Nuns on the Run
Publisher
"White Glove Demo"
An overview of the game and tutorial of how to play.
10:54
"...to be sure, your sin will find you out." —Numbers 32:23 The novices are on the loose! Temptation has lured them out of their cells, and they hope not to be caught by the abbess and the prioress. But the guards are swift and their hearing is excellent, so it will take craftiness and a bit of luck in order to make it back to their beds without being caught!
In Nuns on the Run you explore the exciting nocturnal world of a grand abbey filled with intrigue and deception. As the old abbess, the noble prioress, or a simple novice you become hunter or prey. Everyone gets a special "blessing" but only the novices try to fulfill a "secret wish." They must sneak through the dimly lit halls, corridors, and gardens, seeking keys and treasures unique to their goal. Meanwhile, the vigilant abbess and prioress patrol their routes, ever watchful of young novices who should be fast asleep in their austere cells. Are you wily enough, or sneaky enough to fulfill your quest and win the night?
Nuns on the Run is a very casual, social game for 2-8 players ages 10 and older. You can play a game in about 45-60 minutes.
User Reviews (10)
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This is one of my favorites. Nuns on the Run is a sort of reverse deduction game where there is one player controlling two nuns trying to stop up to six “runners” from finding their dream and returning back to their rooms with it.
As a runner, you pick from among various movement types. The further it allows you to move, the higher risk you have of a nun hearing you. You sneak through and past the nuns to find a key to your dream, then you grab your dream, and try to be the first runner back to your starting quarters to win.
Meanwhile, the nuns each pick a fixed route to take. The nuns move along those routes, also with varying speed options which allow them better hearing. If a runner passes through a nun’s line of sight or a nun hears a runner, then the nun can start moving on their own in the direction of the sight/noise to catch the runner.
Pros:
Movement decisions (and consequences) are public and can be used to your advantage or to deceive other players.
There is limited random events in the game, which makes the game mostly about skill and strategy, but there is enough randomness that the game maintains re-playability over time.
The artwork is amusing and well done.
Cons:
All players except for the nuns move secretly, so it looks like nothing is happening. For many players, this is a deal-breaker in a game.
The nuns are forced upon their path after choosing one until such time that they happen to hear a runner or spot one.
Right off the bat, the fact that this game allows for 8 players is a huge plus. We had six at our table when we played this at GenCon 2011, and I’ve since played with 8, and It scaled well. I haven’t had the chance to play it with fewer players, but I’m eager to do so.
This is a hide-and-seek game, where 2-6 novices attempt to achieve their “secret wish:” by finding a key, locating the object of their wish, and getting back to their cell with it. They do this while avoiding the “guards,” the Abbess and Prioress, who are patrolling the halls.
The novices move in secret, by selecting their mode of travel (running, walking, sneaking, or standing still), counting the associated number of spaces toward their destination, and writing down the ending location number. The mode of movement determines how noisy the novice was. Once all novices written down their ending locations, each rolls a 6-sided die. If the novice is within the modified number of spaces based on movement mode (-1 if walking -2 if sneaking, -3 standing still), then she places a noise counter next to the appropriate guard on whichever side is toward her position (movement-wise).
For the guards’ part, they must follow one of the numbered patrol routes, which are provided on a set of cards. The only time they may deviate from their path is if they hear a noise (as indicated by the placement of a noise counter), or if they spot a novice roaming the halls. They either walk (3 or 4 spaces) run (5 or 6 spaces), and their goal is to capture the wayward novices by landing on the same space. The guards also get a listen roll at the end of their turn, but only if they are in walking mode.
When caught, the novice loses control of their wish item, which is returned to its assigned board location, but retain control of their key. The final wrinkle is that each novice and guard receives one “Blessing” card at the start of the game, which may be used once. These cards have various effects, from 1 additional movement space to creating a false noise.
The hidden movement factor makes for some surprising fun, because the novices don’t know one another’s locations. Noises by one novice can result in giving away the location of others.
We played a six-player game, where the win condition for the guards (both played by a single player if < 8 players)was catch # of players (6) or prevent novices from winning. A novice wins by getting back to her cell with her secret wish item. In this game, I played the guards, and caught six novices by turn 10.
In an 8-player game, it was much more difficult to catch the necessary 8 novices, because there was less coordination of behavior between the two guards when played by different people.
All in all, I find this game to be quite enjoyable, with the ability to bring in newer or younger players because of the simple mechanics, yet enough strategy and cunning to interest more experienced players.
Nuns on the Run is a hidden-movement game, a light family reverse Scotland Yard game would be the best way to describe it, with rules that aren’t hard but more confusing, little harder to get right right of the bat, for a game of this ilk. Not going into how to play, you can find the rules online and read them. This is one of those games that if someone purchased it for me I would keep, but most likely wouldn’t buy. It is the novice nun player’s requirement that their movement is a paper bookkeeping task rather than playing a board token that turns me off. There is just this feeling there is not enough “stuff” going on on the board, that you have this board but it is underutilized. Check out Clue: The Great Museum Caper, Parker Brothers, which came out in 1991 and still available, if you want a family game that is fun and is of the same ilk. It has a very nice museum building that functions as the board, hidden movement, pretty much the same thing, but you feel you need and use the board.
