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CHAINsomnia box art

CHAINsomnia

Game ID: GID0064105
Game Info
Year
2018
Collection
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Description

In CHAINsomnia, a.k.a. チェインソムニア, sleeping children become trapped in the castle of the demon Akuma and must work with others to escape. If any player is on the "wake up" tile when all "bad dream" cards are removed, they escape and win the game; if all the characters are immobilized by chains or the event cards are exhausted without anyone waking up, then everyone is defeated.

In more detail, you and each other player take a character card and cover two of the six spaces on its "chain gauge". The highest uncovered number on this gauge shows how many action points (AP) you have available on your turn, and each character has a unique skill, in addition to values for strength, wisdom, and luck. All characters start on the central tile, with the "wake up" tile being placed at the bottom of the room tile deck. On a turn, you use your AP to take actions from the following list, repeating actions as desired:

Add a new room tile to the playing area, matching doors and walls on all tiles; draw and resolve an event card, with a "bad dream" being placed on this card.
Move to an adjacent tile.
Search a "secret spot" on a tile, drawing an item card if you make a wisdom check.
Use a consumable (one-time) item card. (Equippable item cards can be used repeatedly and cost 0 AP.)
Give an item to another character on the same tile as you or on an adjacent tile.
Give chains to or take chains from another character on the same tile as you or on an adjacent tile.
Use your personal skill (if it has an AP cost).

As chains are added to or removed from your character card, your AP count might change. If all six spaces on your chain gauge are covered, you're immobilized and can spend no AP on your turn. If a "bad dream" is placed in a room, no character can enter that room, although you might be able to remove it through various skills, items, or events; if a "Bad dream" ends up in your room, then you're trapped in that dream and cannot move until you or someone else can dissolve that dream.

After all players take their actions, the demon acts, initially with only one event card, but as the game progresses and shrieks are added to the table, more event cards are drawn for each demon turn.

If all the bad dreams have been vanquished and a player is on the "wake up" tile — which will be drawn only after sixteen room tiles in a game of normal difficulty — then you all win, with everyone awakening from the demon's clutches. Otherwise you will sleep forever...

•••

アクマ城に捕らわれた子どもたちとなって、他の人たちと協力して恐怖を乗り越えて脱出を目指すボードゲーム。
悪夢カードを全て取り除いた状態でいずれか1人がWakeupタイルの上にいたら、ゲーム終了です。その場合は、全員の勝利です。
全員が鳥かごに捕らわれてしまうか、イベントカードが引けなくなっても、ゲーム終了です。その場合は、全員の敗北です。

Description

In CHAINsomnia, a.k.a. チェインソムニア, sleeping children become trapped in the castle of the demon Akuma and must work with others to escape. If any player is on the "wake up" tile when all "bad dream" cards are removed, they escape and win the game; if all the characters are immobilized by chains or the event cards are exhausted without anyone waking up, then everyone is defeated.

In more detail, you and each other player take a character card and cover two of the six spaces on its "chain gauge". The highest uncovered number on this gauge shows how many action points (AP) you have available on your turn, and each character has a unique skill, in addition to values for strength, wisdom, and luck. All characters start on the central tile, with the "wake up" tile being placed at the bottom of the room tile deck. On a turn, you use your AP to take actions from the following list, repeating actions as desired:

Add a new room tile to the playing area, matching doors and walls on all tiles; draw and resolve an event card, with a "bad dream" being placed on this card.
Move to an adjacent tile.
Search a "secret spot" on a tile, drawing an item card if you make a wisdom check.
Use a consumable (one-time) item card. (Equippable item cards can be used repeatedly and cost 0 AP.)
Give an item to another character on the same tile as you or on an adjacent tile.
Give chains to or take chains from another character on the same tile as you or on an adjacent tile.
Use your personal skill (if it has an AP cost).

As chains are added to or removed from your character card, your AP count might change. If all six spaces on your chain gauge are covered, you're immobilized and can spend no AP on your turn. If a "bad dream" is placed in a room, no character can enter that room, although you might be able to remove it through various skills, items, or events; if a "Bad dream" ends up in your room, then you're trapped in that dream and cannot move until you or someone else can dissolve that dream.

After all players take their actions, the demon acts, initially with only one event card, but as the game progresses and shrieks are added to the table, more event cards are drawn for each demon turn.

If all the bad dreams have been vanquished and a player is on the "wake up" tile — which will be drawn only after sixteen room tiles in a game of normal difficulty — then you all win, with everyone awakening from the demon's clutches. Otherwise you will sleep forever...

•••

アクマ城に捕らわれた子どもたちとなって、他の人たちと協力して恐怖を乗り越えて脱出を目指すボードゲーム。
悪夢カードを全て取り除いた状態でいずれか1人がWakeupタイルの上にいたら、ゲーム終了です。その場合は、全員の勝利です。
全員が鳥かごに捕らわれてしまうか、イベントカードが引けなくなっても、ゲーム終了です。その場合は、全員の敗北です。

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Total mentions: 1
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Video H1U_R_LExis kovray Merit Preview at 0:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90582 · mention_pk 289363
kovray - CHAINsomnia video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • memorable and suspenseful moments with nail-biting tension
  • cooperative integration requiring communication
  • strong replayability due to asymmetric characters
  • high component variability with tiles, event cards, and items
  • beginner scenario helps new players learn the game
  • thematic immersion and accessibility features (wheelchair character)
Cons
  • not easy to win; luck plays a significant role and you will likely lose a few times before winning
  • difficulty curve increases as you progress
Thematic elements
  • escape the demon, nightmares, cooperative puzzle-solving
  • the castle of a demon where players are escaping nightmares
  • story-driven, suspenseful adventure with events
Comparison games
  • betrayal in the house and the hill
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Action Points — actions are limited by chains acquired throughout the game.
  • action points restricted by chains — actions are limited by chains acquired throughout the game.
  • asymmetric characters with unique abilities — six different characters start on the chain somnia tile with varying actions and trait skills.
  • Asymmetric Player Powers — six different characters start on the chain somnia tile with varying actions and trait skills.
  • beginner scenario — tutorial-like scenario with a small setup to teach the game.
  • dice-based skill tests — success on skill tests depends on dice rolls with some luck.
  • event cards — events flip and cards can be favorable or ominous, introducing bad dreams.
  • Events — events flip and cards can be favorable or ominous, introducing bad dreams.
  • Loss conditions — the deck can run out or a certain number of characters can be chained.
  • Push Your Luck — the game is designed to be challenging, requiring luck to succeed.
  • push your luck element — the game is designed to be challenging, requiring luck to succeed.
  • tile-flipping exploration — turns involve flipping tiles to explore the castle and trigger events.
  • Tile/Map Shifting — turns involve flipping tiles to explore the castle and trigger events.
  • Tutorial — tutorial-like scenario with a small setup to teach the game.
  • win condition via wake-up tile — a character must step on the wake-up tile with no bad dreams.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • chainsomnia is a one to four player game that takes about 40 to 60 minutes to play
  • you've been captured by this evil demon while you were sleeping and you're caught in his castle
  • the co-op element of this is very immersive
  • it's anime themed
  • the closest comparable to this game is betrayal in the house and the hill
  • there's a beginner scenario
  • secret envelopes
  • beginner scenario which kind of teaches you how to play
References (from this video)
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