{"id":310445,"date":"2024-12-27T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/?post_type=reviews&p=310445"},"modified":"2024-12-25T20:00:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T02:00:39","slug":"not-so-neighborly","status":"publish","type":"reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/not-so-neighborly\/","title":{"rendered":"Not So Neighborly Game Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \n
\n \n <\/div>\n <\/span>\n
\n \n Not So Neighborly Card Game - Family Friendly Game Perfect for Game Nights - for Ages 7 and Up<\/span>\n <\/a>\n
\n $19.99<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n Buy Now\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

Not So Neighborly<\/i> is a 2-4 player party game that lets players live out the fantasy of terrorizing their neighbors over petty grievances\u2014like putting the garbage bins too close to the driveway. The goal is simple: play cards to score 10 points while dodging dog poop, casual arson, and general pettiness. On each turn, a player either plays or draws a card, and then passes the turn to the next player.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Cards and Gameplay<\/h2>\n

Scoring cards represent various neighborhood buildings, each worth 1-3 points. Along the way, players might draw mundane action cards, which allow them to skip an opponent\u2019s turn, steal cards, or force discards. Then, there are the attack cards<\/i>, the real <\/i>chaos-makers. If you don\u2019t enjoy \u201ctake-that\u201d mechanics or prefer not to alienate your family before the next holiday gathering, I suggest you stop reading now and pick up Machi Koro<\/i><\/a> instead. It\u2019s likely to provide a far more enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n

Attack cards are instant turmoil, designed to raze a neighbor\u2019s carefully built plans. Imagine: just as a player envisions a serene neighborhood, they smell smoke\u2014because their house is on fire. Or perhaps they wake up to find someone (or something) has left an unpleasant surprise on their porch, negating the ongoing power of a card. Worse, they might stand on their lawn, coffee in hand, watching their house get demolished before their eyes. While there are a few cards, like Neighborhood Watch, that can protect buildings from attacks, they only work against specific<\/i> threats. For example, Neighborhood Watch can stop poop attacks but won\u2019t help against arson. Useless!<\/p>\n

This cycle of suburban chaos continues until one player manages to scrape together 10 points. Victory often comes not from strategy but from slipping under the radar while others gang up on a common enemy. A well-hidden 3-point School card can make all the difference.<\/p>\n

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The Verdict<\/h2>\n

Not So Neighborly<\/i> is, unfortunately, not so fun. When it was pitched to me at Gen Con as a fast, light, and highly interactive town-builder, I was intrigued. But the gameplay fell short. Players are expected to punch and be punched to survive suburbia, but the interaction feels shallow and unengaging. The game is overly tactical, with success largely dictated by the luck of the draw.<\/p>\n

In one game, I didn\u2019t draw a single defense card, leaving my town in ruins for most of the session. Meanwhile, some players hardly drew attack cards, allowing one opponent to easily pull ahead. It wasn\u2019t for lack of trying\u2014we all wanted to be terrible neighbors\u2014but the deck didn\u2019t cooperate. Even when I used attack cards, it felt more obligatory than satisfying. The joy of sabotaging opponents seemed to have moved to the next neighborhood over.<\/p>\n

I won one game, but my excitement didn’t come from winning\u2014it came from the game being over. Despite its short 10-15 minute playtime, it felt like eating empty calories. The cards disrupt gameplay more than they enhance it. We even played two rounds at a bar before a wedding, dressed to the nines, and were quick to ditch the game afterward.<\/p>\n

For a group of players who love competitive, cutthroat games, Not So Neighborly<\/i> was a disappointment. Its unbalanced cards and poor deck distribution make it feel half-baked. The only way to draw more cards is to sacrifice your entire turn for one card\u2014and if it\u2019s not what you need, tough luck. You\u2019re stuck while everyone else pulls ahead. The lack of reliable defenses or alternative strategies makes the game feel frustratingly one-sided.<\/p>\n

As a party game with a \u201ctake-that\u201d mechanic, Not So Neighborly<\/i> needs more time in the oven. A better card balance or additional defense cards might improve the experience. For now, it\u2019s safe to say this game will not so likely<\/i> stick around in my collection.<\/p>\n

Bonus:<\/b> There\u2019s a single card in the game meant to evoke laughter, but when it finally appeared, no one even cracked a smile. Ironic, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Engage in some neighborhood pettiness with this fast-paced, tableau-building card game. Join Kevin as he reviews Not So Neighborly from Fambam Games!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":310446,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":true,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"coauthors":[10070],"class_list":["post-310445","reviews","type-reviews","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-card-games","designers-alice-hong","designers-jessica-hong","mechanisms-hand-management","mechanisms-open-drafting","mechanisms-set-collection","mechanisms-take-that","publishers-fambam-games","artists-alice-hong","release_year-6203"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNot So Neighborly Game Review — Meeple Mountain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Engage in some neighborhood pettiness with this fast-paced, tableau-building card game. Join Kevin as he reviews Not So Neighborly from Fambam Games!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/not-so-neighborly\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/not-so-neighborly\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Board Game Reviews\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Not So Neighborly Game Review\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Not So Neighborly Game Review — Meeple Mountain","description":"Engage in some neighborhood pettiness with this fast-paced, tableau-building card game. Join Kevin as he reviews Not So Neighborly from Fambam Games!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/not-so-neighborly\/","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/not-so-neighborly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Board Game Reviews","item":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Not So Neighborly Game Review"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/310445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reviews"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/310445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310445"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=310445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}