Game: Ghost Chase

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hseldon — 2008-11-29T18:59:07+00:00

Alyssa thinks she found Max, Simone doesn't.

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hseldon — 2008-11-29T18:54:07+00:00

Chasing the ghost of Thanksgiving 08.

Thread: Re: Villain: "...and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids."

chockle — 2008-09-26T20:21:57+00:00

Good idea for blinging Ghost Chase! Here's the link to Scooby-doo! Cyber Chase

Thread: Villain: "...and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids."

Yugblad — 2008-09-26T18:30:08+00:00

Scoody Doo Variant:

Firstly, let me declare that I'm a huge fan of this game as it plays out of the box; with kids this can be amazing, and with a battle-hardened crowd of Conquest of the Empire fans, a chucklesome diversion for an hour or three. However, I cannot rest until all my games have been modded or hacked in some way - this is no exception. Except that this variant is simplicity itself, upping the theme factor considerably. All I'm suggesting you do is the following:

Buy the rubbish SCOOBY DOO! CYBER CHASE game for pennies off eBay.
Swap the card characters from GC with Cyber Chase's figures.
Don't change any rules.

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Job done. Simple and inexpensive. Now you have an amazing Scooby Doo haunted house game, far superior to any licensed product. It is so much more fun "being" Shaggy than merely being "green".

Is Ghost Chase any good as it stands?

Yes. It's an excellent ghostly-themed deduction game, and in many ways a superior version of Scotland Yard.
A perfect information game that requires the players to catch the lone ghost player, in a marvellous co-operative, logic, deduction game.

Every game of this we've played has been a hilarious mix of bluff and double-bluff, that has had us all chortling with deductive glee. As is usual with these sort of game-types, the ghost player usually takes on a sinister persona while trying to outwit the hunters - I myself really get a kick out of making "ghostly noises" during my turn. What a child I am!

The game has quality components: a nice set of cards/standups; a TERRIFIC cutaway board of Canterville castle; and a selection of solid card badgers, rats, bats, and cats - these provide a hilarious space/size recognition game for any adults playing.

Ghost Chase even plays wonderfully with 5 experienced gamers, taking turns to play Max the ghost - though anybody with a sense of gaming fun can get a great evening out of this box. Simple rules here are very welcome; you can even scale the difficulty for beginners by removing some of the ghost's powers - in so doing broadening the appeal of this little-known gem to a wider audience.

This is a good, family game, deserving of a higher profile.

Thread: Re: Replayability?

cdunc123 — 2008-09-10T17:08:53+00:00

Thanks for all the replies.

I too worry about my young ones thumbing through 50+ cards (while at the same time hiding them from view). This game looks fun, but I may wait till Halloween next year to pick it up, when they are older...

Thread: Re: Replayability?

RichardV — 2008-09-10T00:40:39+00:00

cdunc123 wrote:
One question: When you say that you can "play with the ghost open," you mean not hidden at all, so that the ghost token moves around on the board with each of its moves, and the ghost chasers simply try to catch it, right? Wow -- I would've thought that catching Max like that wouldn't be too hard, but then again, maybe I'm underestimating how constraining the movement rules for the chasers are compared to Max's greater freedom of movement (as well as underestimating children's talent for zany moves, like your potty break example, etc.).

Try it - it is certainly good for explaining how the game works.
Also, as you can't track where Max has been, he can double-back freely which makes him more powerful. It helps the kids understand why you shouldn't just all head straight towards Max, but must set up picket lines (like on the stairwell).

It is quite hard for kids to play Max - it can take them forever to find the right room card, and if they screw up it can ruin the game. My 9 year old can just manage it now without any adult help.

cheers
Richard

Thread: Re: Replayability?

cagriggs — 2008-09-09T18:56:25+00:00

I have played it a number of times with my kids and they still like it. My oldest is only 7 and my 4-year-old needs a lot of help, but he has a lot of fun (he especially enjoys putting the animal pieces in their frames). We've never played with the ghost open and haven't had any problems. We do limit the special cards that the ghost can use, especially when it's me or my wife playing as the ghost, to even out the difficultly a bit.

We've had a lot of fun with the game and my kids still like playing it. It's fun to cooperate and talk about what to do. I have found that replayability isn't really an issue at this point. The game does play somewhat differently based on the number of players, which is part of it. But keep in mind that someone has to be the ghost each time. After a few games, your 8-year-old will want to be the ghost and I assume your 6-year-old will be close behind. Having two seperate roles has helped keep the game fresh (I've got to warn you though, that it can get pretty stressful as the ghost!).

