🕑 5 min read
For the purposes of this (review) post, player names have been changed to protect the innocent and the extravagant.
Someone died! "There's been a murrrder!" No wait, wrong game sorry. Our beloved uncle has died of boredom and left us all a small fortune - HOORAY! So, I guess we're all siblings? Or maybe cousins? The game doesn't stipulate who we are exactly, but it promises to reward us for being really, really stupid with money. Double HOORAY!!Our uncle was a bit of hermit and an outrageously thrifty (boring) millionaire. In his last will and testament, he confided, that for all his fortune and privilege he found little enjoyment in life. So his grand lesson in death, his swan song, is to challenge his nieces and nephews to spend his inheritance as fast and as extravagantly as possible. Enjoy life! Queue a 'Brewster's Millions' like comedy of events.
Those gamers of a certain age will recognise this theme as the same one used by family game 'Go for broke', but rest assured, the gameplay here is firmly in the modern school of gaming.
The first player to go bankrupt (lose all their share of the inheritance) is the winner. Then, they inherit the REAL fortune!... and I guess become sad and depressed like our cursed uncle was. Cheers unc...??
This game sounds fun right? Spoiler alert. It is.
So let's talk about the game mechanics and how we can achieve bankruptcy from the comfort of a pub table. Each of the 7 rounds are broken down into 4 fleeting phases. First of all, may I say that this game has one of my favourite mechanisms for turn/phase order. After you have chosen which player is to go first, they get to place their round token on 1 of the 6 possible 'planning spaces'. The further left you place your marker, the further up the action turn order you will go... however, the rub is the further right you place your marker, the more actions and options you will have during that round. Mwah! Chef's kiss. More about chefs later...
Finally, as per usual, this well balanced and fun game has a naughty little skid mark. I've played it twice and both times the same(ish) strategy won. Avoiding properties will allow you to build an engine within the game which will survive the test of time. Reacquainting yourself with helpful (mooching) pals or associates, and increasing your card drawing capacity will eventually become a very powerful end-game play. Therefore, you have been duly warned, attempting a property strategy means that you must pick a good time to exit the market with your ill-gotten losses(?) FAST, and then rely upon a new set of situations to off-load your moolah late in the game. It is my opinion that buying and selling property/farms is indeed hard mode. On my first game I managed to get within a few English pounds of the winner with the help of 3 very incompetent estate agents, and by manipulating the property market almost every round. So... it is possible, I guess. Consider the property challenge set!
In our game we had 4 NOBOGlins* playing, however 'Last Will' can be played with between 2-5 players. The game is medium weight in complexity and can be finished in 60-120 minutes, including setup and explanation time. We did it in about 2 hours. I think you will need most of that 2 hours in your game too, as the whole idea of it - to lose money - is counter intuitive, plus refreshing. Your brain will continue to fart and contort for most of the game; trying to convince you to amass money rather than wantonly spend every last farthing.
Spending money in this game is easy though! Buy that farm you've always dreamed of. Cha-ching! Go on a boating holiday with a horse and dog! Pay them to teach you how to swim (not in the game - sorry). Have lavish, wild parties in manor houses, and invite your neighbour's spouse! Ooh-la-la now we're talking. Yes, there are many ways in this game to spend your inheritance, but the trick is do it faster than your opponents, and in such a manner that what you purchase doesn't become an asset in the future. Because, just like in 'Brewster's Millions' the hilarious 80's comedy film, any assets (properties, houses/farms) are counted against you in the final act (after round 7).
From the planning area, each player will decide when they take their actions, how many different action spaces they will utilise, how many actions they are able to take, and how many new cards they will draw into their hand to help achieve their goals this round.
The 4 phases quickly flow into one another, only stopping every now and again when a player amusingly forgets that they are supposed to be burning through their inheritance. Ha-ha losers. I mean, ha-ha... accumulators?
In the central card marketplace, each player can either pick up new properties each round to purchase, enlist the help of some rather wasteful or incompetent associates (pals, estate agents, gardeners, chefs etc.), or take advantage of a one-off event card to whittle down that fortune; like an expensive carriage ride to no-where, a 'hectic day' shopping or even a dinner reservation you don't attend. Of course the players may also choose to invite (and pay for) companions to join them on their adventures.
There is an abundance of choices available to slowly but surely whittle down your fortune, however there will be a massive temptation to spend a huge slice of your inheritance on properties, and why not. Properties are expensive, they also deteriorate when not maintained, used as a flop houses or partied in like it's 1899. Unfortunately though, their value never really fully disappears, and being stuck with an asset when the game comes to the end is potentially disastrous to the bank account... no wait. Assets are good! I'm doing great right?! Hahahaha you've fallen into that trap again! Winners are losers excluding when losing is winning. Losing (winning) is fun. Except when you are winning, of course. So confusing.
If you'd like to know more about this game then you can find Board Game Geek link here!
It's a good game. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
