Game Review: Dawn Under

I have been meaning to review this for a while now, but every time I get this out to look at it in a reviewers eye, I end up playing it for hours and then forget to review it. Yes, I enjoy this game immensely. Here’s why.

It is a very simple memory game. No scoring, no calculations, no difficult choices. But lots of fun. The story behind the game is that in the false dawn before sunrise, all the vampires scramble to find a resting place for the day. This is where you come in. You need to flip over the graves on the game board, and if the colour under the lid matches one of your active vampires, then you place him/her in the grave and replace the lid. Sounds simple? Well, for the mechanics, there are two other rules, and that’s it. But the challenge in this game is immense, and ramps up even more with 3+ players. For if you uncover an grave that’s already filled, you get a stake. Get 3, and you get 2 vampires from every other player, that you then have to place in to a grave. This just gets mean towards the end game, and can actually help you win.

The other, optional rules that can be used are garlic and rats. Each player gets 3 garlic tokens, and can play these if they uncover a empty grave but cannot place a vampire down. If uncovered, even by same player that placed it, every player gives you 2 vampires. The other rule is a rat. If you uncover a rat, you can uncover every grave adjacent to the one with the rat, one at a time, if you wish. You don't have to, and can stop at any time.

So that basically are the rules: You flip a grave, place a vampire, and flip another. Or get a stake, or other vampires.

But that’s the fun of this game. At first glance, it looks simple and unchallenging, just a “kids game” is one response that I had once. Then the same person wanted to play again and again. Its quite addictive this game, and with a short set up time and short games, is a great filler and regularly hits the table whilst we are waiting for people to show up for larger games.

The game comes with a wonderful board and thick, chunky tiles. This a game meant to last, and will stand up to even a group of over excited 5 years old's quite easily. This game has its feet squarely plated in the family market yes, but is great fun with a group of adults.

It is not without its shortcomings however. I just wish it was a bit deeper, a few more rules, not just turn a tile and move on. Towards the end of the game, it can be quite difficult to find a grave without something in it, and tiles swap hands fast, but then the game changes to try and win that way, bluffing people to pick tiles with vampires already buried, to try and whittle your hand size down.

But these bad points are only evident after a few games, and if its a filler game, then you wont play more than a few games in one sitting before moving on to the main event.

Another highly recommended collection game, as this both sits in the kids entertainment as-well as adults entertainment.

Score 8/10