Gloom - Review

Innovative designs are hard to come by in the game world. Sure, every once
in awhile a game comes along that even without the theme, the game itself is
a marvel to behold either through the use of the components or the actual
game mechanics itself. In fact, one might say that many game enthusiasts
are "dying" for a unique game to enter the scene. Clever choice of words?
Perhaps, but certainly with the theme of Gloom so, well, gloomy, dying isn't
just a clever use of a word, it rather appropriate.

Gloom is a card game with several twists and a delightful and dreadfully
dark theme. The goal of Gloom is simple: depress your family fully and then
send them to the afterlife. Does that sound dreary to you? Perhaps, but as
dark as the game is, the game is firmly tongue in cheek and the humor is
similar to that of the Haunted Mansion at the Disney theme parks and
certainly no scarier than Harry Potter.

Along with the simple goal, the game boasts simple game play. Players
choose a family of five victims, I mean, members who will have their
emotions tugged back and forth during the game. On your turn, you may play
or discard two cards. The first play, any card is fair game. On the second
play, you may play any card except death cards so you may not kill two
characters on the same turn.

Cards come in several flavors. Aside from the aforementioned family and
untimely death cards, the game contains attitude (or Pathos) modifier and
special event cards. Special Event cards allow you to counter something
your opponent tries to do or gives you extra abilities on a given turn.

The Modifier cards ultimately control the overall self worth of a character.
Negative events like "Terrified by Topiaries" or "Greeted by Ghosts" will
cause a character's self worth to go negative while having a "Picnic in the
Park" or a character who "Slept without Sorrows" adds to their self worth.
The lower a character's self worth is when they meet an untimely death means
more points for the player at the end of the game.

Also, the game balances the more powerful cards with limitations or
penalties (such as discarding your entire hand after playing one card
worth -45 points). This ensures that the game is not entirely based on luck
and does require some, although not a lot, of planning. It is this balance
that makes Gloom a more enjoyable game than several others in the "off the
wall" humor category and adds to the strategic nature of the game.

The real twist of this game is that Atlas Games printed the cards not on
standard card stock but on transparent plastic. This allows players to play
multiple cards on a single character and still see previous modifiers
through the clear plastic. Although this also means that sometimes you can
see the modifiers of your opponents' hand, the game plays fast enough that
this isn't a serious concern.

The cards themselves are a fine quality plastic card, not unlike a Kem card,
and should hold up quite well to the many playings this game will receive.
The rules are one sheet of paper, front and back and most folks should have
little trouble reading and understanding the game, although sometimes the
rules are hazy because of the themed flavor text of the rules. The artwork
on the cards is also fun in a dark sort of way. Overall, this is a well
made game with quality components.

Is this game a bit dark? Absolutely. I wouldn't recommend it for the faint
of heart. However, if you don't mind a bit of dark humor, this game has a
lot to offer. With some strategic game play, fun, albeit dark, cards, and a
clever mechanic, Gloom is a dreadfully delightful romp of a card game. If
nothing else, the unique card stacking mechanic is worth the price of
admission alone. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself "Terrified by
Topiaries" as you play and we could all be so lucky as to "Die without
Cares". Gloom: dreadfully dreary and yet fiendishly fun.