OK, I caved in and bought Doom: the Boardgame last Friday after work. The kids have played the computer game, it is of course dripping with theme, and the light roleplaying element with a dungeon crawl is right up our alley.

Matthew and Jacob played the marines in the first scenario - I handled the invaders. It was rough going for the marines - they didn't even make it to the final room before I accumulated 6 frag points.

The game is well designed for what it is. The combat system is easy to learn and reflects the computer game very well - ammo can be scarce and the respawn after death feature keeps everyone in the game. Teamwork is necessary to win - this game is tough on the marines (maybe too tough). My favorite aspect is the roleplaying element combined with the variable marine configuration via card draw. This can lead to different strategies for individual players and the team as a whole.

So far so good with this game - I hope to get it out again next weekend with a larger (and different) group to see how it plays with 4.

Updated:

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