*Cue Andrew Lloyd Webber's Masterpiece
The Breakdown:
Players: 2
Playing Time: 20-30 min
Weight: 3.5/10
Publisher: Hurrican
Mechanics: Deduction
Components: 8 Character Cards
8 Character Tokens
11 Alibi Cards
3 Tokens (Padlock, Blackout, La Carlotta)
Investigator/Phantom Action Indicator Card
Rule Booklet
Game Board
Players: 2
Playing Time: 20-30 min
Weight: 3.5/10
Publisher: Hurrican
Mechanics: Deduction
Components: 8 Character Cards
8 Character Tokens
11 Alibi Cards
3 Tokens (Padlock, Blackout, La Carlotta)
Investigator/Phantom Action Indicator Card
Rule Booklet
Game Board
The Review:
As someone who has set up shop in the domain of logic and reason, I’m always looking for games that involve deduction. After hearing of the play style of the Mr. Jack games, and considering I play games at 2 players more often than not, I decided to take a look at Le Fantôme de l’Opéra (The Phantom of the Opera). Let’s open the box and take a look:
As someone who has set up shop in the domain of logic and reason, I’m always looking for games that involve deduction. After hearing of the play style of the Mr. Jack games, and considering I play games at 2 players more often than not, I decided to take a look at Le Fantôme de l’Opéra (The Phantom of the Opera). Let’s open the box and take a look:
The component quality is very high for this game, but in all honesty, it should be considering how little there is. Like many games, it becomes a 3rd grade art project by having to put stickers on the character tokens, which is a little annoying. The tactile pleasure of having thick cardboard-ish player cards (similar to The Resistance gun tokens in texture for reference) is so much nicer than a few flimsy playing cards and really makes the game appear to be high quality.
The art of the game is also top notch, including the character and alibi tokens, but especially in regards to the board. Kudos to the designer by having little stairways and corridors (especially for Meg’s secret passages) between the rooms instead of a single “door” smack dab in the center of two rooms.
Game Set Up:
The art of the game is also top notch, including the character and alibi tokens, but especially in regards to the board. Kudos to the designer by having little stairways and corridors (especially for Meg’s secret passages) between the rooms instead of a single “door” smack dab in the center of two rooms.
Game Set Up:
Gameplay:
Objective for the Investigator: Figure out who the Phantom is by clearing those who are innocent before La Carlotta leaves.
Objective for the Phantom: Cause La Carlotta to leave before the Investigator discovers your identity.
Set Up: The character tokens are placed randomly in all but the central two rooms of the Opera house. The Phantom draws one character alibi from the deck and that person becomes the Phantom. La Carlotta is placed on her starting position and serves as the timing mechanism for the game.
Investigator Phase:-Draw 4 cards from the Character Deck
-Investigator moves the first Character token, the Phantom moves the next two, and the Investigator moves the last one.
-Each Character can move a total number of spaces equal to the number of people in their room when it is their turn to move. Each character MUST move.
-The Phantom announces whether he can appear (the character is in a room by themselves or in a blacked out room with multiple people.
-La Carlotta is moved spaces to the right according to how many suspects remain (+1 if the Phantom appears)
Phantom Phase:
-Repeat the Investigator phase, but switch the order of moving tokens (Phantom moves one, Investigator moves two, Phantom moves one).
Game Ends: When the Investigator eliminates all but one character or the Phantom causes La Carlotta to leave.
Extra Notes:
-The starting position of La Carlotta can be adjusted to make it easier for either the Investigator or the Phantom.
-Each Character has a special power:
*Meg Giry- CAN move through secret passages instead of by traditional paths (pink passages)
*Madame Giry- MUST move padlock token to a new passage (not pink) either before or after she moves
*Christine Daae- After moving, Christine CAN draw all adjacent characters into her room (cannot pull people through padlocked passages or secret passages)
*Raoul de Chagny- After moving, Raoul draws an alibi card:
If Investigator: Clears the innocent character (if not already) OR draws a Phantom card which moves La Carlotta left one space
If Phantom: Hides the innocent character OR draws a Phantom card which moves La Carlotta right one space
*H. Richard- CAN switch players with any other character instead of moving
*Le Persan- CAN take another player with them when they move (and drop them off along the way)
*M. Moncharmin- CAN force every character in his room after moving to leave to an adjacent room.
*Joseph Buquet- MUST move the blackout token to another room either before or after he moves
Final Thoughts:
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is extremely quick to teach and easy to pick up for both the Investigator and Phantom. While fun, the game does have a few faults. First, the game is weighted toward the Investigator. Part of this problem is negated by the fact that you can move La Carlotta’s starting position to give less turns to the Phantom, but that’s a band-aid fix, not a solution. Secondly, for a game in which the primary mechanic is deduction, there is an overabundance of luck involved: so much depends on which card is drawn, who controls whom, and the starting position of the characters.
