The play between then is great. It is great the interaction with the rest ...
586201
Scott and Elizabeth are the cutest couple.  The play between then is great.  It is great the interaction with the rest of Scott's family as their individual books make a sexy hot mess!
4673786
It's a really lovely play.  The story asks wonderful questions regarding memory and why it is important to remember the bad a long with the good.
1789155
When I first read this play I absolutely loved it. When our school did the production I played the part of Edward Carmichael. It was one of the greatest experiences for me. I loved doing the show, it was soo much fun. To me the show was about a very loving family who has to overcome obstacles. I would love to do the show again.
4093009
The description and the conversation is precise and very vivid. Reading the book is like seeing plays. It's fascinating and seems happening now.
4244272
I am surprised at how effective the simple break down of issues in play and the repetition of necessary (vs. luck) strategies are for focusing actual play. The set of problems reminds me how dear any guided practice is for duplicate bridge.
1753049
I joined the company that makes this game on the strength of this game, so yeah, I absolutely love it. More specifically:

The Good Stuff:

- Terrifically thematic. Almost everything that happens in the game happens has some real life Evolutionary analogue.

- There's something inexplicably delightful about creating weird critters, unleashing them on the world, and seeing how they fare. You might be surprised at how well a hard-shelled, long-necked burrowing creature or an obese carnivore can do in the right circumstances. I get REAL precious about my creatures. I name them. I feel a paternalistic affection for them. I'm not the only one who does.

- There's a lot going on under the surface. There are a layers of strategy and tactics that blossom with growing experience. You can play this for a long time, and that's before any expansions have been released.

The Quibbles:

- Maybe not as good for two players, although some people seem to like it most at that number.

- The deck is a little small for 6 players, thought that will change with expansions.
4688860
Initially I was annoyed at the style, putting conversations in italics instead of proper conversations, but I got used to it. Then I was annoyed about the flitting around between characters so that you didn't know who was talking or thinking at any given moment, but I eventually got used to that too. I guess I'm old-skool. When I had got over being annoyed I settled into what turned out to be a remarkably good book, even though in my early annoyance I did in fact put it down. I'm glad I picked it up again.

I thought of it as a play in many ways, except that it would never work as a play because most of it happens inside the character's heads, but it played out like that, and I loved that the characters were all coming to terms with their own flaws when in fact they initially set out to come to terms with each others. It was an extremely sensitive telling of coming together whilst falling apart, and brilliantly handled.

The reality of life is that we come into this world alone, and we leave it alone, and sometimes we need to be reminded that in fact, in our own private thoughts, we live it alone too. What was also illustrated was the effect of childhood memories being totally inaccurate, almost as if we play a game of Chinese Whispers with our own memory throughout the years and end up with a completely different version of events. It is maybe a book about the loneliness of the individual without that being immediately obvious from the outset. It isn't apparent from the style or subject, but this is proper literature with a real depth.

I was going to give it 4 stars, but I've just talked myself into giving it 5.

I'm still irritated by the style, but I guess rules are meant to be broken.
191750
The play was a hilariously good time. So many individual pieces of the play are great as monologues or short scene performances as well as it being a wonderful piece of literature. Highly recommended!
2443213
I have to preface this by saying that this is indeed a great game, in the end, I do recommend owning it. The art, the pieces, the instructions, and the teamwork make this a great one to own. I got this for Christmas and anytime I have guests over for game night and we play it and they love it. It can be taught pretty quickly and it doesn't take long to play. That is why despite my critiques on it, I still enjoy it and I still think it is a great buy, however I do think that there are some better options out there.

I think that, like ticket to ride, this game can be played with people who don't really play board games, and that is another good thing about it, they will enjoy it. The theme makes it fun and the fact that it is co-op takes makes it light, as long as you don't have someone running the game.

My wife and I play this game once in a while because it is two player and it is refreshing to be working together instead of competing. I would also venture to say (even though I don't have kids) that this must be a great family game, and can be played with mixed ages as it is simple to grasp (four players only).

