Recs.
Updated
Ghost Stories is a co-operative horror themed game where the players are tasked with stopping haunting's in a town.
Wu-Feng (the main protagonist) has come back from the dead to haunt the players town. The players are tasked with defending the town from waves of ghosts until Wu-Feng finally shows, which at that point they must defeat him.
With each turn the player reveals a ghost card and places it on the board. From there they can move one space on the board and choose an action. These actions can be used to help the team. The player can also forgo an action and attack a ghost if it is next to them. This continues until Wu-Feng is revealed from the deck and defeated. Which sounds easier than it is.
Specs
Pros
Pro Gives a sense of impending doom
From the start the game feels stacked against your team, which is on purpose as it gives a feeling of impending doom and destruction. The game is a balancing act of what to do each turn as the team tries to fend of the ghosts which leads to never quite feeling like you are winning.
Pro Expansions available that extend gameplay
Ghost Stories offers two expansions (there was a third but it was limited and not available anymore) called White Moon and Black Secret that extend the gameplay for users that would like to add more complex elements to the gameplay or are just looking for a different experience within the same theme and world.
Cons
Con The rule book is really poorly written
Unlike most Anotine Bauza games, the rule book for Ghost Stories is pretty terrible. This means that, unless you're learning the game from somebody already familiar with it, the first few games will probably be a slog of constantly consulting the rules.
A game like this, which uses symbology heavily, should also come with some quick reference sheets.
Con Difficult to win
The game is pretty difficult to beat, especially if played with a group of casual players that are not extremely familiar with the game and its rules of which are difficult to understand and may take a few watches of Youtube videos to really understand all the mechanics of play.