Contents of box: 72 cards, 4 rules cards. 1d6 required to play. The rules are printed on a series of four cards, on both sides. Optimized for 4 players, but more can play with the addition of more card decks.
Abduction is part of a new trend of standalone, non-collectible card games; a trend I give an enthusiastic "attaboy" to Eden Studios for supporting (I won't digress from this review by ranting about why I hate the collectible card game market, we don't have the time). Eden Studios is a diverse bunch, having also released Conspiracy X (a RPG) recently, reviewed at http://www.gamingoutpost.com/cgi-bin/vault/jump.cgi?ID=7. The subject of Abduction is unique and somewhat droll - players step in to the role of victims - specifically, hapless victims of alien Abduction. Players (let's call 'em "Abductees" hereafter, in keeping with the rules) start the game in the center of a weird Alien mothership. Thereafter, the victory condition is to get off of the ship by being first to arrive at the exit. The other players are doing their level best to beat you to the punch, and WILL thwart you time and again.
The medium is cards, of course, and that's how the game plays itself out. There are three card types: Locations (actual rooms on the mothership, placed on the table to build the map), Items (Nifty Alien stuff lying around that helps you defend yourselves), and Events (all the messed up stuff that happens to you on your quest to Exit the Mothership). Events are usually played vs. another player. A map of the mothership is "built" by placing Location cards next to each other within the constraints of the physical layout of the card (to put it simply, doors have to match doors). Each Location has a numerical code depicted on it to depict how hard it is to find Items there, and sometimes a Power that needs to be activated (i.e., a special circumstance that occurs in that location). To use a Magic metaphor, Events are similar to Interrupts. Events target other players to give the player using the Event card some sort of advantage. Sometimes an Event is a defense against another Event (such as an Alien Patrol), and sometimes an event helps you find an Item. In almost every instance, the play of a card in Abduction is either in response to or to bring on a very limited series of outcomes. You Search for Items because Items (usually) help you Evade (run away from the bad guys). You Play Events to (usually) make another player Evade a situation (usually, a group of Aliens). If you fail at something, the outcome is also pretty standard: Blacking Out. When you Black Out, you lose your hand and "come to" on the Holding Cell card, the next turn.
The Play Sequence is extremely simple and highly interactive:
- ACTIVE ABDUCTEE DRAWS HAND UP TO FIVE CARDS
- ACTIVE ABDUCTEE PERFORMS AN ACTION (MOVE, SEARCH, PLACE LOCATION, PLAY EVENT, ACTIVATE POWER, PASS or DISCARD)
- EACH NON ACTIVE ABDUCTEE, IN CLOCKWISE ORDER, MAY PLAY ONE EVENT CARD.
- REPEAT STEPS 2 AND 3.
- REPEAT STEPS 2 AND 3.
(Pass to left, proceed around the table in a counterclockwise rotation).
The card art is interesting; I'd call it "Dark Green Gothic." The illustrations are outstanding, very much in keeping with Abduction's themes. I particularly admired the idea of including little standup Abductee characters that you get to cut out and stand up. These were well drawn and done for laughs. One of them is a cow! I ended up using little plastic HO scale figures, just for a nice 3D effect, but I didn't have to. The only criticism I have of Abduction's artwork is that it is somewhat repetitious. One location looks pretty much like another, making them hard to find sometimes. The color choice is superb, however. There's something about glowing green on black that just screams "Alien." Must be all that Alien Head schlock I'm starting to see in comic book stores and novelty shops.
Eden Studios is supporting Abduction in style, maintaining a FAQ, mailing list, variants, card pictures and more on their Abduction website, http://www.edenstudios.net/abduction/.
So much for the peripherals, now for the main event. In terms of game design, Abduction plays quickly and well. I admire a game that plays to completion in twenty minutes or less - they have to be harder to design than a game that takes days or weeks.
Abduction plays very well as a competitive race game - the design favors a "cutthroat gameplay" approach, not unlike some forms of multiplayer Magic: The Gathering. Be warned, this is not a game that fosters cooperation and teamwork. The likeliest event, after repeated games, is a group gang-bang of whoever is in the lead. Personally, I don't care for this kind of thing as a steady diet; if you just want to have a little non-serious competitive fun, then Abduction is the game for you. I haven't played Abduction nearly enough to have it loose the Shock of the New yet, but gazing into my crystal ball, I can predict a time where Abduction might grow stale after repeated plays. Since the game is a standalone design, there are only so many factors and combinations that come into play before the novelty wears off. I have no idea if Eden Studios plans any expansion sets for Abduction. I could easily envision an expansion set of more locations, items and events (especially events that result in something other than a black out) without hurting the designer's intent.
The Verdict
In conclusion, Abduction is a fun, non-serious game that should appeal to the light-hearted. I strongly recommend it for a "between more serious stuff" game, in the same category as, say, The Three Stooges Card Game, GROO, or Guillotine. If you (and your gaming group) can handle a light hearted game with backstabbing competitiveness, then give Abduction a try; you won't regret the investment. If you're the kind of gamer that takes every attack on your position as a personal insult, maybe you should pass this one by. Hmmm.. maybe you should take up meditation while you're at it.