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Phantom Ink box art
Rich game profile

Phantom Ink

Renowned mediums are competing to figure out a secret object and prove they can connect with the "World Beyond". The first team to figure out the secret object wins! To set up Phantom Ink, divide players so that the Sun team and the Moon team each have one Spirit and up to three...

Players

4-8

Time

10-15

Age

13+

Weight

1.17

Rating

7.45

Should this hit the table?

Quick read before the metadata.

Phantom Ink has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth, with frequent interaction among players. However, it does not emphasize cooperation as much.

Teach 2.4

Teaching signal

Replay 4.0

High replayability

Interaction 3.7

Highly interactive

Scaling 4.0

Scales well

Strategy 4.5

Deep strategy

Control 3.0

Luck-sensitive

Table feel

Phantom Ink has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth, with frequent interaction among players. However, it does not emphasize cooperation as much.

Replay value

Phantom Ink has a high replayability score due to its high variability gameboard, impactful expansions, deep strategic possibilities, and good scalability. While it may take some time to learn, the game offers a fresh and engaging experience with each playthrough.

Luck profile

Phantom Ink has a moderate level of luck involved in the game. Random elements such as card draws and dice rolls have a notable but not exclusive impact on the game outcome. However, players have substantial ability to mitigate the effects of luck through strategic decisions and planning. The game relies on a balanced mix of luck and strategy, with neither element dominating the outcome. Overall, Phantom Ink offers a good balance between luck and player agency.

Overview

What ABG knows about this game

Renowned mediums are competing to figure out a secret object and prove they can connect with the "World Beyond". The first team to figure out the secret object wins! To set up Phantom Ink, divide players so that the Sun team and the Moon team each have one Spirit and up to three Mediums. The mediums on a team share a hand of seven question cards, and the spirits begin the game by choosing one of the five objects on a card as the secret object. On a turn, the mediums pass two question cards to their spirit, with sample questions like "What color is it most commonly?", "What fictional character has it or uses it?", and "If it were a musical instrument, what would it be?" The spirit discards one question card face up, then returns the question card it's going to answer to their mediums, then slowly writes the answer one letter at a time for all to see. As soon as the mediums think they know what this clue word is, they yell "Silencio", and the spirit stops writing. The other team of mediums might see only the letter "Y", but if you know the question is "What color is it?", then you know the clue must be "yellow". To end your turn, draw two new question cards. On a turn, instead of handing over question cards, you can attempt to guess the answer — and to do so you write like the spirits, one letter at a time. If you write an incorrect letter, the spirits will stop you, marking out your error, with your partial guess giving the other team more information. If you guess the entire word correctly, you win! Awards & Honors: Game Makers Guild - Seal of Approval The Dice Tower - Seal of Approval

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Credits

People and publishers

Designers

2
Mary Flanagan Max Seidman

Artists

1
Spring Yu

Publishers

1
Resonym

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