Thread: Re: Replayability?

cdunc123 — 2008-09-09T18:16:05+00:00

Thanks for the reply, Richard. Now that I think of it, I can see my kids sending their ghost chasers to the bathroom too! LOL

One question: When you say that you can "play with the ghost open," you mean not hidden at all, so that the ghost token moves around on the board with each of its moves, and the ghost chasers simply try to catch it, right? Wow -- I would've thought that catching Max like that wouldn't be too hard, but then again, maybe I'm underestimating how constraining the movement rules for the chasers are compared to Max's greater freedom of movement (as well as underestimating children's talent for zany moves, like your potty break example, etc.).

My main worry was that my kids would play it 3 or 4 times and then have little interest in playing it again, but your comment gives me some encouragement that that is unlikely to happen. Thanks!

Thread: Re: Replayability?

RichardV — 2008-09-09T15:54:35+00:00

You'll know from the game description whether you like it or not. There is a fair amount of replayability - in particular, it is quite different with different numbers of players. The game is not really strategic - there are not really many different ways of playing it, the fun and skill is in making the right judgements about where Max is. This to some extent hinges on how much of a gambler the person playing Max is.

With a 6 and 8 year old you can probably play with the ghost open - my kids at that age still couldn't usually catch him! That's in part because the detail in each room makes it a fun game for kids, and they would get distracted and send their character off to the bathrrom "because he hasn't been for a while".

I think 30 minutes is closer to the correct time that 60 minutes.

It is a very good cooperative game. I rate it slightly higher than the similar Scotland Yard because the map & movement is easier to 'decode' for both sides, plus the handicapping is done very well.

Thread: Replayability?

cdunc123 — 2008-09-08T13:08:31+00:00

I'm considering getting this game to play with my 6 and 8 year old. The theme looks fun and I like the idea of cooperative play among the ghost chasers. But the price is a bit steep, so I want to be sure the kids' interest in the game will last. In your experience, does the game have a lot of replayability, or does each play of the game have a similar feel, so that one tires of it easily? Just curious.

Also, the box estimates 60 minutes for game length, but one reviewer says 30 minutes. I imagine the duration varies significantly, depending on whether the ghost is caught or not. Still, would you say a typical game is closer to 30 minutes, or closer to 60?

Thanks!

Craig

Thread: Re: Rules questions!

hseldon — 2008-07-04T14:24:14+00:00

Thank you! That makes sense but it did not seem that clear (to me) while reading the directions with some 6 year olds. Hmmmm, I think I see why I had a hard time reading the rules now!

Thread: Re: Rules questions!

spacerx — 2008-07-04T03:45:46+00:00

The chasers remove one piece at the end of each round of player moves, or as you say - as a team, not one per player.

Thread: Re: Rules questions!

hseldon — 2008-07-04T02:04:45+00:00

Does each player remove an animal piece or do the players remove one as a team?

Thread: Re: Rules questions!

spacerx — 2008-07-04T00:50:25+00:00

The animal pieces are retrieved after all the players have moved.

Max shows his played cards when he reveals, but after that players can not look through Max's discard pile.

Thread: Rules questions!

hseldon — 2008-07-03T22:16:42+00:00

1. So it appears that each player (Chaser) should pick up one of the animals at the end of the players turn. If there are two chasers, do each pick up an animal and put it in their frame or does only one? I have played this a few times now and it seems to make the game move pretty quick and allows Max to wander about pretty extensively. On the other hand, it does force him to show himself faster and give the chasers a better clue as to his location and route.

2. Are the chasers allowed to look through the discard deck to see where Max has been? Or do they have to remember where he has been?

Thread: Those meddling kids!!! (without the dog)

mi_de — 2008-05-18T07:30:12+00:00

My version of Ghost Chase by Kai Haferkamp is by 999 Games Spokenjacht published in 2001. It is playable by 2-5 players in about 30 minutes, and is suitable for ages starting around six years.

What You Get

The box has a very nice cover by Doris Matthaus of Doris and Frank, showing a spooky haunted house. Inside there is a gorgeous, oversize board with a detailed, beautiful map of the interior of the haunted house. Almost worth the price of the game. You get 61 good quality cards, five panels with punch-out animals, 5 figures (4 kids and Max the ghost) with stands, and a couple extra markers. All in exceptionally attractive and well-made.

What You Do

The goal of the (up to) four ghost-chasers is to catch Max before sunup: Max, of course, wants to escape ‘those meddling kids’. The game starts with the markers for the kids being placed in rooms around the old house. The ghost player then chooses a room to start in and places his pawn on the board, and selects the equivalently-numbered room card out of his deck and places it facedown next to the board. Max then plays first.

