Tabletop Thursday Review - Boss Monster

In most games you are the hero. The bright-eyed, well intentioned savior of the land. But what if we took a moment to see things from a different perspective. Wouldn't it be fun to create a dungeon, lure heroes and slay them? What about a competition between you and your other monster friends, who can lure and defeat the most heroes before falling victim to your hubris. That, my friends, is Boss Monster.

The first thing that caught my eye with Boss Monster was the design of the box. Modelled after an NES game box (and the expansion taking after a Game Boy game box), my attention was hooked from the moment I saw it at Sketchbook Comics.

The game begins by each of the two to four players selecting, or being dealt, a Boss Monster to control.

And if the box art wasn't enough of a give away, this is a parody game playing on video game tropes. The bosses spoof a variety of classics, from Dracula to Mother Brain to King K. Rool and more.

From here, players take turns placing room cards to build their dungeon. Heroes begin to populate the nearby town, and the room card draw heroes of certain types. Treasure rooms draw thieves and rogues, while monster rooms bring warriors. The goal is to entice heroes to your dungeon, defeat them and collect their souls.

Like the bosses, the heroes are also parodies. Above we see spoofs of Pit, Link, Arthur, Jon Snow, Nariko and Tom Cruise('s character in The Last Samurai). Many more exist in the game and it's expansion and sequel.

One initial drawback to Boss Monster is the perceived complexity of the game. To combat this, the game comes with a handy, quick start guide in addition to the larger rule book.

I say perceived complexity because the game is easy to pick up once you begin. Without knowing a thing about it before playing, my sister and I had a good grasp of the game's mechanics after only one round of play.

With the set up out of the way...

Boss Monster is a game that seems more difficult than it is. Everything you need to know about how to play the game is found (in order) on the quick start guide, and within a round or two, you'll know exactly what to be doing.

As a parody of video games and other pop culture, the humour is on point. Boss Monster isn't an ultra complex game of wit and strategy, though there are elements of both as you craft your dungeon and outplay your opponents.

The game can be played on its own, or combined with the expansion and/or sequel. The sequel is a stand alone game as well, able to be played without the original. The games typically last anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the amount of players. In our very first game, which had three players, we were able to complete in between ordering and receiving our dinner at Boston Pizza.

With that said, Boss Monster gets a Board of Dice rating of: 3/5 - Nostalgia Blast

Not the most complex game, but not the easiest either. Still, Boss Monster can be a lot of fun for 2-4 players who are looking to kill a little bit of time (and a few heroes).

Boss Monster can be purchased on the creator's shop page or at your local game store.

Stay tuned next Tabletop Thursday, where Board of Dice will be reviewing Resistance.

Tabletop Thursday Review - Star Fluxx

A long, long time ago, in space, the final frontier. We explore in the starship Reference (it's bigger on the inside), collecting keepers and avoid becoming lost. We search for the meaning of life, but.. I can't let you do that, Dave.

Star Fluxx is short card game with simple rules. Well, rule. There is only one:

At least at the start of the game there is only one rule. Each player begins by being dealt three cards, and then each player takes a turn follow the rule(s). In the beginning, there is only Draw 1 Play 1.

You'll be dealt a variety of other cards. Each has their effect written down, and change the game accordingly.

• Yellow card are New Rules, which impose hand limits or let you draw/play more cards.
• Blue cards are actions, and have a variety of effect.
• Purple cards are traps, usually played to cancel out one of the other types.
• Pink cards are goals.
• Green cards are keepers. In Star Fluxx, they are all sci-fi references.

Keepers and Goals are the ultimate win condition. Have the keepers matching the goal condition, and you win.

But if you play a goal and SOMEONE ELSE has those keeper, they'll win instead. Why would you ever do this? Sometimes you don't have a choice; if a new rule comes up saying you have to play ALL your cards, you have to play ALL of your cards, even if it makes another player win.

There is another class of card exclusive to Star Fluxx, the Creeper:

When one of these comes up they can ruin your day. They don't count as a draw or a play, and you cannot win while you are in control of one (unless the goal specially mentions that creeper).

With the set up out of the way...

While the packaging suggests Star Fluxx be played with 2-6 players, there really isn't a limit to how many can join. Depending on the luck of the draw, or tricks played by other players, games can last a few minutes to much longer. I think my personal record is a game having lasted nearly an hour before a winner was declared. But that was a rare occurrence, most games last about 15 minutes.

The biggest draw of the game is the randomness to it. No two games are going to be alike. The goals are always changing, the rules are always changing. You could be "one turn away from victory" only to have the hopes dwindle away by the next player's choices. It can be played while waiting for friends to arrive, in between other, larger, time-consuming games or just on its own - over and over.

