No, You Can’t Be Claire Danes.

“Homeland”

designed by Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, & Sean Sweigert, published by Gale Force Nine

Players: 3-6; Playing Time: 90 min.; Good for: fans of the “Battlestar Galactica” game who don’t have three hours, ex-CIA; people who like semi-coop games.

Defend the United States against terrorist threats, or try to topple the country from the inside! Based on the Showtime TV show, this semi-cooperative game has players taking on one of three hidden roles: an agent, a political opportunist, or a terrorist mole. Each round begins with terrorist threats advancing, activating, resolving (if necessary) and appearing. Then the players take their turns: you have actions that you must take, and actions that are optional. First, you must you must take the “lead” on an existing threat, and then play two intel card secretly under two of the active threats on the board. These cards can either aid or hinder the resolution of that particular threat. In addition, you have optional actions where you can send in agents or soldiers to eliminate a threat or to peek at the cards underneath a threat to determine what’s going on there. Or even gain assets to help you. The terrorist mole wins if ten terrorist plots succeed, while the other players will win if they thwart ten plots.

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Clever card-driven crisis resolution steps feel reminiscent of “Battlestar Galactica,” and since you are forced to play cards, you may play bad cards into a threat and seem like a mole when you’re not. And since the opportunist gains points for actually sabotaging events, it makes the game even trickier. Since the game is based on contemporary events and the cards feature CIA “dirty tricks,” be ready for awkward questions if you play with kids: “Dad, what’s extraordinary rendition?”

One Line Verdict: Tense game-play, long odds, and clever hidden roles asks you to bring this game into the light.

Review by Paul

Alan Moore Would be Suitably Pissed Off

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“DC Comics Deck-building Game: Crossover Pack  4 – Watchmen”

designed by Matt Hyra, published by Cryptozoic Entertainment

Hidden roles and traitors come to DC Comics Deck-Building with this expansion that adds the world of the Watchmen!  Work together to defeat ridiculously hard challenges by contributing cards from your hand. Meanwhile the Secret Mastermind slowly acquires cards to unleash his Mastermind Plot! Then wait desperately to somehow play the right five cards (plus any extra cards you may draw during your turn) as required by the “Villainous Machinations” card to actually unleash the plot. Really hard to hide your motives WHEN EVERYONE CAN SEE THE CARDS YOU ARE PLAYING EVERY TURN. “Maybe I don’t feel like playing these cards” is never an acceptable answer in this particular game.

Maybe the problem is how we play discards: Just place all the discards in one stack onto your pile instead of spreading them out and saying “I have nothing.” So I guess this could work, but just seems way too difficult to both win the game and the traitor to, you know, be a traitor.

One Line Verdict: Maybe chuck this particular expansion out of a high apartment window.