What To Play: Shadows in the Forest

By Chelsea House “of Dark Shadows,” GGR Contributor

Every Christmas my husband and I try to buy a board game that we can play as a family. This can sometimes be challenging with younger kids. Yes, Candyland is fun, and yes, Don’t Wake Daddy provides lots of giggles and groans of frustration, but they do tend to get redundant. This is where Shadows in the Forest (ThinkFun Games) enters the room like Cinderella waltzing into the ball in her glittering gown and tiara. This game provides a new spin on family games without being overly complicated or involved. Even my three-year-old is able to partake in the fun. 

What the game includes: 

• 1 Folded Game Board

• 1 Mini Lantern 

• 1 Glow-in-the-Dark Die

• 10 Hiding Places 

• 6 Shadowlings

• 6 Shadowling Masks

How to play? 

One player plays as the lantern while the others play as Shadowlings. Together, you set the board up by placing the hiding places (I.e. the trees, rocks, and stumps) in various places of the board, as long as they are not on the rocks. Once the board is together, you place the masks on the Shadowlings, turn the lantern on, place the lantern on a red rock, and then turn the lights off. At this point the lantern player closes their eyes and the Shadowlings  move around the board. They are not assigned to an individual person, in other words, anyone can be any one Shadowling during any turn. They can also move anywhere on the board that is in the shadows as long as they stay on the board. (no floating, jumping, etc.) If any part touches the light, their mask is removed and they are frozen until rescued. The lantern then gets a turn by rolling the dice and moving that many spaces. It can only move in one direction until it reaches a green rock which allows it to change direction, even allowing it going backwards. 

The point? 

All of the Shadowlings have to work together to get to the same spot. The lantern is trying to freeze them before they accomplish this. 

The verdict? 

I really love Shadows in the Forest because there are so many possible outcomes. My kids love glow in the dark things (who doesn’t?), so playing in the dark makes for a whole new experience. It’s full of mischief, strategy, and lots of laughs. It can be a quick play or it can take a while. This game is fun for all ages and group sizes (up to 7) and would be a great addition to anyone’s board game collection.