I definitely feel that I suck at both board and card games. It is an achievement if I come second last. I generally try to bluff my way through with my stony cold poker face which seemingly is a fantastic tactic. Regardless of that fact I still enjoy playing them. This enjoyment has been amplified by the fact that a few friends and I have been meeting fairly regularly to play them. One of the most recent card games I have been introduced to is Gloom.

Gloom is a 1-4 player (5 with expansion) card game where each person takes control of a dysfunctional family and does their best to make each family members life a living hell before killing them off. It’s beautiful. You can play Modifier Cards to decrease the happiness of your family members. The more depressed they are on death, the more points you earn. Your opponent can add positive modifier cards to your family members to ruin your score by making your family happy. Each card has a small line of text that explains what happened to make the family member so miserable or how they died. Ideally you are meant to make a story around your character and the events that take place. Laughing at their misfortune also works out well! There’s also Event Cards which add an interesting mechanic to the game as you can swap family members around and stop people from killing their family.

Gloom is really easy to pick up and play. If I find it so easy to play.. Anyone could definitely give it a go! After watching my friends play one round of it I was confident that I knew enough about it to play.

If you enjoy laughing at other peoples misfortune than Gloom is the game for you!