The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Like so many things in life, this game falls far short of its expectations. Maul of America is a board game pitting players against the faceless hordes of the walking dead inside a shopping maul..er, mall. This is a game rife with beer-and-pretzels fun but this game just doesn't deliver.

The first strike of the game comes in choosing sides. The game becomes "Players Vs. Zombie Player" and the zombie player has a decided advantage. This is supposed to recreate the feel of those B movies with the shambling dead and often the zombies win. It reminds me of Games Workshop's Space Hulk, where one player will probably win unless God comes down and plays the game for him. The object of the game is to find one piece of each kind of equipment and high tail it out of the mall before the zombies turn you into a buffet. The game itself isn't necessarily bad but the human players get turned off by the sheer amount of Zombies that pop up each round. The game also barely snags on the toungue in cheek humor advertised on the box "Zombies, weapons, gratuitous violence---and a FOOD COURT!!!"

My complaint with the game is its price. I understand small print companies have low print runs and high prices. But this game is just not worth $35. The much more playable Crisis is cheaper and more fun.

The components seem to be out of a Cheapass game, which would be alright if this game were priced as such. This seems more like a playtest work in progress than a finished game. If you can find it really cheap, give it a whirl. House rulkes could easy improve the ideas behind this game. But when I pay this much money for a game, I don't want to redisign it on my own time.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Maul of America
Author: Jolly Roger Games Category: miniature Company/Publisher: Jolly Roger Games Cost: $35.00 Playtest Review by Rob Wieland on 02/02/99. Genre tags: Modern_day Horror	Like so many things in life, this game falls far short of its expectations. Maul of America is a board game pitting players against the faceless hordes of the walking dead inside a shopping maul..er, mall. This is a game rife with beer-and-pretzels fun but this game just doesn't deliver. The first strike of the game comes in choosing sides. The game becomes "Players Vs. Zombie Player" and the zombie player has a decided advantage. This is supposed to recreate the feel of those B movies with the shambling dead and often the zombies win. It reminds me of Games Workshop's Space Hulk, where one player will probably win unless God comes down and plays the game for him. The object of the game is to find one piece of each kind of equipment and high tail it out of the mall before the zombies turn you into a buffet. The game itself isn't necessarily bad but the human players get turned off by the sheer amount of Zombies that pop up each round. The game also barely snags on the toungue in cheek humor advertised on the box "Zombies, weapons, gratuitous violence---and a FOOD COURT!!!" My complaint with the game is its price. I understand small print companies have low print runs and high prices. But this game is just not worth $35. The much more playable Crisis is cheaper and more fun. The components seem to be out of a Cheapass game, which would be alright if this game were priced as such. This seems more like a playtest work in progress than a finished game. If you can find it really cheap, give it a whirl. House rulkes could easy improve the ideas behind this game. But when I pay this much money for a game, I don't want to redisign it on my own time. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)