The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Over the holidays, I was able to sit down with some friends of mine and play a few games of the new Knights of the Dinner Table card game. Only one of them was a fellow gamer, and even then only casually. They’d barely even heard of the comic strip of the same name, and even then had read only one or two of them. They were familiar with neither card games nor the property that the game is based on, but we all had a hell of a lot of fun none the less. Why? Because this is, just like the older game Abduction that it was based on, it’s all about screwing everyone else over, and how can a game like that not be fun?

As I mentioned, the Knights of the Dinner Table card game is basically the same kind as Eden Studio’s other card game Abduction. A simple and non-collectible card game based around the idea of each player taking on the role of an alien abductee trying to escape from a mother ship, it was based around the phrase “I don’t have to run faster than the anal probes, I just have to run faster than you.” The Knights of the Dinner Table card game takes the same basic ideas of screw-or-be-screwed, item searching and building a map as the game progresses. It adds, however, a number of complications as well as the in-jokes and references that will likely draw a number of people to it.

Each of the familiar characters from the comic has their own character and their own deck, tailored to their particular strengths. There are four traits in the game: combat, thieving, negotiation and rules-lawyering. They are used to defeat the obvious types of encounters, except for the last one, which is used to get rid of whatever rules other players may introduce to the game. Conflicts are resolved with a roll of a die and some simple addition, so you can leave the calculators and scratch paper at home. Everyone except BA (as the Game Master) has those traits, but he has only rules-lawyering. After all, when does the GM face his own monsters, NPCs or traps? He just has control of the rules! The play area, the dungeon, is constructed as the game progresses, with each player having the opportunity to lay down rooms and various encounters to stymie the other players. Winning isn’t accomplished simply by making the other player’s live miserable, except in BA’s case of course, killing players is how he wins. Ultimate glory is won only through gaining the legendary Hand of Vecna (shoulda been the Head of Vecna, I say) or managing to stay alive long enough to just leave the dungeon.

There are some further complications, such as the items, events and rules, but that’s the basic core of the card game.

The Knights of the Dinner Table card game is very much non-collectible – which I’m sure will make many people sigh with relief – as each deck for the five different characters are all the same. The layouts are simple and the art is nice, provided by Manny Vega, George Vasilakos and Dan Smith in a style very similar to that of the original comic. The only time there is any problem with the art is judging what is a valid door on the room cards, but that is reasonable resolved before starting the game. By far, though, my favorite “illustration” has to be the one for the bottomless pit, as it’s just blank with a caption asking how you could draw such a pit. Maybe it’s just me, but I snickered every time that card came up. Then again, that carnivorous sheep illustration runs a very close second…

If you’ve played Abducition and enjoyed it, but maybe wanted something more substantive or complicated, you’d be well advised to check this out. Fans of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip will of course love this, as not only do you get to laugh at the quotes on each card but you get to have a good ol’ back-stabbing dungeon crawl without those pesky, complicated rules and role-playing getting in the way. This makes for an excellent little party game, not something you’ll be playing week in and week out, but something you can pull out when everyone’s just lounging around.

Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table Playtest Review by Derek Guder on 08/01/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) It may have taken quite a while to see the light of day, but it’s out now and makes a great game for those rainy days. Besides, it’s one of those rare non-collectible card games and has all the characters from the comic that you know and love. Product: Knights of the Dinner Table Author: Matthew Colville, Ann Dupuis, M. Alexander Jurkat, Bernard C. Trombley and George Vasilakos Category: self-review of Card Game Company/Publisher: Eden Studios Line: Cost: Page count: Year published: ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: yes Playtest Review by Derek Guder on 08/01/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	Over the holidays, I was able to sit down with some friends of mine and play a few games of the new *Knights of the Dinner Table* card game. Only one of them was a fellow gamer, and even then only casually. They’d barely even heard of the comic strip of the same name, and even then had read only one or two of them. They were familiar with neither card games nor the property that the game is based on, but we all had a hell of a lot of fun none the less. Why? Because this is, just like the older game *Abduction* that it was based on, it’s all about screwing everyone else over, and how can a game like that not be fun? As I mentioned, the *Knights of the Dinner Table* card game is basically the same kind as Eden Studio’s other card game *Abduction. A simple and non-collectible card game based around the idea of each player taking on the role of an alien abductee trying to escape from a mother ship, it was based around the phrase “I don’t have to run faster than the anal probes, I just have to run faster than you.” The Knights of the Dinner Table* card game takes the same basic ideas of screw-or-be-screwed, item searching and building a map as the game progresses. It adds, however, a number of complications as well as the in-jokes and references that will likely draw a number of people to it. Each of the familiar characters from the comic has their own character and their own deck, tailored to their particular strengths. There are four traits in the game: combat, thieving, negotiation and rules-lawyering. They are used to defeat the obvious types of encounters, except for the last one, which is used to get rid of whatever rules other players may introduce to the game. Conflicts are resolved with a roll of a die and some simple addition, so you can leave the calculators and scratch paper at home. Everyone except BA (as the Game Master) has those traits, but he has only rules-lawyering. After all, when does the GM face his own monsters, NPCs or traps? He just has control of the rules! The play area, the dungeon, is constructed as the game progresses, with each player having the opportunity to lay down rooms and various encounters to stymie the other players. Winning isn’t accomplished simply by making the other player’s live miserable, except in BA’s case of course, killing players is how he wins. Ultimate glory is won only through gaining the legendary Hand of Vecna (shoulda been the Head of Vecna, I say) or managing to stay alive long enough to just leave the dungeon. There are some further complications, such as the items, events and rules, but that’s the basic core of the card game. The *Knights of the Dinner Table* card game is very much non-collectible – which I’m sure will make many people sigh with relief – as each deck for the five different characters are all the same. The layouts are simple and the art is nice, provided by Manny Vega, George Vasilakos and Dan Smith in a style very similar to that of the original comic. The only time there is any problem with the art is judging what is a valid door on the room cards, but that is reasonable resolved before starting the game. By far, though, my favorite “illustration” has to be the one for the bottomless pit, as it’s just blank with a caption asking how you could draw such a pit. Maybe it’s just me, but I snickered every time that card came up. Then again, that carnivorous sheep illustration runs a very close second… If you’ve played *Abducition* and enjoyed it, but maybe wanted something more substantive or complicated, you’d be well advised to check this out. Fans of the *Knights of the Dinner Table* comic strip will of course love this, as not only do you get to laugh at the quotes on each card but you get to have a good ol’ back-stabbing dungeon crawl without those pesky, complicated rules and role-playing getting in the way. This makes for an excellent little party game, not something you’ll be playing week in and week out, but something you can pull out when everyone’s just lounging around.