Resonym Visitor in Blackwood Grove

Visitor is a great party game. It might take a little more explanation than something like Cards Against Humanity, but once the game is flowing, youll be playing multiple rounds. I broke this out at my apartment house warming, and I could not get it back in the box. As soon as one game ended, another set of people insisted on getting a round in. Its simple enough to pick up for kids, but complicated enough for adults to really enjoy.

Visitor is a unique and engaging game that promotes creative thinking to come up with interesting relationships of everyday items. It’s only as complicated as you want it to be.

This was a gift, from a friend who liked the way the box looked, mysterious etc. Our family likes to get together and play various games whether they are intellectual or goofy. We want to have fun with it. However, after we went at it for about four games, we dumped it. The rules allow the player who controls the game to make up interpretations related to those rules that can mean something to him or her, but make no sense to anyone else playing the game. Thus, the players are constantly making wild guesses that are meaningless because there are no meaningful and useful guidelines for playing. Its whatever the controller makes up and he or she does not have to tell the player what those particular guidelines are. However, if you like to be constantly frustrated instead of having some actual fun, this is the game for you.

Fun game. A little weird, but fun.

Fun is very limited based on subjectivity of the person playing the Visitor.

This is a cute little game, but it feels a little unpolished. We have found several situations where interpretation of the cards matters enough to throw a wrench into things. Interpretation is part of the game, but if you think it’s a toy car, and someone else thinks it’s a full-size car, there will be pass rule problems. We have decided to keep a list of “house rule adjustments” that help with the game; communicating somehow “this is a toy car” for example. I don’t regret the purchase, just be prepared to polish the given rules and tweak them to your group’s needs.

I really want to like this game, and I think it has potential to be fun in the right setting. But it has some drawbacks. Pros - The objective is creative, and once you get the hang of it, it leaves room for the person playing the visitor to have some fun with creating a rule. The instructions give examples of rules to use. But with the amount of item cards it gives you, you can come up with some fun ideas. It allows for the players to be split into teams. Additionally, the teams do still have to operate secretly, as the visitor doesnt want to give away too many hints at the rule so that the agents figure it out. And the agents dont want to be too brazen about discussing theories that allow the child to figure it out. Cons - The box says game play takes 5-15 minutes, you will probably be spending more like at least double that for a game. Weve played several times. And even after getting the hang of the rules, games tend to take some time to get going. There sometimes feels like theres too much clutter going on when trying to keep track of the childs and agents cards, the agents chips, and the cards around the board. People would be asking for clarification on which cards were accepted and which ones werent. Also, a flaw that can take the fun out of the game for some is that you can technically win without knowing the visitors rule. The instructions state that the child or agent can place four cards by the shield and guess which ones would go through the force field by moving those cards closer to the shield. However, they dont have to guess the rule before they do so, nor do they have to confirm what the rule was. So, if you have a partial idea of what it might be, you can make a guess and possibly end the game without knowing it for sure. I suppose you could tweak the instructions so the person guessing has to verbally say what they think the rule is, but it seems like a important part to leave out of the game play. Weve only played a few times but it hasnt found its way into the rotation due to people not really getting on board. But it might click at some point.

The rules took a while to figure out but it seemed like it had potential to be fun. The four of us tried to like it but gave up after several rounds. There are much better games out there. This is being donated after playing once.

I like deduction games. I really liked this one. One player think up a rule to sort the picture cards into 2 groups, other players try to roughly deduce the rule. The rule may be (almost) any. Sounds cool! You are not bound by any limitations. But IMO the strength is also a weakness. The gameplay may be exciting and push the limits of imagination if the rule is non-trivial. But if the rule is not good thought out (too easy, too hard, too debatable) the game fall flat. And I cannot blame people in this case. The freedom just paralyzes and usually you come up with smth like is blue/can be held in hand.

Played this game with friends quite a few times recently. Its super fun. Only one player needs to be particularly creative in making the visitors rule (a good thing, as we all know how people can be when pressured to be creative on the spot), but the other players still feel important and engaged in discovering what this rule is. Even losing isnt too bad, as every losing player has a sudden oh I get it now or i knew it! moment together at the end. Its a mind game at its core, and it remains fresh and fun every time. Likewise, there are mechanics that stop the alien from making their made up rule too hard, keeping the game very balanced. Would recommend to everyone regardless of age or experience with unique board games!