Board Game Review - Bad Bones

This was another game we played at MCM Comic Con, and it's a change from what I normally play. The closest game I own to Bad Bones would be Castle Panic and the only real similarity is that they're both tower defence games. Bad Bones, however, is not co-operative, it's a game you only win because someone else loses.

You start off Bad Bones with a tower that is four high, a Hero, four villages, six traps and a graveyard that is empty (but not for long). The aim of the game is to survive the onslaught of skeletons for as long as possible, and outlive your opponents.

Each turn has four stages - move your Hero, place / remove traps, move skeletons and spawn new skeletons (you always grab three more skeletons from the bag, and also place any from the graveyard onto the board as well). The Hero will destroy any skeletons he lands on / that bump into him, so he is arguably your best weapon against the ever-growing hoarde, but he can only move one square at a time. The traps at your disposal are: two Walls, which act like a mirror reflecting light and move the skeletons in a different direction; two Catapults, which fling skeletons over to the graveyard of an opponent of your choice; a Dragon, who scares away the skeletons in the direction you choose; and Treasure, which lures the skeletons to it, and they then continue to move in that direction. Each trap (apart from the Treasure) will break after two uses, so using the trap step to take a trap away can sometimes be more useful than using it to place a new trap.

We played the basic version, where you have normal skeletons that are constantly attacking you, but there is also an advanced version of the game if you don't find an endless onslaught of skeletons tasking enough - this includes a market, scarier skeletons, weapons and new traps.

You can, if you want, play the game solo, or cooperatively too! Plus, the game comes with six player boards, so it's a game you can crack out on a gaming night with friends without having to worry too much about someone sitting out (unless you have more than five friends, I guess!)

Is it worth my money?

With prices ranging from £33-45, Bad Bones may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you and your friends want to play something a little different, go for it!