Halloween for Hermits

Happy Halloween! Well, happy day after Halloween anyway. 

Halloween isn't something I usually go out of my way to make a big fuss about to be honest but this year, it was on a Saturday AND there's a whole pandemic stopping people from getting together to do fun things so naturally I wanted to do something fun that involved leaving the house because, of course, as soon as you tell me I can't do something, I immediately become consumed with the desire to do it (what can I say, wanting to do the opposite of what is wise is apparently a popular American trait).

Anyhoo, of course we stayed in because we're Responsible Adults, though we probably would have regardless because we're also Hermit Wannabes. We'd been watching scary-ish movies leading up to the big day but last night we decided to mix it up and play a s p o o k y game instead.

First though, here's my beverage of the night, Rouge's Dead Guy Ale out of Oregon. I thought it would be appropriate for the day given the name but it's been one of my go-to's for ages. I like to stay local usual (New England has me spoiled for choice, its not hard) but Dead Guy ale is such a good, solid option that I can't help put pick up a six pack every once in a while. There are plenty of beers I love but have to be in the mood for given their unique flavors and styles, but there is never a time when I wouldn't enjoy a Dead Guy Ale. Also, I'm super partial to brown ales and their Hazelnut Brown Nectar is an excellent example and one of my all time favorites. 

On to g a m e s! Last night we played Mansions of Madness, yet another of Fantasy Flight's Arkham Horror games, like the one I posted about a while ago called Eldritch Horror. Same art style, characters, monsters, etc, but Mansions is app driven, meaning game play is moved along by an app so we have to have a laptop set up to play. This element eliminates the need for some of the million tiny decks of cards and a few of the tokens of Eldritch Horror, making it a little quicker to play (depending on the scenario anyway) and better if you're low on space (or don't feel like taking all your plants off the table). 

Speaking of scenarios, here are M and I choosing which one to play. They vary in difficultly and length of play, information that's included in the description. The big draw of Mansions versus Eldritch for me are these different scenarios- most of them involve an investigation of some sort as opposed to just fighting monsters and I do love a good creepy mystery. Also, it includes more puzzles which I love. They're usually used to open safes and locked drawers/chests and are often logic puzzles (for M) or those sliding block puzzles (for me). 

Another cool thing about Mansions is the modular game board. You have a ton of different "room" tiles that gradually come out as you "explore" whichever area you're in- the app will tell you which ones to take out. If you look closely, the red tokens indicate a room to be explored and is mirrored on the computer screen.

A little closer view of the board. Like I've mentioned before, I love the art. Like Eldritch, you get various tool/items to help you out along the way. That shotgun on the far right of the line of cards really came in handy for me for instance.

Aaaand here is the board once we finished and won! ...sort of. We got the ending that wasn't ideal but the bad guy didn't win and we didn't die. M was stuck in the future though.

I very much enjoyed the game and it was a good Halloween activity but I still like Eldritch Horror better, millions of tiny cards and all. I feel like in Eldritch you have more control over your own destiny. In Mansions, you can't take an action to heal yourself unless you have an item or person specific action that will let you (so once you start losing health/sanity, you're usually screwed), and improving/gaining skills, tools, items, and spells are done at the whim of the game and not something you can set out to gain yourself. Also, we feel like sometimes our loss was inevitable given the time constraints and vast amounts of items and rooms to search. Eldritch can also be frustrating, yes, but in a less... frustrating way. 

That totally made sense, sure.

Finally, Halloween wouldn't be compete with out a treat, right? I didn't feel like putting a lot of effort into it though so I just whipped up some chocolate coconut haystacks. Very easy, just pour melted chocolate over crunchy chow mein noodles and toasted coconut, mix, drop in blobs on a cookie sheet, and put in the fridge until hardened and voila! A super easy (yet ridiculously messy to eat) treat with maximum chocolate and minimal effort. 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Enjoy a little last minute spookiness with Screamin' Jay Hawkins before you go...