SMASH UP: PRETTY PRETTY

Since the game Smash Up started with popular battling factions and added everything from science fiction critters to geeks, where could they go next?  The answer: cute.  Smash Up: Pretty Pretty introduces four new adorable factions to the game -- and their cuteness doesn't detract in the slightest from their effectiveness.

So what (seemingly) sweet factions can go toe-to-toe with ninjas, dinosaurs armed with lasers, and Lovecraftian horrors?  Mythic Horses have a variety of horses -- including, naturally, My Little Pony-type colorful ones -- that gain benefits from being with their fellow minions.  Fairies have a wide and varied range of abilities that makes them very tough to anticipate.  Kitty Cats use their cuddly nature to control their opponents' minions.  And Princesses -- clearly inspired by Disney -- have a lot of power and powerful abilities, at the cost of having fewer minions than other factions.  Each action also has its own bases, matching their themes.

Pretty Pretty maintains the humor, usefulness, and balance of all the Smash Up factions (base set and expansions).  The Mythic Horses cards usually show the friendly, cavorting horses -- often destroying members of another faction in the background or somewhere else on the card.  The Princesses follow the sweet Disney theme -- along with the appropriate "Direct to DVD Sequel" card.  Kitty Cats are recognizable from motivational posters and internet memes, while Fairies are nicely unpredictable.  Each faction is extremely useful, but none are so powerful that they unbalance the game and give those playing them an unfair advantage.

I wouldn't have guessed that prettiness fit in so well with the battling factions of Smash Up, but Pretty Pretty works very well.  This expansion doesn't change or add to the rules, but it creates lots of new possibilities for victory.  (I won with the Mythic Horses - Geeks combination.)  Pretty Pretty is a (ahem) pretty good addition for Smash Up.

Overall grade: B+

Reviewed by James Lynch

SMASH UP: MONSTER SMASH

Who'd have guessed that a common trait of horror monsters was +1 tokens?  This is a pretty common thread in Monster Smash, the latest expansion for the Smash Up card game.

Monster Smash introduces four monstrous new factions, and three of them rely heavily on getting +1 tokens.  Vampires can destroy minions -- their own or those of other players -- to get their +1 tokens.  Giant Ants often start with +1 tokens, and many cards let them not only get more, but also share them with other minions.  And the Mad Scientists put out a *lot* of these tokens, from Igor giving one when he's destroyed or discarded to the Uberserum, which gives a minion a +1 counter at the start of each turn and keeps it from being destroyed!  The exceptions to this token tendency are Werewolves, which rely more on brute strength and, reflecting the boost from the moon, often get bonuses that last until the end of the turn.

So, how do these new factions work in the game?  Pretty well, it turns out.  Each faction's ability certainly feels like the abilities the monsters would have, reflected as well in the art and the names.  While there are numerous good cards, Monster Smash doesn't power up the new ones so much that it will always beat the other sets.  (Remember when I mentioned how good the Uberserum was?  It was so good, a rival kept stealing it from the Mad Scientists and using it on his own minions.)  And there's plenty of humor in the cards: a Vampire with a skull-shaped alarm clock, Werewolf cards "Chew Toy" and "Let the Dog Out," and, possibly because of the Killer Queen card, all of the Giant Ants' actions are named after Queen songs.

Monster Smash doesn't change the rules for Smash Up, but it does what an expansion should: add variety, options, and humor to the game without unbalancing it.  These factions are a welcome addition -- especially with Halloween coming!

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

SMASH UP: THE BIG GEEKY BOX

An often-overlooked difficulty in the world of Gaming is storage.  Naturally, all games fit in their box (though not always as easily once all the pieces and parts have been removed and sorter), but what about after the first expansion -- or several expansions?  The game Smash Up from Alderac Entertainment Group started with a box big enough for the core set and two expansions; but as their upcoming expansion Monster Smash will be their fourth expansion, that starter box is well out of room.  AEG has addressed the issue fairly well with Smash Up: The Big Geeky Box.

Well, The Big Geeky Box certainly lives up to its name, in two very nice ways.  First, the box itself (nicely illustrated with members of factions from all the game's sets) is a very good size.  While it won't take up a whole shelf, it has more than enough room for more Smash Up expansions than I can imagine.  The Big Geeky Box also stores the cards vertically, plus it comes with standing dividers for the factions and bases.  And to top it all off, there are foam bricks to fill any empty space and keep the cars from falling over .

