Mystery of the Abbey Review by David Plank

French games differ from German games in subtle and varying ways that are difficult to pinpoint. One thing that seems to come across nice and clear is that French games are generally more ‘fun’ than their stoic and sensible German counterparts.

Bruno Faidutti is by far my favourite French game designer, and he has teamed up with Serge Laget to come up with a medieval romp in the style of the Name of the Rose – wherein monks of various orders try to figure out whodunit in the Templar’s Abbey before their fellow monk can pinpoint the killer.

So this is a Cluedo-style game with some massive differences that turn it from a marathon, dice-roll-heavy, boring, slog into a fun, light and strategic game with some real laughs.

Players are all travelling monks who have called in at the Abbey at an inopportune moment, and have been asked by the Abbot to find the killer before they leave. Throughout the game, players score points for good guesses and correct assumptions, and the player with the most points when the killer is revealed wins the game. Note that the player who reveals the killer may not win if another player has made more correct guesses during the course of the game – but it certainly helps as you get 4 points for uncovering the killer.

At the beginning of the game, the suspect cards (24 of them) are shuffled, and one is placed under the board – the culprit. The rest are distributed between the players and a special spot on the board. The suspects are all divided by certain characteristics that all add up to a unique combination for each monk: - a monk’s Order can be Templar, Franciscan or Benedictine; they can be Father, Brother or Novice; they can have their hood raised or lowered; they can be bearded or not; and they can be fat or thin.

The rather colourful board is split into various rooms that each have a different effect on the game, and a player can move either one or two rooms on his or her turn. If you end up in a room with another player, you can ask them a question about the case – any question at all so long as the answer does not include any of the suspects. “How many Fat Benedictines have you eliminated from your enquiries?” “Do you have Father William in your hand?” Have you eliminated all of the clean-shaven hooded monks yet?”

Note that the question can name suspects, but the answer cannot. The questionee can either answer the question, and then get a counter-question, or take a vow of silence and end the questioning (by placing his finger to his mouth).

You also have a suspect sheet that you can scribble on and cross suspects off, and use as you wish. This gets used a lot!

During the course of the game, the usual monk’s life takes place, and there are several calls to Mass, and duties that must be performed. This also adds a bit of a timer to the whole proceedings, as during Mass rumours are circulated, in the form of passing more and more suspect cards from your hand to other players, until eventually everyone has seen everything, and nothing can be hidden! Usually, though, someone has wont he game before this…

Other events take place during play, keeping things varied and interesting, such as the suspicion that a Benedictine has committed the murder, forcing each player to reveal a Benedictine monk if he has one. Or each player being called for reflection, being sent to their cell immediately. There are the more … ‘unusual’ events, such as everyone being forced to talk in plainsong until the next Mass, or everyone singing “Are You Sleeping?” in a round (I know this song as “Frere Jacques”).

The players can also gain the use of forbidden texts that give them limited special abilities during the game, and really special books that confer really special abilities – all of which add to the game and give the whole thing a great deal of theme and atmosphere.

The game plays remarkably well, with the players creeping about, trying to discover the culprit, and hiding their discoveries from the other monks. Thanks to the Mass mechanic, the game rarely drags, and usually there is a kind of ‘critical mass’ of revelation, with everyone reaching the same conclusions at roughly the same time. The real skill here is crafting your questions to others as cunningly as possible to gather information that would be as useful to yourself while preventing anyone else understanding the implications of the answer. And it’s a tricky skill to gain (and one that so far eludes me).

Summary

Presentation: Days of Wonder once more excel themselves, with an evocative board, solid resin monk pieces, useful player aids, and even a little bell to ring when calling Mass. The box is sturdy, and the box insert is of the best quality, with little slots for every piece, making set-up and take-down rapid and painless. My only little quibble is that the suspect sheets are somewhat cluttered, and difficult to make notes on, with little white space to write what you might want to keep track of. 8.9/10

Clarity of Rules: The rules are fairly simple, and the rulebook does a fair job of explaining them in full colour and glossy paper. There is little in the way of examples, with some suggested formats for questions, but they have included a couple of variants for a slightly shorter game, and one that removes some of the randomness from the whole thing. A solid effort, but nothing to sing about. 7.4/10

Game Length: The game will last for about an hour, and may take slightly longer than this if you are being particularly dense (!). The mechanic whereby you pass cards from one player to the next makes it harder and harder to hide information, making an accusation a certainty at some point. The randomness of the events and Scriptorium cards mean things could go awry for the guy on his way to the Abbot to uncover the murderer, but generally this is nice and quick, being over before it drags, but being long enough for a satisfying experience. 9.2/10

Value: For people who are after a deduction game with a degree of fun, and doesn’t take too long, this is a definite must for their collection. The components are very good, and well-thought out, with a solid appearance that means you will be able to get a lot of play before it wears out (and will want to, in order to try and figure out how to win!). 8.8/10

Overall: It fills a sparse niche on the shelf – a deduction game that is enjoyable without taking too long. It is slightly tongue-in-cheek (meaning non-gamers can have a laugh with it), but has a degree of seriousness that means gamers won’t be turned off by the lightness of it. It is a very good ‘bridging’ game that can be brought out at family gatherings and at your gamers’ table. 9.3/10 (not an average)

Review by David Plank