After Mesopotamians, Baba Yaga and Urban Legend, we played this game today at the club and it was a blast. As usual.
We adapted the game because we wanted to play fast but take the time for each story. Instead of passing our hand of cards, we kept it, relying on our familiarity with it. Also, we did only one petitioner per act. We dropped to half an hour per petitioner, with prologue, apparition, pact and a full tale.
The themes are a genius move. It fosters thematic unity in a unique and inescapable way.
I was surprised to see people using some tropes that I saw used in Baba Yaga like, plugging into that pool of stories is so clever.
There were also a hunt for a mythical beast, suicidal brides, drowned firstborn, literal understanding of pacts, and delusioned men forever in the underwater city with their dead lover. If anything, I’d update the game with a few safety warnings
Playing spooky apparitions and bartering witches let us lean on a more humorous, if dark, side.
I feared the decks would be hard to handle but in fact, it’s more structured and informs the narration more fully than, say, Urban legend.