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)

Lord of the Rings (Children's Version) review by Jabberwock

You know, it comes to something when a thirty mumble adult looks forward to his six-year-old son’s birthday, because he likes all the presents. But when it gives you the chance to get a few new games and bring that son further under the mantle of ‘confirmed gamer’, then it is so much better. And when those games are playable by children and adults alike, it is a positive joy!

Most children’s games are of the dexterity or memory, or gimmicky ilk, some of which I have reviewed before now, and most probably will continue to review until my son is old enough to have his own little gamers in the making.

But Lord of the Rings is different. It is almost grown-up, but with simpler rules than most grown-up games. It is a ‘Young Person’s Primer for European Games’. And it does that very well indeed…

It was designed by Reiner Knizia, who you may have heard of as one of the most prolific games designers ever. He also created the very grown-up version of Lord of the Rings (which I have also reviewed along with all of its expansions). Just type his name on the ‘Geek for a list of his designs – some misses but mostly hits. His designs are generally known for lacking in theme, but being heavy with probability-type choices to make. In other words, while the theme might be hobbits struggling to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, the mechanics might be “is it better for me to risk getting stuck on this encounter, or go the long way round to avoid it”.

The game is basically rife with these kinds of decisions, meaning that the players must be on the ball during the game. There is a dice and a spinner, making it fairly random, but it is still all about making choices between probabilities. All encounters in the game can be avoided by taking the longer route, but is it worth it? Encounters can be Friends or Foes, with friends helping you out later on, somewhat alleviating the randomness in the game. So again, do you take a detour to pick up more friends to help you out later, or do you sprint for the end to get there first, knowing you might not be able to defeat Sauron before everyone else catches up?

It is a very cool teaching tool for these kinds of games, wrapped up in simple rules that make it easy for even my four-year-old to understand. Knizia has done well here.

The game production is very good as well – shying away from the heavy, grown-up feel of John Howe (who illustrated the other Lord of the Rings version) in favour of cartoony child-like graphics from Ingrid and Dieter Schubert. The hobbits are very childlike, and the bad guys are caricatured, making them less-than scary. The bits and pieces are very tactile, with solid card tiles, and little card Dark Towers that are placed on the board. There is a red marble (the Palantir) that is used in a ‘guess which hand’ type of mini-game, and loads of little red wooden cubes to designate ‘hit points’ on foes. Nothing bland or boring here!

The game plays in about half an hour, and is always exciting and close, with everyone reaching Sauron, or getting delayed, and trying to get past the obstacles to be the one to land the killing blow. It’s a great adventure.

Summary

Presentation: There are lots of things to play with in the box, and my son enjoys setting it all up. From putting the encounters down, setting up the Dark Towers, and placing Sauron himself on the final space, it’s all very evocative, clear and durable. 8.3/10

Clarity of Rules: The rulebook is four pages long, and includes an Advanced Version of the game,a large setup picture to show you what goes where, and some clear examples alongside the rules. Saying that, though, I wouldn’t expect my son to understand how to play from reading it. I had to read it, understand it and explain it for him. The rules, while clear and unambiguous, are not for children. 6.8/10

Game Length: There is no time limit listed on the box or in the rules, but it runs to about half an hour. The Advanced Version can take longer than this, though, with the uncertainty of the Palantir possibly placing a hobbit in the Dark Tower over and over again. But even this doesn’t prolong the game for too long, and children rarely have time to become bored with the play (although my four-year-old regularly becomes very restless by the end…). 7.7/10

Value: The quality of the components, and the amount of gameplay we have had out of the box (since my son’s birthday two days ago, we’ve played it nearly ten times), mean this one was a definite hit, money-wise. It’s fairly inexpensive, and contains a lot for that money. 9.1/10

Overall: My son loves the way the story develops, and loves defeating Sauron (despite never having watched the movies or knowing the storyline). He understands the nuances of the game, taking into account the flow of the game, and how far ahead everyone else is (when he’s in front, he knows he has time to stop and recruit some friends, for example). I asked him, and he says to give it a nine, and I think that score is very much deserved of this ‘little gamers’ game…! 9.0/10 (not an average)