Starting out as a card game, Gloom has gained immense popularity since 2005. Due to fan engagement and crowdfunding, Indie game developer Sky Ship Studios (in partnership with Atlas Games and Asmodee) digitized the game just a few years ago. Fast forward a few years, the sadistic, yet unique card game has finally launched for iOS and Android devices starting this week. Though the game may own a gloomy vibe at first, the success of Gloom is mainly based on the unique gameplay that bring feelings of satisfaction, sadness, and ambivalence. 

The goal is simple: make one’s family as miserable as possible, as well as murdering them. Using many components of the game, players will play various cards to achieve this goal. There are 20 Character Cards, 2 Reference Cards, 57 Modifier Cards, 11 Event Cards, and 20 Untimely Death Cards. As players receive two turns per turn, they will target an opponent’s characters for different outcomes. Some of these cards can lower a family’s Self Worthless scores, enchant characters with a second life, rearrange cards in the opponent’s deck, and use the Untimely Death cards that finally kills a family. 

In addition, Gloom can include one to four players in a game. Each person will “have to make your rival’s family as happy and annoyingly alive as you can: delighted ducklings, having picnics in the park, finding love at the lack… These are some of the worst things that could happen to them!” — stated on the Steam website. Once all the characters are killed, the game will end. The player who manages to obtain the lowest Family Value, therefore, is deemed the winner of family suffering.

If you are interested in learning more about Gloom, check out the official Sky Ship Studios website or Twitter account. The game is also out on Steam for a $6.99 purchase for Mac and Windows, with a Collection Bundle with a 15 percent off for $8.48 today, and on the App Store and Google Play.