Star Fluxx get an unworldly Board of Dice rating of: 5/5

I can't speak any more highly of this game. It is fun, fast and competitive. No two games are alike, but you'll start to find certain keepers become your favourites. 

Star Fluxx can be found on Amazon or at your local game store. There are many varieties of Fluxx, from Monty Python to Lovecraftian Horror to Batman.

If you'd like to see a game of Star Fluxx in play, check out Wil Wheaton's TableTop. This episode first showed me the game, and I went out to buy it right away.

Stay tuned next week where Board of Dice will review: Boss Monster.

More than meets the eye

What better joy than finding a treasure chest behind a locked door in a deep, dark dungeon. Your party moves in close, ready to gorge themselves on delicious loot only to be attacked by a ravenous mess of teeth and tentacles.

The mimic, a monster that assumes the shape of something desirable, like a treasure chest, in order to ambush its prey and score its next meal.

Mimics are great way to spice up a tabletop RPG that has spent the first few levels with battles against bandits and goblins, and needs to mix it up a little.

Like the Owlbear, mimics are an old staple of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as any games based around the same system.

In combat, the base form mimic isn't the toughest foe to fight. Generally meant for level 2 or 3 parties, the mimic doesn't hit the hardest or soak up a lot of damage before falling. It does, however, comes with a few nasty surprises.

The base form mimic has a +20 to disguise, meaning it gets the result of a 20-sided die +20 to pretend to be something it is not. Most players at low levels would not be able to match this check with their perception or spot, so the mimic would go undetected. This stealth allows the mimic to make the first strike.

Of course, as with any monster in tabletop RPGs, there are stronger versions, both pre-written or adjusted on the fly to suit the needs of the dungeon master.

While the mimic is most commonly associated with disguising as treasure chests, they can choose any fitting form. A treasure chest may look out of place in an open air garden, but that leaves all the more room for a dread gazebo.

Tabletop Thursday Review - Bang!

A stand off -guns drawn- under the hot desert sun. A sheriff and deputies fend off an onslaught of outlaws, with the renegade watching the ebb and flow of battle, ready to steal victory for themself.

Eyes shift, not knowing if the one beside you is friend or foe. The sheriff's badge shines bright, but even they don't know who wants them safe, or who wants them six feet under.

In Bang! by Italian game designer, Emiliano Sciarra, the goal is to outwit your opponents and defeat them in a player vs. player Mexican standoff, set in the Old West.

Set up is easy in Bang! but can be tough to get used to the first time you play; if you follow the instructions you'll be golden. Players are assigned a specified role to play in the fray, but only one -the sheriff- is known to the other players. The others are hidden. The deputy's goal is to protect the sheriff. The outlaws want to defeat the sheriff. And the renegade plays both sides until they can betray their "allies" and win on their own.

Each turn begins by drawing two cards, which have a variety of effects, but the most important are the "Bang" which allows you to damage another player, and the "Missed" and "Dodge" cards which cause a played "Bang" to be ineffective.

Players have a varying amount of health points, and each successful "Bang" lowers that by one. Run out of health and you're out of the game.

The game ends when the sheriff is killed. If the only remaining player is a renegade, they are the winner. Otherwise the outlaws win as a team. If all outlaws and renegades are killed, the sheriff and deputy win.

What's to stop all the outlaws from immediately shooting the sheriff and winning the game? Distance. Each player can initially only shoot a person to their immediate left or right, however by drawing various gun cards and equipping them, they can increase the distance they are able to shoot.

With the set up out of the way...

Bang! is a game that is best played with all seven players, although it can be played with as few as four. Expansions are available for the game, but the base game allows for quite a bit of fun and replay value. As an added benefit, each card is printed with both Italian and English, so you may learn a little something as you play.

That said, the player requirements make it sometimes difficult to set up play sessions. But when you do get a chance to play, it is always fun to Bang! your friends. You'll quickly learn who you can trust, who is a good guy, and who is out to claim glory for themself.

For that, Bang! gets a Board of Dice rating of: 3/5 - Shooter!


Just as the spaghetti westerns have their influences from samurai movies, Bang! has a samurai-themed version of the game called Samurai Sword that is played in a similar way, but with enough differences to make it worth checking out if that is your jam.






Bang! can be purchased on Amazon or at your local game store.

Stay tuned to Board of Dice, where next Thursday Tabletop Review will be: Star Fluxx.

