Gremlins Inc. Preview

At gamescom, pleasant surprises can be a bit of a rarity. There are often plenty of surprises, no doubt about that, but ‘my word there are even more people here this time’ isn’t generally a particularly nice surprise at all. Thankfully, I had one very pleasant surprise this time around at the hands of Charlie Oscar, the studio that has created a fantastic looking game called Gremlins Inc. As a boardgame-videogame hybrid, Gremlins Inc. occupies a genre that very few are currently exploiting, with most successful ventures coming from boardgame publishers that have decided to have a pop at making digital versions of their most popular physical games. So a completely original game of this type is really great to see.

Saying that, the first thing I noticed when I entered Charlie Oscar’s small booth at gamescom was a full cardboard and dice version of Gremlins Inc. laied out on a table in the corner of the room. Being a huge boardgame fan in my own right, I was instantly drawn to the beautifully detailed gameboard and chunky stack of cards. Apparently the developers had originally created the game in this classical form, but soon realised that so much of what they wanted to do with the mechanics required the kind of calculation and management that only a computer can really handle without things becoming horribly overcomplicated. I’ve played Russian Railroads, I could feel their pain.

So now exclusively available in videogame form, Gremlins Inc. is a more American-style boardgame that sees players take on the role of a greedy little Gremlin whose only real purposes in life are to become rich and powerful while inflicting as much misery on other Gremlins as possible. The core of the game runs on a card system that sees gamers play two of the 150 overall cards on each turn, one in an effort to move around the board, and one to use the actual effect of the card. As you can imagine, a lot of those cards are centred on messing up the plans of your opponents, so games have a strong directly competitive element that some boardgames try to avoid (afterall, pissing off your friends and family while you’re in the same room can be dangerous). For the more cutthroat gamer, this should be a treat.

The game board itself is a wacky design that looks more like a steampunk version of Mousetrap than anything else. Thankfully, Gremlins Inc. is looking a little more original that the perennial ‘broken bits’ boardgame. The game features an inventive system in which players must move around the board from location to location in order to play certain cards. The bank, for instance, allows you to play cards that generally boost your gold. Or, to use a more interesting example, the casino lets you perform actions that involve a degree of risk. There are 11 buildings in the game, each of them bringing something different to the game. Personally, I love this mechanic as it really forces players to pay attention to other’s actions in an effort to predict their following moves. In a game where dicking over is a primary goal, it’s important that actually performing horrible deeds is easy and accessible.

The rest of the game works in a classic ‘gain the most victory points’ style, although there are some neat little systems that keep things spruced up. Like the mayor mechanic in which the player with the most power (one of the in-game resources) is voted mayor of this terrible township. With that position you’re able to influence draws as well as avoid nasty fines that are doled out on certain spaces of the gameboard. Or there’s the prison system in which players can be institutionalised by peace-keeping (or selfish) other players. Once locked-up, the naughty player must play through an intriguing luck-based mini-game in an effort to escape. There’s a lot that stands Gremlins Inc. apart from other boardgames, let alone other videogames.

All of this great stuff is wrapped up inside a beautifully drawn steampunk art style that genuinely adds to the feel of the game. Plus, with some fabulous thematic text in tow, it’s hard not to love the overall presentation of Gremlins Inc. even at this stage in the game’s development. I’ve been a huge advocate for more boardgame design influencing videogames, and to see a developer take that point so literally is a breath of fresh air. I spent more time with Gremlins Inc. than with any other game at this year’s gamescom, and I hope that fact speaks for itself. The game is set for a beta release in September, a beta that should add some cool new things to the game like a team mode. If you love boardgames or strategy videogames, it’s well worth keeping a greedy eye out for Gremlins Inc.