Game: Geisterwäldchen

Thread: Re: Availability???

timewellspent — 2008-10-14T19:21:08+00:00

Hi Bill,

We just received 2 copies at Time Well Spent Games

http://www.timewellspent.org/html/gamepage.php?id=2175

Dave Jones

Thread: Re: Availability???

reapersaurus — 2008-09-05T18:34:57+00:00

I was thinking this game would be possible to proxy, if you even just had the English Geistersteppe reprint, Boo Hoo (available on Amazon)....

I'm just not sure about the exact number of steps in the board, or what I'd do to proxy the dwarf.

Thread: Availability???

gameguru — 2008-09-05T08:08:20+00:00

Is this game still in print and if so can someone tell me where to purchase it?

Thread: Re: Video of rules being taught to some friends.

Suppe Kasper — 2008-07-02T04:28:15+00:00

Great video! When my daughter grows up I hope I have this game to play with her. Looks like a lot of fun and the bits are amazing.
Again great video

Thread: Video of rules being taught to some friends.

porter235 — 2008-07-01T17:22:37+00:00

My wife, Julie, explaining the rules to some of our friends, and the first few turns.

Youtube Video

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Toynan — 2008-06-07T16:28:35+00:00

Run !!!

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olavf — 2008-04-25T08:34:46+00:00

Losing against a 6-year old girl

Thread: Re: It's a weird little game. And I like it!

gamemark — 2008-03-30T00:59:35+00:00

Excellent review... it even helped me catch a rules error (how the log works with the dwarf). Thanks!

Thread: Re: It's a weird little game. And I like it!

Sifu — 2008-03-29T21:19:26+00:00

Nice review! You've summed up exactly how I feel about this game. It's a gem. Although, I think it's kind of blah with 3 players too. It gets good at 4, and is better with more.

Thread: It's a weird little game. And I like it!

1Wif — 2008-03-29T13:53:09+00:00

What I am currently looking for in a game is something that I can play with my 4 year old daughter, where we're both engaged, has nice bits and has the possibility of playing with my friends as a silly filler. Geisterwaldchen fits all of these criteria very nicely. It also has quite a bit of none-to-subtle screwage.

THE BITS
The bits are just beautiful. There are 6 little wooden pawns (of different colours) with magnets inside, 1 corresponding disk for each pawn, 1 big dwarf with a magnet inside, and two wooden ghosts that fit nicely over the pawns. Also there is a die that has 1,2,3,3 and 2 ghosts on it. Finally there is a great big board that shows the path the pawns will take as they wind their way through the forest.

THEME and RULES
This is a sequel to Geistertreppe, where the children (pawns) were trying to scare a ghost and got turned into little ghosts themselves in the process. (Correct me if I'm wrong on that, I ordered both games at the same time, but Geistertreppe is backordered.) In this sequel, the kids have found their way out and are trying to go home, but they must get through the "Ghost Grove" to do so where they are being chased by "apprentice ghosts" who will stop their progress. Luckily there is a big magnetic dwarf to help them through. (I know. It's very weird. Just go with it.)

The game is won when the children (accompanied by the dwarf) get to the light at the end of the woods. To do this players roll and move (they can move ANY pawn). As they move along, they will "click" onto the dwarf who will move with them. If a player rolls a ghost, they MUST put the ghost on any pawn. This will halt that pawn's movement. That's the gist of the very simple mechanics of the game. THREE MORE DETAILS: 1. When the dwarf goes across the river on the log, pawns travelling with him get washed down the river back to the start of the game (therefore at the start it's wiser to travel just behind the dwarf). 2. There is a sunlit spot a little over halfway through the game; when the dwarf hits this spot he stops and the ghosts are lifted off the pawns and returned to the start of the game. 3. After the dwarf reaches the sunlit spot the players tokens become active and may be used once to take any future ghosts off of themselves.

WHY I LIKE IT
-simple mechanics make it easy for children to grasp, but there is some depth too.
-the ghosts get rolled frequently, so the leader is always getting slammed, which gives the laggers an opportunity to catch up.
-you find yourself in the position where you can't move yourself, which means that you need to find the next best strategy. I think this teaches children a lot about thinking outside the box.
-the game allows cooperative wins while still remaining competitive throughout. Therefore the feel of it is quite different from anything else I've played.
-it works REALLY nicely with a mixed group of adults and children.
-it is a lot of fun when you loose track of which ghost your pawn is under and pick up the wrong one.
-lots of screwage increases the social interaction
-like I said above, the components are a joy to play with

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT
-it has made my daughter cry when she's having a delicate day (she's 4 years old, so that means about %50 of the time.) It's very frustrating to feel like you're getting ahead and have a ghost set on you. (Although it is this feeling that makes it enjoyable as a late-night filler for adults)
-it's fairly dull as a 2 player. (In which case you add two neutral pawns so there is movement possibility when both players are slammed with a ghost.)

So my recommendation would be that if you are looking for a different game to play with children, it is a good choice. It's beautiful, simple, fun and has some really unique elements. HOWEVER, you may want to handle the first few games delicately (we started by letting our daughter have ALL of the tokens, and then decreased their usage as she grew less sensitive about the game.) I've played it a dozen or so times and have enjoyed it more and more with each play. Likewise, with each play my daughter has gotten better and better at screwing me over. And, quite frankly, I'm thrilled about it.

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noursy — 2008-01-19T18:05:26+00:00

Box back, Finnish edition

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noursy — 2008-01-19T18:01:33+00:00

Box Front, Finnish edition

Thread: Re: Scary good fun for the very young.

mozilla — 2007-08-16T22:46:34+00:00

I did love Spooky Stairs! And Ghost Grove, too, thanks to your review.

I'm kind of surprised there's not more "talk" about this game, considering its (many) merits. Maybe it's because it's an import and a kid's game to boot, but the mechanics are really brilliant considering the target audience and the board and components are perfectly "over-built" and imaginative in execution...on quality alone, it deserves some word.

I think after I've given it a few more runs with the kiddies, I'll try to get some more formal impressions up.

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tommih — 2007-08-12T06:37:13+00:00

Inside of the box.

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tommih — 2007-08-12T06:36:37+00:00

Box front of the Finnish edition.

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itiswon — 2007-03-30T18:44:52+00:00

hate each other

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itiswon — 2007-03-30T18:43:36+00:00

all components

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itiswon — 2007-03-30T18:41:01+00:00

different colors player

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itiswon — 2007-03-30T18:39:44+00:00

dice for playing game

Thread: Scary good fun for the very young.

SteveBl — 2005-12-23T05:47:06+00:00

Geisterwäldchen (Ghost Grove) is the sequel to the delightful award-winning children's game Geistertreppe (Spooky Stairs). It supports 2-6 players ages 5 and up. A game typically lasts less than 15 minutes.

In Spooky Stairs, players moved magnetic pawns up a haunted staircase. During the course of the game, their pawns turned into ghosts which all looked alike. Ghost Grove also involves magnets and ghosts but this time there is also a "giant dwarf" who helps the children through a haunted forest. Yes, I know that a giant dwarf is an oxymoron. Don't blame me, I don't make this stuff up. I just report it.

Ghost Grove shares a lot in common with its predecessor: the pieces and board look similar (it's illustrated by the same illustrator), the pieces have magnets in their bases, and there is a large die marked with ghosts on two faces and one, two or three pips on the others (two faces have three pips). This time though, the game is a little bit more strategic.

You begin your turn by rolling the die. If it shows a number of pips then you choose any child (pawn) and move it forward the number of spaces indicated. If the child reaches the space with the giant dwarf, then a magnet in the dwarf's base attracts a magnet in the child's base and they travel together as one unit. If any other children are already stuck to the dwarf then they move with it as well. This is a very clever mechanism which tends to clump leaders together and also ensures that the dwarf is always with the leader. It also means that it's possible for players to reach the finish in a tie (which can be a good thing in a kid's game).

There are a couple of ways that children can become detached from the dwarf. If the dwarf crosses the log bridge (about one third of the way along the path) any children attached to it fall into the stream and are washed back to the start. Also, if a player rolls a ghost then they must take one of the two ghosts in the game and cover a child, rendering it immobile. As in Spooky Stairs, children under ghosts look identical but, unlike Spooky Stairs, they can't move until the ghost is removed (usually by putting it on another child).

There is also a sunlit spot on the path about one third of the way to the finish. When the dwarf reaches that spot, all of the ghosts are temporarily scared away, freeing up all the children.

And finally, there's an optional, advanced rule where players get to move a ghost once for free. Deciding when to exercise this option can be quite important.

As I mentioned, this game is a little more strategic than Spooky Stairs. It may not always be best to be the leader. Sometimes it's better to move another piece instead of your own. And sometimes it actually makes sense to cover your own piece with a ghost. None of the strategy is too deep for a five year old, but the fact that it's there at all raises this game a step above your average child's game.

I quite like this game. It's got all the makings of a fine children's game: it's pretty, it's fun to play with the whimsical pieces, it's short enough that children won't give up on it half way through, and it's simple enough to teach to a five-year-old yet deep enough to hold an adult's interest. My kids loved it too. We played it several times today and they were shouting, giggling and groaning all the way through and then asking to play it again as soon as we finished. If you liked Spooky Stairs, you'll love Ghost Grove!