However, it is a bit on the simple and often tedious side for me, for my personal tastes there is not enough "umph". I don't want that to deter anyone from buying it, I just feel that sometimes the game play turns out to be a bit tedious, especially when everyone plays their role too well; the dispatcher puts people together, the researcher passes off cards to the scientists and the scientist makes cures, etc. After that you have a cure and you have to march around cleaning up what the previous infector laid out so you can eradicate a disease while collecting more cards for the next cure, repeat 3 times. It seems that often times you have a plan laid out for how to pass cards and meet up, and you accomplish the next several turns doing just those actions, it drains the life of the game.

If you are borderline on this game, I would possibly recommend Ticket to Ride or Settlers of Catan instead, both must owns for more than two players. If you are looking at two player games, I HIGHLY recommend San Juan (or Race for the Galaxy as a step up from SJ, both 2-4 players), Memoir 44, or Lost Cities.

Again, great game, I have fun playing it, and it is a good one to own, but I don't crave playing it, and I don't find it as fun as some of the other ones out there.
1229136
I love the humor and character interaction. Great stuff :)
1593525
I played this a few times when I was out of town for a wedding and I just knew that I had to have it to play with my friends at home.

The concept isn't easy to explain, but once you start playing everyone (who is paying attention) will catch on quickly.  As someone who had only played the game a couple of times myself I would recommend reading through the instructions before trying to teach the game just to make sure you are clear on everything from the start.  For me and my group of friends the spy theme is unnecessary, but it doesn't detract from the game either.  Since playing the game once, I have had several friends comment how much they enjoyed it and I am sure we will play again.

Overall this is a great game for people who enjoy verbal games. I have only played it with adults, but I think children (old enough to read) would also enjoy it and I know my group of friends as teenagers would have been big fans of this game.
1277858
This game is great. There is a lot of thought  that went into the design. The pacing seems balenced for any number of players. The components of the game are of good quality, and the theme is strong (especially if you have read "Finding Gossamyr"). It keeps you engaged and provides lots of opportunities to strategize to play towards your strengths. I have played this game with friends a few times and each time we have had a different outcome based on our strategies. It is definitely worth the short amount of time to learn to play this game with some friends.
3539229
Went to see the play with my 3 year old friend and her parents. It was so great that we had to get the books. They're great, too!
4769233
We played this with my 8yo and 10yo yesterday for the first time. It's a great game. Both kids loved it, regardless of the ability to multiply/divide. I think it will actually help them learn (yes, my 10yo still struggles with multiplication facts). The colors on the dots for the multiplication are actually pretty ingenious. I don't know if we'll use them as intended, but it's a really neat concept. I like that the prime numbers are red - they'll stick out more in memory. All in all a fun game and everyone enjoys it. Will definitely play more.  The documentation/rules booklet is extremely well written. Very clear instructions and FAQs that actually are FAQs when playing.
2640536
This game is fantastic.  I have no idea how it's supposed to be played competitively.  I've played it several times but have never read the rules as far as how scoring works.  It's one of those games that is simply a joy to play.  It has both creative and problem-solving aspects, so it's a full-brain workout.  It's pretty easy to set up and take down, so you could just bust it out for 15 minutes or spend 3 hours playing.  I've done both.
32461
If your high school or community theatre group is planning a murder mystery in its next season, check this one out.  It's audience interactive, really funny and clever, and has a nice age range mix for its characters.

The advertisements for this play say it is one of the most successful of the interactive murder mysteries, and I can see why.  Our group put it on during a summer city-wide arts festival and we had to extend the run because of its popularity.

There are songs, too, which adds to the enjoyment.  The story is a spoof of film noir-type stories like the Maltese Falcon.  We had lots of fun and made a nice profit on our run.

Highly recommended.
3159914
My kids (ages 3 and 4) love it because of the construction site characters, the game board setup and the fun method of rolling the dice.
I love it because the game play does require some decision making, nothing too difficult, but it's more than just a game of chance.