Did I mention "geeky?"  The Big Geeky Box also comes with a new faction: Geeks!  These minions may lack the raw power of Dinosaurs (with lasers) or Robots, but with cards like "Rules Lawyer" and "Banned List: players can work the rules around to their favor.  And since Smash Up was played on TableTop, it's no surprise that there are cards for Wil Wheaton (and his fan site "Force of Wil") and Felecia Day too!  There are also two appropriately geeky Bases for the Geeks to battle for as well.

The Big Geeky Box is hardly mandatory for card storage (such as cardboard or plastic boxes), but it is a fun little spin on storage.  And who wouldn't want to play as the Geeks?

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch

SMASH UP: SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE

The game Smash Up relies on different factions from fiction and fantasy, battling to control bases.  With two expansions -- Awesome Level 9000 and The Obligatory Cthulhu Set -- I was concerned that Alderac Entertainment Games might start putting out weaker groups for the sake of more expansions.  Fortunately, Science Fiction Double Feature continues the fun and the high standard that makes Smash Up so much fun.

Science Fiction Double Feature provides players with four new factions (and bases based on each faction).  Time Travelers are a bunch of buddies from 1974 (hence the matching track suits) who can redo events.  Cyborg Apes have lots of Actions that modify them to make themselves tougher or more protected.  Super Spies plan ahead by looking at and reorganizing the cards they'll draw.  And Changelings are pinking humanoids that copy the strength and abilities of the other factions in the game.

These new factions strike the balance between being very useful in different ways, and not being so overpowering they make previous factions obsolete.  There's also a good sense of humor throughout the expansion: Several Time Traveler cards reference "The Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, many Super Spies actions parody James Bond movie titles, and one Cyborg Ape has the same name as the leader of the Jammers, the cybernetic apes from the ccg Shadowfist.

Science Fiction Double Feature does what it should: Give Smash Up players more options and more fun without making the previous options weaker.  It's astounding!  (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

SMASH UP

One popular pastime for the geek world is arguing over what groups  would win in a fight (also the subject of the tv show Deadliest Warrior).  The card game Smash Up from Alderac Entertainment Games tackles this issue -- sort of -- as factions slug it out for control of bases.

Gameplay is, at first glance, simple.  Each player takes control of two factions (in the core game, these are Ninjas, Pirates, Zombies, Dinosaurs (with lasers!), Martians, Robots, Tricksters, and Wizards), mixes the cards for them together, and draws five cards.  Several bases (equal to to the number of players plus one) are in play.  Each base has a Breakpoint (how many points are needed to score the base) and victory point values (three, usually from highest to lowers); some bases also have a special ability.  Players can play one minion on a base, one action, or a minion and an action.  After a player finished playing cards, all bases are checked.  If the value of all minions (and modifiers) on a base matches or exceeds the Breakpoint, the base scores.  The player with the most points in minions gets the first victory point number, the second-most points gets the second value, and the third gets the last value; players can also play any card with a Special ability.  If any player has 15 or more points after scoring, they win!  Otherwise all cards on the base are discarded, a new base takes its place, the player draws 2 cards (and discards down to 10 if they have 10 or more), and the next player goes.

But Smash Up goes beyond simple "play and check" mechanics.  A lot of cards give you more plays (like a minion that lets you play another minion, and that new minion may let you play another card, and so on), and it's not uncommon for someone to go through most of the cards in their hand each turn.  In addition, the different factions feel and play like their namesakes: Ninjas are great at playing surprises from their hand, Dinosaurs are big, Zombies can play minions from the "dead" discard pile, Pirates can sail from base to base, and so on.  In addition, factions working together usually give their benefits to their allies, creating even more possibilities.  Since they all have their own strengths, players can do as well making their own fun combinations (my Plan 9 from Outer Space group was made of Martians and Zombies) as fretting over what works best together.  And Smash Up has a lot of humor, from the over-the-top instructions to cards like the zombie Tenacious Z or the Trickster's "Flame Trap" with an exploding cereal box that has a leprechaun on it.

Smash Up doesn't have any deep strategy or heavy thinking.  It does have a lot of gleeful celebration of its geeky groups, and there are plenty of ways of playing to reach victory.  Smash Up is very easy to teach, fairly quick to play, and a blast for all!

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch