I've always enjoyed reading Yehuda Berlinger's blog on the internet. Mostly about board games, it's been interesting following the ups and downs of his designing the Menorah Game - in which players attempt to buy and sell candles to light their menorah. After quite a while, he found a publisher; and I was pleased to get a copy of the game. However, the game - It's Alive (Reiver Games, 2007 - Yehuda Berlinger) had a completely different theme - that of players collecting body parts to build their monster first.
Now I actually enjoyed the new theme, as it's just jovial enough to skirt on the lighter side of horror; and it's interesting just how far the theme of the game has changed. Regardless of theme, however, the game is a fast little auction game that plays easily. Players have quick, simple choices to make, keeping the game moving at a nice clip.
Nice components, two different styles of play, and an auction mechanic that isn't too terribly brain burning keep It's Alive fresh and invigorating. Each player takes a shield and places a card behind it with eight spaces - spots for arms, legs, hand, foot, heart, brain, torso, and head. Players also take twelve coins, while a deck of sixty cards is shuffled and placed in the middle along with the rest of the coins. One player is chosen to go first, and then play passes clockwise around the table.
On a player's turn, they can turn over the top card of the deck and then make a decision on how to deal with it.
- They can buy it for the price shown on the card.
- They can sell it to the graveyard (discard pile in front of their screen) for half the price (rounded down) shown on the card.
- They can put if up for auction. They must make the first bid (bidding at least one), and then each other player may make one bid. The player who makes the highest bid gets the card; and the auctioning player gets the money, unless they won - in which case money goes to the bank.
A player can also choose a card off one of the graveyards to use for one of these choices, but they must pay the cost of the card by either paying coins or discarding a card that is of the same value or higher.
Occasionally a player will draw a Villager's Uprising card. If this happens, the drawing player must either pay the amount shown on the card with money or by discarding a card of equal or greater value. The player then keeps the card, which they can use to discard later on in the game if needed.
As a player collects body parts, they place them on the card in front of them. A player only needs one of each part but may keep extras for trading. Some cards show a coffin on them; these act as "wild" cards. The game continues until one player completes their monster by getting all eight body parts, at which point they shriek, "It's Alive!" In the basic game, this player then wins. In the advanced game, each player scores points equal to the value of their body parts, plus one point for each coin they have, although their coin total may not exceed half of their body part total, and five points if they were the first to finish. The player with the most points is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: It's Alive is put together by hand, and yet you would have a very difficult time telling this, as everything looks very professional. The cards and shield are a bit thinner than I would like, but they take wear and tear fairly well. The artwork that covers the whole game is halfway between horror and humor; and while it may not be appropriate for young children (the severed head looks a bit gruesome), it won't bother most people. The coins are yellow wooden discs that are very easy to handle, and everything fits nicely into a small rectangular box for storage. Each body part has a different colored background, and the visual effect of placing a colored card on top of the black and white body card helps bring out the theme of the monster coming to life. A reference card for each player is included, which shows the ten different types of cards in the game and the point value range of each, which especially comes in handy during the advanced game.
2.) Rules: The rules are printed in full color on a six-page handout and are fairly simple to understand, although the graveyard rule is a little confusing (it's rarely used anyway). The game is simple to teach, as players really only have three options per turn; and while the box says "12+" (which is likely due to the theme and/or artwork), it can be understood by kids younger than that.
3.) Choices: Three choices await a player: buy, sell, or auction. Buying and selling are easy choices - a player simply decides that they want money or the body part. Auctioning is more of a tricky thing; it means that the player either wants the body part for less money, or they want to sell it for more than half price. In both cases, the player can be foiled by the other players; and no matter what, they are giving the other players a chance to get the body part for themselves. After several plays, it appears to me that the three choices are distributed evenly; with players often selling an item for a low amount simply so another player can't get it. Choosing a card from another player's graveyard is a very expensive process (you eventually pay double the cost of the card), so it's not done often but certainly is an option.
4.) Style: Usually the advanced game is simply a few more rules added to the basic game - and in this case the difference seems minimal: the only difference in the advanced game is that points are scored. But it has an amazing effect on game play. In the basic game, players are attempting to get body parts for as cheap as they can, and the amount of money they have at the end of the game means nothing. In the advanced game, players want the more expensive body parts and try to hoard as much gold as they can. The wild coffin cards are worth "9" or "10" - the most valuable cards in the game. This means that they are taken only in desperation in the basic game, while they are hot commodities in the advanced game. I'm not sure which version I like better, although I lean towards the advanced game, only because it makes the auctions just a bit more interesting.
5.) Villagers' Uprisings: These cards seem to add some unfortunate events to the game - the player who draws them will not be happy, as they have to get rid of money or a card to keep them. However, getting one is not all bad, as they can use the card to pay off future Villager Uprisings, or to source a body part from a graveyard that they need. They sound like bad luck, but it's more of a mixed blessing, and doesn't affect the game that much.
6.) Fun Factor: On the surface, It's Alive is a silly game in which players are building a monster to bring to life. This in and of itself is fun, especially shouting, "It's alive!!" in one's best Dr. Frankenstein impression. But the game play itself is more than that, as players really need to best handle their money. Sure, there is some luck when a player flips a card, and it may seem annoying that you never seem to flip over a heart when you need one; but this can be mitigated by the wild cards and by sourcing the body part from a graveyard if necessary. What makes the game especially appealing is that even with five players, I have yet to see a game go over thirty minutes, and most end somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes.
The unusual theme mixed with a quick playing time makes this an easy game to get to the table. Players who normally don't like auction games in which one must bid correctly every time or lose will enjoy this one as it has a lighter feel. Still, even though the game is short and it has a fluffier taste, It's Alive still offers enough strategic choices to appeal to strategy gamers. And the thrill of shouting, "It's alive!" adds several points in and of itself.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com
Posted Sat Oct 6, 2007 10:21 am
