Pyramid Review
Mystery of the Abbey
Published by Days of Wonder
Designed by Bruno Faidutti and Serge Laget
Illustrations by Julien Delval and Emmanuel Roudier
Graphic Design by Cyrille Daujean
Boxed Set Board Game for 3-6 Players; $44.95
Students of board and card games recognize that nearly every new game they encounter falls into one of several rough categories defined by a particular game mechanic or type of player interaction. Even the most unique or revelatory of the European board games, for instance, will have discernible roots in a classic game or genre. The venerable Settlers of Catan owes at least a portion of its engaging gameplay to the classic trading game Pit. Territorial wargames are frequently nothing more than souped-up Risk. Numerous card games adapt trick-taking mechanics from Bridge and Hearts. Despite the pervasiveness of this gaming vocabulary even in the hobby's most distant and distinctive corners, it is still occasionally surprising to discover where today's game designers will garner their inspiration; it's even more surprising to see how the most talented designers expand on and improve the games we thought we'd tapped out long ago. Mystery of the Abbey takes its cues from a rarely emulated classic: Clue. And for gamers who thought the mystery of Clue was done to death in their pre-adolescent years, Mystery of the Abbey proves that there's more than one way to commit this delicious kind of crime.
The abbey of the title is . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 12, 2003
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