Deathbot Derby - Gen Con 2016 Pre-Sale Game Review
Two-Gun Pixie Presents:
LEGENDARY
GAMING
008 – The Mettle
of Metal
This installment of Two-Gun Pixie Presents: Legendary Gaming is part of our
Very Special 2GP GEN CON 2016 Board Game Pre-Sale Reviews series!
This Review Is Based On A High-End Beta Version Of The Game
As a dry wind blows across the scorched earth of the Nerd Wasteland a lone traveler, robed against the whipping sands, approaches a tiny sheet-metal hovel. The traveler pushes the ancient door open and it cries with a metallic screech.
Sitting on a three-legged stool much too small for his large size is Chicken Boo dressed like a western gunman. The traveler reaches into a messenger bag hidden inside the tattered robes and hands Chicken Boo a dog-eared flyer and 2 gold pieces. The giant chicken clucks and scratches at a small stain-painted rug under his three-toed foot revealing a trap door. The traveler reaches down and opens the hatch. A rusted, pre-apocalypse ladder barely holds the weight during the long descent into darkness. The illumination at the bottom reveals a long corridor lit by stray naked bulbs strung along the grey tunnel's ceiling. Piece by piece the robes, gloves, boots, face-wrap, and hood are dropped as the traveler follows the overhead lights to a steel door. A pink pistol butt slams against the metal door three times. Between the span of a breath a peek-hole slides open on the door. A cybernetic orc bouncer looks through the slit and says they are full and slams the slide shut. Another series of three metallic bangs wrap against the heavy door. With a sigh the cyber-orc stands up front his stool and opens the slide to once again repeat himself irksomely two mystic bullets blast both his real and electronic eyes out of the back of his head. Inside silence reigns as the crowd watches the door. From the open peek-hole Delia, the Two-Gun Pixie Princess of the Nerd Wasteland flies in and grows to her full size. She flips back her long pink hair as she holsters her twin pink pistols, Snowflake and Dewdrop. Lighting a thin, bent cigar she flashes a smile like the smiley-face eyepatch over her right eye and asks, “So, who’s a lady have to blow away to place a bet at this…
DEATHBOT DERBY
The review for this non-collectable card game
is based upon a high-end prototype of the game and not the final product.
Designed By: Zach Connelly
Artist: James Groeling
Publisher: Royal N. Games
Year Published: 2016
Suggested Player Age: 13+
Number of Players: 2
Average Play Time: 15 – 30 Minutes
Game Mechanics: Card Drafting, Grid Movement, Modular Board, Variable Player Powers
Category: Card Game, Fighting, Post-Apocalyptic, Robots, Science Fiction
MSRP: $18
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
The Box
I usually mention the art first being the thing that most catches you’re shiny nerdling eyes. This time let me mention the actual box itself, specifically the size. It’s about 5½’ x 4’, a little bigger than a double deck-sized pack of playing cards. It almost fits in your hand easily enough and is a perfect size for traveling. The prototype box we received of the game is sturdier than we expected and we are sure based on this that the final version will be sturdier still meaning this game box will be able to handle the rigors of travel rather well.
The art that dresses the box is stunning. James Groeling seems to have captured the spirit of Ralph Bakshi in his style and approach to the visual design. The art looks as if it could be directly sketched from Bakshi’s storyboard of his 1977 Wizards; some deleted scene of a robot-gladiator pit fight in the poisoned land of Scortch. I can easily imagine Blackwolf himself overseeing the derby to entertain his generals.
My only concern is where I’m going to place this on my shelf to show off this great, tiny box so it doesn’t get swallowed up by the artworks of the larger boxes displayed games on my shelf.
The Components
As can be expected from such a portable-sized game box this game is not drowning in components. It has exactly what it needs; A six sided die (“d6”), two cubes (one red and one blue), and 54 cards. That’s it.
The d6 is a standard white cube with black pips. If this is what ends up in the final product there is nothing wrong with it, enjoy. However, since rolling a “1” is Wild maybe it should be the Hazard Button
The two cubes are used to represent each of the two combatants; Red and Blue. For the final sales version I know Royal N. Games will be changing the cubes for carved robot-like pieces. I have even been informed that if things go well enough they will upgrade the meeples to actual miniature figures. Hearing this my mind begins to race of expensive ideas like making
plastic pieces to match each of the component cards
for movement, ranged weapons, and melee weapon that will be able to slot into the base armor minis so that it will always look as cool as the cards you have assembled to build your robot. When parts get blown away you can snap it off your meeple! I know... just typing, er I mean, thinking out loud here.
The cards I received for this review are, as stated earlier, not the finished production version ready for sale. The cards I have here are better quality than a few final product cards I have seen over the years from other games. James Groeling’s gritty post-apocalyptic art work extends off the box cover and continues throughout the deck. His style invokes a feeling that this world is so post-apocalyptic the apocalypse itself is ancient news and almost forgotten to the mists of time, remaining only a legend itself.
Game Play
The game play of Deathbot Derby is fast and easy to learn.
