Smash Up, Shufflebuilding Card Game of Total Awesomeness, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

TL;DR scroll down to pros and con list. I have really enjoyed this game. I've played around 30 matches, half 2-player and the other half with 3-4 players. I'm in my late 20's and have been playing with friends around the same age. I've taught this game to around 10 different people. Most of them have enjoyed it quite a bit. I think this game fits in well with my group of friends because we like a bit of competition without getting too serious. The game time usually is around 30-45 mins with my group (although I hear it can go much faster) which is allows for people to lose without feeling like they've wasted their time. Playing a series of 3-5 matches can be really fun. This game has plenty of replay value because of the different ways to match up decks, although I have already bought two expansions and would recommend buying at least one if you enjoy this game so you are less likely to have to reply matchups. This is even more important if you play 4 player matchups . That being said, I think 2-player matches are fun but can result in stalemates with certain matchups. Once you've played a bit you'll notice that 2 player and 3 or 4 player experiences different quite a bit. Each start to have their own meta and strategies. Also, you'll get to know which factions play well and counter other factions. In groups I've played with before, we've started picking our decks, whereas with new people we usually draw random decks. The complexity of the game really grows the more you play, especially if you add an expansion or two. On the downside there are some factions that just seem more powerful than other. Zombies instance seem really powerful, however there are still some counters to them. Outside of the game play I can think of a few more points. The directions are fairly well written, there is a nice summary of the flow of how game round is played out. There are also the more complex rules laid out, even having a definition section to make sure meaning is clear behind certain words. I can say the artwork is pretty decent. Nothing great, but it has a pretty consistent style. The box contains room for all the deck and room for about 2 expansion sets. The chips for keeping score are nothing to brag about, just cardboard tokens. But there are more than enough for any match with more to spare. Also you can easily replace the tokens by just keeping track on paper. Pros: • Short games 30-45mins (could be faster if people were familiar with the game and the factions they played) • Replay value, especially with expansions • Interesting and unique play style for different factions • Quick setup • Easy to learn the basics • It’s just plain fun Cons: • Some balancing issues but they can be worked around an you likely won’t even notice until you’ve played around 10 games.

Smash Up is a fun game for 2-4 players. There are 8 different 20-card decks in the core game, each deck* containing 10 "minion" cards and 10 "action" cards. Each player picks 2 decks and shuffles them together to make one 40-card deck they will use to play that game. At the end of the game, you separate the decks back out. During the game, you play your minions on special "base" cards, trying to build up enough minion power to claim the base and hopefully overpower any other players on the same base. Claiming a base earns you points, with smaller point awards going to the 2nd and 3rd-place players who had minions there. The rules are fairly simple, but each deck usually has some unique ability that gives it an edge. Wizards are great at letting you play more actions, Zombies can retrieve minions from the discard pile, etc.. Games are short (about an hour for 3 people, longer if you have 4 or some are new players). No one is eliminated before the end of the game, it's rare for one player to totally dominate the game, and you don't need a huge table to play (2 card tables pushed together would be perfect). AEG has also released 3 expansions so far, with new 4 decks each. I'd advise getting at least the 'Awesome Level 9000' expansion if you are new, since that has some of the best decks in it, plus point tokens to keep track of everyone's victory points. That said, here are some of the downsides to the original box set: - There's room in the box for 18 decks, however with all expansions there are now 20 decks + the base deck + the madness card deck + victory tokens. If you plan to buy all 3 expansions, you can search Ebay for 'Smash Up Box Organizer'. Some guy makes a wooden organizer that fits inside the original box and holds 30 decks with adjustable dividers for the madness/base/victory cards. - The base smash up game does not include any way of keeping score. So use a scratch pad and a pen, or pennies and nickles. - 2 of the 8 factions (robots & zombies) in the base game are way more powerful than the others. Wizards are also pretty decent. The other 5 are a bit underwhelming, though some combo well with expansion decks. Considering each deck and how they stack up with the expansions; Zombies - possibly the strongest deck in the game. Can easily retrieve and play discarded minions Robots - can build up their power very rapidly, also one of the top 3 factions. Puts a strain on everyone's math skills. Wizards - can play lots of actions, but doesn't have many great actions to play Tricksters - other players discard randomly if they mess with them, but this easily is avoided and actually helps some other players Aliens - great at returning cards back to their players hands, not so great at playing them again Ninjas - can make last-minute changes to their power as a base is scoring, but not usually enough to help Dinosaurs - some super high-power minions, but no way to get them into play. Pirates - great at moving around, but this isn't very helpful. Pirates become more useful with Plants (Awesome Level 9000) and Monkeys (Science Fiction Double Feature). Aliens can help out with the Cthulhu expansion and can be a good counter to Monkeys (SFDF) and Bears (9000). We rarely play Tricksters, Dinosaurs and Ninjas. In Science Fiction Double Feature, the Cyborg Monkeys seem like what Dinosaurs was trying to be, but more flexible. Secret Agents are a better version of Ninjas. Instead of allowing you to kill weak minions (there's not that many weak-but-useful minions to kill) and replace your own minions with better ones (why not just play the better minion to start with?), Secret Agents let you mess with other people's decks and peek at what's coming up. The trickster's power of making other people discard if they affect your minions with their actions is more of a liability than a help. Ghosts and Zombies benefit heavily from discarding things, so they'll actually want to target your tricksters. Everyone else can just avoid targeting them, or take the chance that the 1 or 2 cards they have to discard won't be anything they were planning to use.

