Ninja Pirate vs Zombie Robot (Smash Up)

The Wizard-Ninja snuck into the base, their wands and shuriken ready to deal with any foes that might pop up.  After dealing with the Ghost-Aliens, They knew the Super Spy Geeks and the C'thulhu Cultist Killer Plants were next.  And then they saw them, the dreaded Kaiju Teddy Bears.  If this sounds like bad fan fiction, you're not half wrong.  It's Smash Up, where 2 become one, even if they're as silly as Giant Ant Grannies.  Smash Up the world!



BACKGROUND: Smash Up is a card game for 2-4 players, and was designed by Paul Peterson and published by Alderac Entertainment Group. It describes itself as a "shufflebuilding", where players take 2 seperate types of characters, like Faries and Dinosaurs, and shuffles them together to invade locations and prove they are the best pair of all.

GAMEPLAY:  Each player chooses 2 factions and shuffles their decks together.  Then the number of players +1 Bases are put out in the center of the table.  Each turn, a player may play up to 1 Minion on a base, and up to one Action card.  Minions are always played on a base, whereas Action cards may be played on a Minion, a Base, or just played.  Some cards may be played in addition to these actions, such as discarding them to give their effect, and some have Talents, which can be used once per turn during the card play phase.  Any card still not in play is discarded.



BASES:  Bases have 3 large numbers in the center, and a smaller number in the top left, as do minions.  At the end of a players turn, when the number on all the Minions in a base are equal to or higher than the bases smaller number, the base is discarded, generally with the player with the higher number total on the base scoring Victory Points (VP) equal to the left large number, the 2nd most scoring the middle number, the 3rd scoring the right number, and other players scoring nothing.  Some bases have effects which change the play style.  Finally, the base is discarded and replaced, and all cards on the base are sent to their players' respected discard piles.



WINNING:  The first player to get 15 or more VP ends the game, with the winner being the player with the most VP.

CONCLUSION:  Smash Up is probably one of the hardest games to both explain and get a good grasp on in terms of card games.  There's a huge, complex, delicate strategy constantly going on may an usually will need to be changed in the drop of a hat.  Even in the base form, it can be a struggle to get your plans to work, not to mention that with the inclusion of close to 15 expansions and 60 separate factions, there's a lot to play with and remember.  Smash Up can still be quite enjoyable, but this is the game that you play with your gaming friends on a Friday night, not your relatives who are just starting to learn board games, or the ones whose most advanced game is Dominoes.  Still, it's a lot of fun to Smash Up a few factions and see which ones come out on top.

Matching Shoes (Spot It)

Hey kids!
Have you ever wanted to play a game?  How about a game that your parents will think is both fun and educational?  Well, try Spot It!  Spot It in your local game store! (Batteries not required)



BACKGROUND: Spot It or Dobble is a card game for 2-8 players, originally created in 2009.  Spot it is a matching game with multiple game modes.

MODES:  There are 5 different ways to play Spot it, each one being some kind of matching game:

• TOWER:  Each player starts with 1 card, and tries to find a symbol from the card on top of the center pile to put on top of their pile.  Once the pile runs out, the player with the most cards wins.
• WELL:  The Tower in reverse.  Players start with a pile of face-down cards, with one in the center face-up.  Flip the top one over, trying to put their card on the top of the pile in the center.  The player to get rid of their cards wins.
• HOT POTATO:  Each player has a card flat in their hand, and tries to give their card(s) to another player by matching a symbol.  The round ends when only one player has all the players cards.  The winner is the player with the least amount of cards in a set amount of turns.
• POISONED GIFT:  Each player starts with 1 card.  Players try to match the center pile card with another players card.  The player with the fewest number of cards wins the game. 
• TRIPLET: Place the cards in a 3x3 grid.  Then, players try to find a symbol on 3 cards to collect, and replace those with 3 new cards from the deck.  The player to collect the most cards when there are fewer than 9 cards left wins.

CONCLUSION:  Spot It is a good pattern matching game.  It is a simple, light game that allows for players who don't like one mode to just ignore entirely.  The problem is that most of the modes are basically remixes of the other modes.  This game is great for families or people who prefer lighter games that don't require a ton of strategy or complexity, or for those whose game night requires a small break.  It can get competitive and people have been known to be accidentally hit during this game.  Still, this is one that if you can Spot It, you should get it.

Where Have All The Chickens Gone? (Chupacabra: Survive the Night)

There are those who stalk the night, rumored to be created when one betrays another.  They travel alone, with glowing red eyes and long, sharp teeth.  Their claws are stronger than bone, and they are faster than any beast.  You know they are around when the cries of your goats are silenced, and when the blood is gone from them.  They are El Chupacarbas, the Chupacabra.  And there's one BEHIND YOU!



BACKGROUND:  Chupacabra: Survive the Night is a dice game for 2-4 players.  It was designed by David Blanchard, Brian Frodema, John Jacobsen, and artist Alex Fernandez, and was published by Steve Jackson Games.  Players take the role of a Chupacabra and attempt to steal other players dice and eat all the cattle.

