The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Kill Dr. Lucky is a simple 2-8 player board game from Cheapass Games. It comes with 96 cards, and a map. The object of the game is, like the title says, to kill Dr. Lucky. I'll describe the components and rules in depth, and then a gameplay review.

The Components:

The game comes with 96 light cardboard cards, which either have a move value, a weapon value, or a failure value. The map depicts Dr. Lucky's mansion, with doors to hallways and other rooms. The map is also made of light cardboard tiles, which has to be either taped together, or just carefully laid next to each other. The cards tended to bend in player's hands, and also when shuffling. The map really needed to be taped together. I solved both of these problems by applying clear contact paper to the cards, and the map. I feel this should greatly extend the life of this game. The player's pawns and Dr. Lucky can be anything. We used my Deadlands minis, but nearly anything will work.

The Rules:

Players on their turn can do one of two things: Stay in the room they are in, and draw a card from the deck, or play as many weapon or movement cards as they wish. Between each player's turn, Dr. Lucky moves one room. The only way a player may make an attempt on the Dr. is to be alone in the room with him, and not have any other players able to "see" that room, through doors or hallways. If that player is alone with the Dr., then they may play a weapon card, or, if they have none, a "poke in the eye" may suffice. Each weapon comes with an associated value, for instance, the Revolver is worth 3, while the Chain Saw is worth 4. Then the other players have to play Failure cards worth the amount of the weapon used. A key point is to try and bluff the other players into thinking you have no failure cards, while making them play all of theirs. There are some other small rules, but that is the gist of the game.

The Gameplay:

Our group assembled, and each player took their pawn. Cards were dealt out, and play commenced. We enjoyed the gameplay, it was quick, and funny, at least for the first half. After each player plays a card, if it is a weapon or a movement card, it goes in one discard pile. If it is a failure card, it goes in another. When the deck is exhausted, the weapon and movement cards are shuffled, and play begins again. This is where the real fun might be had, since nobody was going to get more failure cards. However, the play also seemed to break down at this point. When a weapon card was played, we stared at each other waiting for someone to finally bite the bullet and play a failure card. This seemed to cause one person to always end up playing the failure cards. We stopped this by adding one simple rule: There is only one round of playing failure cards allowed, so if you are bluffing, you better hope that someone down the line can stop the murder attempt. In rereading the rules for this review, this might be the way play was intended, but the rules don't come right out and say so.

In Conclusion:

This game is worth the $6 it costs. It is a good icebreaker game, in that many non-gamers can pick it up-I always describe it as "Clue in reverse", and that seems to spark their interest, and the ability to move into something a little meatier. For a long term game, however, I don't see it staying in the forefront of what we play. After one playing, our group was ready for something different. Of course, looking at the entire Cheapass Games lineup, I don't think they are trying to make the Next Big Game, they market cheap, relatively fun, games. I just bought the expansion to Dr. Lucky, which adds another map. It looks like it might instill some more life in this good, but not great, game.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Kill Doctor Lucky
Author: James Ernest Category: Board Game Company/Publisher: Cheapass Games Line: Board Games Cost: $5.95 Page count: n/a SKU: CAG001 Playtest Review by BeoPunk CyberWulf on 06/04/00. Genre tags: sponsored by	Kill Dr. Lucky is a simple 2-8 player board game from Cheapass Games. It comes with 96 cards, and a map. The object of the game is, like the title says, to kill Dr. Lucky. I'll describe the components and rules in depth, and then a gameplay review. The Components: The game comes with 96 light cardboard cards, which either have a move value, a weapon value, or a failure value. The map depicts Dr. Lucky's mansion, with doors to hallways and other rooms. The map is also made of light cardboard tiles, which has to be either taped together, or just carefully laid next to each other. The cards tended to bend in player's hands, and also when shuffling. The map really needed to be taped together. I solved both of these problems by applying clear contact paper to the cards, and the map. I feel this should greatly extend the life of this game. The player's pawns and Dr. Lucky can be anything. We used my Deadlands minis, but nearly anything will work. The Rules: Players on their turn can do one of two things: Stay in the room they are in, and draw a card from the deck, or play as many weapon or movement cards as they wish. Between each player's turn, Dr. Lucky moves one room. The only way a player may make an attempt on the Dr. is to be alone in the room with him, and not have any other players able to "see" that room, through doors or hallways. If that player is alone with the Dr., then they may play a weapon card, or, if they have none, a "poke in the eye" may suffice. Each weapon comes with an associated value, for instance, the Revolver is worth 3, while the Chain Saw is worth 4. Then the other players have to play Failure cards worth the amount of the weapon used. A key point is to try and bluff the other players into thinking you have no failure cards, while making them play all of theirs. There are some other small rules, but that is the gist of the game. The Gameplay: Our group assembled, and each player took their pawn. Cards were dealt out, and play commenced. We enjoyed the gameplay, it was quick, and funny, at least for the first half. After each player plays a card, if it is a weapon or a movement card, it goes in one discard pile. If it is a failure card, it goes in another. When the deck is exhausted, the weapon and movement cards are shuffled, and play begins again. This is where the real fun might be had, since nobody was going to get more failure cards. However, the play also seemed to break down at this point. When a weapon card was played, we stared at each other waiting for someone to finally bite the bullet and play a failure card. This seemed to cause one person to always end up playing the failure cards. We stopped this by adding one simple rule: There is only one round of playing failure cards allowed, so if you are bluffing, you better hope that someone down the line can stop the murder attempt. In rereading the rules for this review, this might be the way play was intended, but the rules don't come right out and say so. In Conclusion: This game is worth the $6 it costs. It is a good icebreaker game, in that many non-gamers can pick it up-I always describe it as "Clue in reverse", and that seems to spark their interest, and the ability to move into something a little meatier. For a long term game, however, I don't see it staying in the forefront of what we play. After one playing, our group was ready for something different. Of course, looking at the entire Cheapass Games lineup, I don't think they are trying to make the Next Big Game, they market cheap, relatively fun, games. I just bought the expansion to Dr. Lucky, which adds another map. It looks like it might instill some more life in this good, but not great, game. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)

Kill Doctor Lucky