Like ‘Clue’? You Will Love ‘Kill Doctor Lucky’
Have you ever wanted to kill some one at a dinner party? This is your opportunity. Just make sure no one sees you. Kill Doctor Lucky’s 19.5th Anniversary version will release early next year, and the beta version we tested looks really good.
The original game was a party game similar to Clue (Cluedo outside the US), but inverted. Instead of solving the murder of your host after it has occurred, your goal is to achieve the murder of your host before any of the other players, and hopefully before they can obstruct you with failure cards.
We’ve never played the original game, but here are some points that really impressed me in the 19.5th Anniversary version. To begin with, there are nine double-sided character cards, each associated with a color. According to the notes included with the beta, the card colors are not yet finalized, but the double sides allow for each player to choose a male or female player character. The player characters are not simply male/female versions of a single character, either. Each character is separate and individually motivated to murder.
The game is very strategic, requiring a good amount of forethought and planning. Sightlines and other players’ locations are very important. Doctor Lucky’s cat, Patience, can obstruct other player characters’ sightlines.
Alternate game scenarios: Escape from Lucky Mansion starts after Doctor Lucky’s death, when he rises from the dead to kill his attackers. Lucky is unkillable now, but you can attack other players to survive and the last player standing wins the game.
There are a few rules from the original game which will not be used in the new version, such as spite, and luck points.
On balance, we found this a very engaging game, with a lot of twisty bits to entertain and amuse. It’s definitely worth checking out, and we recommend it — to death.
If you are interested in knowing more before their Kickstarter is over, you can view it here.