As a ghost, he can pass through walls, ceilings, and floors. Knowing this, Max chooses an adjacent room to move to invisibly, and secretly selects the card from the room deck, and places it facedown next to the first room card. The rules for movement dictate Max cannot re-enter a room he has been into before, and no diagonal moves. Max has a couple ‘helper’ card options: he has ‘rest’ cards that have the same back as the room cards, so he may persist in a room for a turn, but whether he has moved or not is not obvious to the players (Max has up to 2 of these cards). Max also has 2 cards allowing him to recover a card he already has played, and reenter a previously-visited chamber. However, this must be announced to the players, so they will be aware Max has been ‘double dipping’. Max also has a single secret passage he can make use of from one end of the house to the other, unusable by the hunters.

After Max’s move, the ghost hunters may discuss amongst themselves where they think Max may be, and coordinate their moves. Being humans, the chasers may only move through doors and along other ‘open’ paths. At the end of each hunter turn, one ‘animal’ is taken from the board where they have been arranges in indicated spaces around the outside of the house. These animals serve two purposes: they give the ‘timing’ mechanism for when the sun will rise (when all the animal tiles have been removed) but also when Max must materialize and show himself to the players. The hunters have the option of selecting the animal type they want to collect: some animals have 6 markers, some 5, and some 4, so in this way they have control when Max will appear.

After Max appears, he reveals all the path cards he used that turn, then discards them: it is up to the hunters to remember where he has been. The game ends when, at any time, a hunter and Max are in the same space (all the hunters win!) or the last animal is removed from the board, and the sun comes up (a win for Max!).

There are several optional rules: two additional cards allow Max to lock a door, or for the hunters to ‘trap’ Max in place for one turn. There are options to allow Max to travel up a chimney to a trap door on the roof, or to modify the number of ‘rest’ and retrace move cards Max is allowed, and what animal timers can be used. Thus, it can be matched to the ability of the players.

What I Think

This is an excellent variation on the mechanisms introduced in Scotland Yard, with the added difficulty of the ghost player being unable to pass through areas already entered. This requires some memory on the part of the hunters. The board is tight enough to keep it tense most of the time, especially as the ghost effectively hems himself in by previous card choices, but large enough and with some tortuous paths for the hunters to follow in order to get around that Max stands a good chance of escaping. In general, we’ve had Max escape more often, which probably means we could do with eliminating a ‘rest’ or ‘repeat move’ card. This is an excellent game for kids, well-produced. It has good cooperative elements, and is in no way ‘dumbed down’ for them. My son, at 6 years, is able to play with us, although usually we ‘share’ playing the ghost to make sure the movement rules are followed. We have not used the optional rules yet, but I’m sure we’ll give them a whirl if the game needs a boost, but for now it is my son’s favorite, and is involved enough that it may even stay on the shelf after he grows up for use as an adult game.

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Yugblad — 2007-07-12T19:56:37+00:00

Thread: In which Max (me) is caught by my wife and children

Larry Welborn — 2007-04-02T14:17:49+00:00

Ghost Chase is a game I received in a recent Math Trade and it was waiting for me when I returned from a long weekend trip. When I opened it, the kids (ages 5 & 4) got excited and wanted to play right away. After dinner, I quickly read the rules while the children recruited my wife to join us. I was able to explain the rules in about a minute and we were ready to play.

A quick overview: Ghost Chase takes place in a haunted castle. One player takes the role of Max the Ghost, who tries to avoid capture. The other players work as a team and try to capture Max. Max is allowed to enter a specific room only one time per game, but has the advantages of being invisible most of the time and the ability to move through solid walls. The chasers are always visible and can only move into adjacent rooms via a door or stairs, but can enter a specific room any number of times or remain stationary in a room. The game also includes several cards that make it easier for Max and a couple of traps that make it easier for the chasers.

The Game: Since this was our first time playing and I expected the children to have difficulty, I played with the vanilla rules, no advantages to either side. I also agreed not to play with the secret passage. The Chasers set up first. My daughter (4) placed her character near the middle of the board in the big stairway, my son (5) placed his character on the left side of the board whild my wife placed her character on the middle top of the board. I placed Max on the right side of the board and we began. Everyone began heading towards Max while I moved toward the center of the board then down the 40s column. We had a brief delay when my daughter inexplicably moved away from the general area of Max. When my wife asked why, she replied, "because I don't want the Ghost to get me." We then explained again that the object was to catch Max not the other way around and let her take her move again. After that, she played much better.

After 4 turns Max had to reveal his location and he was near the bottom of the board in the 40s column. My wife was unable to get close because of some dead ends and had to doubleback. However, both my daughter and son were fast closing on Max and I was running out of options. If I jumped back into the 50s column I would run myself into a dead end and lose. I slid into the 30s but my daughter cut me off. My only chance was to move along the bottom of the board and hope my son went across instead of down. No such luck! My son moved down and captured Max. A 7 turn victory for the chasers.

