The Shivers (Kickstarter – Core Game Pledge)

Board Game Geek Reviews

1. 5.5 out of 10

   exparrot

   Its interesting but it is very very lite. One might even say there are not really even any game mechanics here. One player guides the others through a story with a few puzzles to solve. But the pop up rooms are really cool and there is some fun in the basic stories presented here. I am a little disappointed as I was hoping for something with a bit more to sink my teeth into, but we have only played the tutorial so far so maybe it gets better. I also do not think there is quite enough in the stories for 4 players (well 3 players and 1 GM) so this may be better suited to being a two player that myself and husband or myself and BFF play through Kickstarter, Est delivery Jul'21, Delivered Dec'22

2. 4 out of 10

   Glic2003

   This was a big disappointment. The gameplay is just very awkward. As the storyteller, I couldn't be certain I was giving the players the right information at the right time. For example, the player would say, "I'm going to look at the bottle." So I check the storyteller's notes: no mention of a bottle. In the notes, it's referred to as a "potion." So I didn't realize they had triggered anything important. Or they'll say something like, "I'm going to open the cabinet." No mention of a cabinet, so what do I tell them? Nothing? Oh, turns out that was a closet. Because I'm looking at the back of the rooms, I can't see the exact same things the players are seeing. I would basically have to stand up and look at the front of the rooms, so I can figure out what they're referring to. The players open a door and discover an item, but there's no mention of that item on the storyteller's info. So I have to assume it's not important and improvise something - hopefully I haven't missed something. I don't quite understand how this made it through playtesting. It seems like the pop-up rooms just get in the way, and looking at the back of the rooms isn't very enjoyable for the storyteller. When this game was on Kickstarter, players were asking if there was going to be an app; and I feel like that probably would've worked better, as being the storyteller wasn't much fun. The storyteller really needs to read ahead and be familiar with everything that's going to happen in the story ahead of time, AND all the items players could find in the rooms, which is a pain: you can't just open it up and start playing, you have to study it beforehand. I appreciate the effort that went into it, but I wouldn't recommend it, especially considering how expensive it was... plus the near-zero replay value it has, unless you find a totally different group of players, and don't mind being the storyteller again.

3. 5 out of 10

   Phrim

   The Shivers is a light role-playing game that uses elaborate cardboard pop-ups (like you’d find in a pop-up book) to enhance immersion. The game comes with a number of scenarios, each of which has cards that are inserted into the backs of the pop-up booklets so that scenario-specific items appear in the windows, when you open up cabinets, etc. One player manages the game in the role of the “storyteller”, while the other players take on pre-made characters with traits that aren’t clearly defined by the rules. Each scenario has steps that players need to undertake to win, but a lot of leeway is given to the storyteller to fudge things. In case it’s not clear, this is not a board game but instead a role-playing game with a lot of scaffolding but very little in the way of board game sensibilities. There is a plot line to be followed, but players are encouraged to do anything they can think of, and the storyteller is tasked with creatively adjusting the game to match the players’ actions. I came to board games because I like structured systems with concrete rules sets, so this game was just not for me. (1 play)