Even for most seasoned video gamers, board games can still be a bit of a tough sell. It is very common to see eyes glazed over while reading instructions for a new game, leading to confusion while playing. Since board games don’t spin themselves in the same way as their digital counterparts, it’s easy to play things all wrong without even knowing it. Photo guestsa new spooky photo card game created by TW Burgesstakes cues from many recent board games that combine a physical game with a phone app to make playing a game a smooth experience.
Burgess, a big fan of found footage horror and urban legends, originally started the project as a fusion of short ghost stories with haunted analog art. Each animated photo he took was accompanied by a short but evocative description, leading to huge success on Twitter and TikTok. After collecting his art into a book, with an accompanying augmented reality app that brought the photos to life, he decided to take the concept and turn it into a pocket-sized card game.
There’s a certain satisfaction that this project, which started out as a digital recreation of a very physical object, in this case a photograph, is now turning into a physical deck of cards, aided by a digital app. Each card contains a grainy photo of the ghost, their name, a short story, and some statistics. Given the origin, it’s no surprise that all the artwork is excellent. Dark shots with hints of terrifying ghosts lurking in the shadows is extremely my jam, and Burgess knows how to execute that style effectively. The microfiction is great too, telling tales of ghosts like Lady Impatience, a woman who’s seen her wrist ticking and asking when the train is leaving, and Little Girl Gloom, a ghost that haunts a playground and tugs at your toes as you sit on the swing.
Photo guests is remarkable enough for its art, but the game itself is quick and simple, taking only a few minutes. Each player is dealt a set of both Photoghast cards and action cards to form their hand. Once the app is activated, players pass the phone and take turns quickly scanning cards with the AR app. Scanning a Photoghast card will animate it in three unique ways. Either the ghost will be removed from the map, which will clear the picture and give you points, the ghost will remain in the map, leaving your score unchanged, or the ghost will attack you and you will lose points. Each card has a specific value, and the higher the number, the more likely it will startle you.
While you can do a little risk-reward analysis with the point values, this can feel a bit random as to whether or not you’re successful, which is where the action cards come into play. These can be played in place of a Photoghast card and they apply modifiers to previously played cards. Options include denying loss of points from a jump fear, trading a card with another player, doubling points, and removing another player’s card. It’s a very fast-paced game, each turn must be completed in three seconds, so figuring out when to risk playing a high-quality Photoghast card or one of your few action cards is the key to success. It still sometimes feels like a lot of luck is involved whether you are successful or not, but Photo guests is short enough to keep playing one more game.
If you don’t feel like fiddling with the app, there is also an alternate rule set for an offline mode. This mode uses the stats on the map and plays out like a variation on the traditional card game War. When it’s your turn, turn over your top card, pick a stat, and compare it to everyone’s top card. Whoever has the highest score in that stat takes all the cards from that round and the person who collects all the cards wins. It’s another fast-paced card game that moves fast and has just enough player choice. While it lacks some of the immersion of the app-based version, there’s still some fun to be had if you want a simpler, all-analog version.
If the found footage style is your thing, it’s easy to recommend Photo guests only on the art. It is bright, creepy and printed on a high quality card stock. As a card game in both forms, it is compact and fast, making it perfect for popping in your pocket or bag and playing on the go. Even if you’re not familiar with card games, the app makes playing a breeze and adds a dynamic element to the already strong art. If Halloween had an equivalent of a stocking stuffer, Photo guests would make a perfect gift for the holidays.
You can get your copy of Photo guests here.
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