Costumes and Cowls and Capes, Oh, My!

TWO-GUN PIXIE PRESENTS: LEGENDARY GAMING

004 – Costumes and Cowls

and Capes, Oh My!

Greetings Brave Survivors of the Nerd Wasteland! This installment of Legendary Gaming BIG Johnny G! and the Twenty-Sided Warriors take a deep look under the mask as they tackle a game of Super-Substitutes and Vapid Villains. So grab your utility belts and fire-up the Justice-Mobile, it's time to fight crime, get a job, and make some headlines!

Look! Up on the Table! It's a board! It's a meeple! It's. . .

HEROES WANTED

Designers: Travis R. Chance, Nick Little

Artists: Chris Byer, Ryan Howe, Brian Lee (II)

Publisher: Action Phase Games

Year Published: 2014

Suggested Player Age: 13+

Number of Players: 1 – 5 (Best with 3 or 4)

Average Play Time: 60 – 90 minutes

Game Mechanics: All vs. All, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Pick-up and Deliver, Variable Player Powers

MSRP: $65.00

SKU: AKG100

UPC: 865589000014

Weight: 2.57 pounds

Integrates With: Heroes Wanted: 2016 International Table Top Day Promo Pack, Heroes Wanted expansions

Expansions: Heroes Wanted: Breaking News, Heroes Wanted: Extra, Extra, Heroes Waned: The Stuff of Legend,

Heroes Wanted: Champions and Masterminds, Heroes Wanted: Champions and Masterminds II

THE BOX Alright, Nerd Herd, let’s start at the beginning. Obviously, the first thing you’ll notice with any game is the box. As is the industry standard this square box is produced from good stock and should stand up to being taken off your shelf and handled for years to come, barring accidents. The box’s art definitely stands out. The line work and colors are reminiscent of the Silver Age of comics which this game aims to simulate. The use of the newspaper cover on the box perfectly sets up the tone of this game. The inside of the box contains No insert, or gaming tray. Basically the game’s contents just sit haphazardly in the container. Be prepared to use many bags to compartmentalize everything in this game comes with. Some may find this problematic.

COMPONENTS First off let’s mention the rule book. It seems that many rules book these days are thrown together in haste. Many are hard to follow and edited like shit. This time I was pleased to find a book that was put together in a logical, flowing way that makes it easy to follow. Unfortunately some of the rules are written in a way that may seem a tad bit confusing during your first read-through. However, if you read the booklet carefully and interpret the use of words literally instead of trying to “read between the lines” then it will flow. I suggest running a one-player test run of the game after reading the rules the first time and you should gain a good understanding of the rules.

The 2 double-sided folded game boards really stand out. They are made from good, strong quality material and their design is great. Each map contains all the information you’ll need to run that specific campaign. Villain movements and headline bonuses are all tracked directly on the board making sure you are not wasting time constantly going back to check a campaign booklet during gameplay.

Unfortunately, this also means that the 4 missions that come with the game boards are the only 4 missions playable in the game. This does severely hurt the game in our opinion. Although there is a near-limitless amount of possible Hero and Villain mix-and-match combinations there are still only 4 games to play. No matter how many character combinations there are this Will Get OLD fast.

As far the collection of Tokens, Tiles, Markers, and Meeples go Action Phase Game has not disappointed. Now, although there is nothing exceptional or new or different about the production of these components they did not go cheap. These items are as solid and sturdy as you find with most popular designer board games today.

I am a big fan of player boards in games. I enjoy the ease of which they help you keep track of your character. Action Phase Games delivered fine boards with this game that fill their role perfectly. Everything the player needs to know about the character, including personal fame point tracking, is right in front of you; neat and orderly.

The cards that come for use with this game are not flimsy and should stand up to your average, standard gaming. I would suggest that you might want to invest in card sleeves if you plan on playing this game often. There are several types of cards used in this game. Hero and Villain Decks are each divided into two categories; “A” and “B” cards. Each player is dealt three cards from each deck and they choose 1 “A” card and 1 “B” to create their heroes. They then draw 1 “Quirk” card from the top of that deck. There are no “Quirk” cards for villains, just villain “A” and “B” cards.

“A” cards depict the head and shoulders of the hero or villain. These cards determine the hero’s Type; Cosmic, Mutants, Tech, or Vigilante – each of these have their own, individual superpower, special action, epic Action, and a catchphrase. This card also gives the character the second part of their superhero name. “B” cards depict the body of the character, a secondary ability and a secondary catchphrase. This card supplies the first part of the superhero’s name. When combined together these cards offer you unique characters every time you play.

The Game Tracker is designed interestingly. The game’s tone revolves around gaining fame taking you from D-List Super Celebrity Status to full-blown member of Zeta City’s premier team, the Champions of Zeta City. Keeping to this tone the game centers on a newspaper, fittingly the Fame Tracker Board is a newspaper crossword puzzle.

