Adam J Purcell

Gormenghast: The Board Game

Gormenghast: The Board Game BGG link

Players
2 to 4
Play time
60 minutes
Designer
Philip Cooke
Publisher
Sophisticated Games
Year
2013
Rating
5.78 (BGG average)

Mechanisms

Categories

Families

Description

Mervyn Peake’s extraordinary ‘gothic’ novels, centered on the castle of Gormenghast, have captured the imaginations of millions of readers worldwide, turning the work into a cult classic. The atmosphere of the rambling and decaying castle of Gormenghast with its intrigues, its rituals, its morbid humour and its sheer eccentricity has been a lovingly recreated in this amazing board game.

In this board game each player takes on the role of a ‘kitchen rat’ similar to Steerpike in the books. Like Steerpike you have the same murderous desire for power. Your goal is to accumulate as much influence as you can (in the form of Victory Tokens),

rise to the top and become Master of Ritual. To acquire Victory Tokens players move characters around the board to complete various intrigues (detailed on Plot Cards). When a player completes a plot they gain Victory Tokens. The first player to acquire 9 (or more) Victory Tokens wins the game.

Contents

Rule book

book of ritual

10 x character pieces

30 x castle tiles

Three card decks totaling 106 cards - 66 action cards, 10 character cards and 30 plot cards

30 x artefact tokens

20 x influence tokens

40 x victory tokens

1 x blocking token

1 x ritual die