- BGG rank
- BGG #6,210
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Fairytale Gloom
- 2–5 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.6/5
- 2015
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- 6.7
Rules assistance for Gloom: Unhappy Homes
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 30 min
- 13+
- Complexity 1.7/5
Rules assistant for Gloom: Unhappy Homes
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Gloom: Unhappy Homes is an expansion for Gloom released in 2005 for 2–5 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Keith Baker and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Storytelling.
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About the game
The Gloom: Unhappy Homes expansion adds one player and 55 cards to the game. Here is a description of the expansion from the publisher: In the Gloom card game, you make your eccentric family of misfits suffer the greatest tragedies possible before helping them pass on to the well-deserved respite of death. Just mix the 55 transparent cards included in this set together with your copy of Gloom to add morbid new Modifiers, Events, and Untimely Deaths, and a new family -- the artistes of Le Canard Noir, whose creative endeavors always end in disaster. When art lets you down, the Black Duck is there for you. This dingy cafe is home to a motley assortment of washed-up bohemians. Here the tormented painter Rosseau buys drinks for neurotic models and destitute poets, while a troubled actress and sickly courtesan compare notes across the way. Also included are five Residences with a light blue background behind their central illustration. These are each placed next to their related family at the start of the game. New cards called Mysteries, which have a dark blue effects bar at the bottom, are also shuffled into the deck before play. A Mystery is the only card that can be placed on a Residence (and only a Residence), and can be placed on any Residence as either of your two plays. It gives that Residence's player a special effect and Pathos points that count toward his final Family Value. A Mystery remains even if the requirements for playing it are lost. You may discard a Mystery from your hand as a free play.
Editions
- Gloom: Unhappy HomesenAtlas Games2014
- Gloom: Unhappy HomesenAtlas Games2009
- Gloom: Unhappy HomesenAtlas Games2005
- Gloom: Ponure DomostwaplAtlas Games, Black Monk2019
- Gloom: Foyers malheureuxfrEdge Entertainment2018
- Gloom: Hogares DesdichadosesEdge Entertainment2018
- Gloom: Dimore Affranteituplay.it edizioni
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Edge Entertainment
- Black Monk
- Atlas Games
- uplay.it edizioni
Questions and answers
Gloom: Unhappy Homes supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Gloom: Unhappy Homes is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Gloom: Unhappy Homes for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Gloom: Unhappy Homes has a complexity rating of 1.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Gloom: Unhappy Homes belongs to these categories: Card Game, Humor, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Storytelling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Gloom: Unhappy Homes are: Keith Baker. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Gloom: Unhappy Homes as an expansion for Gloom. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Gloom to use it. Check that your edition of Gloom is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.