My overall problem is that it is not a deduction game despite its named mechanic. There is never a point where you know who the Phantom is without eliminating all 7 of the other suspects. That is not deduction, that is a process of elimination. Don’t misunderstand, there is a fair amount of strategy involved on both sides, but I would suggest going into this game understanding that you will not be deducing the Phantom based on their moves but rather trying to outsmart them into figuring out which characters are innocent.
It feels like the game could have been balanced a little bit more and leaves a little to be desired, but it’s still a good game for 2 players. If you want this game to fill the niche of a lighter game with some strategy, you will probably be very happy with it. If you are looking for something a little meatier, something where you can really work to figure out the “puzzle”, you might be disappointed.
Positives:
-Easy to teach
-Fantastic theming, very immersive if you are familiar with the legend/books/musical.
-High quality components and art
-High replay value due to variable starting positions/randomness and quick play time
Negatives:
-High amounts of luck + deduction = Bad
-Limited to 2 players only
-Games can end VERY quickly depending on how things shake out
Final Score: 2.5/5 meeples
♫The Phantom of the Opera is there♫...with mediocre gameplay.
P.S. As always, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
Objective for the Investigator: Figure out who the Phantom is by clearing those who are innocent before La Carlotta leaves.
Objective for the Phantom: Cause La Carlotta to leave before the Investigator discovers your identity.
Set Up: The character tokens are placed randomly in all but the central two rooms of the Opera house. The Phantom draws one character alibi from the deck and that person becomes the Phantom. La Carlotta is placed on her starting position and serves as the timing mechanism for the game.
Investigator Phase:-Draw 4 cards from the Character Deck
-Investigator moves the first Character token, the Phantom moves the next two, and the Investigator moves the last one.
-Each Character can move a total number of spaces equal to the number of people in their room when it is their turn to move. Each character MUST move.
-The Phantom announces whether he can appear (the character is in a room by themselves or in a blacked out room with multiple people.
-La Carlotta is moved spaces to the right according to how many suspects remain (+1 if the Phantom appears)
Phantom Phase:
-Repeat the Investigator phase, but switch the order of moving tokens (Phantom moves one, Investigator moves two, Phantom moves one).
Game Ends: When the Investigator eliminates all but one character or the Phantom causes La Carlotta to leave.
Extra Notes:
-The starting position of La Carlotta can be adjusted to make it easier for either the Investigator or the Phantom.
-Each Character has a special power:
*Meg Giry- CAN move through secret passages instead of by traditional paths (pink passages)
*Madame Giry- MUST move padlock token to a new passage (not pink) either before or after she moves
*Christine Daae- After moving, Christine CAN draw all adjacent characters into her room (cannot pull people through padlocked passages or secret passages)
*Raoul de Chagny- After moving, Raoul draws an alibi card:
If Investigator: Clears the innocent character (if not already) OR draws a Phantom card which moves La Carlotta left one space
If Phantom: Hides the innocent character OR draws a Phantom card which moves La Carlotta right one space
*H. Richard- CAN switch players with any other character instead of moving
*Le Persan- CAN take another player with them when they move (and drop them off along the way)
*M. Moncharmin- CAN force every character in his room after moving to leave to an adjacent room.
*Joseph Buquet- MUST move the blackout token to another room either before or after he moves
Final Thoughts:
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is extremely quick to teach and easy to pick up for both the Investigator and Phantom. While fun, the game does have a few faults. First, the game is weighted toward the Investigator. Part of this problem is negated by the fact that you can move La Carlotta’s starting position to give less turns to the Phantom, but that’s a band-aid fix, not a solution. Secondly, for a game in which the primary mechanic is deduction, there is an overabundance of luck involved: so much depends on which card is drawn, who controls whom, and the starting position of the characters.
My overall problem is that it is not a deduction game despite its named mechanic. There is never a point where you know who the Phantom is without eliminating all 7 of the other suspects. That is not deduction, that is a process of elimination. Don’t misunderstand, there is a fair amount of strategy involved on both sides, but I would suggest going into this game understanding that you will not be deducing the Phantom based on their moves but rather trying to outsmart them into figuring out which characters are innocent.
It feels like the game could have been balanced a little bit more and leaves a little to be desired, but it’s still a good game for 2 players. If you want this game to fill the niche of a lighter game with some strategy, you will probably be very happy with it. If you are looking for something a little meatier, something where you can really work to figure out the “puzzle”, you might be disappointed.
Positives:
-Easy to teach
-Fantastic theming, very immersive if you are familiar with the legend/books/musical.
-High quality components and art
-High replay value due to variable starting positions/randomness and quick play time
Negatives:
-High amounts of luck + deduction = Bad
-Limited to 2 players only
-Games can end VERY quickly depending on how things shake out
Final Score: 2.5/5 meeples
♫The Phantom of the Opera is there♫...with mediocre gameplay.
P.S. As always, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter.