Another game from last January's Flamingo Con was the intriguing Miskatonic school for girls. It was billed as a light deck builder teeming with dark humor, set in a school overtaken by some untold Lovecraftian horror and pitting students against teachers. There was also the promise of some innovative mechanic, namely "build you opponent's deck" which added to the intrigue. Hitting all these nerdy tropes in one fell swoop, what could possibly go wrong?
2-4
60mn
12+
Setup: Getting started is pretty simple:
- Each player gets a board (same for everyone)
- Each player get a starting deck
- The common area has 2 decks, one for students, one for teachers
And you're all set!
Gameplay: The driving principle here is students = good, and teachers = bad. The board is used to organize the cards, guide players through their turns and track their sanity (if you get to 0, you're out!) and it does it pretty well. Each turn will unfold like this:
- Cards from the student and teacher decks are revealed (or replenished) and available to buy
- Draw your hand. It will contain some student with friendship points and some teachers with horror points. They will be used to buy available cards.
- You have to buy 1 student (going to your deck) and 1 teacher (going to the player on your left)
- Any teacher you drew will have to be fought, ie, you will draw 1 student per said teacher, compare stats, and assess damages to your sanity
The idea around pushing cards to your opponents was the draw for me, as a potentially innovative mechanic, but unfortunately the whole buying process falls way short. Yes, each card may come with their own special abilities, which provides some variety, but you're not actually building your deck (or your opponent's); it becomes quickly obvious that you always have to buy the most expensive cards you can afford, so there is, at best, the illusion of choice. Similarly, the fights are all about minimizing the damage to your sanity, so there is always one optimal play and no decision making beyond that. In a twisted sense, it's not too far removed from playing War.
Theme: It feels like some dark nerd fantasy universe where Lovecraftian creatures decide to reenact Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall in an all-girl Catholic school (or some Manga-esque version of one). On its face, it starts out with a very niche appeal. The art is polished, but doesn't help understanding the game by providing distinctive and intuitive visuals. In fairness though, the complexity doesn't really call for it. Ultimately, stitching these tropes together may have sounded like a cool idea at inception, but it doesn't really add to the game or complement it in a way that made sense to me.
Impression: The game honestly starts out on a very narrow path to success, given how niche its appeal is. The mechanics don't really allow for much player interaction, beyond dumping cards at the person to your left until elimination; I personally dislike elimination games where losers have to wait for the game's end, and being able to affect only one player adds an extra layer of frustration. The core game loop is ok, but not all that interesting since there is little strategic freedom, which also affects replayability. And while the game leans heavily on popular nerdy tropes and a polished look, it's not enough to make it a compelling package.
TLDR: A niche game with limited appeal or entertainment value.
Score: 3/10
Cheers,
Ady
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