If you are a fan of murder mysteries, slasher films or silly fun team puzzles, Terrorscape is probably your thing. We had the honour of testing a pre-production copy and we enjoyed it! In Terrorscape, players play a deranged killer (think a purged Jason Voorhees, Leatherface or Bagul the 1000 year old ghost demon) or a group of innocent people (think summer camp counselors). Who survives a night in this abandoned mansion?
In short, Terrorscape is a mix of the best elements of Scotland Yard, Battleships and Clue(do). The innocents each have their own special power and must collect keys through sneaking, searching for objects and working together to escape the mansion – or fix a radio to call the police. The crazed killer must find out where these people are hidden within the mansion and take turns chopping them up. If a person is killed, the killer wins (who would have thought?).
However, the game is less straight-forward than you think. The killer cannot see where the people are. Based on sounds the people may make through their actions or drawn object or action cards, the player who is the killer must try to determine which room the survivors are located. This is trickier than you think! All the more so because the survivors can use objects and extra actions to lead the killer astray. For example, they can throw a glass bottle into an adjacent room, set off an alarm or take a shortcut. However, the killer can barricade doors to corner his or her victims.
Terrorscape requires a lot of cooperation, tactics and silly fun with a dash of luck! Besides, the game is a stunning production (even in pre-production form!). The huge 3D mansion functions as a viewing screen to hide information between players, as well as a dice tower and provides the necessary table presence. The figures are detailed and the artwork of the game components is beautifully and grimly done. So although the game is not officially out yet, we had a great time and it looked challenging but balanced. Lovely little game to kill some time (and some victims)!
