Oops You Did It Again Themed Smash Up
Expansion Review – Smash Upward: Oops, You lot Did Information technology Again
What other game other than Smash Up would allow you to run into what would happen if such varied things such as Cowboys, Monsters, and Teddy Bears got into a big fight?
I think that's one of the things I love most the game, even if sometimes the factions don't go together that well.
While Smash Up did not quite make my Top 25 Games Played of All Time listing, it was quite close (#27) and I'd take to say that I've played it the most out of any game that'south non a quick die-rolling game.
And had a boom with it as well.
The Oops, Y'all Did It Again expansion (the latest, and yay I got this review in nether the shadow of the impending side by side release!) is a bang-up new addition to the franchise.
Alderac Entertainment Group opened the door again to letting fans vote on which factions would be included in this expansion, and allow's merely say the fans went a chip nuts. But that plainly inspired designer Paul Peterson and the rest of the AEG group who work on the factions considering they took what the fans wanted and turned in some bright work.
Let'due south meet how things go.
As with previous expansion reviews, I'one thousand not going to go into how Nail Up works. You tin can get see the original review for that.
Oops, Yous Did Information technology Again brings four new factions into the Smash Up universe, and all of them bring some unique abilities as well as calculation a couple of new mechanics to the game.
The factions are:
- Cowboys
- Samurai
- Aboriginal Egyptians
- Vikings
Permit's get-go with those ornery Cowboys, as they're already here with guns out.
Creative person: Carl Frank
Cowboys bring 1 of the new mechanics, Dueling.
For example, when the Gunfighter is played on a base, the player can decide to duel another minion at the aforementioned base.
Duels are basically a comparison of minion ability. Each player, offset with the initiator of the duel, gets to play one card face down if they want to.
Once cards are placed, they are turned over first with the initiator. If a minion was played, then information technology goes back to the player'south mitt.
If an activeness was played, the action goes into effect (even if the activity has nothing to practise with the dueling minions).
That action tin can increase the dueling minion'south force, or perchance motion it to another base, or perchance even put the opposing minion dorsum into the opposing player's hand.
Or it could just exist an action to play on another base. In other words, you could employ this as a way to get a complimentary action play.
In one case both cards are revealed and whatever actions are taken, the minions' strengths are compared.
The strongest minion wins. The dueling card says what happens to the winner and loser (many times the loser is destroyed, just sometimes something else happens).
If the strengths are tied, both minions get both the winning and losing result. This can be important even if the loser is destroyed, with cards such equally Loftier Noon where the winner also gets to play an extra minion. Even with both minions beingness destroyed, both players would become to play an extra minion.
The Cowboys are a fun faction, but the dueling mechanic that they introduce can really lengthen the game until you lot get used to it. This is the first fourth dimension (that I've seen, of form, every bit one of the previous expansions may have had something) that an expansion has added a mechanic that'south more than just card play and adding power-ups. Yous accept to really remember nigh whether you want to duel, and who. And then decide if you desire to play a card. If you do, volition it be a barefaced and play a minion, or practise yous want to go an action out there? Or do you lot want to endeavour to win the duel even though you're vastly overpowered? Did y'all want to waste that +3 ability in what might be a losing cause?
Every bit nosotros got used to information technology, it became a fun little addition to the game that I really liked.
The artwork is gorgeous, every bit usual, really evoking that One-time Westward theme. Grizzled cowboys, desert mesas, and all that good stuff.
A fun faction, though a bit 1-dimensional (they are all about the dueling).
Artist: Caravan Studios
Samurai have a niggling dueling likewise, simply they are more virtually power-ups and going honourably to their deaths while helping their young man minions.
The Shogun gets +1 power every fourth dimension another of your minions at his base of operations goes to the discard pile. Then killing other minions at his base will merely make him stronger.
Honor the Fallen played on a base means that every time one of your minions at that base of operations goes to the discard pile, you draw a card.
Remember, "goes to the discard pile" includes when a base scores and all minions there go to the discard pile. If this action was played on that base, then y'all would depict a carte du jour for each of your minions there when the base scores.
Sweet!!!
If Bushi goes to the discard pile and you lot've powered him up at least in one case, you get a victory point. That own't nothing, and the Samurai do accept a number of cards that will at least temporarily power up minions. Play ane of those "get +2 until the end of the turn" cards on the turn that you break the base, and you not simply get VP for the base, you also get 1 VP for Bushi!
It can brand not winning the base a bit easier to bear.
Samurai also have a few dueling cards, simply not nearly every bit many every bit the Cowboys.
However, it's almost better for the Samurai considering most of the time they get a good effect even if they lose (because they're going to the discard pile).
I really liked this faction, though I'm not as in dearest with the artwork on the cards as I am with the Cowboys or other factions. Information technology'southward cracking (information technology's no Shapeshifters), but it feels a bit muddied.
I actually like the neat twist of having great effects when cards are discarded. Drawing more cards, other minions getting stronger, they are really a lot of fun.
