Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein gave me the strong impression of a medium-weight euro that carries its theme far better than the genre usually does. It reminded me a little of Lords of Waterdeep and Trickerion, except that this one has the deliciously macabre Frankenstein angle that makes a session stand out.

At its core, it is a euro about managing choices and actions, with the game advancing through rounds—we reached the end of round 10 in our session. Its length is something I have heard plenty of complaints about, but honestly, it did not weigh on us: we finished in a little over two hours without feeling that it dragged.

Where I stumbled was in the interaction and in how abruptly access to options can be cut off. The die can literally close down houses, a harsh form of blocking that I do not expect to see so strongly in games of this sort. It creates tension, but for me it also leaves the gameplay feeling a little dry, despite its highly thematic outer layer.

Even so, I find it an interesting piece of work, and I would say you should play it at least once, if only for the fun of the whole premise. I would also seriously look at the official, more streamlined Igor Rules: on paper, they seem light-years better than the game in its basic form.