Halloween special: FREE promo cards
use promo code: HALLOWEEN
Enter promo code: HALLOWEEN to get FREE promo cards with your copy of Gathering Gloom. In the US, if you order by October 21, we will get the game and promo cards to you before Halloween.
A killer co-op for 1 to 5 monsters
In Gathering Gloom you play as a member of the Charming family: a witch, vampire, werewolf, ghost, and so on. There are 12 different characters to choose from, each with a unique deck of action cards, unique special abilities, and their own vulnerabilities.
The family has problems. Crises arise in their home and their family businesses. If you can resolve 14 to 16 crises, depending on the difficulty level you choose, you win.
Thing is, the Villagers think you may be monsters and they’re trying to prove it. They’ll bring out evidence against you. They’ll come and stalk you. Of course, you can make a Villager a Minion and then they work for you instead of against you.
You need to find the balance between managing the Villagers – any way you can – and taking care of your crises.
The Gloom track progresses throughout the game. If you reach 50 points of gloom before you resolve all your crises, you lose. And, oh yeah, the gathering rate of Gloom does accelerate as the game goes on.
You are also going to keep track of how much the Villagers fear your character. If any character ever reaches 12 points of Fear, it’s torches-and-pitchforks time and you lose together.
The primary mechanics in the game include:
- Worker-placement. You go to a location and, on arrival, you take an action. There are 10 locations on the board, each with a different action. Some help you manage your deck. Some help with managing Villagers and Fear. Others help you solve crises. The game includes 7 alternate location tiles, with 2 locations each. These can be added at setup to increase play experience variability.
- Deck building. Each character has a unique starting deck of cards that give you actions or trait points (resources you can spend to solve crises and pay for other actions). You may want to add to your deck to acquire some more of the 17 action types available in the game.
- Resource management. Resolving crises is deterministic. If you can gather the trait points you need, you resolve a crisis. You don’t roll dice to determine your progress against your game goal.
- Cooperation. Anytime 2 characters are in the same place they can cooperate at a very high level. They can resolve a crisis together. One can remove Fear from the other. Or, take care of the other player’s Stalker. You can give another player a card that you don’t need but they do. Lots of opportunities to help each other. There are also 5 different action-type cards that allow you to participate during another player’s turn, if the right circumstances arise.
On each turn you will use dice to determine which complications the game is going to bring out. The dice will tell you to bring out Villagers, Evidence, Items, Crises, advance the Gloom track, or draw a Peril card. Most of these are not favorable to your character or the Charming family. Usually.
You will also check to see if your Stalkers get riled up, or a Villager wants to come stalk you on each turn. This is where managing Villagers comes in.
Gathering Gloom provides tremendous satisfaction when you evade the Villagers and their mess long enough to resolve your crises and win. And If you don’t? Well, what can we say? Grudge Match!