Gloom: Misery, Misery and More Misery...

Friends of ours playing the game with us. :)

Gloom: I love it!  Now how many people can say that they love gloominess?  Well, for starters, those who have played this awesome card game called, Gloom.  Yeah, literally every person who I've had play it with me has loved it.  So much so that we either 1.) try not to win so the game lasts longer or 2.) play several games in a row.  Despite how popular this game is among friends, it does not have nearly enough attention on a wider level; that is, I really think more people need to know about this game and play it!


So Gloom has this Series of Unfortunate Events sort of feel to it because, throughout the whole game, there is just a cloud of darkness hovering over you.  But somehow you like it because it manages to be both sinister and entertaining. The point of the game is that each player make their family group (composed of five character cards) more miserable than all the other family groups. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? All the while, your goal as a player is to make the other families happier so their "self worth" points won't be so high when a player is dealt an "Untimely Death" card.  So, on top of having to make your characters' stories more miserable than those of the other characters, you also have to kill off your characters at the opportune moment when they have a good deal of negativity points.  So eery, but paradoxically fun!

This is one example of a family group set--the carnies. ;)

Another thing about Gloom is that you get to make up hilariously happy or dramatically sad stories to go with modifier cards you put on characters (modifier cards are the cards you use to give characters either positive or negative points).  This is actually my favorite aspect of Gloom because I get to over-dramatize the modifier cards, get the occasional laugh or two, and I use this storytelling voice that has been deemed "the Gloom voice," which is actually a cross between Julia Child and a British butler of sorts.  Other players have just as much fun telling their stories too.  And I have to tell you, it is the most fun when everybody gets really into it and tells a good (or at least humorous) story.

With that, strategy is a must in this game if you want to win.  I mean, it can get pretty obvious that you're trying to win if you're not careful, so you'll want to distract from your own success by playing cards on your opponents--no matter if they are good or bad sometimes.  Additionally, when you play negative modifier cards on yourself to worsen your characters' stories, you have to be careful and watch out for negative effects your cards may have.  For example, some negative modifier cards require that the person the card is played upon discard all of their cards or skip a draw turn. This is part of what makes the game fun though--it is delightfully unpredictable.  It might make strategizing a tad difficult, but that's the fun of it!

Another potential hinderance to one's strategy could be an event card played by an opponent.  Event cards can do anything from steal cards from other players to erasing a character completely.  You never know what's coming with one of these event cards.

So what is the general review of this game?  It's great--go buy it at your nearest game store.  Trust me, this game is a good buy you and your friends won't regret playing it with you.  It'll provide hours of entertainment of the gloomy variety.

Corey Cherrington
(Pragmus Sigma)
Chief Editor