Smash Up Game Variations

Today we will be talking about a game called Smash Up. It's a deck-building game where players shuffle together two decks of faction cards and fight for control of bases to earn victory points. The first to 15 points wins the game.

With the current rules for Smash Up, there isn't much interactivity between players, especially for those who are more experienced. So my game group play with some tweaked rules that allow for a more exciting pace.

1. Instead of having bases equal to "the number of players plus one," play with equal to "the number of players" or even equal to "the number of players minus one." For example, in a 4 player game play with 4 bases or 3. By having less bases we found that we were forced to play cards on bases other players were trying to get, instead of hiding in bases no one else wanted.

2. For experienced players, don't choose your factions. Instead, place all cards face down and take turns choosing decks. This makes it so players aren't choosing decks their comfortable with. They are forced to find the synergies between the cards they have.

Need a copy of the game?
Then support your local game store
or find it here.

Kickstarter Highlights

Today, I want to talk about some upcoming games currently on Kickstarter. Kickstarter has been a great platform for smaller companies to get their games out to the public. Here are some of the games I found that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Burgle Bros - A cooperative heist game designed by Tim Fowers. Players choose a team of characters, devise a plan, and commit the ultimate heist. The game has everything; a great theme, innovative mechanics and re-playability. All this, for the cheap price of $30.

Imperial Harvest - A pocket game from Broomstick Monkey Games where players pick a team of three champions to defend or raid the imperial strawberry patch. The game is simple and easy to learn, but there is still a lot of room for heavier strategy. The game is available for $15.













Grimslingers - A strategy card game created by Stephen Gibson where players face off in duels of magical and gun slinging proportions. Great theme set in a sci-fantasy western world. Customization and a "press your luck" mechanic add more depth to the game. Overall, a worthwhile play and only for $20.

Love Letter Variations

So, today we're going to take a break from zombie slaying and talk about a game called Love Letter. It's a bluffing game based on deduction and luck. Players take the role of suitors vying for the love of the princess. The game is easy to set up, and takes about 15-20 minutes to play. If you don't know how to play, here is a quick tutorial.

Love Letter is one of the games my play group and I play a lot of, especially in between heavier games. Eventually, though, you get to know the game to well and people become predictable. So here are some variations that will hopefully spice up the game.

Love Letter: Wingman - Plays like any game of Love Letter, except you are now playing as the wingman of the player to your left (you're his/her right hand man). Basically, you want that player to win so you get the point for the round. What's fun about this is, the player you're trying to help, is also trying to get you out.

Love Letter: Blind Love - Plays like any game of Love Letter, except no one knows their cards. Basically, you play blind. This variation is more for the laughs than the strategy. Many times has the princess been played turn 1.

Don't own a copy? Then support your local game shop
or buy one here 

Zombicide cont.

For PVP to work play the game like any other game of Zombicide with these rules.

The Rules

1. Use a custom character sheet. This vanilla character raises the level cap and adds a skill tree. I will provide details to these additional rules when the sheets are complete.
2. Respawn rule - Survivors do not die or turn into Zombivors, instead they respawn. This is how it works. Distinct spaces on the game board are numbered 1-12 depending on the size of the map. At the end of the Zombie Phase, all dead players roll a dice to determine where they spawn in the next round of turns.
3. Search cooldown - Each map will have designated "search zones." When someone activates a search zone, it cannot be searched until the next round of turns. Simply use the objective tokens to determine zones. Colored = searchable, Red = searched.
4. Every time a survivor dies they lose 1 exp. Likewise, when a survivor kills another survivor they gain 1 exp.
5. Weakest Link - Survivor with the lowest exp starts the turn.
6. Alpha - When determining zombie hits and two survivors are in the same zone, the player with the higher exp takes half the damage rounded up. So if 3 zombies were attacking two survivors. The player with the higher exp takes 2 damage and the other takes one.
7. Players can't build barricades.
8. Players don't start with weapons or the bullet proof vest.
9. Headshot - Rolling a 6 on an attack roll counts as an additional hit. Multiple 6's stack.
10. Each weapon has durability/ammo. (formula to be determined).

If you haven't played the game, here is a video of a regular playthough.

Zombicide: Pure PVP

Hey guys. This is a blog dedicated to gameplay variations of board games. And we will be starting with Zombicide. Zombicide is a cooperative miniature game that has players play the role of survivors in the zombie apocalypse. With Season 3 of the game making its way to our tables, I thought it would be fun to delve more into the games new "Competitive Mode." Competitive Mode adds the element of rival teams to the game. These rival teams are pitted against each other in unique "Competitive Missions." While these missions have been interesting, I felt they have not completely encapsulated a PVP environment. So, my playgroup and I have created some fun ways to make the game truly competitive. The games work just like any game of Zombicide, with a few exceptions. Here are just a few of the tweaks.

1. Use vanilla characters (I will provide a template later)
2. Players never die
3. Headshots

I will expand on these rules and others in later posts. We also created several game modes that players can choose to play. Here is an example of one.

Infection: A single player is chosen randomly to become the infector, the rest of the players are survivors. The infector (a zombie) only wins if all survivors are zombies. Survivors are only turned into zombies if killed by one. Survivors must survive. More on this game mode and others in later posts.

Need a copy of the game? Support your local game shop
or grab a copy here.