These events have different durations, from just a couple of rounds to permanent for the rest of the game. This is noted by the blue circle in the top right corner of the card. Take a good look at the card in the top right corner. This permanent effect closes the Tall Oaks Hospital for the rest of the game. Ouch! (no pun intended)
Closed forever!
What else does Black Masque add? Quite a bit, actually! Two new slashers make their appearance, expanding the pool of choices you have to create mayhem. New Killer Scenes, Dude! cards will add even more ways to challenge your slashers. Some of these cards require a special set of dice, which come with the expansion. Certain combinations must be rolled to resolve certain cards.
New slashers
Dice to meet you
Here are some of the new Killer Scenes, Dude! cards included in this expansion. I'm sure you'll figure out pretty quickly which ones you don't want to draw when you enter a location.
A little different, but managable
Ahhh, OK, that's why we need the new dice. Looking at the card on the left, before you can attempt an attack on this victim, you first have to roll the two green dice. Once of the faces must show that concentric circle before you can roll the attack dice. I hope you have a weapon or two if you draw the Final Girl card. Two knives out of three dice are doable, sure, but there's a catch with this one. If you fail this roll, you die. Done. End of story. Yer out! I don't think Cindy took losing to the Final Girl too well. What do you think?
Die, dammit, die!
Holy crap!
I told you so. You really, really don't want to draw these cards......ever! Notice the requirements to defeat each of these reapers at the bottom of their respective card. Three of the death cards require you to surrender one of your souvenirs and achieve a specific dice roll. And if you don't have a souvenir to sacrifice? You'll have to roll triple pentagrams to defeat the card. Failing to defeat any of these reapers will cost you two health pegs.
It gets worse....
Two other bad things happen. It's hard to notice in the photo above, but each of those death cards has a subtly-colored background. Place the matching token in the location where you encountered this reaper. It is now closed for future scene markers until that reaper is defeated. Don't even think about ignoring it, and just writing that location off. Should all four death tokens appear on the board, well,
game over, man, game over!
Closed until further notice
The two red health pegs are replaced with black death pegs. The only way to clear these nasty things is to find a Bonus Tracks card that will clear the pegs or through your slasher's special ability. Otherwise, those black pegs take up space for the regular health pegs.
I don't feel so good...
Bonus Tracks cards
Black Masque adds a lot of excitement (and stress) to the base game and is one we enjoy playing when we want a tough challenge.
Next up, is Lockdown, the second expansion released in the Mixtape world. Lockdown is designed to be played with either MM or EFTO. It is especially suited for play with the Black Masque expansion. In fact, both Lockdown and Black Masque are suitable for the expanded play of MM and EFTO as well as the "Slashers versus Survivors" mode.
Lockdown
When combined with the MM game, Lockdown adds a new hero and a new slasher.
Sheriff Burton (hero)
Sheriff Burton will be the only hero for the whole game, so the hero meter is unique for Lockdown.
Anonymous
I haven't had a chance yet to play as the Anonymous slasher, but his/her special ability works best with a larger number of players. I like this concept, and the next time MM hits our table, I'm totally ready to play Anonymous.
In EFTO, Sheriff Burton is now a survivor, and his unique ability makes him more efficient when using firearms: he gets an extra "action point."
Sheriff Burton (survivor)
Lockdown adds more supply cards to the mix and another unique deck of event cards. Shuffle the new supply cards in with the base game's supply cards. Notice that Lockdown's supply cards look slightly different. Starting with this expansion and continuing with the rest of the expansions, each supply card or Killer Scenes, Dude! card look slightly different than the base game's cards. These differences are subtle, yet enough to make them easy to separate back into their respective places.
Supply cards
I've never met any of the creators of the Mixtape world, but based on the humor built into the cards, they're definitely my kind of people. Check out the yo-yo supply card. BRILLIANT!
Four supply cards
Much like the Black Masque event cards, the event cards in Lockdown can hamper your best efforts right when you desperately need them. Imagine struggling with your current survivor in EFTO. You're down to just a few health pegs and have only two rescue tokens. Everyone else has at least four, and three of the four tasks have been completed. A successful search allows you to draw a supply card, which instructs you to pull the top left event card shown below.
A nightmare on any street
What a clever card to have in this deck! This is a total game-changer, transmuting EFTO into a one-versus-many scenario. Even better would be if the bottom right event card made its appearance afterward. Things are about to get very interesting! Then again, that is why we play these types of games, right?
Invasion, the third expansion, introduces a distinct sci-fi flavor to the EFTO world. While designed specifically for EFTO, Bright Light Media threw in an additional slasher profile card for use with MM.
Invasion
Two new survivors debut in this expansion, along with four, yes, four new slashers. So, for those who give me a hard time about all the expansions I like to buy, I say "Ha!"