Summary:After only 1 play, this games seems to be a winner with the children. I will play a few more times and see if the children & wife keep winning. If so, I will start adding in some of the helps for Max. As an added bonus, my wife only offered minimal suggestions to the children, so I think this is a game they can play and enjoy without adult help.

Thread: Re: Ghost Chase with children -- good child-level deduction

Larry Welborn — 2007-04-01T23:39:46+00:00

Thanks for the review. Because of it, I recently traded for the game to play with my children.

Thread: Re: Ghost Chase with children -- good child-level deduction game

liquidator8 — 2007-02-21T20:13:09+00:00

I've been thinking about buying this game for a while now ( over a year ) and it's been in and out of my wishlist several times.
Thank you for this very nice review. I think it's exactly what I'm looking for and will probably buy it to play with my children.

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littlekeylime — 2006-12-17T00:59:00+00:00

Spirits drinking spirits...and playing Ghost Chase.

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littlekeylime — 2006-12-16T19:10:17+00:00

Thread: Re: Ghost Chase with children -- good child-level deduction game

loquitur — 2006-12-01T13:59:39+00:00

Nice review. Thanks.

Thread: Ghost Chase -- Session Report

gschloesser — 2006-11-16T13:25:11+00:00

Max the ghost was back to his usual shenanigans, playing tricks on the occupants of the scary old mansion. This time, Rhonda, Gail and Ray were the ghost hunters, hoping to corner and reveal Max (guided by me) to the world.

Since it has been quite some time that we have pursued our “Ghost Chase”, I’ll reprint my description of the game from my June 21, 2001 Westbank Gamers report:

The game is very reminiscent of Scotland Yard, a game I haven't played in probably 10+ years. So, I can't accurately compare the two in detail as my memory on SY is cloudy, at best. Still, the basic idea is the same: Catch an elusive ghost (thief in SY). One player represents the ghost, while the other players act in concert to corner the spirit and
force him/her/it to reveal him/her/itself.

The board, with delightful artwork by Doris Matthaus, depicts a mansion containing 54 rooms. Max will move from room to adjacent room, able to filter through walls, ceiling, etc. The ghost-chasers also must move from room to adjacent room, but are confined by traditional passageways (doors, trap doors, etc.); no moving through solid walls, ceilings or floors for the mere mortals. What makes the game difficult, of course, is that Max is invisible. Thus, his whereabouts are never known with certainty by his/her/its (OK ... we'll call it "him" from now on!) pursuers. The player controlling Max is armed with a deck of 54 cards, one for each room. To move, he simply places one card face-down in
front of him. His pursuers must use deduction, logic and guesswork in attempting to ascertain the path he is taking.

The players do get some help from time to time, however. There are five placards included, each with space for 4 - 6 little animals. These animal tokens (cats, rats, bats, owls and, of course, hedgehogs) are scattered about the exterior of the home and one-by-one are placed back into their placards. At the beginning of each 'round', the ghost-chasers choose one of the placards and after Max and each player has moved, one animal token is placed into the placard. When the placard is filled, Max must reveal himself and display the cards to show the path he took to arrive at his current location. These occasional glimpses of Max's location greatly assist the players in their attempts to corner the spirit. Choosing which placard to use for a particular round is also important as it dictates the number of turns before Max is forced to again reveal himself. No jokes, please. If all placards are filled and Max has not been caught, he wins. The ghost-chasers win if one of the players enters a room where Max is located.

Max's movements are restricted in that he cannot enter the same room twice during the course of the game. This gives the ghost-chasers more knowledge to work with and helps them in their pursuit. It also makes playing Max a challenge as you are constantly worried about boxing yourself in. I played Max in a later game and was constantly examining the board before moving to make sure I allowed myself ample room with which to maneuver around my pursuers.

The game can be tailored to make it easier or more difficult for Max. He can receive 0, 1 or 2 'rest' cards, which allow him to NOT move and remain in his current room. Of course, players don't know when or if he has used these cards until a round is completed and all of the cards he played that round are displayed. Also, Max can receive 0, 1 or 2
'double-entry' cards, which allow him to re-enter a room he had previously occupied during the game. Max MUST display the double-entry card when used, but does not have to indicate which room he has re-entered until the conclusion of that round. Finally, Max can receive, if agreed upon, a 'locked door' card. This allows Max to lock one door in the mansion out of several possibilities. A ghost-chaser encountering this locked door must spend an entire turn unlocking the door. This often provides Max with a chance to scurry through a room which has a ghost-chaser threatening immediately next door.

