You walk down a street and see a wooden stand that says “Board Game Reviews”. A strange man walks up to you and says that a new board game he played is great fun and if you just go with him to his underground home, he can play the game with you. Do you: (a) Go to the man’s home and hope he won’t kidnap you (Explore 3), (b) rob the man of all of his money (Explore 5), or (c) leave the man and order the game on Amazon to play later (Explore 7).
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Short Explanation of How to Play
The scenario above is the choose your own adventure style of the game Above and Below. The game allows you to collect buildings above ground and below ground that will allow you to gain the points and resources you need to win the game, but the Explore action and scenarios are what really make the game shine. People make choices based on the laugh out loud scenarios, and the consequences are different rewards, and sometimes they are punished for the choices that they make. While there are goals to achieve to win (getting various buildings with point totals, collecting different resources, etc.) the actual goal of winning the game can get lost in the shuffle of Exploring to hear more hilarious scenarios and making choices as a result.
Why it Works/Doesn't Work For Our Family
What Worked: There are a few rules to remember, but overall they make sense and are not overly difficult to carry out. The actions players can take make sense, and make for fairly quick turns (unless they collect a bunch of characters that can do actions, then the game can slow down a bit). The game scales well, as competitive players can try to win and maximize their points, and the casual players can focus on completing as many scenarios as they can for fun.
What Was Challenging: The only challenge I saw with this game was that if someone wants a quick casual game, then they might not like the length of this game. It is entirely possible to shorten the game with fewer rounds, or someone could use the scenario book and drop some of the other aspects of the game if they wanted to turn it into a truly casual game, but even though the game takes some time it feels like is moving fast, and hits a sweet spot where casual and competitive game players can enjoy it.
Why it Works/Doesn't Work With Friends
Above and Below has had positive reception with my friends who played games. The money system, resource collection, character acquisition, and use of buildings to build your town are similar to games that take a long time with other complicated mechanics, so it gets everyones competitive juices flowing. When coupled with the scenarios we discover when Exploring the caves, everyone enjoys the playthrough and we all have a good time.
Teacher's Corner
There are a lot of economic concepts that play out in this game. There is supply and demand with the costs of the characters, as well as the increase in value of the resources as you gain a variety of characters. Money management is important in the game, and players have to weigh costs and benefits as they decide which moves to make, which buildings to build, and which choices to make when they do the Explore action.
Overall opinion, rating, and recommendation
6 year old son - My son liked the scenarios. That was his favorite part of the game.
9 year old daughter - My daughter enjoyed the game as well.
Mine - I will rate this game Heavy Family. The mechanics of the game are fairly complex and are more suited for young adults and adults, but the scenarios make it a fun game for kids as well. I haven’t met anyone who has not enjoyed this game yet, though since it is not a light game the casual game player should be cautious to make sure that the various mechanics of the game are appropriate for the group that they plan to play with.
Games with similarities with this one at each rating level:
Casual Family: - Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger
Heavy Family: - My Little Scythe
Casual Adult: - Apples to Apples
Heavy Adult: - Scythe
Comments