Creative person: Gong Studios
Ancient Egyptians add another new mechanic: burying (because they were all well-nigh the tombs and such).
If a card allows you to coffin information technology (or bury another bill of fare), you lot place that bill of fare confront down at a base. While it can be affected by deportment and abilities that affect other players' "cards," it can't be afflicted by anything that affects minions (i.e. it can't be destroyed).
Burial just happens when a card says it does, but at the beginning of your turn, you tin can uncover one card. Other cards may let y'all uncover more than that.
This tin be quite powerful if you have something similar Lost Cognition higher up, which tin be played before a base of operations scores. Bury a powerful minion at a base of operations with this card in your hand, and you can unbury information technology to add to your strength before information technology actually scores.
SURPRISE!
The Pharaoh will let you uncover a carte at its base to do the same thing, which is nice.
And those Mummies! Put them down one place and they show upward someplace else. One game, I had three Mummies at a base of operations, so when the base scored, I spread them out to the other three bases.
It was really cool.
Other actions and minions will get additional power if cards are buried at their bases, then the burying mechanic is very prevalent for this faction.
I like how the Aboriginal Egyptians work, but I didn't care for them equally much equally the other three. The burial mechanic is cracking, just it doesn't e'er go well with other factions (I guess that could be said of a lot of faction combinations in this game, though).
The artwork is nice and evocative of that ancient Egypt feel, and I too love how information technology incorporates other expansions on some of the cards (like Lost Knowledge using the Explorers faction).
And the mummy wearing the T-shirt on Seal the Tomb is priceless!
Artist: Francisco Rico Torres
Finally, we get to my favourite faction in this game simply 1 that complicates the tear-downward subsequently you've finished the game considerably.
That's correct, the Vikings.
The Vikings are all virtually stealing cards from other players.
They're non like the Ignobles faction where it's nigh taking and retrieving control of minions. It'southward well-nigh outright raiding and pillaging (i.e. theft) of cards.
The Shield Maiden reveals the top card of a player's deck. If it's an action or a minion of power 3 or less, she places that menu into your hand.
Theft!
She steals any action, or virtually of your minions (not the actually powerful ones, though).
That Valkyrie, though, can be really devastating. A base just scored using i of your opponents' 5-power minion and it goes to the discard pile.
Play Valkyrie and nail! That 5-power minion is yours.
Yikes!
Pillage takes a random bill of fare from a thespian'south hand, so it could be really adept or maybe not so good. Who knows?
Vikings also have a number of cards where y'all place cards from your hand on peak of your deck in order to power up minions. This can be very effective when a base is well-nigh to score.
The mechanics for the Viking faction are a lot of fun, though you lot have to be certain to be clear who controls a card when it's out on the bases. There can exist many combinations of cards out there and if you lot're not careful, it could be hard to tell who controls what (this is mainly near base actions and not minions, as minion placement is pretty standard).
And clean-up can be a bowwow (definitely count your cards after yous've got them all together).
I love the artwork on the Vikings. Lots of fighting, the night colours set the mood, and it just looks like a lot of fun.
I've seen a comment or two about the Valkyrie card and how information technology doesn't fit into the Vikings faction. Non because Vikings didn't worship Norse gods, only because the residual of the cards are about real historical Vikings and the Valkyrie is from their religion.
I don't really have a problem with that. I retrieve it may be more than of a problem if they ever do a Norse faction (Thor'south Hammer, etc), though, as that card really should go into that faction.
But for at present, I just see information technology every bit another aspect of Viking culture.
And it's a cool carte du jour, so I'll give it that.
The bases are all pretty basic, giving everybody a gustation of the host faction's mechanic.
The Then-So Corral (great proper noun) lets anybody duel anybody else. The Pyramids permit anybody bury a card. Drakkar giving the Shield Maiden'southward carte-stealing power to anybody when they play a minion there.
I also notice the base-breaking number on some of these. The Rockstars would love these! (and who could pass up the hazard to bury Elvis?)
As bases go, they're pretty standard. Zip that interesting about them other than spreading the new mechanics around.
They're even so dainty, though, and the artwork is great!
All in all, while this isn't my favourite expansion, information technology ranks pretty high upwardly there.
The factions are interesting and I like the new mechanics (though they practice add to the play time initially every bit you get used to them).
The faction designers took what the fans requested and did a stand-up task of making them fun to play.
Check these out if you lot get a take a chance.
(These expansion factions were played three times)
Other Nail Up Reviews:
- Smash Up (base game)
- Scientific discipline Fiction Double Feature
- End & Desist
- What Were We Thinking?
- World Tour: International Incident
- That '70s Expansion
- Earth Bout: Culture Shock
- Awesome Level 9000
- Monster Blast
- Boom Upward: Marvel
- It's Your Fault
Source: https://dudetakeyourturn.ca/2019/02/20/expansion-review-oops-you-did-it-again/
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