![]() Being originally a French developed game I believe there are some translation issues. One of which leads to two interpretations of the rules for being moved to locations that can drastically change how a run progresses. The first problem is that even though there are very few rules to the game, the rulebook does a poor job of explaining them all. It’s not without flaws and the scenario based nature of the game leads to a few potholes in the road. Mulling over the strategy when you should be paying attention in an important meeting or messaging your players to suggest a theory, TIME Stories has got under my skin more than any other game I have played. The calling sign of a good game is one you can't stop thinking about long after you've finished. It burrows itself into your head, if the pub hadn't shut, or if I didn't need to get up for work in the morning we would have played this scenario to its conclusion. ![]() The conversation even continued for several days over instant messaging and texts. But back to the adventure, I can't stop thinking about it, and even as we all walked to our cars after the evenings session everyone was discussing the adventure and where we've gone wrong, what have we missed, what we know. It's cleverly designed insert, however it’s very flimsy and some of the counter wells really aren't deep enough. We ran out of actual time (as in the pub was about to shut and we were getting kicked out), so we've had to save our progress mid run, something the box insert design allows you to do. Is talking to the Day Nurse going to give you a vital clue or send you back to your ward? Is the scary looking man without any trousers justifiably scary or just a bit eccentric? We found we were discussing our strategy much more that we would in another cooperative game, because the clues where in front of you and it was down to how you interpreted those clues. Because the missions are cerebral in nature it’s not just about being able to see the optimum path because you have no idea where each path leads. It’s a rather intense experience, and one of the best cooperative experiences I have ever had. All I will say is that there are plenty of fiendish clues and narrative dead ends that will satisfy your sense of adventure and keep your brain running in top gear. I won't say any more about the details of the scenario as it's very easy to wander into spoiler territory. Included with the game is the Asylum, a visit to a lunatic institution in 1920's France. It provides the bare mechanics and components and the intention is to plug in Missions which come as a deck of large format cards. The TIME Stories game is more of a console than a full game. It leads to some tense situations, as you want to leave an area to complete the mystery but are stuck fighting a villain or trying to hack a safe. TUs are the main cooperative push behind the game forcing you to consider your options carefully, split up to cover more ground or concentrate your skills on difficult challenges. The game itself is mechanically a very simple game, even the conflict mechanism is straightforward and easy to understand.Įvery action costs a Temporal Unit, or TU, and you have a limited amount of TUs available until you have failed and the run ends. ![]() You'll move from location to location, gaining clues, keys and other useful items, as well as persuading people to help you or fighting off the odd baddy. The mystery itself plays out much like a point and click adventure game in cardboard form, with the game Myst being the best analogy. You are in a Groundhog Day loop, where each time you run the mission you know a little bit more, can avoid the potholes and hopefully save the day. If you've seen a Source Code then you will get the idea as this game follows a very similar concept. ![]() You'll do this by leaping into the bodies of people at the period and location of the event and then will then have a limited amount of actions to solve the mystery before the run ends and you are forced back to the start. Something is buggering with the natural order of the events, so it's your job to police the past. In TIME Stories you play as a TIME agent, and you have to travel back in time to fix temporal anomalies. It results in what could be the most controversial game ofĢ015, but could also be one of the best games of 2015. But in theĬase of TIME Stories I'm writing this review after just one play throughīecause I now can't play this game again until I buy the firstĮxpansion. It’s important to have seen everything the gameĬan offer before committing your thoughts to the internet. When reviewing a game, I generally play the game enough times till youįeel like you know it. ![]()
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