it was worth bringing up)Cons:Nothing major i could think of.Mostly the price of the game and dlc'sSetup time can be up to 30 mins, depending if you have organized everything before playing. (With decent storing setup can be cut to 5 minutes).Clean up takes about 10-20 mins. Debends on your organization method.I think that pretty much sums it up, good game for casual or hardcore players.I'm having a blast with this game and for only reason i gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the pricing and DLCsGame can get costly if you want to collect every dlc, but if you can afford the whole thing and have friends to pkay with, it's definetly a great game.