Mantis Falls Board Game – Deep Strategy Hidden Traitor Game for 2–3 Players, Psychological Deduction & Betrayal, 60–90 Minutes, Ages 14+, Premium Card Quality, Plastic-Free Components

It’s hard to find many board /card games for two that are this fun, strategic, and so well produced at this price point. My boyfriend and I took around a session of gaming to learn the rules and familiarize ourselves with the play style, and the next time around, it was fairly easy to fall into. You may have to reference the rules the first few times you play, as there are, in all fairness, a good bit to keep up with- but nothing unmanageable, and the complexity was something we wanted a bit more of instead of a fast-paced game this time around. All the pieces of the game are very nicely made and the producers were generous enough to provide card sleeves- just make your draw piles a little shorter to start out as they can be very slippery and fall over. I love the storage bags especially! If you’re interested in strategy, 1920-50s mob aesthetics, and murder mystery, you’ll love Mantis Falls!

Before I even star talking about the game, I have to say the production value and Packaging of this game. I've never been more impressed by a game board in terms of the care that was put into everything, the included card sleeves, the playing mat, the bags. The couple who created this game really went above and beyond and created a whole experience around it with 2 original soundtracks they created for background music and the quality of the cards and pieces just makes it feel like a premium product which is a joy when you open it for the first time. The game itself is amazing, you and your partner(s) go on this paranoia filled journey together , are you no the same side, or is the other player a traitor, the game itself is hard enough to beat as a co-op but the extra paranoia of the social deduction element of it just takes it to a whole other level Big love from me, highly recommended in general and especially for people who like to play Co-Op and Social deduction games like Avalon, Werewolf etc.. but sometimes just wanna have a game night with a friend or 2

Mantis Falls quickly became on of our favorite games. It’s got enough mechanics that make a legitimately co-op game still fun but the possibility of a traitor brings a paranoia that makes the experience excellent. Full disclosure, it might take a while to get the rules down. But once we did, we seriously couldn’t wait to play again. If you like deception games like Secret Hitler or Ultimate Werewolf, this game is an excellent way to experience that style of gaming with only 2-3 players. As for quality, the game was well made and a lot of thought was put into the dynamics, both with gameplay and parts. Even the items provided for storage are really cool! Shout out to the games makers for creating an instant classic.

Clever, skill-based card mechanics combine with the tension of social deduction to create an incredibly fun, never-the-same-twice experience. The setting and presentation (callout to the especially evocative card art) perfectly compliment the mechanics to immerse you in the role of witness or assassin, and the game length is just right to create memorable sessions without becoming overwrought. Being able to play with two players makes this the perfect game for you and the friend or partner that you thought you knew but will never trust again. A few of my favorite elements: - Action cards in Mantis Falls offer multiple ways to achieve the same goal, often via radically different means, and players will find themselves weighing their options short and long term. Heal off part of the incoming damage from an event or redirect all of it to your fellow player? Work with the other player to defeat the event opposition or play a condition (a persistent ability/status effect) that will yield more benefit in future rounds? End of round hand replenishment rewards playing and chaining together as many same-suited action cards as possible, while the last gasp mechanic encourages finding and holding key cards in reserve to avoid being caught flat-footed when an event resolves. There is a delicious tension between hand-building and progressing your board position, and the sheer variety and novelty of action card effects will have both players continuously discovering ways to turn apparent drawbacks to their advantage through clever combos or tactical opportunism. - Cooperation is the only way to reach the End of the Road. Mantis Falls is an unforgiving journey that makes juggling events, ambushes, existing wounds, and forward progress impossible for a single player alone but manageable when coordinating plays and sharing the pain with a partner. Two witnesses that selflessly pool their resources for the good of the group can make even the toughest roads tractable. That said... - The potential presence of an assassin completely changes the dynamic of action plays. Every card has to be evaluated not only for its utility in dealing with the environment, but also for its ability to thwart and kill the other player. A Grenade can defeat a high damage event opposition, but it also represents two wounds that can be directed at a player. A witness playing the Badger can use it to help their partner across the Broken Road, while an assassin can use that same card to force a move into an ambush or away from a phone booth. Similarly, because every action benefiting the other player could be strengthening the assassin, witnesses learn to play more reserved and less overtly helpful--exactly like an assassin might play. - As an assassin, setting up the perfect environment for your coup de grâce takes time, and a wary witness will be closely following your actions. Immediate aggression on the part of the assassin will likely be answered by the midnight-suited Call in a Hit card, a copy of which begins the game in each player’s hand and allows true witnesses within one road of a phone booth to deal nine wounds to (and inflict card loss on) the other player. Call in a Hit is the witness’s offset to the assassin’s perfect information, and a key part of the assassin’s gameplay is nullifying this advantage. Force it to be discarded, ask for it to be traded, destroy the phone booths/move the witness out of their range, or convince the witness to use the card’s secondary effect to deal six wounds to event opposition. Then watch, wait, and, when the time is right... assassinate (your friendship).

This is a tough review to make, as there are some really nice qualities to the game. In the end, it came down to playability. THE GOOD: I can't believe how much thought went into the production of this game, including card sleeves to protect the cards, multiple play options, and even soundtracks to listen to while playing. I absolutely love social deduction games, but the best ones have always needed at least 7 or more players. So a 2- or 3-person social deduction game is quite genius. And the game developers' attempts at making this such an immersive experience should be duly credited. THE BAD: After spending a long, long time reading the directions multiple times, watching multiple tutorial videos online, and several attempts to play it with other game enthusiasts, I have given up on trying to understand just how to play the game. We couldn't get through even a single round of the game without having to go back to the directions to clarify what a step entailed. It kind of shames me to say that, as I consider myself very adept at learning complex things and really, really want to play this game.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I purchased this game but I am a fan of mobster movies and games and this ones theme intrigued me. You play as a civilian who witnessed a crime committed by the mob and must escape town. The game is played over a series of turns of the players laying down various cards. The theme is set as the characters walking down a dark street meeting up with other players who could also be witnesses or someone sent to help you escape, but they could also be an assassin sent to silence you! Once you understand the rules the game is very fluid and easy to play and teach to other new players. The play time is about 30 minutes to an hour depending on how many people are playing with you. The game is a mix of strategy and a little luck. The cloth playing board is unique and I get a sense of the old noir black and white Mafia movies while playing. The games difficulty is easy to change if you want more of a challenge. I love the paranoid feeling you get when playing with others. Are your friends going to help you or try to kill you? You just won't know until they strike. This is a fun game that makes its way to my table a couple times a month.

I was one of the backers for this game on Kickstarter and I liked it so much that I ended up getting a copy for a friend. It's very involving and intense. Every moment is spent analyzing, strategizing, bluffing or convincing the other player you're not bluffing. There is an amazing amount of suspense as you try to escape town together or kill one another - never knowing for sure which it is. I love that after the game is over we cannot help but replay it in our minds and discuss what we could have done differently, rethinking the strategic choices, as we look forward to the next game. The production quality is also beautiful and it's an impressive value for the price.

Engrossing and paranoia-enducing two player social deduction game. Lots of clever mechanisms and juicy card combos. Card effects can be a little wordy, but if you can handle that, everything else is pretty straight forward. Also, they made their own soundtrack for it!