The ghost-chasers also have a trick up their sleeve in the form of a ghost trap. Once per game, upon leaving a room, a player can leave the trap. If Max enters that room, he must reveal himself. A useful tool, but no where near as useful as Max's tricks. If Max is armed with ALL of his tricks, he is very difficult to catch without a bit of luck.

In order to play effectively, players must be able to accurately remember which rooms Max has previously visited. Plus, they must use some logic, deduction and guesswork to discern the path he is likely to take. They then must maneuver their ghost-chasers in attempts to 'box-in' the spirit, eventually entering the room in which he is located. All of these tactics require the players to openly discuss the possibilities, which also aids the Max player as he can gain insight into the plans of his pursuers. The game can be a bit of a 'brain-drain', but it isn't overly burdensome. The cooperation aspect means that it can be played easily by players of all ages. Plus, the “haunted house” theme is quite appealing. These factors combine to help make Ghost Chase an entertaining family game.

Try as they might, my pursuers could not corner Max, as he successfully eluded them to claim the victory.

Ratings: All 6s

Thread: Re: Ghost Chase with children -- good child-level deduction game

cagriggs — 2006-09-27T17:28:25+00:00

An excellent and very thoughtful review, especially coming from a parent's perspective, which is what I value for games like this. Thanks for taking the time to write such a helpful review!

Thread: Ghost Chase with children -- good child-level deduction game

corross — 2006-09-07T02:13:44+00:00

Ghost Chase in Canterville Castle, published by Rio Grande Games, is a cooperative deduction/chase game that purports to be for 2-5 players, ages 8+ with a playing time of around 60 minutes. It has the appearance of and seems to be marketed as a children's game, and I bought it with the intention of playing with my children (ages 7 and 4.5).

In a nutshell: I find Ghost Chase to be a quite-good children's game, with a nice mix of cooperation (among the chasers) and competition (against the ghost) and a good introduction to strategy and decision-making. Because the level of difficulty is highly adjustable, it's possible for it to be playable even with quite young children (e.g., my 4.5 year old) and to ratchet up the difficulty level as they get older.

Now, a bit more detail:

Components: The game components are high-quality. There is a board (approximately 3 ft. wide and 2 ft. high) depicting Canterville Castle in cross section, showing the interior of 54 rooms, with a moonlit exterior surrounding it. The rooms are numbered in generally columnar-sequential order (e.g., the lowest room in the leftmost column is number 1, the one above it number 2, etc.). The castle is split more or less in half by a central vertical staircase (rooms 24-31). Dotted lines between rooms indicate passages that ghost chasers can follow between them (through a door, or up/down stairs or the like). There is a subterranean tunnel shown in cross-section connecting the lowest left-most room (#1) and the lowest right-most room (#54).

There are six good-quality cardstock figures with insertable cross-pieces to stand them up – of these, four are “chasers” (all childish/adolescent in appearance), one is Max, the ghost, and two symbolize optional game devices (the “locked door” and the “ghost trap”).

The passage of time in the game is indicated by the removal from the board of an animal at the end of each turn, and for that purpose there are 5 frames containing varying numbers of thick cardstock animals (5 mice, 4 cats, 5 owls, 4 bats and 6 hedgehogs). Finally, there are 61 cards – 54 of them to represent each of the 54 rooms in Canterville Castle, and 7 “special” cards. Of these 7 cards, 3 represent special powers (1 for Max’s “door-locking” power, 1 for Max’s ability to move from a chimney to a room and 1 for the chasers’ “ghost trap” power) and 4 give Max one-time exceptions to his typical moving restrictions (2 “break cards” give Max the ability to remain motionless rather than move for one turn, and 2 “cheat cards” give Max ability to re-use an already-used room card for one turn).

I think that the overall visual tone of the game is great for children – it’s “spooky” without being truly frightening. Max and the animals look cartoonish, for instance. For older children and adults, that might be cheesy, but for the preschool and early-elementary age group I’m dealing with, it’s pretty pitch-perfect.

There is an 8-page rulebook that I found to be pretty good. There are lots of pictures and text boxes (red for rules, black for details, etc.). It’s clearly aiming for user-friendliness, and while I appreciate the effort, I found the style so picture-heavy and “busy” that it made the rules seem more complicated to me than I think they would have had they been laid out in what I consider to be a more straightforward style.

Gameplay: I gather that Ghost Chase is a somewhat-simplified version of Scotland Yard with a childish “haunted castle” theme. Not having played Scotland Yard, that isn’t particularly meaningful information for me and, alas, renders me unable to make meaningful comparisons. In any event, if you are familiar with Scotland Yard, this section might not be particularly meaningful for you.

