Batman Everybody Lies

Batman Everybody LiesThis board game has solid arts and scripts. You can't believe there are two piles of cards of stories and traces. You would like to take notes and the final goal is to tell which npc did what behind the desk. You can use the given website to search some hidden files and do the final quiz of each episode. I wrote this review after finishing the prologue. It seems to me more like reading a detective novel or playing a PvE mystery party game.

Ok, I could live with that, since the game is fun, but really, no batman!Also, no notepads or paper, so you'll need that.Overall it's decently fun for a couple plays, but will soon just help support the tall stack of your fun games in the hall closet.

This game is neat and unusual in that there is no Batman player. There is a Gotham City map and 4 envelopes, each with a corresponding Case Lead deck.Players select a mission (ideally Case 0, the prologue) and open the envelope which has a story intro to each case and explains rules about who and where certain characters or starting locations are, and any additional rules. There are 2 additional decks, with scenes and personal goals.This board game uses two assisting items - notes you may unveil and there is a website (make an account) that has data and terms you will use as the game progresses, and log your session players. There are no turns and players cooperate to solve cases. Players share a pool of evidence tokens as well and these will be spent in the course of playing a case.Players will resolve leads by and progress along a track as they near the end of a case. Some leads tell you read files on the case on the website or give rules or actions to specify players (all unused protagonists are still in play as informants with game skills) who get knowledge. The notes you keep will help sort the information you acquire as you play the game. Personal Goals may influence minor aspects but the main goal remains cooperation to solve the case).Eventually players will solve the case. I do have a few issues with the game:-The answers never change but this isn't a one time play like Legacy ones are, but knowing results means you will not play this again without significant time between replaying.-The site. The website may not always be active or an internet connection available. I don't know why these aren't just sealed printed documents.-The game has no Batman or other in universe memorable player characters aside from Harvey and Catwoman. A strange choice for a Batman detective game. Villains often appear in the Cases though. Batman may be lightly present in similar ways too.-No notepad for notes so players will have to scrounge.Altogether this isn't a bad game, I just think including paper and print outs would serve immersion betterOverall I think if you like a good mystery this is a solid buy.

The game is a well thought out crime solving game. You use your investigative deductive reasoning to solve a case. It is a cooperative game. You work as a team of two, three or four players. It is not going to be the type of game for everyone. It is like reading a short whodunnit story out loud. They also use a website to obtain some of the case files when you are instructed to read them. The game pieces and graphics are well done. It looks like it is a quality game. The instructions are well done and very complete. I did watch a YouTube video of how it is played. That helped get started faster. It actually would have been nice to have that type of video on their own website.While I found the game mechanics well done, it is missing the element of tension. There is no race against the clock or race to solve it first. There is really no reward or sense of accomplishment.Also, I think that it would be more appealing if there were videos of the lead and scene cards (even if it were animation). That would have made it more like a mystery movie and probably move along faster.Overall, the game is interesting, but not fun or compelling. It is not something that I feel I need to continue on to the next cases to see what happens next.

If you’re familiar with the Detective series games and have played those or the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Dectective, then you’re probably good to go out of the box. For others new to this type of game, it’s going to take time to organize, set up and learn.I suggest having one person (most game savvy or best communicator) figure out gameplay rules and explain everything to the team. That way more brain energy can be used to solve the crimes.Fun if you have the right friends who love these types of follow the trail type games. But I think the Batman theme might actually bring interest to those who don’t particularly like these games but love the comics.Fun game, can replay once time passes. Complex enough that you won’t remember details.