Old reviews I wrote!!!

Was just pondering that many moons ago I used to write cheezy little reviews for a friends website, and all you newer members and people will never see them and they might help turrn you onto some great games you otherwise wouldnt know about!!! Here ya go, and hope you enjoy!!!

One of the great things about this hobby is discovering new games when they release, and even better surprises when you’re turned onto games that went under your radar! Kinda like what I’m trying to accomplish here by writing about hidden gem games and stuff you may have missed. Some games that SHOULD NOT be missed. (laughs) Much like this game we’ll be talking about today, Batman the Animated Series – Gotham City Under  Siege. This game is still pretty new, not that old yet, but I totally missed it, and would have missed it completely if a friend hadn’t recommended it to me. One of the co-designers of the game is Richard Launius, of Eldritch Horror and Run Fight or Die fame, among others. I love his game designs, and that’s why this game was recommended to me. And it does not disappoint and more than lives up to the pedigree of its co-designer.

     This game is a dice chucker at heart, but dice management after the chucking is the true heart of the game. There is plenty of depth and strategy to be had here in the 4 acts that you have to make sure Gotham survives, to win the game. It plays 1-5 players, and can be solo-ed by playing as 2 or more heroes. The game board is fantastic, as it is a 3D Gotham City, represented by a  3X3 block city grid, made up of actual cardboard buildings!. It looks fantastic on your table and also has 5 well sculpted miniatures to represent the heroes here. You combat the villains on different sides of the city, and can even move or fight from the rooftops. Both types of combat have their advantages and disadvantages. Replayability is high here as each game is drawn from different decks for the acts, the masterminds, villains, and act cards that represent crimes you must put an end to. Theres a nice cloth bag where you draw the villain chits from that is a great random touch and adds much to the game. There is A LOT going on here that is just a blast, and like I said before, should not be missed.

     The game is primarily a demonstration of cause and effect and even when you do good and stop evil at one part of the city, another will suffer some consequences. Balancing out what good to do and what will happen as a result and prioritizing your crime fighting, is indeed the heart and soul of this game. This game is difficult as a solo exercise but scales in difficulty and fun as you add more players. Player interaction is great in this game as there is no set order for turns. Players decide who is better to do what and when, and it is a blast!. I had great fun soloing this playing as the iconic dynamic duo, Batman and Robin, so this game shines with any player count. There is plenty of content here making replayability very high here as I said before. Plenty of villain masterminds as well as plenty of player cards which grant the players more special abilities each act. There are 3 villain types on hand also and each act has a good amount of cards so there is plenty to do in this game.

     Fans of the animated series are going to have a ball with this one, as even non fans of the material will have loads of fun here. This is another of those games that is very difficult, but even after a devastating loss, you can’t wait to play again. That is what makes great games in my book. That losing makes you anxious to dive back in and see if you can do better and make better choices next game. So if you’re a Batman fan, you owe it to yourself to experience and own this game. The fun here is limitless as I’m going on my 3^rd day playing as different combinations of characters and teams, even making bigger teams, all while having the best time every game. I’m not getting bored or tired of this game, which means when I do pack it up, it won’t be long till it’s on my table again. (laughs)

     This is a rare quality of game here of a fantastic property license. You can’t NOT have fun playing as these characters  and protecting the citizens of this world. I know this game is getting harder to find as we speak, and I’m not sure if that’s because it was a limited production run or anything else. But if you can get this game or see it available anywhere, I implore you to pick it up. I cant recommend this game highly enough. It’s an instant classic to me in the same way that Run Fight or Die was. And both are games not to be missed from your collections!

Still fighting crime unending,

Andrew Baumgartner