Glory. Everyone wants it, but few end up acquiring it. This is especially the case with this quote unquote “little” card game that will soon be punching and kicking its way onto Kickstarter. In “IncrediBrawl”, players will be given their own set of cards and must duke it out with others in an attempt to earn the most glory (victory) points. Before we take a sneak peek at this particular card game, I’d like to thank Jake Leeman from Vision 3 for reaching out to me and providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to note that the prototype copy is not representative of the final components, so the pictures and content you’ll see in this article are subject to change.
IncrediBrawl: 2-4 Players, Ages 8+, Average Play Time = 15-30 Minutes
“IncrediBrawl” primarily consists of character cards, power-up cards, and location cards that players will be using to beat the tar out of one another. Glory tokens are included so that players can keep track of how many victory points they’ve earned, along with reference cards that keep players on track. The game is broken up into rounds, called “brawls”. During a round, players will play cards and resolve fights, which are called “scraps”. The winner of the brawl gets to claim a glory token, bringing them one step closer to victory.
Setting up the game was very easy, as everyone playing the game gets their own deck of cards. Each deck contains the same loadout, ensuring that everyone starts on equal footing. The bulk of your brawls and scraps will be handled via character cards, which are either deal physical, natural, or energy damage. These three types of damage form a rock-paper-scissors relationship. Power levels are listed on the card to help players resolve scraps when dealing with damage of the same type. Special abilities are present as well, giving players a way to change-up the game, assuming they are allowed to use them at the time.
Certain character and power-up card abilities can change a brawl drastically.
The first thing I noticed right away was the three different game modes that were included in the manual. Family mode is great for younger kids and for times when you just don’t have the luxury of playing over the long haul. Players forgo location and power-up cards and don’t use any of the special abilities on the character cards. Casual mode is a step up, allowing players to use special abilities. Finally, gamer mode is the full deal in which players will be using all of the content found in the game.
Vinnie (12) and I played a few rounds, making use of all three game modes. Despite how intimidating gamer mode sounded, it was by far the most fun and still fairly easy to play. The location cards added modifiers to how our character cards acted on the battlefield, which made both of us work for our victories. I like the fact that character abilities can only be activated during certain game events, which made certain unappealing cards more useful in certain situations. I found that the family and casual modes were more reliant on luck, whereas the gamer mode was a bit more focused on strategy. Vinnie really enjoyed our play sessions and picked up the rules for all three modes in no time at all. Anthony (17) jumped in during our gamer mode play session and really enjoyed psyching the rest of us out with off the wall cards that didn’t make use of the location bonuses at all.
Thumbs up for dinosaurs and dragons!
Overall, I found “IncrediBrawl” to be a fun, light card game that is flexible enough to serve any gaming need. Families who aren’t all that big on strategy games will enjoy the family and casual modes, while hardcore gamers will get some mileage out of the gamer mode. The game is incredibly easy to jump into no matter which mode you choose, making it ideal for players of all ages. The artwork is colorful and the manual was easy to understand. As a parent who lives a very hectic lifestyle, I came to appreciate it as a quick and easy solution to family game night. The game is expected to hit Kickstarter sometime in July, so keep an eye out!
—
You can learn more about the game by visiting the following websites:
https://www.facebook.com/v3games
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/142653/incredibrawl
You can support the game on its Kickstarter page here: