Well since i was one of the fortuous fair gents to acquire a copy of A Touch of Evil at this 'Gen Con' gathering you'd think i'd have dived right in to that box of tricks on the way home to my quaint little London abode?? Not so young squire!

Nere long had I departed yonder shores, still lusted over by the Queens finest I imagine, than I was called away to a seaside soiree by a certain young filly this gentleman was both indebted too (and not a few ha'penny's I'll have you know) but rather taken by.

Upon my return and having acquired a brazen tone to this pale excuse for an english gent, I then found myself once again turned around in the saddle and galloping swiftly for the fair city of Paris in order to attend to the vaguaries of paris fashions. Frustrated all the while thinking of the splendid package awaiting my return, and reading excellent tidings from those who had already managed to crack the seal on their very own treasure. Needs must though and certainly in the case of keeping the landlords from the door, the case of earning a few coins from Parisian courtesans for the latest finaries must I'm afraid come before any form of monster hunt these days.

Finally the day arrived, stumbling over my still laden bags, my door locked and bolted against the london fog and all it contains, a mug of tea and a one of mrs miggin's finest pies to hand i set about playing A Touch of Evil. Forgive this poor fool for any slights - tis only a first 'touch' upon the intrigue that is held within the box!


*** Okay and that's where I'll leave my 'friend' as I'm sure a whole review in that style would really start to bug you!

So I finally got around to playing AToE...it's a great game of monster hunting in the best tradition of period horror movies. The guys at Flying Frog do seem to be very good at 'getting' the genre on to the table. Playing their Last Night on Earth game feels like playing a zombie movie - stuff happens, through the cards and gameplay that is just right. They managed it again through A Touch of Evil. My first game really felt like an old Hammer Horror movie (if you've seen the quaint old series of Brit horror movies).

Basically the players take on the roles of a variety of 18th century heroes investigating a small town and it's surroundings and trying to stop one of four evil creatures from it's foul plans. There's town elders who can help the players in their fight, or turn out to be traitors aiding the monster, and several locations to visit in the hope of finding help, equipment, increased abilities, healing etc, but at the risk of bad encounters.

I played the game solo with one character (Victor Danforth, the playright) though you can play competitively or co-operatively with 2 to 8 players. People had posted here that is was possible with one player so I figured i'd give it a go first time round. It certainly worked. The villain you see, is played by the game - and very effectively so.

I must admit, like some i'd had some misgivings about the board. I loved the tactical nature of Last Night on Earth's board and had been imagining something a little different. Well if you're one of those people, don't be put off, the board serves the purpose very well. It looks like a parchment map of a town and the surrounding features - a manor, windmill, forest, bridge, ruined keep and various connecting roads. Whilst it looks quite simple it is really helps to focus the gameplay and makes for an elegant and fast playing game.

Just like Last Night on Earth, the box is packed full of cards, counters, figures for the heroes, character and monster sheets and play aids as well as what seems to be a regular cd of music and of course a comprehensive and well layed out rulebook. The design continues Flying Frog's style of using photography instead of artwork and this does pay off (though I still think the vampire looks a little camp!). The pictures are evocative of the genre and give them tons of great imagery - let's face it how many boards games end up using the same images too much, this game definetly doesn't suffer from that.

Having glanced over the rules briefly a week before I'd wondered how far I'd get but don't be decieved, just start playing and before you know it you're zipping along - this is a great game for a bunch of friends who don't want a crunchy complicated rules system. Using the cards to add infinite variety and some clever systems to run the bad guys this is a really brilliant co-operative game of monster hunting. To give you an idea I started setting up my first game about ten thirty, started playing about 11 after making some coffee and finished about 12.30. This included time to properly shuffle all the card decks, punch out counters - the kind of stuff that i won't need to do again. I think the game would have taken about an hour otherwise. That's pretty good for a game like this.

For those who like knowing rules specifics characters have four different stats that get tested for combat, skill tests etc. The number is the number of dice you roll to get over a value with just one success being enough in most cases. It's the same system for skill tests (for example to avoid something, or to gain a bonus) as it is to fight and charactes can improve the stats. Cards can add equipment, allies who give bonuses, take wounds, one time events to help you, etc. The game stops you becoming a card munchkin and stocking up too much though - for one thing you can't carry too much and secondly the villain is gradually getting more powerful and will win the game if you don't get a move on.

There's definetly a growing sense of urgency, the temptation to look around for more allies or goodies you can use, meanwhile nasty things keep happening to the townsfolk and the people you may have to rely on to help you defeat the monster.


I'm due a casual game afternoon with a bunch of friends, who include those who don't like hardcore games, and I can say I'll definetly be bringing this out as i know it will be easily picked up by everyone, and yet have the depth for the gamers in the group.

I'll try the competitive game next with my friends and I'll aim to add to my review any feelings I have on balance to this first forray in to the Touch of Evil!

Now where was the cup of tea?!