A while back, I wrote a review of a game called GALACTIC EMPEROR. That particular title was a very specific attempt by a designer to create a shorter, more compact version of TWILIGHT IMPERIUM. I thought the game was a failure because it not only demonstrated that some themes and concepts simply need to be expressed in an epic, widescreen way but it also failed to find its own identity separate and distinct from its inspiration. There is a trend in the hobby wherein gamers will clamor for “lite” versions of larger games, but I believe that all such efforts are doomed to repeat the same mistakes as GALACTIC EMPEROR as inevitably the things that really matter (storytelling, the variety, the epic scope, the emergent gameplay elements) are often left on the cutting room floor.

So the new “lite” on the block is THE WITCH OF SALEM, designed by Michael Rieneck and published by Mayfair Games. Anyone who has ever played ARKHAM HORROR will be quick to pick up on numerous similarities in concept, theme, and gameplay. Just like in ARKHAM HORROR, players depict investigators attempting to close off portals in the Arkham environs to prevent the Great Old Ones from doing their thing and ending the world.

Although it is obviously inspired by HP Lovecraft- Cthulhu and the whole gang are among the Big Bads- the game is actually inspired by a series of German-language novels featuring Robert Craven, the titular Witch of Salem, and his struggles against the evil wizard Necron. This is old fashioned, potboiler genre stuff. The fact that what we’re looking at is a game based on some books that were based on other books and probably the ARKHAM HORROR board game itself doesn’t really promise a lot in terms of innovative concepts. Unoriginality abounds; but that’s pretty standard with most Mythos material these days.

The gameplay actually isn’t that similar to what goes on in ARKHAM HORROR because it lacks some of the key elements that make the previous game so successful- namely the critical narrative and character descriptors and extensive random factors that enable story creation and surprise. Essentially, players travel from location to location in Arkham (there’s only seven) and pick up one of four different types of items. There’s a magical Dagger of N’gaa, some kind of potion, some THEY LIVE-style glasses, numerous copies of the Necronomicon, and artifacts in a couple of colors. Monsters turn up in a deck, and if a second monster of a type already on the board shows up, a negative effect is generated. Encountering a monster at a location also incurs a die roll that results in one of a number of penalties such as the loss of particular items. However, the monsters can be defeated if players have the right set of items. Each item also has a special effect or an enhanced effect if used in the presence of the wandering Robert Craven figure (I guess he’s duly impressed), and the impetus is to round up the right artifacts to seal off the hidden and secret portals while also trading items between other players to get the right sets to beat the monsters.

A Necron track gauges the progress of the evil, off-board wizard in his nefarious dealings, whatever they may be. The investigators are tasked with revealing all of the Great Old Ones cards (generally using the Necronomicon to do so) in order to identify who the bad guy in all of this really is before Necron reaches a certain point on the track. If he gets there and there are unrevealed Great Old Ones, it’s a loss for the investigators. The investigators need to look at the portal tiles throughout Arkham and figure out which ones need to be sealed with which particular colors of artifacts.

In order for all of this to hang together, the game relies on a couple of extremely gamey contrivances that do little more than create artificial decision points under the guise of “clever” mechanics. For one thing, the set collection element is a boring, overused gameplay element that other co-op games such as SHADOWS OVER CAMELOT and PANDEMIC have already utilized. For another, the concept of using location cards to move around the board- and you’ve got to go back to Miskatonic to get your cards back or else you can’t revisit locations- is just kind of dumb and has no thematic resonance. The Necron track generates some tension until it turns out that it’s really nothing more than a timer. And an admonition that prohibits players from sharing knowledge about the colors of portals seems to exist solely to keep the game from being to easy to beat.

What’s more, both the setting and gameplay are cold, dry, and inorganic in contrast to its esteemed predecessor. ARKHAM HORROR creates a living, breathing environment that not only provides a tremendous amount of backstory for each of the characters, but also colorful text and vast variety in terms of events, items, and game effects that allow players to collectively build a unique story. There are literally millions of possible interactions that could occur and every game offers a few surprises for even the most seasoned players.

In WITCH OF SALEM, the problem isn’t so much that there’s just a handful of monsters and items, it’s that there simply isn’t much of a narrative to tell and what little is there is never really very engaging- and you’d think that a game based on a series of books would have that but it just feels completely bound to its simplistic ruleset and never takes on a life of its own. It’s the old Eurogames conundrum- abstraction in favor of balance, equity, and “elegance”.

To that end, it seems that the designer simply didn’t get what makes ARKHAM HORROR such a successful design and somehow managed to filter all of the greatness out by viewing the game from a Eurogames perspective. This was one of the problems I cited with GALACTIC EMPERROR. Even with a fairly unoriginal storyline, something unique could have been created with the material rather than using it as a jump-off for an attempt at a “lite” ARKHAM HORROR. It didn’t have to be about “investigators” closing “portals”.

I also feel like the cooperative element is a total fumble. In comparison to recent titles such as PANDEMIC or GHOST STORIES (let alone BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), there is rarely a sense of volatility, that awesome feeling that players have to band together to keep a situation from going pear-shaped in a hurry or to help ease an accelerating, mounting tension. Once the monster effects start happening and Necron gets moving on his track, it all just feels frustrating and not so much exciting or challenging. Having items stolen and sets broken by monsters is really stupid, as is having to pay a sanity cost to grab an item in the second or third slots in some of the locations. It feels petty, like the game system (which is actually the bad guy here, not “Necron”) is nickel and diming you instead of threatening to break through and end the game. It never feels like you’re up against an adversary- you’re just trying to game the system to win it.