Sunday 24 June 2012

Atmosfear!

Also known in the past as 'Nightmare' a boardgame all thew way from Aussieland where all the most awesome things come from [Rolf Harris, Fosters and Crocodile Dundee etc etc] made in 1991. I played this game when I was very young back when it was VHS and had other versions like you played against the 'Witch' instead of the Gamekeeper.



Now we have the DVD version which I snapped up right away and thought this with alot of drink would make for great adult fun and boy oh boy was I right.

Biggest change I noticed right away was in the old game the Gatekeeper would start off young and get older and older as the time ticked away and his attitude would change as it went on and for a young kid, man oh man was that guy scary.

I wasn't told the DVD wasn't PAL so I had to play it on my laptop instead of the hella awesome huge screen my partner owns, sad times.


If you have not ever heard of this or played it the aim of the game is pretty much this.

The object of the games is to collect six different coloured "Keystones" and thus beat the host. For most games in the series, the "Gatekeeper" is the host but other characters have "stepped in" and taken his place. To beat the host, the players must face their worst fear. If none of the players is able to win the game within the time limit, the host is the winner. A videotape or in later games a DVD[ is included with the game and acts as a game clock. The video stars the host of the game, who appears throughout the tape giving instructions to players. When a player has collected the Keystones, they can win the game by facing their earlier expressed "greatest fear"; if they are successful they win the game. If none of players is able to win the game within the set time limit, the host is the winner.[From wiki]


So who do YOU play as? up to six people can play and the cast are..

Gevaudan the werewolf
Anne de Chantraine the witch
Khufu the mummy
Hellin the poltergeist
And the ones we didn't play as
Baron Samedi the zombie
Elizabeth Bathory, the vampire


So what you do first is you all have to note down on a small slip of paper what your biggest fear is and then place it into the WELL OF FEARS which is the aim of your game, you need to find your fear when you manage to get to the well of fears which is alot harder then you think.


FATE and TIME cards are given out whenever you land on the stones or if you are called on by the Gatekeeper either by it bring your turn or a number that you have on your key rack. FATE can lead to doing things for keys such as duelling or something silly and TIME cards have events on them that you have to do at the right time, some give you keys, some let you steal etc.


Now we have what I think is a new feather to the game and that is a stone that says DUEL and you and your chosen rival who must also have a key to duel. Both role a dice and highest number gets to pick a key from the other but without seeing what colour they get... this is a sneaky way of giving someone the BLACK key.

Yeah the black key is a pain in the ass. It can be given to you or you can accidentally 'win' it in a duel and there is a stone you fall on and can be given it. So yeah, and as long as you have the black key you can't win.

Now I mentioned the Gate Keeper being different.. meaning he doesn't start off young like he used to and the fear part of the game has been removed, back in the old one it used to be dark and gritty and some bits made you really jump.. I might be saying that as like an 8 year old but still it was different.

The Gate Keeper is much more sarcastic and picking on you.


So yes our very energetic Gate Keeper likes to pick on you and make you do silly things. One point he tells the CHOSEN ONE to leave the room then makes them feel paranoid when they come back, it's a great interactive play and I'm pretty sure being the DVD version each time you play is different.. I have no idea if this is true yet but hey many more times to play it in the future. That's one thing it has up on the VHS.

My poor friend having to act like a Zombie much lols.

Also Facehuggers aren't very good at the game.

It says on the box that it should be played when it's dark and with a spooky atmosphere and so we shut the curtains waited till it dulled down a little and then I lit some cheap candles I got in the day and lit some up which really added to the game but sadly much later it was hard to even see the board but it looked ace.

Friends enjoying/looking bored.


So it was a very tense and rather hard game to win but with one second on the clock we JUST about beat the bastard, there was much screams, yells, drunken slurs and dice being thrown around like weapons it was madness but it was such a laugh.

So after the game these were mine... I had them all and then some but alas I had been given the black key so I had no chance of winning.


Oh and have a bonus picture..
When drunk and in a silly mood why not smush a cupcake into your laptop screen?

Interactive: 4/5
Scares: 0/5
Re-play value: 3.5/5
Over all enjoyment: 4/5

So it is very worth it's money and everyone should ahve a silly night in with it. BUY IT HERE

XJigsawX







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