Astrogirl

Gloom is a delightfully macabre family card game. It encourages story telling, and because you make the story up as you play, you get a different game each time.

Each player takes control of a “family” of five character cards. The characters themselves are very Addams Family like, gloomy and a just little bit twisted. On each turn the player gets a chance to create or continue a storyline surrounding one of the family members (their own or someone else’s) by using the cards in their hands.

For example, if you or someone else had the “Nefarious Nanny” character card, you might weave a tale of madness when you put the modifier “went mildly mad” into play. Perhaps the Nanny went mad when she was looking after “The Adorable Tots”, two children who appear innocent but perhaps were evil little sods who spent their days driving their new Nanny insane with endless loops of Rebecca Black’s Friday song. Or perhaps the Nanny went mad when she fell under the control of the “Creepy Clown” after being “charmed by the circus.”

The story would continue with each new modifier placed on the character card until eventually the Nanny’s story comes to end. Perhaps she was “devoured by weasels” after being “jinxed by Gypsies.”

Each modifier put into play can twist the story in whatever way your imagination comes up with, and with each player getting a chance to play a modifier it can make for a pretty interesting tale!

The game play can be short or long, it really depends on how in depth your story is and whether you are using expansion packs. The more detail you put into the story, the longer the game takes to play.

Gloom is a family friendly game, but it will also still satisfy those with a dark sense of humor.