Who knows what lurks in the shadows of a darkened forest. It could be anything: Bigfoot; demons; maybe shadowlings. In “Shadows In The Forest” there are little mischievous creatures nestled in the darkness of a lush, green forest. Your only defense is glow of the lantern in your hand. If caught in the light, the shadowlings remain frozen for a short time, allowing you to get away.
That sounds like the beginnings of a spooky story, doesn’t it? It could be, but, instead, it’s the premise of a board game, where the lantern holder has to catch the shadowlings before they escape. As the lantern holder, you must wander around a dark forest and illuminate the shadows to catch them in their hiding spots.
This game is good for ages 7 and up, (but adults can play, too), and the rules are pretty simple. The lantern-holder, called The Seeker, must shine the light on all of the shadowlings and freeze them before they can join their friends and escape. The Seeker rolls the glow-in-the-dark die and moves the included lantern along a path of stones in an attempt to reveal the hidden shadowlings.
Anyone who is not The Seeker, is a shadowling of the forest and must move one, or all, of the little figures around the forest, avoiding the beams of the lantern’s light. As a shadowling, there is no die to roll. Movement is anywhere on the board where the light doesn’t cut through the darkness. If one of the shadowlings is frozen, it must stay put until it can be rescued by another shadowling, or the Seeker finds them all. If the shadowlings can join with all of their friends in a single hiding spot, they can escape and win.
This game is played in a darkened room, (in case that wasn’t obvious). So, it really adds to the spookiness of the gameplay. Just think of all of the electricity your kids are going to save when they play this game…. It’s a fun game and it could be considered educational because of it’s strategy aspect. Both shadowlings and seeker must calculate the possible path of the light in relation to the cardboard trees and stones.
There are a few downsides to this game: there is only 1 lantern. So, there could be some arguments over whom is The Seeker. Also, there is some setup involved every time it’s played, such as the reassembling of trees and placing the board. Lastly, there is a chance of losing the die, the lantern, or the shadowling masks as they are removed to indicate a frozen shadowling.
That considered, it’s still a good game to add to your collection and play with your kids. I give it 7 🎃🎃🎃 out of 10, mainly because of the possible loss of pieces and the lack of actual Halloween elements, (not including the darkness of it). Watch out for shadowlings. They could be hiding in that closet behind you…. Spook on….
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