At the outset of the game, the people on the chasing side choose their chasers and randomly choose a given number of animal frames (as noted above, the frames have between 4 and 6 animals each). The rules suggest the following:

If there are 4 chasers, use 4 randomly chosen animal frames and each player gets 1 ghost chaser figure.

If there are 3 chasers, use all 5 animal frames and each player gets 1 ghost chaser figure.

If there are 2 chasers, use 4 randomly chosen animal frames and each player gets 2 ghost chaser figures.

If there is 1 chaser, use all 5 animal frames and each player gets 3 ghost chaser figures.

Another pre-game decision is how heavily to handicap the chasing team and Max, which I’ll address in more detail below.

At the beginning of the game, all animals from the selected frames are set out on the board (outlines for each on the board indicate the proper spot for placement). Each chasing player puts her ghost chaser(s) out onto the board. (Presumably, the chasing team will try to spread them out a bit). Then, the ghost player places Max in one of the rooms. The ghost chasers choose one of the animal frames selected for the game for initial use.

From that point, play is as follows: Max plays a card (typically a room card, indicating a move to another room, but with certain exceptions), after which each of the ghost chasers moves from one space to another. After each player has moved, one of the animals for the then-current animal frame is moved from the board to the frame.

Movement rules for Max are that he can move to any adjacent room (regardless of whether there are dotted lines indicating passages between them) as long as he has the card for the room to which he is moving (or can use one of the few exceptions to this limitation).

Movement rules for ghost chasers are that they can move only to rooms that are connected to their current room by a passageway of some sort, as indicated on the board by dotted lines between those rooms.

This sequence (Max moves invisibly by card play, followed by ghost chasers moving visibly on the board, followed by removal of an animal from the board to the then-current frame) continues until that frame is filled up. At that point, Max reveals his location by placing the Max figure onto the room where he currently his and also reveals the cards he has played since his last revelation. Depending on the frame being used, Max will have to reveal himself after 4, 5 or 6 turns. If the maximum number of frames are used, there will be a total maximum of 24 moves.

The game is cooperative as between the ghost chasers – they have the same goal, and it makes all the sense in the world for them to be coordinating their actions. The Max player, needless to say, is not on the “same team”, so it also offers a competitive element.

Victory conditions: The ghost chasers win if they enter the room where Max is (in which event the Max player must reveal Max’s location) or if Max is stuck without cards that enable him to move. The Max player wins if the last animal is removed from the board before Max is caught.

Strategy and Difficulty Adjustments As Max, of course, you’re trying not to get caught. Generally speaking, the tension is between making the moves that optimize further options (for instance, playing cards that will not effectively close off access to parts of the castle later in the game by using up the room cards that would give access) and making the moves that your chasers will not anticipate. As chasers, you’re trying to close in on Max by predicting his moves and snaring him. The game changes as it goes on – towards the beginning, it’s hard for the chasers to know where Max is going. As time goes on, Max’s options become more and more limited as his available room-movement options dwindle, and the chasers can then develop a much better guess as to where he’s headed.

One thing that I like about the game is that one can improve one’s play substantially by getting to know the castle – because the ghost chasers are limited in movement by the availability of passageways between rooms, the castle is effectively divided up into a lot of different zones, and it’s in both the chasers’ and Max’s best interest to know and try to exploit the presence of these zones. For me, this is an aspect in which the theme comes out: “Hey, why don’t you go cover the attic rooms? Max might head there next. I’ll be heading down to the dungeon to cut him off in case he’s going that way.”

There are a lot of built-in options for adjusting the difficulty of the task confronting the chasers or Max. For instance, Max can have all, some or none of the 4 cards that give him exceptions to his general movement rules (up to 2 “break cards” in which he doesn’t move and up to 2 “cheat cards” that enable him to move to a previously used room). Another option to make life (well, afterlife, I guess) easier for Max is to enable him to lock one of the 8 rooms with doors – by playing that card and placing the door lock in that room, Max can slow chasers down by forcing them to use a turn to “unlock” the door before they can move through it. The ghost chasers can get an edge by having the once-per-game option to place a “trap” in a room as they leave it – if Max enters that room, he must reveal himself.

Finally, there are some special pathways for Max, including the ability to travel between a room with a chimney and a nearby portcullis and the ability to travel from one castle-end to the other through the subterranean tunnel. (Because Max must play the room card of the room to which he’s heading, each of these can be used only once in each direction.)

Because I play the game mostly with my rather-young children, these difficulty adjustment options make the game enjoyable . . . without them, I think it would be too overwhelming and just not fun for my children (ages 7 and 4.5) at this stage of the game. When we play, so far I have always played Max. In our first game, I chose moderate difficulty and found that Max’s movement is potentially so much more complex than the movement for the chasers that they were several steps behind me throughout. I concluded that at that difficulty level, and if I played my hardest, there was no way for them to beat me absent the occasional lucky stab – and, given that failing to catch a ghost over and over and over is not likely to be much fun, that was not the way to go.

