#10/52. A Game with a Mystery or Thriller Theme - T.I.M.E. Stories (Mystery Theme)

The T.I.M.E. Stories base game includes
the "Asylum" module. You do need the base game
to play any of the expansion modules.

NOTE: There are NO SPOILERS in this review!

T.I.M.E. Stories is a new and innovative game that came out in 2015. It's a combination board game, role-playing game, and choose-your-own-adventure story. The game starts with the basic premise that the players are newly minted agents of the Tachyon Insertion in Major Events (T.I.M.E.) Agency - a futuristic organization backed by all world governments and designed to keep the timeline from being changed.

The description of how this is achieved is reminiscent of the sci-fi television series Quantum Leap (1989-1993). Basically, your body stays in your present, but your mind is sent into the mind of a person in the target time and place and you take over the operation of his or her body for a period of time. During your time in the past or alternative timeline you are working to accomplish your mission but you only have a specific amount of "time units" available before you are pulled back to your own body and have to start the mission all over again from scratch.

The base game comes with one story included. It's called "Asylum." You and your team are being sent back in time to the 1920's in a mental asylum to try to stop the opening of a time vortex. That's all I will say about this story. As I said at the top...No Spoilers.

The Marcy Case is Expansion Module #1

The second module (called "The Marcy Case) and other subsequent modules are purchased seperately and are scheduled to be published about once per quarter. They retail for about $20 each but they really deliver on the experience that you and your fellow players get from playing through each one. Each module provides tension, excitement, and brain-bending puzzles that you have to solve. The players get into their roles and really care about successfully completing the mission.

The first time that we played the "Asylum" module back in December, Mark and I were joined by our friends, Jon and Kim. We did not do very well, but we enjoyed the game. We chocked up our poor performance to the fact that it was a new game and we were still learning the rules and how it worked. We'd do better on the next case.

When I got "The Marcy Case" Jon was not interested in playing again, but Kim was so we invited another friend, Frank, to join us and decided to replay "Asylum" to give Frank the whole experience. We also decided that we would let Frank lead the decisions so that we didn't give anything away. As we got into the story, Mark, Kim, and I realized that we didn't remember as much about the story as we thought we would. Suddenly we found that we were guessing about some things and were right in the thick of things with Frank. We did manage to win this game with a decent score. We were elated and eager to start on "The Marcy Case."

A Prophecy of Dragons is Expansion Module #2

"The Marcy Case" sends you back to 1992 small town USA to find a missing girl named Marcy. Of course there is always a twist that you aren't told about by the T.I.M.E. Agency. You'd think they know these things being from the future and all, but I digress. Again, the game comes through! Tension, excitement, fast pacing, and the game does a great job in making you care about completing the missing and rescuing this girl.

The next module (already available) is called "A Prophecy of Dragons". As best as I can tell, this mission will send us to an alternative timeline in the middle ages where magic is real. I can't wait to get a hold of it and get it to the table with Mark, Kim, and Frank!