The Touch

Last year for our birthdays Rumi and I got a gift certificate for Uncles Games. We were lazy and didnt actually spend it until early this year. What we chose was a theme heavy game: A Touch of Evil.

Ever since Liberty or Death for the Super Nintendo I have been very interested in the American Revolution. I have read books and watched shows related to it whenever possible. We had a few other choices, but I was pleased when this game was our choice.

This game takes a lot from other similar games. Some portions of the mechanics are almost completely stolen from Arkham Horror. It comes with a soundtrack, which is a Flying Frog trademark. Yet, in many ways it is its own game.

Where it really shines is in the presentation. The box and components are all top quality. The art, while a little cheesy, is very consistent and does an excellent job of portraying the mood. The cards also do an excellent job of telling a story.

What the game doesnt do, is play very well mechanically.

Rolling for movement comes off as arbitrary. The cards are quite numerous, which also lends to the luck factor. Combat is just dice rolling as well. If there are too many players it can really drag.

But if you can get in to the mood, it can be fun. Every time we have played I keep seeing a great game living just below the surface.

The Good: The look. Man, it looks good and consistent.
The story. The game does a good job of telling a story. Stuff fits together and makes an interesting plot.

The Bad: Length. It can take forever to play.
Strategy. There is little.
Luck. The game is very arbitrary.

The verdict. If you like theme laden games, its a great one to have, especially in the horror theme.

Homebrew: During our last session we tried a variant where we allowed everyone to move up to 6 spaces on their turn instead of rolling the dice. Anything that increases movement still works, so the drifter can move up to 8. This reduced the game length and increased the fun (and strategy) dramatically. It made a huge difference for us.