Lair of the Rat King is one of those games that I don't get to play a great deal, but hold very near & dear. It does have some issues, but it's got everything going on---tight, interesting design; great components; a fun theme & art that gels well with it. Plus, it fits in my pocket!

It's worth noting that in addition to the obvious similarities with the other Portable Adventures games, the series as a whole is very similar to Battle of the Bands, another excellent game by Third World. Battle of the Bands is simpler and the theme more universal, so it's a little more accessible, particularly for non-gamers. However, the Portable Adventures framework adds a bit more teeth to the general ideas behind the mechanics and are just slightly deeper, as well as being more portable and cheaper. So, if you like Battle of the Bands and want more, you should try these out. Conversely, a Portable Adventures fan might consider using Battle of the Bands as a stepping stone to lure in more players.

Simple though it may be---just some cards, rules, & a set of dice---Rat King is very well produced. The print job on the rules is perfectly serviceable, but the cards are of high quality, sturdy and rigid but easily shuffled and of good weight. They're also printed in very bright, awesome colors. The box though is the real standout. The extra touches such as glued bottom and the dice space in the top show that real care went into the game, even into something relatively minor like the box.

The theme here is awesome. It does a perfect job of poking fun at role playing and fantasy games without being over the top or sarcastic. It also isn't a hodge-podge of random elements and jokes. When you look at the cards, they actually work together very well and tell an interesting story.

For example, the bulk of the game is contesting Adventures, which players try to win by having the strongest adventuring party and claiming the points. Although they come out in random order in the game, looking through the deck reveals a great, fantasy RPG-ish story of completing a few random quests, having some fun and brawls while exploring the town, and then slipping into the caves underneath it and making your way to, of course, the Lair of the Rat King. This storyline is great fun to think about while looking through the cards, and shows up well in game terms---adventures later in the "story arc" are worth more points, and the tie-ins with other cards are solid, such as ratlings being more powerful in the king's lair.

Artwork on the cards is largely simple and done in bold strokes and colors, but it is very entertaining and fits very well with the general mood of the game. Some may not find it very appealing, but in no way does it detract, and many such as me will actually find it very appealing and a great addition to the game.

The game does seem a little overwhelming at first. Most of this is due to the sheer amount of text and other information presented on each card, combined with a lot of provisos and special rules for the different interactions. However, in time the sequence becomes very clear and the core mechanics are actually fairly streamlined. The plentiful text actually becomes a convenience, since each card explains exactly how it works. It's also worth commending the good job done on setting up a general framework and set of rules for the Portable Adventures series, e.g. the character and stuff traits and colors system, which not only streamlines each game but creates a universe in which multiple themes can be employed and even mixed.

In addition, the game is not as random as it at first seems. There is a fair amount of large reversals in fortune depending on the draw of the cards, but decisions early on do have effects later and there is a vague sense of strategy. Compared to many similar games, Lair of the Rat King largely avoids the "play a bunch of random cards for a while and then decide the game on the last turn anyway" syndrome many games have. It also doesn't have the long sequences of back-and-forth and interminable end-games that many similar games have. Most sessions end just about when they should---long enough for the game to develop, not so long as to overstay its welcome. This is a critical point many other games don't succeed at, and Lair pulls it off well.

Tellingly, my girlfriend has become a large fan of this game. Despite not having any background to really appreciate or particularly enjoy the RPG/fantasy humor, the mechanics and timing are strong enough that she as an avid boardgamer appreciates the game based solely on their merits.

All that being said, there are some problems. The rules are presented in a fairly confusing way. Most of the material is there, but it's not organized as well as it could be. A few points seem to be presented in the wrong place, but a lot of it may simply be a need for better use of fonts and indentations take make the rules easier to navigate, remember, and use.

The rules are also somewhat short; much of the two pages seems to be spent on examples, perhaps a bit too much. They're also fairly generic, with only a few points here and there addressing Rat King specific cards rather than the general Portable Adventures framework. These combined with the many actions, traits, and interactions on the cards lead to a number of ambiguities and seemingly open issues. The following are just a sampling (much thanks to any help on these!). The list may be safely skipped by most readers, it's mere to point out that a fair amount of questions do exist. Also, a small few may indeed be addressed by the rules, but even so there's a problem if a fair bit of time spent on them could not turn up the answer.

• On the Magicbolt and Sleeping stuff cards, if a 6 is rolled and no opponents have non-me characters, are the effects of Full-Auto and Coma ignored or must they be applied, disastrously backfiring to discard one of the casting players' own characters? This seems contrary to their intent, but is how they read literally.
• It seems most reasonable that Stuff and Characters worth Adventure Points are not worth those points when Flipped, but that should be explicitly mentioned somewhere.
• It should be made explicit that cards Flipped during an Adventure remain flipped afterward.
• When trading or stealing Flipped cards due to Lost Items, Fair Trade, or similar cards, do they remain Flipped?
• If a player passes in an Adventure Round, may they take an action on the next go-round if the Adventure does not end? This seems reasonable as the other players' actions may have opened up an action for them, but it should be made clear.
• It should be made explicit that cards cannot be discarded without Unflipping Flipped cards. This seems to be correct given that the Me cards' Turn Options are useless otherwise, but it should be stated explicitly.
• Perhaps most problematically: Can Fair Trade be played if the (forced) trade would violate some rule? For example, trading for a Stuff card allowing two stuff cards on one character would most likely cause a violation. Another is trading away a Stuff requiring a color character the opponent doesn't have. In addition, can any character take the received item? The trade seems to be between groups rather than characters, but that should be made clear.

Again, these issues may have simple answers, but each one and several others have slowed down one or many sessions (particularly the Fair Trade issues). For such a light game, reliant on rapid play to keep things moving, this is a a large problem.

Fortunately, it's not insurmountable. The problems with rules ambiguities do detract notably from the game. However, once consistent solutions are accepted and remembered, they are mitigated to a great deal. Lair of the Rat King is a great combination of fun theme, good art, solid components, and clever mechanics in something posing as a random filler game but managing to be a bit more. It's also priced exactly right for this class of game, selling for somewhere around $10. In short, this is an excellent game and I recommend it to all gamers, but especially those interested in having some fun with RPG and fantasy cliches.