Pain Doctors: The Game of Recreational Surgery (1996)

About this game

A Mille Bournes type of game. You are a doctor doing surgery as recreation. You get one of your patients healthy enough to withstand whatever surgery you want to perform on him. Other players will be attempting to lower your patient's health at the same time. Once you do get your patient to surgery then it becomes a game of chicken with yourself. Do you keep doing more surgery for more points but risk killing him and not scoring at all. There are a few different systems at work here and they do go together well. The art and subject matter are very very dark.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 6.
• Rules load. At 1.5/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 14 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.