Andreas

Background

Like most of my games, i heard of this game through a youtube-series called “Dice Tower Reviews”, with Tom Vasel. I already had amazing experiences introducing all my friends to “Pandemic”, and seeing the addiction spread, so I went into this game expecting the same co-op core, albeit with a different, perhaps more relatable theme.

Impressions

The game box has an awesome cover, displaying a fireman blazing towards you (axe, mask and all) – and it really sets the tone for this hectic co-op experience. I immediately noticed the unfortunate simplicity of the inside of the game box. it is just split into three parts; the middle is pressed down, and will hold all your game pieces in one big pile, and the sides can just about contain 3 layers of cards without getting in the way of the lid when closed.

This is really unfortunate, since there are soooo many different cardboard game pieces, that could use separation, and no zip-lock bags are included. Otherwise the fireman-miniatures in 6 different colors look super cool, and the specialist-cards for the advanced rules, boast some equally stunning art.

The board itself is not as sturdy as i would have liked, and is already showing wear along the bending-crevasse (i havn’t studied board game anatomy!). The designs of the rooms and such is a little bland, but it doesn’t in any significant way subtract from the fun!

Gameplay

“Flash Point – Fire Rescue” is a cooperative board game for 2-6 players. The game pits the firemen, against an already burning house, containing possible victims that need saving. The game is played on a board, that in birds-eye view shows the house, its different rooms and furniture, as well as the outside sidewalk, where you will begin the game.

The object of the game is to reach, identify and rescue 7 victims from the burning building by carrying them outside(a little different with advanced rules). You lose when 4 victims have perished from the fire. The game can be played with either family rules, or with the advanced rule set that expands on the family rules, making it a lot harder.

I played with these rules on my first 2 playthroughs, and found it a lot of fun. With these rules, every fireman has 4 action points (AP) that they can spend on each of their turns (or store the spare points away, for future turns!). With an action you can move one square, open a door, or flip a fire-marker to its smoke-side in an adjecent square(not diagonally). Spending an extra AP will let you extinguish that fire completely!

Alternately, a player can spend 2 AP when standing next to a wall to hack at it, and thus place ONE damage-token on this part of the wall. A wall with 2 damage-tokens is considered to be broken, and works like an open door = you can simply walk through. I won’t go through it but the advanced rules add a lot more possibilities that include: piloting a firetruck, using the big hose on it, drive an ambulance, switch to a different role and much more.

When you land on a square with a POI-marker(Point of Interest, there are 3 of these at all times in the house), you flip it (for free) and see if it’s one of 3 things; a cat, a dog, nothing, or a human victim. Only in the case of the POI-marker being a victim, do you keep it on the board; the other 3 are considered “false alarm”. You want to escort this victim to any space outside the house, for him/her to be considered “rescued”.

After a player has spent all his AP, he/she ends by doing the “advance fire roll”, where a black 8-sided die, and a red 6-sided die are rolled, to determine the coordinate of the next smoke/fire. This mechanic is at the basis of this game, and keeps everyone on their toes, as a roll can cause either smoke, a fire, or an EXPLOSION, which runs rampant in all 4 directions, possible damaging walls and resetting firemen in its wake to the ambulance outside(see rules for the rest)

Verdict
I was a little skeptic that this game would go off the wayside, and my group would continue to prefer Pandemic over this, but I have played this a few times now, and theres has definitely been more laughing (almost to the point of tears), EVERY TIME we played this game. I can’t exactly say why, but I think the theme is maybe not as deadly serious as a worldwide rampaging epidemic, or it could be that its not as strategy heavy as Pandemic.

I like playing this game both with the family rules and the advanced rules, but prefer the advanced rules, as it really adds some great mechanics(hazardous materials, flare ups, hot spots, ambulance, fire truck etc.) and the unique roles that made pandemic an awesome co-op game.

I would recommend to anyone who likes pandemic and wants another great co-op experience with a different enough mechanic and theme, to make it worth owning alongside. The fun factor in this one is through the burning, charred roof!

Background
I bought this game, shortly after watching it played on “Tabletop”(youtube). I had’nt played it at all, but had heard it recommended on several occasions.