GAMEPLAY:  Each turn, all players roll their dice, and sort them into types.  Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player with a pair of red eyes, or a Chupacabra, attacks.  It takes 2 Chupacabra to take 1 Bull, or 1 Chupacabra to take 1 Goat or 2 Chickens.  Groups, or Herds, may never be broken apart, so in order to steal a whole Herdfrom one player, the player must use the equivalent number of Chupacabras, i.e., rolling 2 Chupacabras can be used to steal 4 Chickens from a player, if they have 3 or 4, but may not be used to steal if they have more Chickens.  Players may also not steal dice if they have already been stolen from another player.



LOCO:  Once all players have either attacked or passed, all players roll both their stolen and their remaining dice, and attack again with the next player going first.  If a player ever ends up rolling all Chupacabras, they go Loco!  They can now steal any Herd, regardless of size.

WINNING:  Once a player is out of dice, they are eliminated.  The winner is the last player with all the dice.

CONCLUSION:  Chupacabra is a typical Jackson dice game.  Simple, easy, and to the point, there's a good amount going for it to help break up a typical game night.  Just like C'thulhu and Zombie Dice, it's a game entirely build on luck.  Surprisingly, the biggest weakness I have with the game is not in the mechanics, but the dice themselves.  This is designed to be a dice game that glows in the dark.  Now while that sounds like a really clever and neat idea, in practice it's far more underwhelming.  The dice really are too small for the paint to hold much of a charge, especially the red eyes, so it can e hard to identify what is which animal.  The paint itself can fade pretty quickly, making it hard to know what the animal was to begin with even in the light.  So while the game is fine, I would suggest that if it interests you, buy the game and make your own dice that don't rub off. 

Best of the Worst (Disney's Villainous)

Aladdin, Ariel, Hercules.  At one time or another, we've imagined being a hero like these in a story, to emuate their strength, or their courage.  But how often have we imagined taking the role of the villains? How we love to hate them, with their flair for the dramatic, and their utter presence in every scene.  A hero is good, but a villain is grand!  To take their roles and prove we could succeed where they failed would be truly Villainous. 



BACKGROUND:  Villainous is a card game for 2-6 players, designed by Prospero Hall and published by Wonder Forge, where you take the role of a famous Disney villain to thwart both fate and canon and become the ruler of your realm.

GAMEPLAY:  During their turn, a player moves into any unlocked space on their board.  Some locations, like the Cave of Wonder, are locked until a card is played, but others, like Prince Eric's Palace in Ursula's Realm, must be moved to simulate transforming from land dweller to sea dweller.  Each Location in the Realm determines what actions you can take on your turn, with any others unavailable to use that turn.  Some actions grant you Power, which is used to play certain cards and abilties, discard cards, or even to play a card or move cards to an adjacent Location.  Turns end by drawing up to 4 cards.  If either the colored Villain deck or the white Fate deck runs out, shuffle the discard into a new deck.



FATE:  Whenever a person uses a Fate action, they reveal 2 cards from another players Fate deck.  The player doing the action chooses one and applies its effects, and the other is discarded.  If it is a Hero, it is placed in the targeted players Realm, usually covering certain Actions so that players may not use those being covered.  In 5-6 player games, the Fate token is given to a player so that they may not be targeted by the Fate action twice in a row.  Multiple Heroes may be in the same location, but multiple Heroes may not be Vanquished with a single Vanquish action.  Only one may be Vanquished with one action.



VANQUISH:  Vanquish is a action applying to Heroes and Allies.  Allies are generally used to Vanquish a Hero in their Realm.  Certain Items can be equipped to Allies to raise the power of the Allies.  The Power of both Heroes and Allies are located in the bottom left.  To Vanquish a hero, the Ally or Allies must be in the same location as the Hero, and Heroes are discarded from the Realm until their Strength matches or exceeds the Hero, then the Hero is discarded.

WINNING:  A player wins when certain conditions are met on their board.  Some must start their turn with their objectives, while others merely need to meet those objectives.

CONCLUSION:  This game has some really unique, interesting things going for it that make it both worthy of praise and a detriment.  The theme is both original and exciting, which is also how I would describe the game.  The fact that affecting a player and slowing them down only occurs indirectly is fascinating, and leads to some really interesting maneuvers, without sacrificing the theme of the game.  However, that also means that you once a player starts to get the pieces they need for victory, it can snowball, i.e., it can make it really hard to stop them from winning.  Some of the Villains win conditions seem a little unbalanced, like Prince John's, but after playing it a few times, it is possible for any player to win.  The biggest drawback is the turn length's, which takes longer for newer players as it's mechanically so different, and the card system.  Like every other card game, it is really easy to just have no cards that work for you, and because discarding is an action you have to land on to use, it makes a dead hand that much worse.  Still, if you want an interesting, quirky, and uniquely solid game, make a wish and become Villainous.