Obsession: Finding a New Nemesis in the Poldark Family
Restore a country estate and manage a family’s activities in a Derbyshire challenge for the ages with Obsession.
My birthday was during the week, and I realized I hadn’t played by favorite game in months! As the only solo game I’ve granted a perfect score to, Obsession has lots of content I haven’t played with. I figured I would waltz up against the next solo opponent family for a pretty quick routing. Well, let me tell you more about the Poldark family of dark arts…
Disclaimer
I received the Meeple Source Characters for free from the publisher. In no way does this affect my rating of the game, but it’s just something to note. The standard meeples are also pretty great: These ones just look extra pretty!
Game Overview
Game Name: Obsession
Publication Year: 2018
Designer: Dan Hallagan
Artist: Dan Hallagan
Publisher: Kayenta Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Managing a family in the Derbyshire social circles takes a lot of careful planning. The estate must be rebuilt by purchasing new tiles, events must be hosted, and the Fairchild family must take notice. It’s rich in theme and strategy with some of the most memorable plays for me!
First Play
January 25, 2019
Complexity
3
Latest Play
October 15, 2025
Expansions
6
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
106
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
248
Game Area
24" x 28"
Low Score
82
A Familiar Sight
I know what most of my games look like just from the box art, but getting them to the table can sometimes bring back a flood of memories. This one does just that!
There might not be anything that makes this play area stand out, yet it’s one of my favorite sights. The color scheme and remembering some stories are fantastic.
This is also why I don’t mind not playing favorites all the time. I can go over 8 months and still love a game.
No other game has been such a delight for me, so I sat there just smiling at my table for a moment. So lovely!
A Poldark Nightmare
Up next in my list of solo opponents was the Poldark family. They seemed unassuming… Intermediate with the expansion, and nothing too unusual about the numbers.
Oh, but let me tell you about these Poldarks! I’m pretty sure I discovered the reason for defense against the dark arts. It’s right there in the name, too. Diabolical people.
Go ahead and take a guess as to how many plays I’m talking about here before looking. Then check.
Morning and night, I battled this family. They turned into my new nemesis. They were (and are) the absolute worst!
Strategic Holes
The York family began with an extra footman, and it seemed prudent to focus on service. Even the Fairchilds seemed to be impressed with it. But those Poldarks…
Even with a monument in my final arrangement and too many service tiles to fit neatly in a single column, I lost.
Granted, I was a little rusty to begin with. My last play was last autumn, so I had to get my bearings. Derbyshire is not a county to jump into! One must know the social customs.
So I set myself up to try again. It was my birthday… Surely a victory wasn’t going to take too long to log. Right?!
Intercepted Letters
I knew all about the importance of screening casual guests, and did so all the time. Yet despite the careful plans, the York family found themselves in bad company.
Time after time, each time I drew a lone casual guest resulted in calamity! Mr. Pugh had appalling manners, and Viscount Walmy was not one to associate with.
A London detective would have discovered letter tampering… The Poldarks sent my invitations elsewhere!
This was quickly turning into a hilarious tragedy where the Yorks were destined to never win. Not on my watch!
Playing a Favorite Over and Over Again
A sign that this remains my very favorite game is how I felt the need to keep playing again and again. I was determined to get that victory against the Poldarks, and this often meant playing at least twice in a row in a single sitting. There were some frustrating moments with bad luck, yet I never felt like I wasn’t having fun. You can’t stop me, Poldarks!
Additionally, I last played in October of 2022. So long ago! I definitely don’t want to say that every game needs to stay in a collection even if it’s rarely played. But there is something to be said about finding a handful of favorites that don’t need to hit the table all the time. I love this experience, no matter how often it comes to my solo table.
I’m now coming up on 100 lifetime plays, which is pretty awesome! There are more solo opponents to go up against, along with cards and building tiles I never tried yet. I’m far from done with seeing everything new, and can’t wait to play again, whenever that may be. One thing’s for sure: Nothing has come close to dethroning my favorite game!
Odd Coincidences
Perhaps my country estate construction skills weren’t the greatest, but this was a pretty amazing tableau! It even looked like the Poldarks were about to be ousted.
Feverishly, I started counting up victory points at the end. My valets were unusually inept, almost clownish, but it was all fine. This was my moment to bask in glory.
And then… I lost by 2 victory points. Yes, it was that close as I did everything in my power. Poldark magic!
It would later come out that they replaced my valets and caused mayhem. Like I said, this was a new nemesis.
A New Parsonage
Where was I? What day was it? Because this societal battle waged on as I found time to play before and after work. I simply had to defeat the Poldark family. No doubt about it!