I then ratcheted down the difficulty level for the chasers to the baseline minimum – as Max, I get no “break cards”, no “cheat cards”, no ability to lock the doors and no ability to make exception moves out the chimney or through the subterranean tunnel. I’ve played a number of games with my kids at this level, and even with my playing my little heart out, they have almost always won. In the not-distant future, I’ll start ratcheting up the chaser challenge level.

Summary: I’ve been very pleased with Ghost Chase. It fills a real niche for my family for this stage of our lives. Compared to other children’s games, I think that if offers relatively meaningful decisions – I’ve been impressed with the amount of thinking that my children do to try to figure out where Max is headed next. I like that it encourages cooperation among my children and also has a competitive element, including some losing. My children have really enjoyed this game so far and request it fairly frequently – because my goals include spending time having fun with my children and encouraging them to enjoy games, this works wonderfully well for us for now. I hope that adjusting the challenge level will keep it fun for us into the future, but regardless, I consider it a solidly worthwhile purchase.

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EJKemp — 2005-03-15T19:43:28+00:00

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wcordewiner — 2005-02-09T12:50:01+00:00

Dutch box cover.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Important !!!
The ghost chasers may only move from room to room in the conventional way: using doors and stairs, windows etc.
The ghost, being insubstantial, can move through the doors and use the stairs, but may also go through walls, floors, and ceilings !!!

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

To my mind, "Ghost chase" has a very well written and exciting story:
Atmosphere is similiar to Harry Potter !

"As you reach the destination of your journey, the shadows of the old Canterville Castle fall threateningly about you. The wise old owl that you have been following turns immediately and disappears back into the forest. Perhaps the old walls and high towers frightened him. Or, perhaps, he is wiser then you and seeks the safety of his home. The light of your flashlight wanders over the ivy covered castle walls to the beckoning open drawbridge leading to the main entrance of the castle. As a swarm of bats flutter frightfully to the open castle door, you notice a small white figure watching you from the entrance. Through the thin white gown it wears the blues ribs of a skeleton shimmer. It has no feet and seems to float over the ground, stirring up a small wind beneath it.

Suddenly the ghost winks at you and slowly disappears. A moment later, the entrance is empty with no trace of the spook. Was the ghost in you imagination? There is only one way to find out. You must enter the castle and search for the ghost! Be careful! You do not know the castle and who knows what tricks the small white apparition has waiting for you inside… "

Thread: Session Report

PBrennan — 2001-12-07T12:41:25+00:00

A remake of Scotland Yard. This time Mr X is a ghost that has free reign to go anywhere about the 54 rooms of the castle (where he hasn’t already gone anyway), unrestricted by walls, whilst the chasers are forced to follow clumsy, backtracking, cul-de-sac routes to try and close him down.

The lack of information between revelations (what, no bus or taxi indications???) seemed to make each turn a pure guessing game. This seemed a bit unsatisfactory to the pursuers. There were also times when we guessed correctly what the ghost was doing, but could do nothing about setting a trap due to the awkward movement constrictions forced on the pursuers. The special ‘rest’ and ‘cheat’ cards makes it even more difficult as every move after a revelation can be one step removed from your guesswork.

One upside is that the chase continues until the end as the ghost is more and more restricted in it’s moving. As opposed to Scotland Yard where if Mr X escapes the mid-game net, it’s game over as the detectives don’t have the tokens or time to apply another net.

And how about the chrome? All those cardboard animal pieces that you fill into cut-out frames to indicate a revelation must take place! Uhmmm, we can count cards! Good for the kids though of course and that’s the market.

Nick started up top, worked his way to the secret passage, scooted along the bottom, up some stairs, and circled around to just avoid the encircling figures. The pursuers in Garth, Kevin and myself mostly unfulfilledly circled and patrolled sections trying to establish nets. It seems hard with just 3 pursuers! We made it a point of honour not to watch Nick’s eyes ... well until the end when we knew we were close.

A rating of 5 after 1 game; average game, slightly boring, take it or leave it. Might play a second time to get a better feel with 4 pursuers. It’s probably a 6 rating if you get to be the ghost!

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2001-10-26T16:32:28+00:00

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2001-07-15T18:02:11+00:00

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-07-05T17:17:39+00:00

I had just received this game a few days earlier as a gift, so it was
still setting in my 'new' game stack. I often keep a stack of my new
games set aside so everyone can peruse them. This one caught Joey's eye
and he requested that we play. We were joined by John, Dave and
Spouey. We randomly determined who would be Max the Ghost and it was
John.

