Review of Mmm … Brains! by Jabberwock

When I first started getting into board games, it seemed that Herr (or maybe Dr) Reiner Knizia was making pretty much every other game out there. And he has created some real doozies in his time, from the classic Ra, to the brain-burning Blue Moon and Lost Cities, to the meaty Lord of the Rings (plus supplements) and, finally … “Mmm … Brains!”

This comes from the quirky little company that brought us Zombies!!!, All Wound Up, and Haunting House. Twilight Creations Inc. seem to concentrate on horror themes, and specifically zombies, which is all good, but also seems to have a knack for producing games that are somewhat flawed (and some people love these games – usually because of these flaws).

It’s a small box game, and the box is pretty much just as big as it needs to be (which, if people are familiar with my review of Haunting House can be a bit of a problem). There isn’t much in the box, some special dice, a scattering of cards, and a whole bunch of tiny rubber brains (in two colours, no less!). And a sheet of rules…

Ok, so each player is a zombie, and like all zombies, they are after brains. So the first part is all about rolling dice (and using basic maths) in a Yahtzee-style fashion, to collect sets of brains from the pile on the table. And once they’ve all gone, the second phase of the game starts, with the players then rolling the dice in the same way as before, but taking the brains away from the other players to put back into the box. The last zombie with any brains left is the winner.

It’s all pretty basic, and quick, and colourful, and fails miserably as a game…

Firstly, the theme doesn’t quite fit. OK, the zombies getting brains thing I can get behind, and even making a nice pile of them (rather than eating them) I can get past. But zombies stealing brains from other zombies and throwing them away? What’s that all about? Maybe there is something they aren’t telling us. Like maybe the second phase represents the zombies eating the brains, or there are other zombies coming along and stealing them, or … actually, no, it doesn’t make sense.

As for the game itself, well, it seems to be completely missing… OK, you roll dice, and perform maths to figure out which dice to keep and which to re-roll and all that. So there are choices to make all the way through, but … the choices don’t seem to be particularly hard (calling the decision a ‘no-brainer’ seems awfully appropriate). There always seems to be a clear-cut ‘best move’, and everything comes down to the luck of the dice all the way through. Which is a bit odd for a Knizia game.

It’s a nice idea for a quick filler of a game, but doesn’t quite seem to be a challenge enough for anyone to warrant bringing it out. Ever.

Summary

Presentation: It’s fun, colourful and cartoony. Twilight Creations Inc. have used similar graphics in their other child-like zombie game All Wound Up. It seems like light-hearted fare, and looks like it might be a bit of a laugh. The brains look like little sweeties, and could easily be mistaken for such (choking hazard!). The cards are functional, but the red looks very orange, causing some upset in our first game as players were mistaken for each other. The dice are cheap and the numbers and symbols have started flaking off mine after only a few plays… 6.1/10

Clarity of Rules: The rules are pretty easy, and it’s always clear what you need to do next. The maths can be a sticking point for some, but this is quite simple as well, with no multiplication over 27 (the maximum score, I think…) 8.7/10

Game Length: It is all over mercifully quick at only 20 minutes tops. It really doesn’t even need to take that long if everyone knows how to play and can add up quickly enough. 6.9/10

Value: It’s cheap. And some would say nasty… 6.7/10

Overall: It looks like a nifty little filler about zombies hoarding and stealing brains, and seems to play well for the first and second game. However, the flaws soon become apparent. There just isn’t a game here, only dice, and no challenge at all in deciding what to do with your dice. It’s a shame, because the premise and components (while they could be better) promise a coll little fun game, which it just isn’t… 5.7/10 (not an average)