Grim Reaper, a simple game of worker placement

Last weekend, I enjoyed an analog game convention in Tokyo. I played many board games and card games there. Any of them were very good.

Among them, "Grim Reaper," which I brought to the event, was splendid.

Amazon.co.jp: Grim Reaper (in Japanese)

Grim Reaper was originally developed as "Langfinger." It was a simple board game of worker placement. The players play a role of the boss of a thieves guild. You send a thief to an art gallery to gain some artifacts. Robbing an artifact requires some tools such as lockpick and hummer. You can get them at a blackmarket. After getting artifacts, you carry them to a port for manetizing them. The victory depends on the continuous and effective management of workers.

Board Game Geek: Langfinger

In Grim Reaper, you are a wizard with some strong magic spells to defeat grim reaper and other monsters. Spells are available in a magician's academy. You hunt fallen angels, demons, and other monsters with your spells, to get treasures for sending to the king's castle.

Thus, Grim Reaper shares most of the rules with the original Langfinger. However, there are some other places for visiting added in each game. You may get grand magic scrolls, or simply earn some golds there. Which place appears is randomly determined in each game. Therefore, you can play it repeatedly.

Grim Reaper is relatively for beginners. It takes only 30 minutes for a play. The rule is simple but it demands you a tactical thinking. I love it.