The game is very reminiscent of Scotland Yard, a game I haven't played
in probably 10+ years. So, I can't accurately compare the two in detail
as my memory on SY is cloudy, at best. Still, the basic idea is the
same: Catch an elusive ghost (thief in SY). One player represents the
ghost, while the other players act in concert to corner the spirit and
force him/her/it to reveal him/her/itself.

The board, with delightful artwork by Doris Matthaus, depicts a mansion
containing 54 rooms. Max will move from room to adjacent room, able to
filter through walls, ceiling, etc. The ghost-chasers also must move
from room to adjacent room, but are confined by traditional passageways
(doors, trap doors, etc.). No moving through solid walls, ceilings or
floors for the mere mortals. What makes the game difficult, of course,
is that Max is invisible. Thus, his whereabouts are never known with
certainty by his/her/its (OK ... we'll call it "him" from now on!)
pursuers. The player controlling Max is armed with a deck of 54 cards,
one for each room. To move, he simply places one card face-down in
front of him. His pursuers must use deduction, logic and guesswork in
attempting to ascertain the path he is taking.

The players do get some help from time to time, however. There are five
placards included, each with space for 4 - 6 little animals. These
animal tokens (cats, rats, bats, owls and, of course, hedgehogs) are
scattered about the exterior of the home and one-by-one are placed back
into their placards. At the beginning of each 'round', the
ghost-chasers choose one of the placards and after Max and each player
has moved, one animal token is placed into the placard. When the
placard is filled, Max must reveal himself and display the cards to show
the path he took to arrive at his current location. These occasional
glimpses of Max's location greatly assist the players in their attempts
to corner the spirit. Choosing which placard to use for a particular
round is also important as it dictates the number of turns before Max is
forced to again reveal himself. No jokes, please. If all placards are
filled and Max has not been caught, he wins. The ghost-chasers win if
one of the players enters a room where Max is located.

Max's movements are restricted in that he cannot enter the same room
twice during the course of the game. This gives the ghost-chasers more
knowledge to work with and helps them in their pursuit. It also makes
playing Max a challenge as you are constantly worried about boxing
yourself in. I played Max in a later game and was constantly making
examining the board before moving to make sure I allowed myself ample
room with which to maneuver around my pursuers.

The game can be tailored to make it easier or more difficult for Max.
He can receive 0, 1 or 2 'rest' cards, which allow him to NOT move and
remain in his current room. Of course, players don't know when or if he
has used these cards until a round is completed and all of the cards he
played that round are displayed. Also, Max can receive 0, 1 or 2
'double-entry' cards, which allow him to re-enter a room he had
previously occupied during the game. Max MUST display the double-entry
card when used, but does not have to indicate which room he has
re-entered until the conclusion of that round. Finally, Max can
receive, if agreed upon, a 'locked door' card. This allows Max to lock
one door in the mansion out of several possibilities. A ghost-chaster
encountering this locked door must spend an entire turn unlocking the
door. This often provides Max with a chance to scurry through a room
which has a ghost-chaster threatening immediately next door.

The ghost-chasers also have a trick up their sleeve in the form of a
ghost trap. Once per game, upon leaving a room, a player can leave the
trap. If Max enters that room, he must reveal himself. A useful tool,
but no where near as useful as Max's tricks. If Max is armed with ALL
of his tricks, he is very difficult to catch without a bit of luck.

In order to play effectively, players must be able to accurately
remember which rooms Max has previously visited. Plus, they must use
some logic, deduction and guesswork to discern the path he is likely to
take. They then must maneuver their ghost-chasers in attempts to
'box-in' the spirit, eventually entering the room in which he is
located. All of these tactics require the players to openly discuss the
possibilities, which also aids the Max player as he can gain insight
into the plans of his pursuers. The game can be a bit of a
'brain-drain', but it isn't overly burdensome.

In our game, John was visibly struggling, thinking and re-thinking his
possible movement routes. He was being quite devious and was successful
in eluding us even when we had him seemingly cornered. Spouey, Joey and
Dave were all on the right side of the home, while I was guarding the
left side. Unfortunately for me, John zipped to the right side during
the first round and never returned to my side. Thus, my involvement,
other than suggestions, was a bit dull.

Eventually, we figured John was attempting to re-enter the left side of
the house by trying to sneak past us through the central tower passage.
Joey surmised his location and moved into the correct room, forcing Max
to reveal himself. A victory for the ghost-chasers on turn 17!

The rest of the group thoroughly enjoyed the game and the deductive
challenges it presented. I concede that the game is a good one, but it
simply isn't one of my favorite type of games.

Ratings: Joey 8, Spouey 7, Dave 7, Greg 6

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2001-06-26T16:23:40+00:00