About a month ago, I spotted an attractive board game in my
Instagram feed and followed the breadcrumb trail back to the publisher and
designer to learn more about it. The more I read about Kill Merlin!, the more I
was sure my kids would enjoy it and it looked fun for adults as well. A few
days later a review copy showed up on my doorstep and after unboxing it for my
IG audience I set it up on our family gaming table and called the kids
(Helenipa 13, and our twin boys Max and Locke who are 9) over to take a look. They
were quite impressed with the artwork (as was I; this is a well-illustrated
game with beautiful colors). There were some ooohs and ahhhs immediately
followed by demands to PLAY RIGHT NOW PLEASE.
Everyone wanted in on the first game so one of our sons partnered
with my husband, allowing us to all play within the constraints of the 4-player
maximum. Right away my husband relocated the wizard tokens from the side of the
board where I’d set them up (following the instructions in the rulebook) to its
center, arranging them in a cute little circle. The board was made perfectly
for this.
Let’s talk about those tokens. Each player is given five at the
start of the game. The design team at Schuman Family Games has come up with
this clever system wherein the state of the wizard tokens is represented by the
presence of their hats. If the hat is on the wizard, the token is charged. If
the hat is off, the token is spent (note: the wizard tokens with removable hats
are a stretch goal for the game; the base game comes standard with small chits
that represent the charged token on one side and the spent token on the other. I really adore the wizards and their
little hats so I’m going to need all of you to back this game to ensure the
stretch goal is reached). Charged tokens allow the player controlling the
token to cast the spell where the wizard token is stationed. The spells, in
turn, allow the player to gain advantages over the other players by either
improving the casting player’s position in the game or diminishing the position
of one or more opponents. It’s very much a “take that” game. Players station
their wizard tokens on a spell by paying the cost to “learn” the spell and
turning in the two required ingredients (or one of the ingredients and the wild
card Mimic).
The ultimate objective across all the rounds is to position your
wizard tokens on the board in a pattern matching the one dealt to you on your
Secret Formula card at the start of the game. Once you match the pattern, you’ve
learned the formula required to destroy Merlin and victory is yours; your last
act is to shout out that you’ve killed him (my kids especially loved that part
and shouted with great exuberance when they did him in).
The patterns on the Secret Formula cards always consist of a token in each of the four quadrants, and the total distance as measured by orthogonal spaces away from the center of the board for the four tokens combined is always 12.
Inputs:
$$ value accumulated, ingredients amassed, token positioning shifts resulting
from casting spells.
Strategy tip:
Because the win condition is always
represented by a pattern 12 steps away from the center of the board, you can
keep a running tally of the score by comparing the step count of each players
pattern. Focus your destructive spell casting each turn against the players
with the highest step count.
In addition to combating fellow players on your quest to get
wizard tokens in position, you must also fend off Merlin directly who is trying
to destroy all the wizards before they can take him out with their secret
formulas. Each round, Merlin gets a turn to incite discord as cards are
revealed from the Merlin deck that interrupt the balance of the game in quick
and often dramatically punishing ways. This outside party attempting to jack
everyone up whenever he can (and in such random fashion) helps to balance out
the resentment traditionally elicited by take that games. It feels a little
less frustrating to have an opponent take all your money when you know they
might be Merlin’s next victim and lose it all themselves the next turn. It
reinforces the theme that Merlin is the bigger enemy, and nothing should be
taken personally as we step on each other trying to get to him first.
My son Max won the first game. My son Locke challenged him almost
immediately to a rematch and we scheduled it for a few days later. This time
just the two boys and I played, and Locke won. Let me tell you, it takes a
strong ego as an adult to lose to not just one, but two 9-year olds in one
week.
Kill Merlin! plays well under both three and four
player games (we haven’t played with any other player counts yet). The game
play moves quickly and is not subject to analysis paralysis. It’s enjoyable for
adults as a lightweight game, but I’d especially recommend this game for kids
and teens. Replay variability is possible through the random distribution of
cards in the Merlin and ingredient decks as well as the placement of spells in
each quadrant. Having said that, I’d really like to see additional spell cards
provided for the game (perhaps in an expansion?) to significantly increase
variability over a series of replays and keep things continually interesting.
There are only 2 days left in the Kill Merlin! Kickstarter and as
the publisher is small and independent, no guarantees of a reprint down the
road can be made. To ensure a copy will be coming your way, you’ll want to make
sure you get your name on the backer’s list while you still can.
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Publisher: Schuman Family Games
Players: 2-4 (We played with 3 and 4)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 60-90
minutes
Game type: set collection, take that
Rating:
Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably
would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if
someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would
buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or
give it away if it was given to me.
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