Shadows Over Camelot

It's more abstract than some would like for sure, but for a fast-playing semi-thematic co-op game, Shadows is still pretty damned good.

The Traitor mechanic keeps it fresh, that's for sure. That paranoia--who's out to betray the loyal knights?--keeps everyone on their toes. It's not uncommon for a game that's going poorly for everyone to be at each other's throat by the endgame.

The variable powers are great, and there are a lot of quests for variety.


It's brought down a few points because it suffers from a few lame quests (the Grail is a GRIND, and who bothers with the Black Knight?) and the replay can suffer over time. Still, it's beautifully produced, and can be a winner with both AT gamers and more casual folk. It's definitely worth a look.

Beautiful components combine with okay rummy mechanics to make for a fairly entertaining cooperative game. The traitor concept is great, but plays like an awkwardly tacked-on optional rule. Although somewhat addictive at first, there isn't a lot of replay value to the game. The last time I played, extreme paranoia about the traitor caused Camelot to fall in a seven-player game that actually didn't have a traitor.

This is a reasonably fun game to play, I suppose, and in one aspect it does a good job of making you feel the theme through its very nice components. At the same time, you sometimes feel that the game system is playing you a bit and that it in some respects it almost feels like a card game. Not good. However,it is the "traitor" aspect of the game that saves this one and gives it a solid extra point for introducing a unique social aspect into the game.

This is largely a cooperative game where everyone works together to win.