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Coraline: Beware the Other Mother is a co-operative card game for 1-4 players, based on the beloved stop-motion animated film from director Henry Selick, best-selling author Neil Gaiman, and acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. It tells the haunting tale of a young girl's journey to an alternate version of her life, and her heroic return to reality. Now, you can bring this iconic story to your tabletop!
Players assume the roles of the Ghost Children who were captured by the Beldam (the Other Mother). Now they are trying to free Coraline and her parents from the Beldam's evil clutches. They will confront Mr. Bobinsky and his jumping mouse circus, fend off the Other Father on his mantis tractor, wrestle the pearl ring from Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, and steal the Skeleton Key and Snow Globe to ultimately set Coraline free. The players all win or lose the game together as a team! But be careful! The Beldam will thwart your plans at every turn. And be quick! When the button shadow eclipses the moon, the Beldam has won the game and Coraline is trapped in the Other World forever!
—description from publisher
- decent puzzle for players to solve
- thematic tie-in adds bonus if you're familiar with the movie
- the movie tie-in and familiar objects/characters enhance the experience
- teams must communicate and plan, adding depth
- pretty challenging at times to win
- requires effective communication; can be difficult
- risk of running out of cards to play
- Coraline movie-themed confrontation with the Beldam (Other Mother)
- House in the Coraline universe with living room scenes and objects referenced from the movie
- cooperative play with card-driven events and Beldam cards driving setbacks
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Movement — Move around the house to collect objects and visit different rooms.
- area/movement around the house — Move around the house to collect objects and visit different rooms.
- Beldam event cards — After each place, reveal a Beldam card that typically introduces negative effects.
- Cooperative Game — Work with a teammate to coordinate actions and cards.
- cooperative play — Work with a teammate to coordinate actions and cards.
- Hand Management — Start with five cards per player and maintain the hand throughout the game while managing resources.
- moon cards / Eclipse — Moon cards accumulate, and when a full Eclipse occurs, it raises the stakes toward endgame.
- object collection — Collect objects scattered through the house and reveal them before collecting them.
- Set Collection — Collect objects scattered through the house and reveal them before collecting them.
- wind card — Play the wind card as in the movie.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- one to four players with mechanics such as hand management and property play
- the game is of blood complexity in Coraline
- after each place then a beldam card is revealed and usually bad things happen
- you need to complete the objectives before you run out of cards to play or when there is normal Beldom cards or when the sixth moon cards when full Eclipse appears
- the biggest challenge r5 is to communicate with your teammates what cards you have
- timing and contingency plans are important
- the theme is great bonus if you are familiar with the movie
- you don't have to watch the movie to enjoy playing the game but we watched a movie
- overall the game offers a decent puzzle for players to solve
- it's so much fun