Meet Jacobs and Chad
Our new survivors will have a tough go at it, especially when facing these new slashers. Then again, it's not like facing the other slashers is a walk in the park, either. I wonder if Agent Jacobs knows Scully and Mulder...
Ohhh, myyyy!
It takes five action points to defeat the Invader Queen? Five?? Dayum! I better start looking for some heavy-duty firepower. Maybe there will be something in the new supply deck.
Speaking of supplies...
Cool stuff
Yep, you definitely want the plasma gun in your inventory if you have to face the Invader Queen. I bet it ranks right up there alongside the BFG9000, Noisy Cricket, and the Illudium Q-36 Space Modulator.
New event cards and Killer Scenes, Dude! cards add more content to fill your time in Tall Oaks with thrills, chills, and a few choice expletives. In our case, it's usually more than just a "few" choice expletives. Just ask Cindy about one particular game of Ticket to Ride: Europe.
More killer scenes
Events galore
Still with me? Great! We're halfway through the expansions. I hope you're enjoying our journey through the Mixtape world. We'll keep pressing on to see what we discover next.
Myth
This fourth expansion can be played with either MM or EFTO. Bigfoot? Sasquatch? Psh! Just like the title says,
it's a myth, a myth!
Sorry, I've been itching to throw that reference in there since I started writing this blog. I've lost track of how many movie and song references I've made so far, but there have been quite a few.
Since this expansion incorporates a similar mythical creature, one more quick digression here. How many have heard of the
Fouke Monster? It's the basis for an obscure movie that happens to be one of my favorites:
The Legend of Boggy Creek. If I recall correctly, my eldest sister took me to see this movie when it came out.
OK, enough rambling; let's get to the good stuff.
One of my favorite additions is two double-sided location boards. These are small board extensions to use with either MM or EFTO. Accessing these new locations from the main board is accomplished through the sewers, just like the combined boards in the expanded game mode.
MM location boards
EFTO location boards
These are a genius addition, in my humble opinion, and I like using them even when not playing this expansion. I hope the Bright Light Media people design more of these location boards. They're pretty cool!
Just as in previous expansions, you also get more Killer Scenes, Dude! cards, supply cards and event cards specific to this expansion.
MM and EFTO Killer Scenes cards
In MM mode, there's a new slasher and new hero to add to the mix. No surprise that the slasher is a bigfoot-type creature. The hero is a hunter and one that you'd do well to avoid.
MM slasher and hero
Hero meter
I appreciate how each expansion uses a themed hero meter. While the mechanics are still the same, each meter is specific to the expansion and instantly tie it to the theme.
Event cards
Events for new locations
Roles are swapped in EFTO, with the hunter becoming the hunted. His character card calls him a "sniper," but I think he's dressed more like a hunter. Our furry friend is still a slasher and a tough one at that.
EFTO survivor and slasher
Leave the tasks, other slashers, and Final Scenes cards in the box. This expansion provides an alternate mission to be completed cooperatively. An Evidence card replaces the Final Scenes card. You still have to make six successful rescues while gathering "evidence." Good or bad, The Myth is the only slasher in this mode.
Evidence card (front & back)
Shuffled into the regular Killer Scenes, Dude! deck are the expansion cards. Some of these will help complete your mission of gathering evidence of The Myth.
Smile for the camera
Revealing this card allows you the opportunity to capture evidence. A new "camera die" is included in the box for this purpose. Rolling the die will produce one of three possible results: a good photo, a blurry photo, or a full slasher meter.
Hope for a good photo
Not only must you individually make six successful rescues, but as a group, four photos, good or blurry, must be dropped off at the Tall Oaks Police Station to win the game. Depending upon how many good versus blurry photos are submitted will determine the ultimate end of the game. Now is a good time to scroll up and review the back of the evidence card. This will show you the possible endings for the game.
Wow, the poor citizens of Tall Oaks have had a LOT of crazy things thrown at them, from reapers to aliens to the mythical (or is it?) bigfoot. What could possibly happen next?
Maybe it's just a coincidence that I'm writing this blog so close to Halloween when the next expansion, number five, is Hallow's Eve. This expansion is only compatible with MM, so we'll leave EFTO on the shelf for now. As a bonus, though, two new slasher cards are included for EFTO.
Hallow's Eve
New Killer Scenes, Dude! and supply cards, as well as a different hero meter (called "attack meter"), are included in this expansion. There are no heroes to contend with in Hallow's Eve, but don't think for a minute that the slashers are gonna get off easy. This time, our slashers will have to face an evil entity called "The Scare."
New supply cards will provide some interesting ways to enhance your slasher. Let's take a look at what we can expect.
Not just a hockey mask
These masks grant our slasher some powerful abilities, but as always, there's a catch. Certain Killer Scenes, Dude! cards, when drawn, will punish the slasher that has one of these in their possession. Risk versus benefit, right?
Tricks & Treats