Customer Reviews

Days of Wonder Mystery of The Abbey

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this game for my birthday and have been able to play it a few times before writing this review. First, it is a very well-constructed board game with sturdy board, thick glossy cards and nice plastic pieces. Second, the playing time is COMPLETELY WRONG -- I can't imagine anyone finishing this game in 90 minutes, let alone 60. Third, If you like mystery games, then you will really like this game. If you do not like sleuth-type, figure out whodunnit games -- then give this game a pass.

For those who like this type of game, it is very entertaining and has a high replay value. I have played it three times in two months with the same set of people and no two games were the same in any way, other than setting, etc. A fun game.

Mystery of the Abbey is a great mystery game for the whole family. We have played it numerous times with anywhere from 3-6 players (from age 13-70), and it is a lot of fun every time. The premise of the game is to use deductive reasoning to figure out who murdered one of the monks. It takes about 10 minutes to learn how to play the game, and about an hour to complete it.

All contents of the game box, including the board, pieces, and suspect sheets, are high-quality and help create the Abbey setting. However, it is the action cards that continually add twists making each game a unique experience.

Days of Wonder does provide a link on their website which allows you to print out new suspect cards in full color if you use all the ones. If you like Clue, you will like Mystery of the Abbey.

Days of Wonder seems to focus on making really good games: Games that you can explain in five minutes, that take about an hour to play, and that are actually fun.

Better than Clue (because, really, if you were the killer, wouldn't you know?), Mystery of the Abbey is based on the same sort of premise: Using the process of elimination, find the killer. The suspects fall into a number of categories, and everyone tries to win points and figure out who did it before everyone else. We like the design of the abbey, and the functions of the different rooms.

Although the pieces and board are beautiful, and well-designed (a hallmark of Days of Wonder), we were disappointed with the tear-off, single-use score sheets - what are we supposed to do when we run out? Couldn't they have devised a re-usable system? The question/answer phase was often useless and tedious. Also, we've deliberately lost the card that requires you to chant for four turns.

The board, artwork and pieces in this game are some of the best of any board game. Where this game shines is that you can score points by making revelations or by making an accusation. If you confront a fellow player you may ask a question. He may declare grand silence or answer and be allow to ask you a question. All players will hear these questions so the art of asking these questions in just the right way requires a great deal of skill. The theme includes sending other players to the chapel for mistakes made. Information gained in confessionals and helpful cards gained in the library if you have the fewest evidence monk cards. The game is a blast. No serious game should be without this in his library.

It's a good deduction board game. But I'd make some changes in the rules. I've played just once, but everyone has discovered the guilty at the same time. I think that if the answers to the questions were secret, maybe the game could be more interesting (I mean a bigger challenge).
There is a lot of variations of the rules, some of them at the official site. I'll try the variations next time.

I'm a fan of Clue and have greatly enjoyed other Days of Wonder games, so I tracked down mystery of the abbey. It's a good game but highly highly complicated to explain and play. The reviewer that claimed it took 5 minutes to explain? it took me 15 minutes just to read thru the 10 page instruction booklet and another 20 minutes to explain to my group of extremely smart people. Our first game with 5 people did indeed take 90 minutes and a lot of that was trial and error trying to figure the game out. I think there's a lot of replay value but i also think we need to play it 2 or 3 times to get the mechanics of game play in place before we can even begin to worry about strategy.
it's a gorgeous board and it's educational in a subtle way--the rooms on the board are in Latin and a lot of the gameplay cards reference Latin.
If you like Clue and want a challenge, buy this game, but don't expect to learn it quickly. I do think once mastered, it will be a highly enjoyable game.
I also recommend Ticket To Ride by Days of wonder. much easier to learn, completely different type of game, but very fun.

My daughter, who was 8 at the time, chose this game when she received an Amazon.com gift card for her birthday. I was a little concerned that the game would be too complex for her. It IS a rather complicated game, but she loves it, and quickly developed stratagems to equal any adult who plays against her. The whole family has spent many enjoyable hours playing this game.

Interesting game, the rooms are written in latin. Like clue only with three types of monks, also more involved. Game is heavy duty made so will last for a long time.

It's a good game, but it doesn't promote that mysterious, deduction atmosphere like Clue does. Due to the Mass events and other humorous things going on, it feels more of a party game, while still trying to solve a murder. I do like how the suspect is narrowed down to title, level, fat, skinny, bearded or shaven, and finally the name of the suspect. So, it's a different type of deduction game, but that doesn't make it a bad one, just one that promotes a lighter mood.

In my opinion, this is not one of the better days of wonder games (Brand). Like always, the game construction is high quality and "pretty."

I'd describe the game as Kinda like clue, but without the weapons or rooms (it has rooms, but not like clue, different things happen depending on which room you enter), and with a touch of "Guess who."

It is good, but I have found that it almost always moves along a little slow for my taste, and I find the rotating Mass rule thing a bit confusing and overly complicated.

Not a game I ever expect will have it's own tournaments. Still, It is way better than monopoly.