The Tower of Mystery Board Game Review
Review by Austin Searles
Game Designer and Steve Jackson Games MIB
Lets start with the box.
The artwork I found was very well done, the box itself is a nice heavy box
that will wear well on the shelf and opens remarkably easy. Slid right off.
No shaken Box syndrome, no loud obnoxious farting sound, no prying one end
up just to break a seal and open the darn thing.
Ok that is pretty small, but a point in its favor.
The Components.
The pawns are, in keeping with the theme, towers. Eight of them. There are
some chits to track lost turns and such, money, two decks of cards, two
specialized dice, and last and certainly most annoying is the Player turn
marker. Everything is well made, the cards have a nice weight to them and
the chits were nice and thick and carried a little weight to them, Not
enough to hurt when I got hit with them repeatedly, but enough to chuck
across the table.
No there is no "Throwing Chit" mechanic in the game, We just had a player
that tended to allow his anxiety to get the better of him when something bad
happened. Bad things happen, and I caused a great deal of them, so was on
the receiving end of said "chit" on more than one occasion.
Remember that annoying piece I mentioned? This was in my opinion a necessary
evil. but maybe could have been a different design. It was a red token that
was roughly the same size and shape of the pawns. It was also the same color
as one of the playing pawns. I Know I grabbed it mistakenly more than once.
But As I found out, an "its my turn" marker is certainly needed. as a group
we would make off color comments that would spur different jokes or stories
and it would be a few moment before the attention was turned back to the
game. At that time the question was, "Who's turn is it?" We also have a
player that is notorious for not taking his turn, and chit chatting away.
the general rule at our table is, "If you have to ask whose turn it is, Its
Chris's."
On to the Board.
It is certainly Busy, full of colors and images. It is a virtual smorgasbord
of cacophony. Perfect for this game. The board has a nice gloss finish and a
good weight as well. It is a bi fold and I thought the fold itself may be a
weak spot. But for that only time will tell. The Board is the inside of the
Tower portrayed in the artwork on the box. It is a twisty turny path that
does look a bit intimidating and daunting at first. Once you get into the
game, and understand the movement, it is actually simple enough.
And now, Game Play.
Did I mention that I am a strategy gamer? I had to quickly get used to the
idea that the game in and of itself is fun. I had a hard time of playing a
game just for the fun of it. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am one of the
most competitive people they know. I can make a contest of anything. In this
game though, and believe me, this concept is as impossible to fathom as
infinity itself, it really does not matter if you win or lose. Oh, did I
just say that? Yup, that was my meaty fingers that typed that last bit. This
is clearly a social game, let me say that again. Social game. Not social
like health care but social like getting together with friends, having a
drink, BS the night away social.
Yes there are parts like the balloon in the middle of a 7 story castle spire
that transports you from location A to location B, or the Blue moon square
that makes you pay or lose a turn. Honestly individually these spaces make
no sense what so ever. Put them together and you have a fun silly game that
everyone can play and have a good time with.
Balance?
There is an Extremely high Randomness to this game. When I say Extremely
high I am not talking about the creator of the Beatles Yellow Submarine
Movie, but more like Cheech and Chong's down time at Christmas, after
winning the lottery. Therefore there the Balance is anyone can get hosed at
any time equally. I was two squares from winning Due to some masterful
Strategic play, and that is when the Guy who throws chit, draws a card that
moved me to the other side of the board. Doh! (you will be pleased to know
that I refrained from throwing the nicely weighted chit back at him)
Conclusion - This is a very good social game, do not set it up thinking You
are the greatest Strategizer and no one can beat me! It just wont happen. No
amount of Superior strategery will do anything but get you close to the win.
Like the Beatles, just sit back and relax and enjoy the ride. The Submarine
will surface soon enough, and you will have had a fun time in the process.
I give this game a B to B+ ( I do like my strategy games )