Mansions of Madness

[LSD]

I had this game but sold it without getting a chance to play it. It just sat on the shelf so I figured why keep it. I've been looking for a good story telling game and keep coming back to it thinking I made the wrong decision letting it go. My main reason for selling it was assuming it wouldn't play well with two but recently thinking otherwise.

Does anyone have experience with this game with only two players?

[mqstout]

I have not played it with two, but I'd imagine that it would work acceptably, but I'd suggest having one person play two characters. One character can go to relatively useless pretty quickly with a few bad rolls.

[SmokinBaraka]

well the good thing about mansions of madness is that the keeper only gets as much threat per round as there are investigators so it kinda balances itself, however i too would recommend one person play two characters just so you can cover two areas (puzzle solving and combat) would be nothing worse than having to fight a shoggoth when there is only one investigator that is terrible at combat.
however don't expect to get too many games out of it if you are just playing with the same person over and over.
the base game only comes with five scenarios but you can always turn to custom scenarios of which there are plenty.

[LSD]

I wasn't expecting to play it all the time but hoping it filled the "story telling" horror dungeon crawl experiences void I've been searching for. Since Arkham Horror was a dud with my gf and I felt it too much to keep track of for solo play I'm hoping this game serves a purpose.

Smokin: Are you saying it get much play because of the lack of replay value due to the limited scenarios or because it gets boring with only two players?

[Old Dwarf]

Playing with 2 Inv. works well in 1 on 1 games from my experience.

OD

PS I just posted up a 1on 1 MoM Game in the Game Reports Section.

[SmokinBaraka]

LSD i've never played it with only two players so I can't comment there, but yeah don't expect to play a scenario then play the same one with a different ending while still enjoying it as much as the first time. Just a good thing there are plenty of custom scenarios on the web to choose from. or you could always make your own. My friend made one that was revolved around Frankensteins Monster. it was pretty clever cause at first all we knew was it was the mansion of Dr Stein. then we later found out his whole name was Frank N. Stein. pretty clever on her part and was very enjoyable.

[D. Boon's Ghost]

Have you considered Betrayal at House on the Hill?

While I have yet to play Mansions, as far as the theme goes, the two games are often compared and contrasted.

The 50 haunts in the game are pure homages to the classic horror movies - and the ever-changing haunted house gives the game a huge replay value. In addition, the game is easily playable with two players.

[LSD]

(01-24-2013 10:45 PM)D. Boons Ghost Wrote:  Have you considered Betrayal at House on the Hill?

While I have yet to play Mansions, as far as the theme goes, the two games are often compared and contrasted.

The 50 haunts in the game are pure homages to the classic horror movies - and the ever-changing haunted house gives the game a huge replay value. In addition, the game is easily playable with two players.

I really want to like Betrayal but man the components are cheap and whats with them shorting buyers two figures. Lame. Also I thought it was meant for 3+. Anyway, If Mansions fails I guess I will give it a try. Hoping it doesn't because I got rid of Arkham Horror and am a big Lovecraft fan, only game I have left is Elder Sign.

[D. Boon's Ghost]

(01-24-2013 11:30 PM)LSD Wrote:  I really want to like Betrayal but man the components are cheap and whats with them shorting buyers two figures. Lame. Also I thought it was meant for 3+. Anyway, If Mansions fails I guess I will give it a try. Hoping it doesn't because I got rid of Arkham Horror and am a big Lovecraft fan, only game I have left is Elder Sign.

Components-wise, there is no comparison; you are absolutely right. As they provide six (badly) painted figures for the twelve possible characters, they are technically shorting you six figures. A technicality, as you can only play six explorers at once - but a nitpick all the same.

And yes, the box calls for 3+ players - but like many of these games, it can easily be made a two player; each person can control two explorers, then pass the 2nd over when the traitor appears.

It is certainly not as snazzy as Mansions, nor are the great majority of horror stories told Lovecraftian in nature - but Betrayal is a fun game nonetheless. We've faced a space infection (ala The Thing), a crazed invisible traitor, a swarm of blood-sucking bats, a power mad witch, and a seriously irritated dragon in our first five games; all of them a good time.

Regardless, good luck on getting back into Mansions. A lot of people really enjoy the game.

[LSD]

(01-25-2013 12:00 AM)D. Boons Ghost Wrote:  

(01-24-2013 11:30 PM)LSD Wrote:  I really want to like Betrayal but man the components are cheap and whats with them shorting buyers two figures. Lame. Also I thought it was meant for 3+. Anyway, If Mansions fails I guess I will give it a try. Hoping it doesn't because I got rid of Arkham Horror and am a big Lovecraft fan, only game I have left is Elder Sign.

Components-wise, there is no comparison; you are absolutely right. As they provide six (badly) painted figures for the twelve possible characters, they are technically shorting you six figures. A technicality, as you can only play six explorers at once - but a nitpick all the same.

And yes, the box calls for 3+ players - but like many of these games, it can easily be made a two player; each person can control two explorers, then pass the 2nd over when the traitor appears.

It is certainly not as snazzy as Mansions, nor are the great majority of horror stories told Lovecraftian in nature - but Betrayal is a fun game nonetheless. We've faced a space infection (ala The Thing), a crazed invisible traitor, a swarm of blood-sucking bats, a power mad witch, and a seriously irritated dragon in our first five games; all of them a good time.

Regardless, good luck on getting back into Mansions. A lot of people really enjoy the game.

Believe me I really want to like Betrayal as the concept is appealing. I would think it's better wiht 3+ due to how the traitor mechanic works.