Rescue: Polar Bears is a board game that was delivered on Kickstarter a little while ago. This game is a co-operative game that has a really cool theme: you are trying to rescue polar bears and get data from the polar caps on global warming before the temperature rises too much or the polar bears get stranded.
While there are some abstractions with the theme (i.e. the time scale of temperature changes and the scales of time), the theme is very refreshing and unique. Most the actions and your goals fit the theme very well. You are moving around, saving bears, collecting data, and trying to keep a lid on the ice melting.
This isn't a co-operative game that is hard. There are some variants and modules that help to increase the difficulty, but you will win most the games on the basic game. This isn't a bad thing, as each game it feels like you have plenty of freedom on how to proceed with what feels like multiple options of what to do on your turn. You can also up your starting level to increase difficulty if desired.
This is a cool co-op where you have options and a nice theme. The components are also really good, with little bear figures and nice ships that all look different and play differently with their player powers. This is a game I would definitely recommend.
4 out of 5 polar waffles.
Showing posts with label Cooperative Game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooperative Game. Show all posts
Monday, 19 November 2018
Saturday, 21 July 2018
BOARD GAME REVIEW: FLASH POINT FIRE RESCUE
Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a game where you take on the role of a team of firefighters. In this game, your goal is to save enough people from the building before either the building collapses or the occupants are 'overcome' by the fire.
This game works similar to games like Pandemic. On each players turn, you perform 4 actions. These can be used to save people, move, or put out fires. Then, you advance the fire by rolling a new fire area. If you set off explosions, you may knock out parts of the building.
Flash Point is a simple game at heart. It is in the gateway area of board games, similar to Pandemic and the like, where the rules are relatively simple. Each player does there actions, fires advance, and you move on. There are a couple of little rules tweaks, but these mainly come in the expansions.
But underneath its weight and simplicity, this game is brimming with theme and life. Saving people and putting out fires is something most people can easily get behind. And although the game can feel a bit samey after awhile (easily fixed with expansion maps), the simple yet variable system of fire advancement makes allot of games feel fresh.
This is a game I really enjoy. The theme and mechanics complement eachother really well and it all makes sense. One of my complaints with it is easily addressed by grabbing an expansion or two for some new maps and more variability. The other issue is the alpha gamer issue, which occasionally rears its head (like Pandemic). This is an issue allot of pure co-operative games struggle with, and this hasn't done much to alleviate the issues. You could implement an only talk on your turn policy for this, but keep that in mind when busting this game out.
4 out of 5 Fire Fighting Stars.
This game works similar to games like Pandemic. On each players turn, you perform 4 actions. These can be used to save people, move, or put out fires. Then, you advance the fire by rolling a new fire area. If you set off explosions, you may knock out parts of the building.
Flash Point is a simple game at heart. It is in the gateway area of board games, similar to Pandemic and the like, where the rules are relatively simple. Each player does there actions, fires advance, and you move on. There are a couple of little rules tweaks, but these mainly come in the expansions.
But underneath its weight and simplicity, this game is brimming with theme and life. Saving people and putting out fires is something most people can easily get behind. And although the game can feel a bit samey after awhile (easily fixed with expansion maps), the simple yet variable system of fire advancement makes allot of games feel fresh.
This is a game I really enjoy. The theme and mechanics complement eachother really well and it all makes sense. One of my complaints with it is easily addressed by grabbing an expansion or two for some new maps and more variability. The other issue is the alpha gamer issue, which occasionally rears its head (like Pandemic). This is an issue allot of pure co-operative games struggle with, and this hasn't done much to alleviate the issues. You could implement an only talk on your turn policy for this, but keep that in mind when busting this game out.
4 out of 5 Fire Fighting Stars.
Friday, 11 September 2015
Board Game Review: Tiny Epic Defenders
Tiny Epic Defenders reminds me most of the hero siege-style games that were made popular by the Warcraft 3 custom maps. That is, without the 3-hour play time. From the same developers (Gamelyn Games) who made Tiny Epic Kingdoms, a game which brought a 4x game down to 15 minutes, Tiny Epic Defenders reduces a long, tower-defence style game down by a similar margin.
In Tiny Epic Defenders, you arrange a series of cards to form outlying regions around a capital city. On your turn, you can move your hero around these regions, healing them or defending them from monster attacks. On the enemy turn, the monsters attack the outlying regions and, if destroyed, they attack the city. Once the city is destroyed, it is game over. If you survive long enough for the boss monster to come out and you defeat them, you win.
That is about it. There are a few special rules about which hero you are using or which monster appears, but the mechanics are very simple. And like Tiny Epic Kingdoms, the simplicity doesn't stop the fun. The randomness in the turn order and the set-up gives it replayability and like all good co-operative games, there are never enough turns. From turn 1 or 2 you are started to put out fires for when the hordes eventually build up. And on top of this, when the big boss comes out, you have to deal with even more effects (like moving regions involuntarily at the beginning of your turn).
Tiny Epic Kingdoms takes up to 4 players but can be played solo. It is fully co-operative and players have nothing to gain by not helping your team. And once you survive, you definitely feel a sense of achievement. And if not, well, it only takes 15-20 minutes to play again.
One criticism is that hero abilities and items gained don't really work to differentiate your heroes very much sometimes. Especially if the draw and enemies means that your abilities may be useless for the game. And if you choose to play on hard difficulty, your abilities need to be used to the fullest. Another criticism is that the randomness can feel very unfair. On one turn, all your actions may be towards the start of the turn. Next turn, all your actions at the end. So it is very quick to go from not having many problems to being in a near-hopeless situation. However, to take away these elements is to take away some of the charm.
4 out of 5 Tiny Epic Pancakes that don't fill you up at all.
In Tiny Epic Defenders, you arrange a series of cards to form outlying regions around a capital city. On your turn, you can move your hero around these regions, healing them or defending them from monster attacks. On the enemy turn, the monsters attack the outlying regions and, if destroyed, they attack the city. Once the city is destroyed, it is game over. If you survive long enough for the boss monster to come out and you defeat them, you win.
That is about it. There are a few special rules about which hero you are using or which monster appears, but the mechanics are very simple. And like Tiny Epic Kingdoms, the simplicity doesn't stop the fun. The randomness in the turn order and the set-up gives it replayability and like all good co-operative games, there are never enough turns. From turn 1 or 2 you are started to put out fires for when the hordes eventually build up. And on top of this, when the big boss comes out, you have to deal with even more effects (like moving regions involuntarily at the beginning of your turn).
Tiny Epic Kingdoms takes up to 4 players but can be played solo. It is fully co-operative and players have nothing to gain by not helping your team. And once you survive, you definitely feel a sense of achievement. And if not, well, it only takes 15-20 minutes to play again.
One criticism is that hero abilities and items gained don't really work to differentiate your heroes very much sometimes. Especially if the draw and enemies means that your abilities may be useless for the game. And if you choose to play on hard difficulty, your abilities need to be used to the fullest. Another criticism is that the randomness can feel very unfair. On one turn, all your actions may be towards the start of the turn. Next turn, all your actions at the end. So it is very quick to go from not having many problems to being in a near-hopeless situation. However, to take away these elements is to take away some of the charm.
4 out of 5 Tiny Epic Pancakes that don't fill you up at all.
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