Also, on a subtle note, the design of a black & white board tracker against a four-color comic book setting amazing!

Optionally, the game suggests using the above mentioned “Quirk” cards only if desired. These cards give you a unique action or phrase or Something to do every time the specific conditions are met to trigger it. On the surface this just

appears as another way to score Fame Points but, oh, no my nerdlings. The real reason to implement this optional rule is to ensure tons of jack-assery during the game. More on that when we discuss gameplay.

• 1 Rule Book • 2 Double-Sided Game Boards • 1 Fame Tracker Board • 9 Headline Tiles • 6 Counter Tokens • 14 Event Tokens • 1 First Hero Marker • 1 Start of the Hero Phase Marker • 1 Threat Track Token • 1 Black Villain Pawn • 40 Grey Underling Meeples • 20 Beige Henchmen Meeples • 40 Total Villain HP Tokens • 26 Injury Tokens • 5 Hero Pawns of Different Colors • 5 Hero Mats (1 in each of the 5 colors) • 5 Six-sided Dice (1 in each of the 5 colors) • 5 Power Tokens (1 in each of the 5 colors) • 36 Hero Disks (7 in each of the 5 colors plus 1 White Hero Disk for Weird) • 216 Cards - 24 Basic Action Cards - 24 Special Action Cards - 6 Superpower Action Cards - 20 Other Epic Actions - 20 Hero Bonus Cards - 32 Hero “A” Cards - 32 Hero “B” Cards - 18 Villain “A” Cards - 18 Villain “B” Cards - 10 Quirk Cards - 12 Customizable Blank Cards

GAMEPLAY Alright nerds, here’s the skinny. I had casually glanced through the rules when this game made its way to my shelf. It looked fun. The night before breaking Heroes Wanted in I read through the rules front-to-back. A couple of minor issues, which I’ve already forgotten seemed a bit off to me. After a second read through I hit the Internet and checked out examples of game play. Again, something didn’t make sense. Game day I went through the rules a third time and discovered something. I was Waaaayyyyyy over thinking this system. After tons of fidgety rules from huge gaming systems with 30 page rule books the size of vinyl record sleeves with accompanying rules index books my mind was fried.

There is really nothing confusing about these rules, just don’t over-think them. When in doubt Don’t try to read into what a rule is trying to convey just read the rule literally as it is written. That will clear up any rule, as long as you have a good grasp of reading comprehension skills. Because of this the game is HEAVILY language dependent.

As you may have noticed from the product information listed above this is an All vs. All game, Unlike most tabletop superhero board games. Why? Because the local hero team, the Champions of Zeta City have one spot open in the roster and are looking to fill Fastadon’s spot (the World’s Fastest Mastadon). If you want that spot you’ll have to impress both the Champions of Zeta City and the City’s fair citizens. To accomplish this you gain Fame and make Headlines. At the end of the game the hero with the most Fame wins and joins the Champions of Zeta City.

Game play is broken into two phases; The Hero Phase and the Villain Phase.

During the Hero Phase each player, in turn, starting with the 1st Hero, plays one of the six cards from his hand and places in the discard pile. Each player has the same 4 basic action cards; Charge, Costume, Maneuver, Strike. Each player also receives a “Superpower” action card that, when played, allows that player to activate the Hero’s power. The sixth card in each player’s hand is the card that matches their hero type; Cosmic (Deflect), Mutant (Mutant Power), Tech (Gizmo), and Vigilante (Press).

After playing the card follow the instructions on it and resolve its effect. Examples, Strike allows you to take possession of the 1st Hero token and to deal 5 damage to a character within one range of you. Yes, “to a character”, that means Villain, Henchmen, Underlings, OR Other Heroes! Charge allows you to move 1 space and deal 4 damage to a character within 1 range – if you are the 1st Player you can move an additional space.

Whenever the player’s hand is getting depleted, or if there is a card you’ve played already BUT Really want or need back in your hand you may opt to Rest on you turn. You pass your turn without doing anything and you may pick up your discard pile back in your hand.

After each hero is done playing a card the Villain Phase begins.

Simply follow the instruction outlined on the specific game board you are playing. This will usually be a two-part process;

Advance the Treat Tracker – Simply advance the treat token along the threat track and follow any instructions listed for the scenario-specific instances which may occur during the turn.

Villain and Minions Attack – Starting with the 1st Hero each hero will be dealt damage by the Villain and then his minions. Underlings deal 1 damage to each Hero within range one. Henchmen deal 2 damage to each hero within 1 range. The Villain deals damage equal to the amount specified on Villain Card “A”.

During combat heroes defend by expending cards in their hands. Each card has a number listed on the upper left hand corner. This number is how much you can defend by discarding it. There is no “change” if you use a 4 point card to defend against 2 damage you still spend the 4 points, you don’t get to bank 2 as change.

