Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Shadow Hunters fills several niches in my gaming circle: it's fast-- a full game ranges from 30 minutes to an hour with experienced players. It accommodates a large number of players, other than pure party games like Cranium or Taboo there aren't many other games that work well with bigger groups like 5 to 8 people. But the strongest appeal of the game is the mystery each game brings: every player has a secret identity and victory condition which allows them to win. The game is spent trying to figure out who the other players are and what they're trying to do, by the actions they take and pieces of information you're able to learn about them through hermit cards. I've found that whether I'm winning or losing, the game is always exciting because I'm constantly trying to discover who everyone is and predict how the game will turn out, and the game is such that even if your character dies you can still win.
There are three "teams" in the game, Hunters who are trying to kill Shadows, Shadows who are trying to kill Hunters or kill three Neutrals if that's possible, and Neutrals who each have their own objective: one is just trying to survive, one is trying to obtain equipment cards, one is trying to kill someone when two people have already died, and one wants to die first or else get rid of the Shadows. All characters have special abilities they can only use when revealed, one Shadow character can heal upon attacking successfully, and two of the hunters can deal out a one-time attack to damage a character. The danger is that using your ability forces you to reveal which character you are and open yourself up to retaliation from your enemies. Players take damage throughout the game and go up on an HP track: the points where different characters die are labelled, so that if you make it to 8 Health, you have to reveal if you're the character who dies at that point, otherwise everyone knows you have to be a character with more than 8 health.
The basic mechanics of the game are rolling the dice to move between locations, taking cards, and choosing whether to attack anyone near your location. You get information about other players by playing hermit cards, which answer questions like "is this player a hunter or neutral" or "does this character have more than 11 hp". You keep track of the information you've learned to guess who's on your team and who wants you dead, although one Shadow character, the Unknown, is allowed to lie on hermit cards, which always leaves an element of uncertainty. The mechanics are refreshingly simple, while there's a high amount of luck, you make a number of hugely influential decisions in how to use your special ability, when to reveal yourself, and when to try to kill someone you think is your enemy. The game largely plays out on the basis of who knows what, and who can trick someone else, and what makes the strategy so rewarding to come back to is that it's all about out-thinking the people around you and out-bluffing and out-guessing them. Similarly to why poker has lasted so long, it's not about mastering the game but the social environment the game facilitates.
Shadow Hunters has probably gotten the most play out of any of the games in my collection for its simplicity and depth. Every time you play you can be a different character, and your friends and enemies can be completely different. I'd consider it a large improvement over games like Clue or Mafia which depend upon learning information or reading your opponents, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's able to corral a big enough group into playing.
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Identify! You are a Shadow, a creature of the night, or a Hunter, a human whose job is to destroy supernatural creatures, or a civilian, a normal human just caught in the middle of this ancient battle. But your identity remains secret until someone outs you through your actions and through Hermit cards or you reveal yourself to use your special ability. The key to victory is to identify your allies and enemies early. Survival! Once your identity is revealed, your enemies will attack without impunity using their special abilities like Demolish, Teleport, and Suck Blood or equipment cards such as the Rusty Broad Ax or Fortune Brooch. This ancient battle comes to a head and only one group will stand victoriousor a civilian, in the right circumstances, might claim victory. Good game for a large group of players. Shadow Hunters is for 4-8 players, ages 10+, and takes about an hour to play.
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