Kingbeast's Lair

The 2010 nominations are posted and some of my favorite products are up for awards! Very cool. Here is a link to the complete list.

-== What is it? ==-

The Ghostbusters Roleplaying Game is a boxed set published by West End Games that was released in 1986. It’s subtitle is, “A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.” It was written by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis, and Greg Stafford from Chaosium. Chaosium is even given full credits with logos on the various manuals and box. The Ghostbusters RPG allows players to role-play as the infamous team from the first movie or to create their own team of ghost chasers. I am reviewing a copy of the boxed set that I purchased on eBay.

The boxed set is quite extensive. It is comprised of several goodies. All of the documentation is 8.5″ x 11″ with color covers and entirely black and white interiors. All of the punch out cards are three color (black, lime green, and white). Here is a summary of the contents:

• How To Play – 4 pages – Handout that describes how to play the game.
• 10 Minute Play – 4 pages – Handout that goes through an actual play session.
• 5 small red six sided dice plus a larger six sided Ghost dice – On the Ghost dice the 6 is replaced with the Ghostbusters logo.
• Ghostbusters Logo Patch – A iron on patch.
• Operations Manual – 64 pages – Includes a table of contents but no index. – This book is a set of adventures, adventure ideas, Ghostmaster (aka GM) tips, and NPC. It is written in a very non-traditional manner with “break the 3rd wall” comments from the authors to the readers and rule asides made in the middle of the text.
• Training Manual – 24 pages – This is a smaller rulebook that has expanded rules for the game. These rules include details on how the players can make their own Ghostbusting franchises. Like the Operations Manual is has a slew of comments from the authors and from the Ghostbusters themselves.
• 2 Sets Of Ghostbusters Corporation Forms – 4 pages each – Forms that can be used to enhance game play. For example there is a liability waiver form with tons of fine print.
• Punch Out Equipment Cards – Cards that are selected by the PC before each mission.
• Punch Out Character Sheets Of The Ghostbusters From The Movies – Can be used to play the main cast.

I have not played the game I have only read the material in the boxed set and one of the support modules. I may review some of the adventure modules in future blog posts as I acquire them.

-== What I Like ==-

The thing I like most about the Ghostbusters RPG is that it is VERY easy to play. This game is a perfect entry product for people who want to show their friends what roleplaying games are all about. The ages on the boxed set are listed as 12+ but I really feel like younger players would not have an issue playing the game. I’ll talk about the mechanics below and you can see what I mean.

One other strength of the product is the subject matter. Everyone has seen the Ghostbusters movies and understands the feeling of the genre. This is light hearted adventure fun.

I enjoyed reading the Ghostbusters RPG from cover-to-cover. The snippy comments from the writers were really funny and evocative of the setting. One interesting note about the writers is that they all went on to do many awesome products after the Ghostbusters RPG was released. A friend in the industry remarked to me that the Ghostbusters RPG is like the Velvet Underground of role-playing games. That is really true and very nicely put.

One other strength is that the rule mechanics strongly evoke the setting. When completing a task the player roles dice based on a stat. One of the dice is the Ghost dice described above. They total the dice against a success number set by the Ghostmaster. If the dice total more than the success number then the character succeeds at the task. If a Ghost is rolled on the Ghost dice something bad happens to the player. Thus a player could actually succeed at a task and still have something bad happen! For example, Egon wants to juice up his proton pack so he can try to contain 12 small ghost ducks which are frightening children on a park playground. The Ghostmaster says this is a difficulty 20 task. Egon rolls his 7 Brain dice and gets 22 and a Ghost. He succeeds at the task…but then wonders why his proton pack is getting so warm…REALLY warm! 😉 Like the movie calamity seems to follow the Ghostbusters.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The most glaring weakness in the product is by far the artwork in the main two manuals. The covers are very simple Ghostbusters logos and interior art is very simple or cut directly from the movies. To make matters worse the artwork is also repeated many times throughout the text. The Ghostbusters iron on patch is “ok” but you can buy nicer ones online. The Ghost dice is cool but the Ghostbusters logo is not printed too well and I would actually be afraid of ruining it during actual play. My instinct would be to use a different dice instead. The punch out cards are nothing special but appear to be adequate. The cards and quality of the goodies are the only reason I am giving this product its current rating (i.e. a 9 out of 10).

-== Summary ==-

After reading the Ghostbusters RPG my first reaction was that this is a focused story game product written before people understood what that meant. There is not even a damage mechanic to speak of in the system…but the writers realize that then explain that it isn’t really needed. This game is frivolous fun and downright brilliant in design. I had heard that it was excellent and boy it delivers.