IF you defend using a card that has the big bold key word BLOCK on it then you get to also activate the ability listed on that card. Example, if you use the Deflect action card to defend against damage then you may also deal 1 damage to a villain. If you had defended using the action card Costume then you would also be able move 1 OR retrieve another basic or special action.

You use Injury Tokens to keep track of your hero’s health and consciousness. You cannot have more than 5 injuries. If you have 5 and gain another one you instead lose two Fame points.

Also keep in mind that if a hero with an injury is dealt damage the damage taken is increased by one FOR EACH INJURY YOU HAVE ALREADY!

Ouch!

IF a hero KO’s another hero the victorious hero gains 4 Fame.

Yes, knock outs can happen.

If a hero cannot defend ALL the incoming damage than they are KO’ed. All of the KO’ed hero’s action cards are placed face down in their Discard Pile and an injury is taken. You cannot take more damage until they Rest and have actions in hand again. A KO’ed hero cannot retrieve actions until they have rested.

Heroes Wanted uses an interesting system to simulate “Leveling Up”. As you complete headlines you get to unlock certain abilities tied directly to what Type you are (Cosmic, Tech, etc). In fact if you use two of these Headline level-ups you can unlock your character’s EPIC card. This card increases your hand giving you an extra action and since this game system revolves around Move, Attack, and Block having this extra card in your hand may very well help you win. This Epic card also gives you several more points to use for defense against attacks directed at you.

The game ends immediately after the villain loses his entire HP or if the Threat Tracker reaches a specific point depending on the scenario.

When end conditions are met heroes score as listed per the scenario; the player whose hero rakes in the most Fame wins and is offered a place in the Champions of Zeta City.

There are a few more minor points to the rules and for game play but the above information covers more than enough to understand the game.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I had never heard of Action Phase Games or either of the designers and was a little leery of this game at first, also because it seemed just too silly.

After playing this game several times this game’s levels of strategy took me by surprise. It’s not just a laugh in a box.

The game play is more straight foreword than most board games these days and that’s nice. I think, as mentioned earlier in this review, one shouldn’t try to over read the rules. Once you play through this two or three time I doubt the rule book will be opened again.

The scenerios are silly but fit the mood of zany silver-age comic adventures this game strives for. The hero and villain creation combinations seem almost endless and will make you smirk.

Although the rules only suggest that the “optional” Quirks be used I can’t state enough that if you aren’t going to use them why are you buying/playing the game. These cards bring the level of fun and hysteria well past normal for most “funny” board games.

One thing I’ve been reading a lot of hate for is the above mentioned optional rule of using Quirks. I can’t believe how many fellow reviews are spreading a thick layer of hate for this rule.

I guess they are just not smart enough to know how to have fun. I mean, if you are playing this game then PLAY THE FREAKIN’ GAME! You can’t have just one player not using this rule if the others are all for it because it affects an individual’s accruing of Fame points.

Honestly, if you are too uptight and can’t pry that crowbar from your ass why are you even playing this game?

Another thing most other reviewers have been complaining about is how much Fame a player gets for delivering the finishing blow to the villain. They cry that it’s unfair and unbalanced. Most can’t stop saying that it doesn’t matter what else they did in the game, if they weren’t the ones to knock out the villain they weren’t able to win. I don’t understand what these babies are bitching about. First of all, thematically it makes sense. You are battling for headlines and fame so, naturally, knocking out the villain would garner you the most media coverage, so-to-speak… the most Fame. Also, in our games, KOing the villain has never been the sole determination of who won the game. I just think some people don’t understand that although this is a fun, silly game it actually takes a lot of strategy to win. It’s not about fair and everything being balanced so put your participation trophies away. Maybe those reviewers just need to learn how to think tactically before bemoaning a rule that they are not smart enough to work around strategically.

There are only a handful of good superhero board games on the market – in respect to the massive amount of Sci-fi, Fantasy or Cthulhu based games anyway. If you are looking to improve the selection of comic book/superhero games on your shelf this is a great game to add.

HOWEVER, you have to enjoy silly games or this one might exasperate you regardless of the deeper-than-expected level of strategy needed to win this game.

I think that this game needs to be played. I say this because I feel that even players who might not care for high levels of silliness on their game table will enjoy playing this even if they won’t buy it.

Over all this proved to be a fun game that all the Twenty-Sided Warriors have enjoyed.

Unfortunately I cannot give this game high marks on re-playability. Unless you and your gaming group don’t mind playing the same four scenarios every time you gather at the table this game will get old real fast. Yes, there are almost endless examples of funny heroes and villains that can be put together but it doesn’t really do a lot to make the same four scenarios feel worth constantly replaying.

It is true that the big box expansion, Heroes Wanted: Stuff of Legend comes with one new double-sided game board. This will provide you with two new scenarios but that still only makes the total of game adventures to six. Action Phase Games needs to address this situation and get more scenarios to the players.