Smash Up is a card game with 8 different themed decks all with very distinct strategies that work accordingly with their themes. As the name suggests, the game is a smash up of all of these different archetypes. The interesting thing about this game is its premise. Each player picks two of the 8 possible decks to pick from and pits their choices against other player's combinations. The goal of Smash Up is to gain the highest number of victory points or be the first to 15. The main way this is done is by competing on a number of bases with other players. In the game there two types of cards, minions and actions. Minions each have their own power value and typically have an effect in the game. The other type of cards are considered action cards. These cards will do effects in the game that will help change the game in your favor. Using these cards, you compete on bases. Each base has a "break point" which acts as a threshold as to how much minion power it can contain. After this "break point" is exceeded on a base it "breaks" and players depending on their rank on that base in terms of minion power will be awarded 1st 2nd or 3rd place points. Unlike trading card games like Yu-gi-oh or Pokemon which many people are familiar with, these card games force players to play against each other based on the cards that they HAVE. Some players may be placed in a disadvantage by simply not having the best cards. Smash up has preset decks each with good and bad cards allowing for a much more balanced game experience. But apart from that, despite my explanation above on how to play the game, the game is far simpler than the other games I just mentioned, making it a much easier game to get into and to have friends or family learn an play. The game has good replay value because in the midst of a combination of decks lies many new strategies that come from that synchronization. So it is always enjoyable to see how different combinations may work together and yield interesting results. Along with this being the base game, there are expansions also available for the game which will provide even more possibilities and add more dimension to the game. One critique however is that the game will have better synchronizations than others. But with a game like this, that is inevitable, but overall the game is very balanced. The cards and the art are great quality. Some people complain the cards are thin and may break over time. So long as you aren't rough with them, my cards have endured just fine. The art of the game both looks great and glimmers with some comedy from time to time which makes the game fun by not taking itself far too seriously. In many ways the art is comical but it's also cool making it an interesting blend. I personally love this game and recommend it to anybody to try and play if you like any sort of strategic fun. It's fun and simple to pick up. Have fun!

Smash Up: 2-4 Players, Ages 12+, Average Play Time = 45 Minutes I have to say, I really enjoyed the art featured on the various cards. Each deck is supposed to represent a particular faction, and it certainly shows. Aliens felt like aliens, robots felt like robots, and so on. The game is fairly text heavy and requires a lot of reading, but I didn’t have too much trouble reading the cards (even with my poor eyesight). Like with most card games that feature a lot of text, there are actually two learning curves at work. The first one, learning how to play the game, is relatively easy in this case. The second one, learning how the cards interact and getting used to their abilities, takes bit longer. Some cards have ongoing abilities, so it pays to have someone in your group who has a good memory and can keep track of what all should be observed over the course of the game. My favorite aspect of the game was how the different factions behaved. While the art was indeed thematic, the factions themselves have their own way of playing. Some factions have very powerful minions while others favor area and crowd control with unique abilities. Zombie minions, for example, are extremely durable while wizards can chain actions until the next sunrise. Before picking your two factions, it pays to quickly go through their decks to see what kind of traits they have. It won’t be long until you have a favorite or two, though it’s always fun to try different deck combinations to see how they perform. I didn’t run into any balance issues, meaning that I didn’t find one faction more powerful than another…they just played differently. Vinnie Jr (12) really got a kick out of playing “Smash Up”. He’s heavy into card battlers like “Pokemon”, so this was right up his alley. Reading cards and remembering their effects didn’t phase him in the slightest. I myself enjoyed the experience and I surprisingly didn’t become overwhelmed with the card abilities like I tend to do in “Magic: The Gathering”. As such, I’ve deemed this to be a great family-friendly card game that would appeal to most people. The card mechanics are light enough for both casual and hardcore gamers to enjoy it, I feel. It may take time for some players to form strategies during play (chaining cards, thinking ahead, etc.), but it doesn’t get ridiculously complex. All in all, “Smash Up” is an overall excellent choice for game night.

