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Kayenta Games  |  SKU: 29496

Obsession

$94.95 CAD
This item is available for pre-order. Orders will be fulfilled in order received. We will contact you if the item is unavailable.

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Description

Designer Dan Hallagan
Publisher Kayenta Games
Players 1-4
Playtime 30-90 mins
Suggested Age 14 and up
Expansions Obsession: Wessex Expansion
Obsession: Upstairs, Downstairs
Obsession: Promotional Tiles
Obsession: Useful Box
Honors 2018 Cardboard Republic Immersionist Laurel Nominee

Note: For US customer, please check with Kayenta Games for ordering info.

New Features in the Second Printing
There are several new features in the second printing of Obsession:

Tile Numbering System

The builders’ market is populated with improvement tiles according to their rank. The sorting system in the first edition of Obsession proved non-intuitive and made setup, as well as in-game refreshing of the market, a daunting task. The 2nd printing of Obsession introduces a numbering system that eliminates the needs to memorize or look up the tile rankings.

Each tile now has a small number in the lower right quadrant. Tiles drawn for initial population or a market refresh are then placed in numerical order. Consider these six tiles drawn randomly from the tile bag during a market refresh; normally, the rank of these tiles (two service, two prestige rating 3, two prestige rating 5) would have to be looked up in the Glossary.

Player Board Upgrades: The player boards (family boards) have received a facelift. The Order of Play has been expanded to include a check of pre-turn events/actions, and the boards are now two-sided, one which has an intregral country estate organiser (pictured below).

Modified Extended Play Round Track: The Extended Play side of the original Round Track had the National Holiday located on round 17, which is not an ideal location. The Extended Play side will now feature the National Holiday on round 11, which greatly improves the flow of play.

Additional Enhancements to the game include:

  • Four Objective Cards have been balanced and one card removed and replaced.
  • The value 6, 7, 8 Victory Point Cards have been eliminated; all VP values are 3, 4, and 5 and the frequency of certain cards adjusted.
  • The Box has been increased to be 76mm deep (up from 68mm deep) which will make it possible to store all expansions in the main box, if desired. The white cardboard box insert will be eliminated (there will be a stretch goal for an alternative storage system).

You are the head of a respected but troubled family estate in mid-19th century Victorian England. After several lean decades, family fortunes are looking up! Your goal is to improve your estate so as to be in better standing with the truly influential families in Derbyshire.

Obsession is a game of 16 to 20 turns in which players build a deck of Victorian gentry (British social upper class), renovate their estate by acquiring building tiles from a centralized builders' market, and manipulate an extensive service staff of butlers, housekeepers, underbutlers, maids, valets, and footmen utilizing a novel worker placement mechanic. Successfully hosting prestigious social activities such as Fox Hunts, Music Recitals, Billiards, Political Debates, and Grand Balls increases a player's wealth, reputation, and connections among the elite.

Each turn, players choose a building tile representing a room or outdoor space in and around their 19th century British country house. The tile chosen dictates the event that can be hosted and the guests to be invited. Players must carefully plan, however, to have the proper staff available to service the event and support guests as needed. The reward for success is new investment opportunities, permitting further renovation of the estate (acquisition of more valuable/powerful building tiles), an increase in reputation in the county, an expanding circle of influential acquaintances, and a larger and highly-trained domestic staff.

Throughout the game, a competitive courtship for the hand of the most eligible young gentleman and lady in the county presents specific renovation and reputation objectives. The player who best meets these objectives while accumulating victory points will win the hand of the wealthy love interest and the game.

—description from the publisher

Customer Reviews

Based on 54 reviews
91%
(49)
9%
(5)
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M
Marie-France Paquet

Easy to learn, super thematic and lots of variability and replay possibilities!

C
Christian Bekolay
Thematic Delight

A great game overall. If you are a fan of Victorian England, you will probably like this game. The theme comes through strongly.
The game is best at Two players, it will start to drag a bit with three, and four is a commitment. With two players you can actually be interested in what the other player is doing and you can plan a bit better for your turn as far as what tiles you will buy.

The one issue with this game is that it rewards hard thinking, but has a high chance factor at the same time. This means that you absolutely can get good at this game, but even if you are playing your best you might just get unlucky with your gentry cards, what activities are ideal, or what objectives you draw, etc. This would not be a problem really if it were a shorter game, but with the time commitment of 1-2hrs at two players, it can be disheartening when you know your opponent is going to win even though you have done everything you can, but you just got delt a poor hand.

However, there is a lot to explore in this game, and if you are ok with having a chance to loose due to luck, then you will probably be just fine.

This game will probably stay in my collection forever. The theme is so fun, and the mechanics do make for a nice crunchy game of Drrrama (rolled r's)

I
Icebane
Wow. Most interesting game I've purchased in awhile

Really enjoying this game. Happy customer here

C
Chris Cormier
Playing a New Episode of Downton Abbey!

A great game with lots of interesting decisions. Very thematic - it's like playing out a new episode of Downton Abbey or a sequel to Sense and Sensibility. Brilliant Game!

J
Jessie Bardier

Very good game!!