Family Plot is easily in our top 10 favorite Kickstarter games. The Kickstarter campaign was in 2017 by White Cherry Productions.
Why is Family Plot one of our favorites? That is like asking why the Grand Canyon is awesome.
The art is spectacular....not in a Mona Lisa-like way. The art just makes people smile. It is extremely well done but without being too serious. It is so good that sometimes I don’t want to play a card so I can keep it to look at it. The colors are bright and even the dark Reaper cards are fun.
Family Plot feels like they distilled Mad Magazine, Don Rickles, The Addams Family, Steve Martin and Marvin the Martian into a vat of ‘make it funny’ goo and then dipped each card into it. This is just one funny set of cards. You look forward to drawing a card just to see that off the wall character. Many times throughout a game people will be laughing because of the cards and talking about how it reminds them of a real life family member.
OK. Art makes you smile. Cards make you laugh.
Onto the game mechanics...underneath all of the distractions like smiles and laughs...this is one well balanced, strategy, “Take That” card game.
Each player starts the game with a secret family tree card. The family tree card lists the 7 family members you need face up in front of you to win the game. Maybe it is a Father, Sister, Brother, Uncle, Uncle, Baby and Pet. Easy? Nope. You need to protect your family from Zombies and Reapers. Keep an Angel or some Unicorn Tears in your hand. Or some dastardly Action card.
Game play is simple and fast. Basically play, draw and Reap.
Play down any family members that match your family tree. Some family members include built in actions.
Modify family members. Make twins. Use a Werewolf to change a baby into a pet. Change gender.
Sabotage other players’ families. Send one or an entire family to the graveyard. Steal them. Adopt them. Discard them. Do all kinds of nasty things. Pretend it is a family reunion.
Oh...and don’t have too much fun!
The Good: Every reaping thing about Family Plot from their KS campaign website to the box to the cards to the graveyard.
The Bad: Sometimes the game can take a bit longer than expected but on the bright side that means that the sabotage rate is high and the graveyard is full.
The Dastardly: If you see a man wearing a white hockey mask, a leather apron and white boxer shorts with little red hearts...and welding chainsaw it probably isn’t a good thing.