This is a solid game which includes very little setup time and is quick to play and easy to learn. It is a shuffle-building card game in which you "smash" to different factions together to create a Franken-Faction. On each turn, a player may play a "Minion" on a "Base" and then may play an "Action." Minions have a certain "Power" value and Bases have a "Break Point" value. As each player places Minions on the Bases you count to see if the total power value meets or exceeds the Base break point. Once it does you hand out the "Victory Points" in accordance with the instructions of the specific Base in play. First places gets a certain amount of VPs, then second place, then third place. The first player to 15 VPs wins. The game includes a variety of different factions (e.g. wizards, dinosaurs, zombies, pirates, aliens, etc). Each faction has a unique thematic ability - Zombies bring cards back from the discards, Aliens beam your cards or others cards back into the player's hand, Dinosaurs use their strength to overpower opponents. So when you "smash" Zombies and Dinosaurs together you get a Franken-Faction which can overpower your opponents and bring cards back from the dead (i.e. discard pile). Each faction works together and synergies differently; which allows the game to have a fair amount of replay value. It is a medium-level strategy game so it is not super heavy in nature to play or learn how to play successfully. This game is so easy to learn, therefore, it is a game you can teach your kids. It is also great game to play with your friends over food and drink, or to feature at a board game party. The humorous, combative, and eccentric nature of the game will keep people interested and entertained. And because the game is inexpensive, I would consider it a must own for gamers.

I grabbed this as a deal of the day and had never played it before. Its a simple card game that is easy to learn and is more fun the more players you have. It comes with 8 fractions with 20 cards each. Also has 16 base cards and a set of instructions. The box itself is a nice design with room for up to 9 more fractions. To me the only down side of the construction was the box is so tight fitting it can be a bit hard to open at times. The game is easy and fast to learn. You start off by picking 2 fractions and mixing them. Every fraction has minion and action cards that are unique to each fraction. Minions have a value on them of what they are worth. You then place a base card for every person playing and then one extra. Each base card has a first, second third point value and a break value. You then take turns placing one one minion and one action per turn. Basically when the total minions on that base equals the base break value you award the point value (first, second, third) from the total value of each persons minions totaled on that base. You replace the base card with another and keep going till someone reaches 15. Overall I would recommend it to anyone that wants a quick and easy game to learn but tough to master. It can be played by all ages and will take under a hour to play giving number of players and experience. Also has add-on decks to spice things up and allow more players. Positives+ Fast Easy good design kid friendly Negatives- Box tough to open Some fractions are stronger then others