Boy, I was excited about this game when I first got it. But, everything from the cheap cardboard tokens, to the ho-hum art, to the game mechanics disappointed me.
This game incorporates many of the hassles of a mini’s game without the benefit of actually being one — specifically line-of-sight and range. In fact, these hassles are exacerbated by the fact that there is no actual mini to use line of sight to. In a minis game, each player can check line of sight and work out any disagreement. With this game, the player determines whether or not they were seen. Not only does this allow for cheating, as other reviewers pointed out, but it also requires all gamers to be 100% comfortable with the rules and definition of line of sight. Depending on your gaming group, these might not be given.
There is a log system, where players record their moves, to allow for a final review of the game. But that seems too much like policing to be fun.
About the title, yeah, I was joking, but seriously… Nuns on the Run is a good game, but I think it’s important to plan on it for a group of people who like to laugh. Running around a board “in the dark” can be great fun when someone gets caught. It’s not your typical board game because of a lack of moving pieces, but it is one of the better large-group games I’ve played.
We’ve had games where the Prioress and Abbess catch two people in the first 2-3 rounds and others where all of us have managed to go unseen for a good long while before a flood of “captures” take place. And there’s nothing like that feeling you get deep down when the player(s) playing the Prioress and Abbess make a bad assumption that leaves you scot-free. Ah, freedom.
If you want something light, but challenging and of course fun to play, Nuns on the Run is one of your best options.
Nuns on the Run pits novices against the guards. The novices are sneaking around the convent trying to find keys to allow them access to their secret wish. All while avoiding detection by the guards.
This game would likely be boring for an observer to watch as it is being played. The novices do not move pieces around the large board, but instead secretly write their moves down on a pad of paper. They then reveal the speed they are moving at (which gives a range of movement spaces they may have gone). The guards have a chance to hear the novices if a die roll falls in their favor (modified by novice speed). Move slowly and have a better chance of avoiding discovery, but cover less ground.
Only one novice can win, the first to make it back to her room with her secret wish. The guards win if they discover a number of novices equal to the number of players. Being discovered does not end your game, though it slows you down as you are sent back to your room (at least until the guards no longer see you).
I like that the game can play up to 8 players, with different strategies if you’re playing the guards or novices. There also seems to be a good deal of tension, especially during checks to see if a guard hears you.
Unfortunately, the game has a number of downsides. It is a game where novice players really need to understand the rules from the beginning. It is easy to cheat (generally unintentionally) because a rule is not understood or remembered. It is often difficult to ask a question during the game without giving away information concerning your location.
This seems to be a game searching for a specific type of group. I see it as being a little too much rules-wise for a non-gamer. The need to understand many rules, some of which won’t come up until well after rules explanation, could cause problems for beginners. On the other end of the spectrum, it is too light for more competitive gamers. The “wish” you are trying to fulfill may be easier or harder than opponents, and you could be knocked out of the running if the guards go one way versus another.
I would recommend this game to a group of more experienced gamers that tend to play more casually. Groups that are well acquainted with learning rules, but prefer having fun and enjoying the experience over slugging it out and maximizing their position may enjoy this game. If this sounds like your group, you should give Nuns on the Run a try!
I’m not a fan of this game but I’m glad I gave it try.
In a Nutshell:
This game has a catchy title and fun concept, however it is a game that is essentially executed in your head.
This game is Scotland Yard but in the reverse.
Specifics: Why I Didn’t Enjoy It
You choose between playing a nun or a novice (a nun in training). When you make moves on the game board you don’t actually move your game token if you are a novice. In your mind you select a place that you are “placing” your token. Next, the nun says is there anyone I can hear near me.
Who’s to say that someone isn’t lying. It’s weird.
Take Away:
The only proper way to play this game is if you sing:
“Nuns on the Run” to tune of “Band on the Run” by Wings.
I’d like to consider an alternative mechanic that might add interest to the game…my revised version would be called “Nuns with the Runs.”
This is a game I wanted to love, but can’t. It’s too hard to teach non-gamers, and gamers tend to find it a bit boring. It missed it’s mark in my house. The theme is good, but the game needed some more play-testing. It’s too hard to keep track of what’s going on, and easy to cheat (I mean fib… I mean forget exactly where you are… sort of.). 🙂 The components are a little bit cheap as well.
I have a group of friends that get into silly games, and we just didn’t buy this one. A BIG problem is having a game like Letters from White Chapel available to us. It’s a much better game… art, execution, fun factor. That’s the one we play while Nuns catches dust. Of course, playing a serial killer is a big jump from playing a grumpy nun.
This game is ok, but not one of my favorites. I don’t like that everyone’s location is hidden as you play and you are relying on them to properly indicate when a Nun is close. This is too prone to mistakes. I also don’t like that one player is the Nuns and the rest are novices.
It is different and some of the people I played it with enjoyed it more than I did, so it isn’t a bad game, it just isn’t for me.
Seriously, this game was really fun. Fun theme, fun mechanics, and fairly simple. My only caveat is that it’s more fun playing the runners than the nuns (for me, personally), and it is fairly easy to cheat. But really clever game.