We love board games around here, and we’re always looking for new games to play together as a family. When I saw this review of Chrononauts, I thought: this is the perfect gift for my history buff guys. Both Wining Husband and Tiger Boy love history. Me? I try to prop my eyes open when they start talking about events that occurred in the past. It’s not that I don’t like history. I just tend to get overwhelmed by all the details of what happened in the past.
I digress. I’d played Zombie Fluxx before – it was one of the most-played of the card games I got Tiger Boy for Christmas in 2010. So, when I saw the review, and saw who made the game (Looney Labs), I decided that it would be a great game for our family.
The basic storyline of the game is that you’re a time traveler. You go back in time, and collect a variety of artifacts and correct time paradoxes so that life as we know it continues. Like Fluxx, this game depends upon each player meeting certain conditions – either having a specific set of artifacts or specific cards in play on the table. Some of the various “alternate histories” you can create include assassinating Hitler prior to World War II, stopping the assassination of JFK, and preventing the Columbine High School Massacre.
This game is addictive – even for someone who doesn’t think history is the most exciting subject for study. The game doesn’t take too long to play – only about 30 minutes per round. We played twice.
There are certain Linchpin events that can alter the course of history and create paradoxes. When a player flips one of these cards, it creates a ripple in the timeline. Of course, the player may want this – after all, if an alternate history is required for him to win the game, then this is to his advantage. However, certain alternate histories may be counter to what other players need – so paradoxes may be resolved. If there are 11 paradoxes on the board, then all players lose as they’ve messed the timeline up too much!
If you’re a fan of alternate histories and card games, I’d recommend this game to you. I’ve been thinking about it since we played it a couple weeks ago, and I’m thinking that this Saturday’s family night may need a round or two of Chrononauts.
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