Many building tiles cycled in and out, and I realized I had never actually seen the parsonage before. It had a neat ongoing action which normally would be quite useful…
Not against those blasted Poldarks, though. I think they managed to steal money and reputation at each turn.
This was quite the rivalry! I flipped between laughably terrible scores and getting within striking distance.
Still Not Good Enough
Alright! Enough was enough. I hunkered down and leaned heavily into prestige building tiles. Look at all of those beautiful monuments! Surely, this would be the play.
Yet with every turn, the Fairchilds preferred every category the York family didn’t specialize in. Prestige? Who needs that?! It was a horror show.
Even looking at this photo, I see an odd trick of the light next to the manor gargoyles. Another Poldark attack!
It still seems so odd to have lost with this tableau, but I’m convinced the Poldarks are always up to no good.
Well, Well, Well!
I fought valiantly, building up the country estate and making sure the York family had some sort of advantage with Derbyshire society. One day, it would all work out.
Well, 3 days of playing and on my 15th attempt… It did! I don’t know how, but the Poldarks were somehow stymied by my skills. Or maybe those imported marble floors.
There was much yelling at my solo table when I finally squeaked out a win by just 4 victory points. But I did it!
This was still nowhere close to my best outing, yet it was enough to send those Poldarks packing. Finally!
Session Overview
Play Number: 75-89
Expansion 1: Obsession: Upstairs, Downstairs
Expansion 2: Obsession: Wessex Expansion
Accessory: Meeple Source Characters
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Standard Play with Closed Courtship
Outcome: 1 Win & 14 Losses
The final play resulted in the most prestige guests I had seen in a long time. They clearly came to the rescue of the York family! And with that, the Poldark family was never heard from again. Such a great experience, as always!
%
100 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Incorporating the new staff members is very easy, and there isn’t a single best option to choose during setup.
- Solo opponents offer varying degrees of difficulty, which often leads to very deep-seated rivalries for lots of fun.
- The theme ties into the mechanics beautifully, allowing stories to develop during the course of play.
- Play time moves very quickly with important decisions that don’t drag on and a step-by-step sequence to follow.
- Artwork isn’t prevalent on a lot of the building tiles, yet the entire game has a beautiful and classic appearance.
- Guests come with their own flavor text to help create more stories as the seasons pass and challenges abound.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There is a bit of luck involved with the theme cards, which can greatly affect the outcome of a solo play.
- Starting guests can sometimes hinder progress if they offer the same rewards or seem less useful than others.
- Objective cards may feel very swingy at times with the different requirements that may be too easy or difficult.
- New staff take a little time to get used to in terms of understanding the best situations to use them in.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 60%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 200 points.
Score at least 240 points.
Win at least 1 game against each base game family.
Score at least 280 points.
Win at least 1 game against each Up, Downstairs family.
Continue the Conversation
What are some of your favorite parts of Obsession? Has there been a family that turned out to be your nemesis? I thought the Gladstones were the worst, but I can confirm that the Poldarks take that honor! This was such a great game to return to… Even if I only thought it would take a few plays to win. Ha! Still love this one just as much as ever.
Besides the wonderful stories, I just LOVE how neat you keep your estate. That is my preference, too! One must be tidy as well as triumphant, no?
Thanks, Dan! Absolutely must keep things tidy, lest the Derbyshire social circles begin to gossip about one’s staff. I do believe the American heiresses flock to untidy estates… Although at times, the lost reputation is worth it! Let the families talk of that terrible visit from the Texas lady at our lawn tennis tournament. Later in the season, I expect that newly installed garden maze will be the talk of the county, and the source of said funding will be lost to the next scandal. Ha! Such a wonderful game, which I can never say enough!
15 plays before you could win! Well that shows passion, love, abnegation and consistence! I would have given up at that point. My loss!
It was a hard-fought battle, indeed! Although I will say that with most games, I also would have given up. This one is different for me in that losing just makes me want to play even more. I love the challenge and having that sort of rivalry build up over time. So much fun! But now I wonder what the next family will be like… Ha ha!
How many families need to be played still?
Good question! I think it’s about 3 or 4 more families, including one that’s supposedly a nightmare to win against. Challenge accepted. Ha ha!
Thank you for posting this! I’m practically in despair playing against this card, but I can’t bring myself to give up and move on with my life. Knowing someone else struggled this hard against them has renewed my hope. Giving the number of attempts you needed, showing your tableaus and talking about the role the luck of the draw played are all encouraging, if still daunting.