Time Stories: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Time Stories

Time Stories is honestly one of the best games that I have ever played. EVER. It is a game that is very heavy and reliant on story, so I promise not to spoil anything while I talk about it. (But please understand how badly I want to spoil it.  All I want to do is talk in huge detail about this game. But I digress.)

In the game you are acting as a time traveling detective trying to solve a mystery somewhere else in the past or future by talking to people and finding things from the time. Again, it's very reliant on story details, puzzles, and character interaction, so it becomes a lot more complex than I have described. Now, something that would normally be a complaint of mine is that Time Stories is a game that once you play it the first time, you're basically done playing.

BUT DON'T CLICK AWAY JUST YET. Allow me to explain. Although you can really only play it once with fresh eyes, I call it "the gift that keeps on giving" for a multitude of reasons.

The universal board

For one thing, you are able to try it again, if you want. The only catch is that you need to a) find a different group of people to play with and b) make sure that you don't give away the solution(s) while playing. Trust me, it is definitely possible, especially if you're like me and forget a lot of the details once you've, ya know,  done other things with your life. And, on the plus, it helps you bring an awesome game to tons of people you know, which really means they should thank you and buy you a pizza, if you ask me.

Secondly, there IS more than one game! The base game, just called Time Stories comes with everything you need for every other game, like the board and pieces, so the expansions just come with the cards which are used to transport you to various locations during the time you are visiting. (I promise it's not that confusing, it's just hard to describe without spoilers.) While the expansions cost the same as a-whole-nother board game, 30 bucks if you don't get a sweet discount at a local board game shop (shameless plug for checking out those killer stores), the amount of entertainment they will give you is well, well worth it. Which brings me to my next point.

This game is not only entertaining, it's literally an entire day's worth of entertaining. Seriously, the game can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, maybe even more, if you get stuck. I know, I know, that doesn't sound all that appealing, but I swear, you won't even notice how much time has passed - because you're having so much friggin fun! There's plenty of puzzles, codes, et cetera that need plenty of your attention to be solved, so it is definitely a game that you'll want to clear your schedule to play. But, like I said, WELL worth it.

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A pretty hefty rulebook, but you gotta learn before you play

I understand that a lengthy, story driven games like Time Stories may not be for everyone, but please understand that if you are one of those people, you're wrong. I'm sorry to break it to you, friends. Bottom line, this is an interesting, exciting, captivating game that is worth the time and price. I highly suggest investing in it today.

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