To start each player chooses an armor card, mechanically speaking (all pun intended) these two cards are identical. One player picks the Red, the other Blue. Then take the matching colored meeple.
Shuffle all 30 Arena Cards. While doing so make sure you flip and spin the cards randomly. Each Arena Card has art on both sides and each side itself is split giving two possible danger zones per card. This is why you flip, spin, and turn the cards while shuffling. Now, set up the cards in a 5x6 grid horizontally facing. Select two diagonally opposite corners of the arena that are both unobstructed and furthest away from each other and place the meeples.
Next you are going to shuffle and lay out face-down all the Component Cards into their separate piles; Movement, Ranged Weapons, Melee Weapons, and Secret Weapons.
The player who last used a remote control is the First Player.
Deathbot Construction is quick and simple. The First Player draws the top 3 cards of the Movement Deck, secretly chooses one card to build their bot with and passes the remaining two Movement Cards to the Second Player. The Second Player takes those two cards and picks one. The last card is put back on the Movement pile face down. Reveal your Movement Cards to each other. Repeat this set-up step with the Ranged Weapons Cards and the Melee Weapon Cards. Lastly this step is repeated with the Secret Weapon. This card, however, is NOT revealed to your opponent. Hence, “Secret Weapon”
Now you’re ready to play! As you see, the set-up time for Deathbot Derby is fast letting you jump right into the Deathbot Derby!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, NERDS OF ALL AGES...
LET'S GET READY TO ROBOT RUMBLE!!!
OK, starting with the First Player each combatant can take two actions; Move or Attack. You CAN spend a whole turn to do one of these actions twice, such as Attack/Attack or Move/Move. If you spend an action to Move you can move up to the full distance listed on your Deathbot's Movement Card (listed as SPD).
Melee Attacks can only be made when adjacent to your opponent (unless stated otherwise on a card) while Ranged Attacks can strike up to a distance away as listed on the Range Weapon Card as RNG. You need to have unobstructed line-of-sight to attempt a Range Attack. Walls will block line-of-sight. When you attack your opponent damage is dealt directly to that Deathbot's armor. Armor cards and all the component cards have numbers on the edges. They count down, such as 4 on one side, 3 on another, 2 and 1. When damage us taken to your Deathbot's armor spin the card to the matching number of health left. When the Armor has no points left it is considered destroyed and subsequent hits go to your components. In this case the ATTACKER decides which components takes the hit, your Movement, your Melee Weapon, or your Ranged Weapon Components. As each card gets destroyed from combat flip the card over to its backside.
When you have destroyed your opponents Armor AND ALL Their Components you win the game.
A clever tactical mechanic of this game drips pure chaos; The Evolving Arena. Each player has a Hazard Card with 4 uses. At any time during your turn you may "Hit the Hazard Button". When you do this you roll the Six-Sided Die (1d6 or just d6). Whatever number comes up you flip ALL the Arena Cards that show that matching number to their opposite side. If either player ends up on a grid with an effect then you resolve that effect immediately. If you roll a "1" you get to decide which number Arena Cards to flip.
At any time during your turn you can use your Secret Weapon but remember that they are one-shot items.
Final Thoughts
Deathbot Derby is fast, easy, and entertaining. The rules are lite but really don't need to be anything more to work with the theme or action. They flow naturally and logically. During gameplay you'll experience a level of strategy that feels bigger than you might expect from a small game. The game is lite on components and boxed small making it easily transportable. You’ll want to bring this game with you. All-in-all I think the game is fun because it's a pure all-out metal slugfest. Both the theme and art capture an adrenaline-fueled scene straight out of an 80s post-apocalyptic B-movie. The evolving battle grid is a great part of the game and can throw your strategy right out the window. This is a fun game to add to your collection. Being such a quick game to both set-up and play it may be hitting your table often.
After playing this game the Twenty-Sided Warriors are ready to jump back in the “Squared Cog” anytime.
Personally, I am already waiting for a 4 player expansion that can handle a three and four player free-for-all as well as a Tag-Team Champion mode. Maybe we’ll even see a small dedicated booster deck before my dream expansion for Deathbot Derby. Ahhh... A robot can dream of more than electric sheep, can’t it?
If You enjoy, or are looking for, a great sci-fi themed fun filler game you Need to check out Deathbot Derby! This has become another new game that my Twenty-Sided Warriors have already been asking to hit the table again! And I'm ALREADY Clamoring for New Cards!
Hey! Want to actually SEE and HEAR the game being played?
Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't have read this far.
Go to our Two-Gun Pixie Facebook Page and check out the actual-play un-edited video of the Twenty-Sided Warriors ACTUALLY PLAYING THIS GAME!
TWO-GUN PIXIE RATING
0 Pixies = I Want My Money Back
1 Pixie = Not Planning To Play Again
2 Pixies = Might Play Again If Requested
3 Pixies = Will Play Again
4 Pixies = Common Game Day Request
5 Pixies = Can’t Get It Off The Table!
