Hello, folks! Here is a review of a new card game by new blogger Jason Cox! Take it away, Jason!

–

Ah, the inn… bastion of rpg’s, the alpha and omega to countless stories, and a lovely place to try to bash a mug over a strangers head in a good natured manner. If there has ever been a time when inn’s have not been identified with role playing games by geek culture, that time is lost to the ages. Even space genre stories have their hives of scum and villainy while modern day grim and gritty could not exist without the local dive to get pissed in after seeing things no man should see. What cowboy could hold his ten gallon head high if not for the saloon and what kind of deep space exploration would be complete without a clean cantina and a knowing bartender? Some inns and taverns, such as the Vulgar Unicorn, The Floating Vagabond, or The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, have reached such a level of fame that they are practically characters in and of themselves with a defined look, feel, and clientèle.

Into this mix comes the dice game Inn-Fighting by Rob Heinsoo, published by Wizards of the Coast. The game’s sole intention is to create a loose and free environment of ale and fisticuffs, where your character and your actions are not taken too incredibly seriously and where tides can turn in very short order. The mechanic is simple enough once you get the hang of it… basically you have several actions available to you, but the roll of the dice make certain actions and targets more viable or practical. Once you make your decision you roll a D20, add your attack, and hope for the best. Every time you hit a character the amount of damage you do turns into victory points for your pile, with a bonus for KOing another character. Winning the game is very fluid though, because the victory points you acquire can also often be spent activating special abilities or to heal a character.

The game does have a few downsides. Due to the fast paced multi-target mechanic of the game it is completely unsuitable for a two player game (the game itself says no less than 3) and it feels extremely awkward to play more than one character. The game relies on special dice for the most part, so if they are lost so is the game. Also while the game is fast paced and fun, the inherent randomness can be frustrating if you are the sort of player who prefers drawn out strategies to improvised mayhem. Lastly, the game requires a large amount of counters, roughly twenty or so per player, so those players without penny jars or glass beads may spend a lot of time ripping up paper.

This being said the fast and loose mechanic does do an excellent job bringing a light hearted barroom brawl to life, complete with tavern wenches, mugs improvised as weapons, and innocent bystanders used as shields. If your character is knocked out you simply draw a new one from the huge stack of other characters and play is such that everyone can expect to be KO’d at least once. The characters abilities, though not exactly balanced, are varied and for the most part make sense. The price is fair, if not exactly cheap ($14.99) and can be a quick and fun way to wind down with some friends.

Just remember to tip the waitress when you leave. She’s been good to you (and passed you that chair when you needed it) so now you be good to her.

Stumble it!

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 4:44 am and is filed under Guest Blogger, games. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.