Fog of Love is a board game about love, but without a marshmallow

The best times of your life are playing out. For good reason, you have just met your soul mate. But, as in any relationship, it will experience ups and downs, the intentions of the two partners may diverge, embarrassing situations will arise… Will you be able to save your relationship, or will this story end in a breakup?

We start by creating his character: his sex, three character traits, a profession (musician, athlete, baker, etc.), and three characteristics imposed by our partner, those little extras that made him crack (mole of beauty, broad shoulders, crooked teeth — because why not —, etc.).

Professions and characteristics influence our personality, defined by six facets: discipline, curiosity, extroversion, sensitivity, benevolence and sincerity. Pawns placed on one side (+) or the other (-) of each facet indicate the level.

Character traits, on the other hand, define our goal in life, what we strive for in order to be happy. Some are personal, others common, to be carried out together by the two partners.

A game is defined by a scenario, a love story, divided into chapters. Each scenario has its own adjustments and specific maps.

The partners take turns playing a scene card. They are nice at first, then become serious, even dramatic as the game progresses. Each scene asks a question or presents a situation, with several outcomes. Sometimes both players have to react, sometimes only one of them. Then, depending on the answers given, more or less tokens are placed on the facets, on one side or the other. There are also secrets, which are not revealed right away, reactions to react to another scene, special events, etc.

All these actions change our level of satisfaction, our happiness, which determines whether or not we are happy at the end of the game. This occurs after the last chapter of the scenario. Each partner reveals a destiny card that they kept during the game, and adjusts their satisfaction and their personality levels according to whether their life goals are achieved or not.

And you will then know who will have been most successful in getting by in this relationship, as a couple… or each on their own.

Why play Fog of Love?

The “games” to be played as a couple are, at best, totally tasteless, or, at worst, fallacious excuses to confuse playfulness with lust. But that was before the arrival of Fog of Love and its completely original theme.

To be precise, it is not compulsory to be in a couple to play it, it can be practiced with friends. Simply, the game takes on an extra dimension when you play with your partner. So it’s not easy to dissociate the choices we make our character make from those we would have made in real life. Note also that, despite what the cover and the colors used might suggest, Fog of Love is open to all sexual orientations.

But, above all, behind this new theme hides a real board game, not a simple marketing stunt. One of the most important aspects comes from its cooperative dimension… but not too much. Indeed, you must succeed in meeting your own, personal expectations, as well as those of your couple. You have to be able to guess, little by little, the intentions of your partner. Maybe they are compatible with yours… but maybe not. You have to make choices, keep a balance or favor one of the paths. And, above all, decide to stay together at the end of the game, or separate.

The games are played either in “role play” mode, in which you embody your characters, you bring them to life, you speak in their place, or in a more calm way, and you then simply read the cards.

Besides the tutorial, the box contains three other love stories. And, unlike a mystery game or a escape room, it is quite possible to replay them at will. All starting situations are different from each other, as is the course of the game itself, depending on the cards that are drawn.

The original version of the game has been out since 2017, while its French adaptation has just arrived. If success is there, maybe we will have the chance to see the few extensions already published in English arrive. Including the very last, in which our couple finds themselves… confined!

In short, a few days before Valentine’s Day, Fog of Love is an original gift to spend playful and complicit moments with your lover or your darling. Maybe even, who knows, a proving ground to test his reaction to this or that situation, before applying it, or not, to real life, to make your couple last longer than his counterpart in the game. … But don’t forget, what happens in a game, stays in the game!

• Fog of Love is a game by Jacob Jaskov
• Illustrated by Mike Højgaard
• Published by Blackrock Games
• For 2 players from 16 years old
• For games of around 60 to 120 minutes
• Priced at €40.50 at Philibert

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