The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Let me preface this by saying one thing: This game was made for ME. As an avowed Horror and Sci-Fi B-Movie fanatic, I don’t see how you could make a more fun card game on the subject than Grave Robbers From Outer Space (GROS). I’m so in love with this game, this is more of an unpaid endorsement than a review, OK? I will, however, include pertinent information and will try to come off as unbiased…

Unpaid Endorsement: I spend a lot of money on games. A LOT. And GROS is, without a doubt, the game I’m going to get the most use out of in the next year! (With the possible exception of Adept Press’ hardcover Sorcerer RPG…)

The price is very reasonable; $20 for the 120 card deck, which will support the play of two to six players. (The author has let me know there’s an expansion with an additional set of 40-60 cards on the way as well! The Z-Man sight also mentiones that this is the first in a series of B-Movie card games they will be producing.)

The game begins with Title Creation. Draw six cards and try to fit the title words on them all together into an imaginary B-Movie title. (My favorite so far is Unholy Fungus Dungeon of the Atomic Death Co-eds.) If you end up with any of the title cards in your hand or movie at the end of the game, you get 5 bonus points for each card. In play this doesn’t seem to happen very often, but it’s a really fun way to kick off a game!

You have 5 different types of cards in the deck, that contain the attack and defense elements of the game. These are: Characters, Creatures, Locations, Props and Special Effects. Though the cards are only two color, each of them is color-coded by type (red & black is creatures, yellow & black is for EFX, etc.). The black and white artwork on the cards is uniformly excellent, and fits the tone of the game perfectly. My one tiny complaint is that the titles and quote should both drop out the color as the titles on the card are hard to read on some cards. They are printed well, and the cardstock is also of high quality. The titles and quotes on the cards are very entertaining as well, adding to the fun and chaos of the whole thing. (i.e. “My Mad Scientist powered Zombies From Hell attack the Old Church – 30 attack points! Die Nymphomaniac Cheerleader, DIE! Your Flame-Thrower and Holy Relic are GONE, Sucker!!!”)

The rules are simple. I learned how to play in one hand at GenCon, (with Mr. Stephen Tassler, GROS’ esteemed designer even!) and before the hand was over I was confident in how the game was played. Each player has a hand of six cards, and everyone must have one Character card to lay down at the start of a game. Groups of Characters will exist at a single Location, and almost all the Characters can use Props. All three can add or subtract from your defensive value, depending on the situation, Special Effect card played, or Monster attacking the movie.

Each Creature card has an offensive value, which can be modified by Special Effect cards, and when you lay down enough offensive cards to beat the total of one of your opponents defense, you kill one of the characters in their film. At the end, you total up the points. Highest total wins. There’s a few more twists to it than that, but each card contains the effect that it presents to the game, so the rules are more on the cards than in a booklet.

This game is so easy to learn that I’ve taught several non-gamers to play, and they all picked up the rules in the first hand. I describe it as a “complicated version of War”. The main thing to remember is to read your cards before you start tossing them down or discarding them. With a game this good, the fun will come rolling in right after.

Two thumbs up! Buy this game, you’ll have fun with it! You can check for info and graphics here: http://www.shadowfist.com/html/grave_robbers/grave_robbers.htm

Grave Robbers From Outer Space
Grave Robbers From Outer Space Playtest Review by Sean Wipfli on 24/09/01 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) The perfect B-Movie card game is here!!! Product: Grave Robbers From Outer Space Author: Stephen Tassie Category: Card Game Company/Publisher: Z-Man Games Line: Cost: $19.95 Page count: n/a Year published: 2001 ISBN: SKU: ZMG4000 Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Sean Wipfli on 24/09/01 Genre tags: Science Fiction Horror Comedy Vampire	Let me preface this by saying one thing: This game was made for ME. As an avowed Horror and Sci-Fi B-Movie fanatic, I don’t see how you could make a more fun card game on the subject than Grave Robbers From Outer Space (GROS). I’m so in love with this game, this is more of an unpaid endorsement than a review, OK? I will, however, include pertinent information and will try to come off as unbiased… Unpaid Endorsement: I spend a lot of money on games. A LOT. And GROS is, without a doubt, the game I’m going to get the most use out of in the next year! (With the possible exception of Adept Press’ hardcover Sorcerer RPG…) The price is very reasonable; $20 for the 120 card deck, which will support the play of two to six players. (The author has let me know there’s an expansion with an additional set of 40-60 cards on the way as well! The Z-Man sight also mentiones that this is the first in a series of B-Movie card games they will be producing.) The game begins with Title Creation. Draw six cards and try to fit the title words on them all together into an imaginary B-Movie title. (My favorite so far is Unholy Fungus Dungeon of the Atomic Death Co-eds.) If you end up with any of the title cards in your hand or movie at the end of the game, you get 5 bonus points for each card. In play this doesn’t seem to happen very often, but it’s a really fun way to kick off a game! You have 5 different types of cards in the deck, that contain the attack and defense elements of the game. These are: Characters, Creatures, Locations, Props and Special Effects. Though the cards are only two color, each of them is color-coded by type (red & black is creatures, yellow & black is for EFX, etc.). The black and white artwork on the cards is uniformly excellent, and fits the tone of the game perfectly. My one tiny complaint is that the titles and quote should both drop out the color as the titles on the card are hard to read on some cards. They are printed well, and the cardstock is also of high quality. The titles and quotes on the cards are very entertaining as well, adding to the fun and chaos of the whole thing. (i.e. “My Mad Scientist powered Zombies From Hell attack the Old Church – 30 attack points! Die Nymphomaniac Cheerleader, DIE! Your Flame-Thrower and Holy Relic are GONE, Sucker!!!”) The rules are simple. I learned how to play in one hand at GenCon, (with Mr. Stephen Tassler, GROS’ esteemed designer even!) and before the hand was over I was confident in how the game was played. Each player has a hand of six cards, and everyone must have one Character card to lay down at the start of a game. Groups of Characters will exist at a single Location, and almost all the Characters can use Props. All three can add or subtract from your defensive value, depending on the situation, Special Effect card played, or Monster attacking the movie. Each Creature card has an offensive value, which can be modified by Special Effect cards, and when you lay down enough offensive cards to beat the total of one of your opponents defense, you kill one of the characters in their film. At the end, you total up the points. Highest total wins. There’s a few more twists to it than that, but each card contains the effect that it presents to the game, so the rules are more on the cards than in a booklet. This game is so easy to learn that I’ve taught several non-gamers to play, and they all picked up the rules in the first hand. I describe it as a “complicated version of War”. The main thing to remember is to read your cards before you start tossing them down or discarding them. With a game this good, the fun will come rolling in right after. Two thumbs up! Buy this game, you’ll have fun with it! You can check for info and graphics here: http://www.shadowfist.com/html/grave_robbers/grave_robbers.htm