Twilight Creations

Okay before the rolling of the eyes starts I have some questions.

I'm sure most people here have at least tried one or two of their games.

Zombies!! - It's terribly long for what it does and I tend to drag it out after we're done watching the game and there's beer left. It's easy to teach non gamers and I throw the helipad into the middle of the deck. In addition I state that any weapon card found can be used immediatley. In other words if you find the marbles you just stepped over the corpse of some poor kid at the gas station...use e'm - no need to get the the damn toy store.

The expansions are basically uselsss as they add nothing more than time to the game, other than the one with the guts tokens which I use for all games.

Humans!! I thought offered a good theme, plenty more in the way of tactics so it can be fun with the right crowd (non regular gamers who are already half in the bag)

While perusing TOS today looking at Deadlands I stumbled accross these other offerings from Twilight:

Bump in the night:
Anyone played this? Seems different.

Martians!!
Looks to be another mapping of Zombies but with more flavor. The reason this one gets my attention is that my 7 year old really wants to play a zombie game but the artwork is way too graphic for her at this time. My kids really like "Mars Attacks" and most alien films that aren't too graphic in order for me to allow them to watch. Nothing like watching them walk around "Dak..Dak Dak!!"

Does this game run smooth and would it be suitable for kids that aren't overly sensitive. It seems to have a cool factor and light enough.

Innsmouth Escape:
This looks very dull and uninspired.

Any thoughts are appreciated. The rules writing from these guys is absolutely horrid but with a light game we fill in the gaps on the fly as we play (often with different interpretations each time - think variety), they only get whipped out on beer first nights. Martians!! might fit that "cool" gap for my little ones as long as it isn't too graphic on the cards.

I did a full review of Innsmouth Escape for F:AT, but I can't find it here now. Anyway, it is an above average game, except for two problems. First, it's too similar to Fury of Dracula, and second, the production values are a little low, except for the 100 plastic Deep Ones. The gameplay is fun, but there is a scaling problem, so that instead of playing with 2-5 players, you should stick to playing with 3 or 4 players. Or else adjust the number of Deep Ones controlled by each player. There are a couple of neat ideas in the mechanics, and this game would have gone over a lot better with an interesting board and a lot more variety in the card art.

Just to give you an idea where I stand with other Twilight Creations games...

Zombies!!! - I still like this game, but several dozen zombies in the game tends to induce analysis paralysis in some people, dragging down an otherwise good game. It lasts too long for what it is, unless you get the Six Feet Under expansion that can really speed up the game, with sewer tunnels and subway movement. Still, first-time players tend to get really excited at the start of that first game, because Zombies!!! looks like so much fun. And I feel like several other companies owe Twilight Creations a royalty or something, for using this game as zombie game design kit.

Humans!!! - It is definitely a better game than Zombies!!!, and some day I hope to try a combined game of the two as suggested in the rules. Not only is there more strategy, but it actually has a very cool combat mechanism with those hit location cards. The zombie special abilities are unbalanced and almost seem like an afterthought to the game.

Dante's Inferno - A great idea with lousy execution. There is almost no tangible connection between theme and mechanics, and the sluggish movement system makes the game painfully long and boring.

Deadlands: the Battle of Slaughter Gulch - Like you, I am looking forward to this and hope that it's good.

Overall, I am reluctant to buy Twilight Creation games, because they tend to disappoint. But I like the ideas they work with, and keep hoping they will improve.

You know - we ususally forget about the special abilities. If someone remembers then we use it but most times we actually forget to use them.

Innsmouth - The board also looks fucking terrible. You'd be better off scrapping it and changing the movement in favor of a ruler and a table top no?

I'm liking the looks of the Martians!! game and considering it a pickup - just concerned about the graphics.

These folks always seem to tap into something great and ultimately fall short. The Zombies!! expansions could offer so much more than just more tiles. I have the Clown one and it's "OK" but I just can't seem to pull it out more...

The sewer movement looks good and would likely speed up the game but you could add more in my opinion and really create a more useful expansion.

I also would like to have a Humans!! vs Zombies!! game. I've been waiting for the right get together for that. Looks interesting but once again I think there would be much on the fly rules ammending, which I really don't have much trouble with as I've gotten used to it but it would be nice if they wwere more solid about their playtesting. I think the playtesters go into the testing on rails rather than actually trying to break the game.

Pat II wrote:

Okay before the rolling of the eyes starts I have some questions.

I was rolling my eyes at your misspelling of the company name before I even opened the thread. I fixed it for you. Let me know if you intended it to be Twighlight Creations and I'll change it back.

Thanks Boss!

I was REALLY disappointed in their When Darkness Comes release. It didn't seem like a complete game. I did some solo play just to see how I would like it, just a sloppy design in my opinion. Also couldn't get anyone to try it anyway. It languishes on my shelf because no one will buy or trade for it either. Anyone have another perspective on this? Is it worth picking up again just for a lark?

This company, more than any other, reminds me of the 80s. I would have loved these things as a kid. Now, not so much.

I didn't even bother trying When Darkness Comes. It was pretty clear that they couldn't decide if they were making a boardgame or rpg, and the compromises between the two left this game nowhere.

Shellhead wrote:

I didn't even bother trying When Darkness Comes. It was pretty clear that they couldn't decide if they were making a boardgame or rpg, and the compromises between the two left this game nowhere.

I picked up the box...looked at it, read a little and put it down never to think of it again.

And Frank - you're absolutely right. These games would have kicked back when I was 'lil.

I'm still holding out for Deadlands though.

I quite liked Innsmouth Escape (see review here: boardgamegeek.com/thread/319959 )

It's simple, but offers some interesting choices along the way. But if you play a two-player game the Deep One-player really need to play with at least two teams of Deep Ones. And the fact that the Shoggoths are just boring cardboard counters is a bit disappointing considering the really nice deep one figs.

m

I only played innsmouth once, but I enjoyed it. some really neat choices to make. I can't comment on the balance, but the board and pieces are serviceable. if I found it cheap I'd probably grab it.

ubarose wrote:

I have Bump in the Night. It is kind of like Dungeon Twister. Not that it has the moving tiles, but it uses the same part of your brain. You are trying to position the the monsters and the state of the doors (open or shut) to create a chain reaction to force pawns off the board when they move.

Can young ones understand the mechanics? I've never played Dungeon Twister.