Dead Man on Campus

From the publisher's website:

HP Lovecraft wrote about the reanimation of corpses when my Flapper Grandmother was doing the Charleston with the boy in the band (Grand Dad). In this intermediate level game you take Lovecraft’s start and make your own story. First you find clues that reveal what is going on. Once the plot is outed you make a choice. Am I good or evil? Good guys try to stop plots, evil ones help them succeed. You never know whose side anyone is on till the end game.

If you like Horror Board Games you’ll love this game!

July 2009

Dead Man on Campus is an Engle Matrix Game that allows you to do real time story telling in a boardgame. Each player champions one of the characters at Miskatonic University in 1923. The game host reads an opening hook about how bodies have gone missing from the graveyard. At this point the players take over telling the tale. Each turn a player buys the right to make the next action in the game. They make up a short scene and pick another player to be their referee. The ref sets the "to happen" roll and the player rolls. It either happens and is written down by the players or doesn't. If players like they can buy the right to make a counter-argument to the first players action. A dice rolling contest settles what happens. As you see the rules are very simple but they allow a completely unique game every time.

Players quickly learn how to play - it only takes a turn or two and then never need to look at the rules again. It does take creativity though. If you don't like making stuff up then this is not the game for you but if you do like quick paced back and forth creation then you'll love it.

The boxed board game comes with a hard back board that is color and varnished but I must say that these are hand crafted by the game maker so this is more an art product than a slick made in China game. The game uses wooden counters with stickers but as you wish they can be replaced by metal figures. Cthulhu figures work great!