Superb Owl Sunday

The Owlbear, a staple creature of role-playing games dating back to the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons, is still regarded as one of the fiercest and popular creatures in the beastiary.

In both D&D and Pathfinder canon, the origins of the owlbear are unknown and contested. Some say it is the result of a wizard's twisted imagination. Others claim it is a prototype create of the Fey, the First World, and has somehow migrated to the Material Plane (the main world we play in).

Out of game, the owlbear is credited to Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D.

The owlbear as a monster, lives and hunts primarily in forests and wooded areas. They can strike alone, or in groups of two to six. Or more, if the dungeon master/game master (DM/GM) requires more.

Since I play Pathfinder more than D&D, some things may not cross over fully. That said, in their current PF iteration, owlbears are given a base challenge rating of 4. So a party consisting of 3-4 members should start to run into one owlbear at around level 3. (Average Party Level +1 should equal CR for a challenging fight.)

Owlbears are fiercely territorial and will attack anything that comes into their area. They can be tamed, by skilled (or lucky) druids or rangers, but most of the time the owlbear will attack relentlessly until defeated.

The attack with razor sharp claws, gashing at their enemies. Or by grabbing an enemy and forcefully holding it in place while it bites and stabs with its beak.

Owlbears aren't particularly intelligent animals, at least at base level, but aren't mindless either. Should one be given intelligence through the spell Awaken, they'd be an even deadlier threat.

The beastiary lists variants of the owlbear, including the higher-level and deadlier Siege Owlbear, but with how customizable games like D&D and Pathfinder are, the GM can adapt the creature to suit the needs of the story.

 

For more information about Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, check out the links.

Tabletop Thursday Review - Smash Up

What happens when a team of deadly ninja assassins partners up with a ravenous hoard of dinosaurs? Or a mindless pack of zombies with calculating, mystical wizards?

World domination.

In Smash Up, players are given two factions at random from a selection that includes things like ninjas, werewolves, robots, dinosaurs and ghosts, to extreme, out-there factions like the bear cavalry or eldritch abominations.

By combining the two decks, players form their team and set to smash, or break apart, bases and take over the world.

The factions are shuffled together, and placed face down in a pile. Each player draws five cards (and two more at the end of each turn).

After joining the two factions together to make a team, base cards are played in the middle of the table. Usually the number of bases is number of players+1. Like the factions, the bases tend to have a type of card they are most tied to the playstyle of, and are often based on movies, books, games or other pop culture. The zombie's base, Rhodes Plaza Mall, is based off the movie, Dawn of the Dead, while the wizard's School of Wizarding is a nod to Harry Potter.

(If you are also interested in movies and movie trivia, be sure to check out Flictionary.)

Each turn, a player can play up to ONE minion and ONE action card (though various card effect allow players to do more!). The goal is to have the power of the minions surpass the number in the top left of the base card. When that point is reached, a based is SMASHED and victory points are awarded.

Each base has different SMASH conditions, and award different victory point amounts. Once a player has collected 15 Victory Points, they are the world conqueror!

The initial version of Smash Up allows for 2-4 players, but with many different expansions added to the original game, the number of factions added has allowed for even more players the smash up the world.

A more comprehensive book of rules can be found here!

With the set up out of the way...

Smash Up is a game that is light on rules. It has a basic premise, and most of the situational rules are printed directly on the cards themselves. This makes it accessible to a wide range of players while still allowing for strategy to flow.

But is it fun? Hell yeah! Each game takes around an hour to play (with 4 players) so it is good for short-game sessions but can also be played multiple times in a game-filled afternoon or evening.

Since its release in September 2012, Smash Up has followed up with five expansions, each adding new factions and new bases. Figuring out the best combinations and coming up with strategies on the fly with your assigned factions is a blast enough on its own, but combine that with the hilarity the game brings out and you're in for a smashing time.

The game isn't without its flaws, however. The base game, while totally playable on its own, does get stale without expansions after a few plays. So the cost of entry can be anywhere from $30 for the base alone to base plus however many $25 expansions you wish to add.

That alone isn't enough to bring the game down. The variety of play, and multiple factions leads to a lot of replay value.

Smash Up gets a Board of Dice rating of: 4/5 - Smashing! 
Not a perfect game, but a wonderful addition to any tabletop collection.

Smash Up can be found at your local game store (like The Toy Trove on St. Paul St. in St. Catharines, and on Amazon.

If you would like to see a game of Smash Up in action, check out Wil Wheaton's TableTop channel, where he plays the game in season 2.

Join Board of Dice next Tabletop Thursday where I will be reviewing Bang!