Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 60-90 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: 5-10 minutes

Bloodsuckers Rules Description:

Bloodsuckers is a card game where you play either vampires or the hunters trying to kill them. You fight over bystanders and control of the town of Blackwood.

Bloodsuckers may be played by two, three or four players. If playing with three at least one side is played by a team of two. In the four player version there are two teams of two.

Both sides play differently but the gameplay for both is the same. There are five locations in town. You meet your foe there and battle for dominance in that section of the city.

You win a section of the city by fighting over bystanders. Battles last eight turns, half of which are during the day and the other half are at night. Hunters tend to get some advantages in daylight while vampires are better fighting at night.

On your turn you’ll get three actions. You may bank up to two of these from turn to turn. Most actions taken are playing Combat card. You may also draw a card, move to a different bystander or trade cards in the team game.

Vampires gain blood token that help them do extra damage and hunters gain adrenaline that gives them extra actions. These may be played for an action also.

Combat is card-driven and there are four types of Combat cards: Attack cards, Strike cards, Dodge cards and Impact cards. Attack cards increase your attack value on a bystander. Strike cards will kill characters unless they have a Dodge card to get out of the way. Vampires might even Strike with a Bite that can turn a character into a vampire. Impact cards might modify attack values or allow you to draw cards.

The player with the highest attack value after eight turns wins that bystander. If you win more bystanders than your opponent you win the location. You can even tie by both sides winning the same number of bystanders at a location. If you win three of the five locations on the board, you win the game.

Any bystanders you win in a battle join your team for the next battle. The characters you fight with even have special abilities. These abilities include moving for free, drawing an extra card or playing day cards at night (or vice versa).

A Quick Review of Bloodsuckers:

Bloodsuckers is a card game that drips with theme. Almost everything in this game has considered the theme when it was implemented. The artwork is good and the rule book is excellent and does a great job explaining the game. The easel board for tracking events looks great and is unique.

I really thought I would like this game more than I do. And I do like the game. I like the theme and there are a lot of good mechanics in the gameplay that I really like. Unfortunately many of those mechanics are too easily overruled by luck. Don’t get me wrong I like luck in games, but in Bloodsuckers it is a bit too prevalent.

Strike cards can instantly cripple one side and recovery from a bad start can be tough if you don’t win any bystanders early. If you get a lead there is a good chance you can just pull ahead.

I really wish I could recommend Bloodsuckers to all gamers, but all the cool mechanics and strategy get trumped by luck. If you love the theme, don’t mind luck heavy games or played Bloodsuckers as more of a filler (using only one to three locations) you’d like it more. It may also fit a niche as a four player team game for fans of the genre which lends itself to 2-player games.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 3 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 3 out of 6
Overall 3 out of 6