Mars Attacks: Ten-Minute Takedown
Overview
The martians are here, and they’re bent on world domination. How, you ask? By sending their flying saucers all over the planet (your table) in a recklessly unpredictable fashion… because they’re dice. And flicked dice never take the straight path.
Set Up
Mars Attacks: Ten-Minute Takedown takes a mere minute to set up – simply lay out a number of targets equal to player count plus one, and participants set their saucers along an edge of the table. Done.
Gameplay
Each player’s flying saucer is a disc with a hole in the middle exactly big enough to fit the die in. This disc starts on the edge of the table; on your turn you’ll place that die in the center, then flick it out… hopefully in the general direction of one of the targets.
Targets are made up of three rings – if you land anywhere on the target you’ll take the outer-most remaining ring. Rings increase in value as they move toward the center, as the targets get much harder to land on the smaller they get. Outer rings are worth 1 point, middle rings 2 and central target pieces 3.
However… each target has a symbol on it; if your die lands on the target with its upside-face matching the symbol you’ll claim the outer-most remaining ring and flip it upside-down. Upside-down target pieces receive a +1 point bonus.
If you failed to land on a target, you’ll place your saucer disc over the die and start from that position next turn. If you’ve landed on a target you’ll bring your saucer back to the edge of the table and start anew, albeit with more points.
Play continues clockwise around the table until the final target piece is claimed. Then everyone totals the points on their pieces and one martian is declared the new overlord!
Components
Who would enjoy this game?
Final Thoughts
Cardboard pieces and dice aren’t the most common components for dexterity games, but they work really well. There are plenty of disc-flicking games around, but the problem with discs is that you can become pretty good at aiming them. Where’s the fun in that?
Mars Attacks: Ten-Minute Takedown recognizes that chaos makes for excitement in casual filler games, and the die makes everything wild. No matter how good you get, you may have a corner hit the table and shoot that thing way off your intended path.
Things can get pretty tense when only high-point inner target pieces remain. It seems insane to care so much about where an unpredictable object lands, but when the game’s on the line you will. There aren’t many better 10- to 15-minute filler games on the market than Mars Attacks: Ten-Minute Takedown.
User Reviews (1)
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This is essentially a cardstock game of marbles.
If you are looking for depth of gameplay you are in the wrong place. But if you want to laugh and enjoy good hearty smacktalk with your gaming buddies, and honestly, about 5 to 10 minutes of playtime, this IS for you.
You set up the game pieces and literally flick your saucer around with your fingers. That’s it. That is the whole thing.
The components are actually of fine quality, but after being flicked around for a while they will start to come apart. This is a kinetick game, after all.
Bottom line though, it is fun and goofy, and as I said earlier, a great place for ridiculous smack talk. I picked it up for a street price of under $10. It’s well worth it.