Game Review: Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger designed by Prospero Hall based on the book by R. A. Montgomery and published by Z-Man Games

I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books when I discovered them around the age of ten. I found as many as I could at the library and read and re-read them. For those who don't know, in a Choose Your Own Adventure book, the reader reads the first few pages and then comes to a decision point for the character in the story (often the stories are told in first person). At the bottom of the page is two options with referrals to other pages. For example: "If you go down the right passageway, turn to page 11; If you go down the left passageway, turn to page 23." The reader flips to the chosen page and continues reading for another page or two and then has another decision. Eventually the story comes to an end but the books have multiple endings, so going back and making different choices leads to different endings. Those books were lots of fun and I remember them fondly.

This game is based on one of the books (which I don't remember reading, even after playing the game). In it, the player is a detective and psychic investigator. You've been having strange dreams and are called one morning by someone who just says, "I need heeelpppp!" Using caller ID and a reverse phone directory, you discover the location of the call. You head out to an estate with the eponymous house of danger behind the gates. Your first choice is to climb the gate or to search the wall for another way in.

The game replaces pages in a book with cards in a deck. A deck of large "story" cards has the main narrative; a smaller "clue" deck has supplemental items. The story cards typically refer the player to other story cards though occasional challenges might result in drawing from the clue deck. A fancy, full-color card sits on top of the deck and prevents accidentally reading the top card.

Sample story cards (click to enlarge)

Some choices and results (click to enlarge)

 The clue deck has items that are useful for meeting challenges (like a battery or a weapon or a snack) or that are useful later in the game when their meaning becomes clear (like weird gadgets or family jewelry). A few of them move the narrative along, so occasionally the player gets surprised by not getting anything.

Starter and regular clue cards (click to enlarge)

To overcome the challenges, the player roles a die and compares the result to the Danger Meter. If the die roll is equal to or greater than the current danger level, the player succeeds at the challenge and gets a reward (either a clue card or movement on a track). Playing items can boost the die roll number. Any die roll of 1 (regardless of a boost) is a failure and any item used on that challenge is lost.

The tracks

Occasional bonuses are earned if the player is far enough along the psychic meter on the outside of the track. Those bonuses are premonitions of impending danger or hints on the best way to go. The psychic track is boosted or depleted by actions taken in the game. It's also depleted when the danger track hits the top, forcing the danger marker back down to a three and the psychic track back down two spaces.

The two decks are divided into five sets, called chapters. Each chapter has a certain goal which, when achieved, allow the player to move on to the next chapter. It is possible to die in earlier chapters but the game just sends the player back to a previous card with a penalty on the psychic track. In the fifth chapter, different endings can be reached based on the items acquired over the course of the game and how far the player is along the psychic track. The more you have, the better off you are at the end.

A game in progress

The story is a melange of fun tropes--ghosts, semi-intelligent monkey, magic-like science (time travel, miniaturization, etc), mad scientists, and the American Civil War. Some decisions seem obviously bad but are fun to explore. The final chapter puts the very safety of the earth in question. I enjoyed the goofy fun of the story.

The play system is a little clunky. As story cards are drawn, they go into a discard pile. Occasional decisions send the player back to cards they already read. Sifting through the discards (which often leads to other discarded cards) is a little tedious. Like in reading the book, sometimes I'd look at a choice I wasn't choosing just to see how epic of a fail that choice would be. So I occasionally found myself lost among the cards.

Another problem with the game is the player count which is listed as "1 or More Players." This is really a solo game. Players might take turns making decisions or rolling the dice but the game has only one character and one narrative. It's not really a multi-player cooperative game like Pandemic or Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. We tried it with four players but it wasn't that much fun making group decisions and figuring out ways to give everyone something to do. I finished the game on my own.

The story is fun. The mechanics are not so satisfying and it's really a solo game, not a cooperative game. I enjoyed it for sentimental connections. I'm not sorry I played it but I'd rather read one of the books than play another Choose Your Own Adventure game.

Slightly recommended.