Tales from the Loop: The Board Game Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Tales from the Loop: The Board Game, a cooperative board game published by Freeleague Publishing. In Tales from the Loop: The Board Game, players are exploring this scifi setting hoping to accomplish their mission.

Perhaps for the same reasons I was initially drawn to play Scythe, I couldn’t help but pause when I saw the artwork for Tales from the Loop. A winter landscape with towering objects in the distance speaks to that ancient drive for exploration we inherently all have, a desire to know and understand what lies beyond. A monolithic, glowing pillar looks alien, and yet I’m intrigued. It’s this compelling setting that has created so many avenues to explore this world. Tales from the Loop – the board game from Free League adds one more avenue into that place. Combing cooperative gameplay with elements of RPGs, Tales from the Loop hopes to offer players a taste of this world.

In Tales from the Loop, players are latchkey kids in an alternative 1980s Sweden, uncovering mysteries about their town, all while trying to maintain a somewhat normal life. Oh, and there are various machines, possibly a dinosaur, and a looming powerplant you can hear humming if you put your ear to the ground. There are many ways to experience Tales from the Loop, which change up the difficulty or offer a sandbox experience. However, this review will focus on the standard mode.

Tales from the Loop is a scenario-based co-op. There are seven scenarios in the base game, and a couple of expansions are also available separately. Each scenario sets the scene for your story. As a team, you’ll work to uncover the mystery embedded in your scenario through Diary Cards. These help move the story along, eventually revealing the win/loss