In the Gloom card game, the goal is to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before passing on to the well-deserved respite of death. There are horrible but winning mishaps such as Pursued by Poodles or Mocked by Midgets that lower a player’s Self-Worth scores, or happy, but losing events such as marriages. The player with the lowest total Family Value wins. Printed on transparent plastic cards, Gloom features an innovative design by noted role playing game author Keith Baker. Multiple modifier cards can be played on top of the same character card; because the cards are transparent, elements from previously played modifier cards either show through or are obscured by those played above them. You´ve got to see (through) this game to believe it.
— Gloom is a great seller at the Wizard’s Chest in Denver, Colo., said owner Kevin Pohle.
— “It's a darker humored game, but well-adjusted children will understand and enjoy it,” Eric of Gamescape in San Francisco assured TDmonthly Magazine.
— “I have high hopes it will do really well; it’s the first time it’s been available at Christmas,” John Nephew, president of Atlas Games told TDmonthly. “It’s ideal for older kids and teenagers who are at the point of appreciating things morbid and ironic — especially surly teenagers with a Goth bent!”