A Sci-Fi/Horror B-Movie Card Game From Z-man Games
B-movies… These are the movies that made my childhood a bloody explosive blur of zombies, maniacal madmen, rampaging robots, slasher films, flicks about alien monsters, and the occasional super mutant… I loved them all. Monsters like “Jason”, “Leather Face”, and heroes like “Ash” are forever apart of me… and now they’re all back with the great new card game (non-CCG) from Z-man Games called “Grave Robbers from Outer Space”
From their website:
Grave Robbers From Outer Space pays homage to those B-movies you love to hate…or hate to love. 120 cards packaged in a dual-deck sized box. Stand-alone game; no need to collect; Easy to learn; Original art & humorous quotes; Does not require other bits (no dice, markers etc.); First in a series of compatible but independent B-movie card games; for 2 or more players; "Say, is that a tentacle?"
In this game you are trying to “make” a move by playing cards. The only problem is so is everyone else. You can switch your location to a favorable one and move your opponents to a less favorable one… then send monster after their “characters”. You can give your characters “props” to help them withstand attacks, like a pickup truck, flashlight, explosives or a shotgun. When the “credits roll” in the end… the movie with the most points wins.
All of the locations are classic B-movie locations… such as; “Cabin in the Woods”, “House by the Cemetery”, the “Alien HQ”, “Abandoned Building”, or the “Back Seat of the Car”. Each location has a value and have either a special property or drawback. These can be like stealing other characters, letting psycho-killers automatically win, making certain monsters more powerful, or making your entire movie weaker. The characters work the same way, all typical B-movie characters. The Cop, the Babysitter, the Annoying Little Brother, the Big Dumb Jock, and many more. The props also add to the strength of your movie.
The monsters are also taken from B-movies… giant space slugs, psycho-killers, undead, aliens, and Mom! These monsters range in power level and have different traits making them more or less powerful depending on the location of the movie.
To round off the movie (game) there are special effects. These are cards that can do many things to help you or hinder your opponents. They can make monsters stronger, weaker, or go away. They can make characters die, or realize they are 3rd rate actors (and thus worth 0), or nearly any thing else to enhance this wonderful game.
This game is easy to learn with very simple rules. I and 5 others, who never played this game before, opened the game and with in 10mins we were playing. Within 15mins we were laughing and quoting our favorite movies from our youth.
The artwork is in black & white. It is very reminiscent of the old horror comic books that I read as a kid. The art itself is good… but added to the rest of the game, the art’s comic style of it really adds to the feel of the game.
This game is really enjoyable, and I recommend this for any B-movie lover (or leather faced psycho) in your life. Above all I suggest you judge for you. Check out Grave Robbers from Outer Space & Z-man Games at their website http://www.shadowfist.com/html/grave_robbers/grave_robbers.htm … and at all of your local game stores.
Grave Robbers from Outer Space
From: Z-man Games
By: Stephen Tassie
Art by: Steve Bryant & Jason Millet
Product Number: ZMG4000
ISBN Number: 1-931748-02-0
Price: $19.95 (U.S.)
Players: 4-6
Time: 20-40 mines.
Reviewed by: Marc Shayed