Gameplay
The game is for 2-6 players (although i have found that 3-4 is optimal). Each player is assigned 1 of 6 different monsters, and the scoreboard that goes with the monster.

The scoreboard is your way to keep track of your monsters life points (starting at 10) as well as victory points. The first monster that accumulates 20 victory points, or kills all the other monsters is the winner!

Your turn revolves around rolling 6 dice, with the option to selectively roll some, or all of the dice 2 extra times. You can roll a heart, attack, Energy or 1,2 or 3 points.
Heart: You heal your self to the maximum of 10 (although some upgrade cards allow you to go beyond!)
Attack: If you are outside of Tokyo, and Tokyo is unoccupied, you take Tokyo for your own and gain victory points. If another Monster is IN Tokyo you damage this monster and THAT monster must choose to either stay in tokyo(and possibly gain the +2 Victory Point reward for begging your turn in Tokyo), or leave Tokyo. If you are IN Tokyo, you cannot use hearts to heal, and all damage you do is dealt to ALL outside monsters!

With the energy you accumulate small, green energy cubes that allow you to purchase special upgrade cards to make your monster even scarier! This, especially, allows for some extra strategy and adds a ton of replay-ability!

Verdict
The theme really is what makes this game super super awesome! The dice mechanic adds some randomness, but the ability to buy upgrade cards and also have choices in where you want to place your monster, adds appropriate amounts of strategy to the game. Setup is easy and quick, and it really is a game that fits just about any gaming group. King of Tokyo really hits it out of the park, when it comes to a fun, light game that doens’t require strenuous amounts of planning and strategy.

Background
I received this game as a present, and had seen it played on the show “tabletop”(youtube).

Impressions
The game comes in a nicely decorated cardboard cup with ALL the game components! Now, those components may only include a handful of differently colored dice, but still, very nice.

Gameplay
This is a push-your-luck dice game, where the goal is to score 13 points. You score points by eating brains. Thus, when it is your turn:
1) shake the cup, and…
2) randomly pick 3 dice out of the cup
3) roll these 3 dice.
4) if the dice show:
a. brain: save these. these are your points so far.
b. shot!: you were shot. You stash these along with the brains, and don’t re-roll them. if at any point you have 3 shot-dice, you are killed and lose the points you have collected so far! the trick is to decide whether you want to risk rolling again or just collect the points you have so far.
c. feet: these victims escaped! re-roll these dice if you continue to roll.

5) after your first roll, you may choose to re-roll. If you choose to, you must collect the dice showing the feet-symbol (if any) and draw new di(c)e adding up to a total number of 3 dice.
6) repeat from step 3.

There are 12 dice, each being one of 3 colors; green, yellow or red. All this means is that; red dice have 3 sides showing a shot-symbol, yellow has 2 sides, and green has 1 side with a shot.

Verdict
The game is short and fun, and fits great in between bigger games on game-night. Also, I have found that making a drinking game of it (the player rolling must drink on every shot, AND drink again for each shot if he gets 3 or more shots) is tons of fun if you’re into that. overall great value!

Following my usual routine, I discovered this game after watching it played on “Tabletop” with Wil Wheaton. The game is super easy to explain to people, and the opportunity for tremendous difficulty only adds to the fun of the game! There isn’t a lot of downtime between players (only when you are about to die from card-loss, and the strategy for the next few turns are all that stands between you and victory!), and the many different roles ensures that each player, not only feel important in their own way, but are very important to the success of the game.

My game is almost worn up from all the playing, and everyone i’ve played one session with, have immediately wanted to play it again! It’s my gateway-game to get people into board gaming at the moment 🙂

Bought this with my roommate, after having seen it played on “tabletop” with Wil Wheaton. Tried it first with just 2 players, but that gets way too competitive with mandatory quests. Tried it with my study group of 5 people, and loved it! I found that 4-5 people are the optimal but 3 are okay as well.

The amount of interplay between players are somewhat limited, including only the “intrigue”-cards, that add something different and unexpected to the game. It gets really hectic toward the end of the game, and the inclusion of the monopoly-esque mechanic of building, and reaping included benefits makes sure that theres a lot of strategy involved in the game!