This past weekend the cast of the classic Rob Reiner film The Princess Bride held a virtual reunion to tell stories from the set. That reminder of what fun media can be continues in The Princess Bride Adventure Book Game.
The Princess Bride Adventure Book Game
Game Design: Ryan Miller
Published by: Ravensburger
Number of Players: 1-4, Ages Recommended 10+
Available: October 4, 2020 (Exclusively At Target Stores and Target.com)
Admittedly, I’d never seen the film until late last year. For a movie released in 1987, there was a timeless quality to it. A simple children’s tale about true love conquering all. Perhaps the most daunting task could be to give fans of the movie something new that modernizes the wholesomeness of the film while still keeping in amber the memories of the film?
Ravensburger’s best foot is forward here in a presentation tailored to fans who collect Princess Bride memorabilia. Highlighted by incredible artistic renditions of castmembers such as Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, and Andre The Giant, it’s a pretty homage to the film. In the box, you’ll find the publisher’s usual quality control. Wrapped card decks you won’t wear down your nails opening, counter pieces you won’t need to pop out of a piece of cardboard, etc.
The choice of making this a cooperative adventure game was a natural parallel to how Peter Falk and Fred Savage were the vehicle of the film’s story. Grandfather and Grandson even play a role as the game’s overall counter which we’ll discuss in a bit. The book’s design feels like gorgeous folklore to hold in your hands. When each page turn reveals a new chapter board, it never loses the feel I mentioned. Specific chapter rules and challenges are integrated as boarders which you know are there for reference but they never steal your attention away from the actual game. You’ll use certain character mover pieces in each chapter and for how tiny these are they are carved so distinctly from one another that fans of the film can tell who each character is just by looking at them.
Playing the game is simple but addicting. The book consists of six chapters based on moments from the film such as the boat chase, scaling the cliffs, and fighting in the castle. Each chapter has mechanics of its own but still plays with the same special card deck. In the boat chase, a ship carrying the kidnapped Buttercup must outrun a mystery ship before it catches up by playing specific cards according to its map. While the cliffs of insanity chapter you have to dispatch Wesley’s foes before the prince crosses your path.
In each chapter, players have a “plot card” deck next to the board. With every turn, you’re resolving the conditions of the plot card and if you manage to not succumb to the chapter’s fail state or if you run out of the plot cards you get “interrupted” by the grandson. This means you’ve lost one of your two lives. To fail a chapter or be interrupted again means game over.
Unlike other cooperative games, there are no difficulty modifiers in the game’s rule book. Depending on who you are this is a good or bad thing. While keeping the difficulty even means even the youngest players can get the hang of the game rather quickly, board game enthusiasts might feel the challenge is conquered too quickly. In our playthrough of the game, we did barley get through all six chapters. Much of the challenge is simply in the luck of the draw nature of the game.
A lack of complexity might be the only flaw of this game. From the time you get your hands on this box, you’ll notice everything is meticulously thought out. There’s a comparison that Princess Bride Adventure Book shares with the Nintendo Wii. Accessibility and name recognition.
One of the biggest selling video game consoles in history would not have done so well if it wasn’t for the Nintendo name easing people who haven’t played video games since childhood into it. When you combine that with how simple and fun the Wii was, that opened more households to it. This game has those qualities. Ravensburger makes terrific use of the well-known property creating a game that elicits the nostalgic joy of the movie.
