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Ghostbusters Card Game
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Description
Who you gonna call? Compete against friends and family in Ghostbusters: The Card Game to collect ghosts from the Ghostbusters universe. You'll call upon your favorite Ghostbusters to help you set your ghost trap and capture the highest point ghosts on the board.
The game is played over three rounds. In each round, players take turns, beginning with the start player and continuing in clockwise order, until all twelve cards from the circle have been captured. On your turn, carry out these three steps:
1. Take up to two actions, either playing or discarding an action card for each action as you choose. When you play an action card, you carry out its effect, then discard it; when you discard an action card, place it on the discard pile, then draw a new action card.
If any ghosts you've already captured have action abilities, you may use those during this step, in addition to your two actions. Each ghost's ability can be used only once per round.
2. Capture the ghost card that the ghost trap is in front of, but only if you played at least one action card this turn. Take that ghost card and place it in your player area with any other ghosts you've already captured, then move the ghost trap to the next ghost card in the circle either clockwise or counterclockwise depending on the current direction of play.
3. Refill your hand to three action cards.
The round ends when the last ghost card remaining in the circle has been captured. To prepare for the next round, deal twelve more cards from the top of the ghost deck to form a new circle, and reset the ghost trap to the top of the circle. The game ends after three complete rounds, then players calculate their score for captured ghost cards.
“We Got One!”, Ghostbusters – The Card Game (GTCG) is a short card game for 2 – 5 players, cleverly cartooned, with the aim for players to try and out-score their opponents, by strategically capturing ghosts.
This bite-sized boxed game brings the likes of Slimer, The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and The Librarian into a player’s home and “Who you gonna call?” in this case? That’s right, the Ghostbusters; Dr Peter Venkman, Dr Raymond Statnz, Dr Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore.
Those players familiar with the original first two Ghostbusters films, released during the 1980’s, will discover all their favourite characters from these films, within the playing deck, along with some new, possibly random at times, ghostly additions such as “Ghost Hair”.
Suitable for players aged eight and over, the artwork and overall quality of the game components is evident, even from inspecting just the box.
Release the Ghosts
GTCG is played using only two components, a deck of cards (split into Ghost Cards, Action Cards, a Direction Marker Card, a Ghost Trap Card, and a Reference Card) and a Scorepad. The only item the players must provide is a pen or pencil along with a flat playing surface, large enough to lay twelve playing cards around in a circle, in the shape of a clockface.
The production quality of this game is high and evident from how easily the cards separate and slide free of each other, making shuffling and drawing new cards from the deck as easy as catching a ghost is to a true Ghostbuster!
It’s now time to set a trap…
Set a Trap
The game rules are simple to understand and contained within a small Rulebook of only seven pages. The rules can be learnt in 10 – 15 minutes and are handily illustrated too, to help further a player’s understanding of them.
Setting up GTCG is a straight-forward process taking no longer than five minutes. The game set up involves firstly splitting the deck of cards by card type and shuffling the decks of Ghost and Action Cards. Each player is then dealt three Action Cards, to create their hand. From the Ghost Deck a circle of twelve cards is created on the playing surface, in the shape of a clockface. The Direction Marker is then placed in the centre of the circle and the Ghost Trap laid at the top of the circle
The trap is now set…
Game Play
Each game consists of three rounds, each taking approximately 5 – 10 minutes to complete, leading to an overall game time of 15 – 30 minutes.
Gameplay is simple by which a player must play or discard two cards from their hand and at the end of their turn refill their hand from the Action Deck. Actions allow a player to move the Ghost Trap around the circle of cards, capturing the ghost the Ghost Trap finally lands on, at the end of their turn.
A round concludes when there are no more Ghost Cards left face up on the playing surface. A new round begins by placing a further twelve Ghost Cards on the playing surface. Players keep any captured ghosts from one round to the next, along with their current hand.
After the third round is concluded the player with the highest calculated score wins! As well as their standard points value, captured ghosts can score additional bonus points should a player hold the most captured ghosts of a particular set, created a captured ghost sequence, defined by the ghosts class number, or obtained ghostbusting gear, during the course of the gameplay.
Players should be cautious not to capture ghosts with slime on them unless they hope to capture Slimer as well. If a player holds captured ghosts with slime on them, but not Slimer himself, then there is the possibility for a negative penalty to be applied to that player’s overall score. Holding captured ghosts with slime on them and Slimer himself, however, grants an additional bonus to that player also, so strategy is key where slime and Slimer are concerned!
Final Thoughts
Throughout all the games components the artwork, illustrations, and cartoon characterisation of the Ghostbusters films most popular characters, really is impressive and adds to the premium feel of the game.