One big problem with the Ghostbusters RPG is in finding a copy of the game. I found my copy on eBay but it took quite a while to get and I paid roughly $50. That is a VERY good price for this product which is very tough to source. Expect to pay upwards of $75 to get a copy on eBay. I really wish whoever has the rights to the game would try and get a PDF copy made available. This is a game that people should play and enjoy. I give it my highest recommendation…”Fancy shootin’ Tex!”

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.

-== What is it? ==-

Richard Scarry’s Busytown: Eye Found It! (Busytown) is a cooperative family board game from I Can Do That! Games. Over the last few months it has won an astounding 6 family gaming awards. The I Can Do That! Games company was founded by Jacobe Chrisman of Cranium fame. Busytown was actually designed by Forrest-Pruzzan Creative, LLC. They are the design team behind several of the latest releases from I Can Do That! Games.

Busytown comes in a sturdy card board box that depicts the major characters from the Busytown Mysteries TV show. Inside there is a 6′ board in 3 sections, 4 counters (Lowly, Huckle, Sally, and Hilda), a spinner, a large ferry counter, a set of 10 magnifying glass tokens, 6 food tiles, a small deck of Goldbug cards, a small sand timer, and an instruction sheet. The manufacturer’s listed age is 3 and up.

-== What I Like ==-

The instructions for Busytown are VERY simple. The entire set of instructions fits on a 6″ x 6″ sheet of paper! Essentially the game is a race to get ALL of the players to a picnic lunch before Pig Will and Pig Won’t eat it all. Counters are moved by rotating a spinner. The spinner has several possible outcomes. There are movements of 1 to 4 squares, two pigs eat food areas, and two Goldbug areas. If any player spins a pigs eat food then 1 of the 6 food tokens is removed from the picnic. If Goldbug is spun then a card is taken from the Goldbug deck. This card depicts something that ALL of the players must try and mark with their magnifying glasses tokens. The amount of objects found before the sand timer runs out is the amount of spaces that ALL players are allowed to move. If for example the card is a balloon then all players must study the detailed 6′ game board to find as many balloons as they can before the sand runs out. Remember that this game is cooperative…everyone wins or loses as a team. The board has different paths to give players options as they progress towards the picnic. Eventually everyone must enter the ferry and proceed towards the picnic. The ferry really adds to the excitement as everyone ends up cheering for the player who is behind to make it on board so it can leave.

My family has been doing game night for roughly 6 months now. My boys are 5 and 7 years old. Often when I introduce new games the first questions is, “Is this a game where someone wins?” After hearing that I made it a mission to look for cooperative family games. Busytown is my first find. (Note that I have found others that will hopefully get purchased and played soon.) This time when the boys ask their question they got a very different answer, “In this game everyone either wins or loses together. If we play as a team we could ALL win!” After their little brains started digesting that they smiled and we gave Busytown a try. To put it mildly this game has been a huge hit for our family. It encourages teamwork, fosters turn taking skills, enhances their observations skills, and teaches basic movement strategy. Very importantly it also teaches the kids how to lose gracefully. It was really nice to hear them say after our first session in which we lost, “Wow that was fun but I want to play again so we can win!”

Busytown faithfully sticks to the theme of the Busytown Mysteries TV show from Cookie Jar TV. In show and the game a team finds clues around Busytown to solve a mystery OR in this case to get to a picnic before the food is gone.

The various components except for the egg timer are very nicely done and sturdy. The large playing board is colorful and detailed in Richard Scarry artwork. All of the counters are thick and the box is sturdy. All in all the package is very nice.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

My only complaint with the components is the egg timer. It really needs a better stand as the game is made to be played on the carpet. We have lots of issues with it falling over or being out of view. Eventually we figured out to place it on some empty water near the ferry but since there is a lot of action around the board it can get knocked over. I think if I made a small stand for it that would help. Actually a better idea might be to ditch the timer altogether and instead use a small digital timer. 😉

Like a lot of family games I think the designated age is a bit off. I can see a 4 year old playing this game but it would be a bit tough in my opinion for a 3 year old.

We have been playing the game for about a month and so far it has good staying power but that is a concern. It feels like a game that might peter out after some use.

-== Summary ==-

Richard Scarry’s Busytown: Eye Found It! has the honor of being the first game that our family has absolutely loved. It is fun for adults and parents. This is the perfect starter game for a family with young kids. The price point of $19.99 at Toys R Us is ridiculously low for a game with quality components like this one. My gosh go out and but it already! 😀

You can get it from Amazon.com at this URL for $43.99. Toys R Us sells the game for a paltry $19.99 at this URL and right now they are offering free shipping!

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.