DCgal

I’ve never liked Apples to Apples–I tend to be fairly literal, which never is successful. Word Whimsy works in a similar way (1 target card, 7 in your hand) but with an important difference. Each card has one or two words (if two, one per side, so you can choose which to use), but you can use as many as you want in combination (e.g. naughty zombie platypus).

The game also comes with little card envelopes to help you keep your cards together and in order.

As a result of this twist, the creative possibilities are endless. I played only a short game but had a lot of fun both with my combinations and other people’s. I also did much better than I usually do with similar games.

As explained above, The Downfall of Pompeii has two phases. In the first, you place people in buildings using numbered cards. After you draw the first volcano card, a “relatives” rule kicks in that lets you place extra people if you place in a building with people already there (e.g. if you place in a building with 2 people already there, you place 2 extra people). You place either in a building of the same color or a neutral building (this is the only way to place in neutral buildings). You can plan your card use to take advantage of this rule, by stocking up on the same number and/or color, which will let you (or your opponent) place extra people. If you draw an Omen card, you also get to throw other people into the volcano.

After the second volcano card, you start placing lava tiles and moving your people out of the city. Once 6 lava tiles are down, you get two moves per turn. However, if your person starts on a square with other people, you can move it further. For example, if you start in a square with a total of four people, you can move your guy four squares (and the direction can change).

I’ve enjoyed playing this, although I may be biased because I’ve won both times, by narrow margins. Setup is a little tricky, though. The number of people you get and numbers of cards vary with the number of players (2-4), and you need a bunch of piles. It’s not too bad, but whoever does it needs to read carefully. I’ve enjoyed it enough to put it on a wish list for potential future purchase.

This game was different from most I have played; it required dexterity rather than strategy or much of any other mental exercise. I enjoyed the change of pace, although I found moving very frustrating, especially when I ended up off of the board.

Player Pieces
Each player is a two-part dragon with a disc of “paws” and a rather hefty dragon body. The board has several different “neighborhoods” and buildings that consist of floors supported by several meeples (complete with decorative stickers).

Player Powers
Each player gets a character, power, and secret super power (you can use only the secret super power once). You also start with a total of six teeth (and never less than two). The teeth let you eat more meeples (more about that later).

Turns, Points, and Runaway Meeples
On your turn you can take two actions: move, breathe, destroy, or toss a vehicle (truck).
– Move: flick your paws disc while seated. If you end up off the board, you lose a tooth AND the next player gets to place you on a corner of the board s/he chooses.
– Breathe: place your chin on your dragon while seated and blowing.
– Destroy: if your paws disc is on the sidewalk of a building, drop your dragon onto the building from no higher than seated shoulder height of the tallest player. If you miss, something bad that I forget happens (I don’t think any of us missed.) You keep any floors cleared of meeples, and they are each worth 1 pt. at the end of the game.
– Toss a vehicle: if a vehicle is in your current “neighborhood,” you can place it on top of your dragon’s head (for best results, smooth side, not the wheel edge) and flick it off.

In addition to attacking buildings, you can use vehicle tossing to attack other dragons. If you knock an opponent over, you eat one of its teeth.

There is a separate “runaway meeple” board. After every 3, 4, or 5 meeples that end up off of the board, a negative consequence happens to whoever caused the placement of the last meeple of that row/level. Usually the consequence is losing a tooth (see below) and something else (e.g. another player moves your dragon to a corner of his/her choice).

At the end of your turn, you can eat as many meeples as are in your “neighborhood,” up to a maximum of the number of teeth you have. At the end of the game, a set of six different colored meeples is worth 10 pts. Your power may also give you extra points for, e.g., having the most of a certain color of meeple.

You also get 2 pts. for each tooth you have at the end of the game.

I enjoyed this light game, but I don’t plan to plunk down $60 for it. Given the many different power and character options and physical variety in the game, I believe it has good replay value, but it’s more expensive than any of my other games (not counting expansions). It’s also on the big side, which makes it less portable.