Ghostbusters fans will find GTCG a light-hearted, lightweight, easy to learn treat, which can be replayed multiple times, or until at least the scorecards within the scorepad are used up. At which point, a photocopier may be required to produce some more!
GTCG is perfect for those wishing to take a trip down memory lane, to revisit those classic first two Ghostbusters films of the 1980’s. It could also however be a great introduction to a new generation of individuals to the Ghostbusters franchise, as the cartoon characterisation and ease of play, makes GTCG a game which can be enjoyed as part of any family game night.
1984 was not only the year of my birth, but it was the year that the world was introduced to a team like no other, created to be on call 24 hours a day to serve all your supernatural elimination needs. The Ghostbusters are our fearless defence against the evil paranormal forces of the likes of Gozer the Gozarian and Vigo the Carpathian. With Ghostbusters: The Card Game, you can help them in that fight. So, pick up your proton accelerator, don the boiler suit and boots, and get ready to cross the streams, just try to avoid total protonic reversal!
Overview
Okay, so you’re not quite playing a game of the movies. Ghostbusters: The Card Game is actually more of a cross between Top Trumps and Happy Families. However, you do experience a pleasant little stab of nostalgia, when you see cards featuring one of the four Busters, the Scoleri Brothers or Janene Melnitz. The problem with the nostalgia is, it makes it harder to play for points, rather than playing just to win a favourite character. If you want to win Ghostbusters: The Card Game, then you have to set nostalgia aside and get strategic. But I would say that Ghostbusters: The Card Game is as much a collectors item as it is a strategic card game. The artwork is something to behold, with caricatures and cartoons from the creative minds of Jacqui Davis and Todd Bright.
Set Up And Pack Down
What can really be said about the setting up and packing down of Ghostbusters: The Card Game? It’s a card game, so there are very few elements to cause any undue trauma. Setting up Ghostbusters: The Card Game is really just about creating the spirit clock of twelve cards, and then adding the Trap card and dealing out the Action cards to each player. The most surprising thing about Ghostbusters: The Card Game is the amount of space needed. No matter how many times I’ve played this game, I’ve always attempted to set it up in a smaller space than it actually needs, which is a shame because you almost want to play it anywhere and anytime, much like other card games.
Packing the game away is packing away a stack of cards, in to a neat and compact box. And we can leave that there, it really doesn’t get anymore complicated. The box for Ghostbusters: The Card Game, makes it very easy to transport, which adds to its appeal.
Gameplay
On first impressions, Ghostbusters: The Card Game seems like a very simple game, and to play it is relatively straightforward. However, to actually score well and win the game, the strategy becomes quite complex. Scoring takes place at the end of each round and it’s only after a couple of games, that you learn which cards you need to take possession of, to accumulate a decent haul of points.
In Ghostbusters: The Card Game, players take it in turns to use Action cards to move a Ghost Trap card around a clock of Ghost and Monster cards, in order to capture those supernatural characters. Different combinations of those Ghost and Monster cards enable the player to score higher, much like forming a full family in a game of Happy Families. Sometimes you take gambles, during a game of Ghostbuster’s: The Card Game. For instance, you lose points by collecting Ghost or Monster cards that have been ‘slimed’. Unless you manage to capture Slimer, at which point the value of those ‘slimed’ Ghosts and Monsters is reversed. The challenge of optimising your captured card values is quite exhilarating.
I would say that the only thing I dislike about Ghostbusters: The Card Game is the scoring pad. The very nature of that scoring pad takes me back to my childhood, playing Cluedo or Pictionary, and my mum or dad suggesting that we write the scores in pencil so that they can be rubbed out and the scoring sheet can be reused. Or suggesting that they will try to get the scoring sheet photocopied a few times, to be able to provide fresh ones for future games. I’m sure these kinds of score pads mess with other gamers’ OCD as much as they mess with mine. You wish that the instructions only provided you with the scoring system leaving you to do it yourself on a blank piece of paper, scrapping the scorepad entirely. Maybe I judge the existence of scorepads harshly, but I can’t be alone in my hatred.
Summary
Ghostbusters: The Card Game is an excellent jaunt down nostalgia lane. If you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters movies then you will find all the little touches and references to said movies great. The artwork in Ghostbusters: The Card Game gives it an extra appeal. And the gameplay can be both simple and complex. It’s very easy to pick up the basics of the order of play, for a quick and easy game, whilst being more complex to work out the most efficient ways to stack up points and ultimately win the game.
Zatu Score
You might like
- Impressive Artwork
- Strategic Thinking
- Component Quality
- Quick to Learn
Might not like
- Limited Number of Scorecards
- Only 1 Reference Card