Smash Up is an epic card game that puts sci-fi staples (called factions) like pirates, robots, and wizards at odds with one another as players battle, deceive, and back-stab for control of various bases. The big twist is: each player gets to mix two factions to create interesting combinations of their favorite themes. This means you end up with robot-pirates duking it out with ninja-aliens and zombie-dinosaurs. What's not to love about that? The artwork is stunning, and gives this game the look and feel of a Michael Bay style epic fight movie. When I play my indestructible Warbot, the card's detailed depiction of a thickly armored death machine, standing stoically in the remains of a decimated battleground, can really drive the point home that he's a force to be reckoned with. One of the things that sets the artwork in this game apart from almost everything else is that every single card has the same high level of quality and detail. Even the more mundane cards are dripping with faction-specific theme so that you never really feel like you're playing a card that any other player has. The basic mechanics of Smash Up are simple: on your turn, you may play one action and one minion card, then draw two cards from your deck; but this simplicity is deceptive. Practically every card in this game does something extra. Some cards let you play extra minions, while others let you switch out a base for one of your choosing. The different effects these cards can have are as varied as the cards themselves, because no two factions possess the same cards. This brings me to the true excellence of this game. Smash Up was designed in such a way that every faction is overpowered, to the point where almost every card you play will elicit a "that's not fair!" from the other players. Here's a typical exchange: you draw and play a King Rex (a T-Rex with a missile launcher strapped to his back, and the most powerful minion in the game), and laugh maniacally. Then the player to your left announces that his aliens have decided to terraform the base your King Rex is on, so that now you get no points for playing your awesome card, and then he laughs maniacally. The person to his left plays a trickster card that prevents anyone but himself from playing minions on the newly terraformed base, and thus becomes the only player to score points on that base. The player then laughs maniacally. The overpowered nature of every faction plays into the epic theme completely, as it creates a game where any card played can be a game-changer. Of course, since each faction is overpowered, the game is remarkably well balanced, and rarely will a player end a game thinking they didn't stand a chance. This is simply one of the most fun games out there, and it is especially welcome during my board game nights because it offers a bit of a break from the sterile European style games. So if you enjoy epic sci-fi themes, well-designed games with quality components, and laughing maniacally, Smash Up is a must-have game.

What can I say? SmashUp is one of my top favorites, the other one probably being Escape: Curse of the Temple. I've found SmashUp to be a great "gateway" game that really stretches people and gets them interested in board games. The fact that there's a million factions to choose from means that people generally can end up with something that looks interesting to them. The game holds up well, with good replayability and variety, especially as you add on further expansions and factions. Most factions don't change the rules at all, but offer you more choices of special abilities and card powers that will give you an edge against other players. In SmashUp, the basic concept is that you pick two factions: say, Alien-Horses or Super Spy-Dinosaurs, and mash them together to create a 40-card deck of unique ability. This is a shuffle-building game, not a collectible card game, so no player is disadvantaged by not having rare, powerful cards. Instead, everyone gets a level playing field as they draft two factions from the same pool. Once chosen, players compete to score points on bases by playing both minions and actions. Minions give you power at a certain base, and actions manipulate bases, minions, and other players. The first player to 15 victory points wins the game! Generally, folks who like serious, engine-building games won't be a fan of this sort of game (although personally, I appreciate both types). SmashUp is silly, madcap, and crazy, and the cards are often cartoony or filled with jokes. But as a mid-casual gamer, I really enjoy the mechanic of choosing a good combination and crushing the competition. SmashUp is the only game I've added to (with custom factions), as I enjoy it that much and want to add more variety to the collection. It's always a favorite at our game nights and we haven't come close to using up all the possible combinations (though one poor guy has a knack for the worst combos: hello Cyborg Ape-Time Travellers!) I recommend SmashUp simply because it's rollicking good fun with a lot of variety. The base game will get stale without at least one expansion, though -- the more the merrier. We have all the expansions but Munchkin, in addition to four or five custom decks. Highly recommended. Other expansions that we own: Pretty Pretty Smash Up Smash Up: Science Fiction Double Feature Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000 Smash Up: Monster Smash Smash Up: The Obligatory Cthulhu Smash Up Big Geeky Box Game (reviewedas well) AEG Entertainment has also confirmed at least two more expansions coming this year, so the game promises to stay fresh for quite a while.

Llegó super bien y divertido para molestar a los demás jugadores, jejeje. Ya estoy por comprar las demás expansiones!!

If you derive great joy from burning friendships with Munchkin and The Resistance - Try adding this one to the melee. This beauty caught my eye with its simple premise: Combine 2 classic antagonists and try to out-conquer your opponents. Why ask if ninjas are better than pirates... when you can have both? Face them off against a legion of zombie aliens, who probe your butt as they eat your brains... then see how you fare! The real joy of the game comes from the level of strategic depth it boasts. Alderac does a superb job of providing a really distinct playstyle for all 8 factions. The aliens mess with their opponents and disrupt their plans, whilst the pirates hop around bases and pick off stragglers. The Tricksters make it difficult for others to get a foothold, whilst the dinosaurs are... well... what else would you expect for dinosaurs with laser cannons? They wreck bases. Big time. Where you combine factions (and your opponents will also have their own wily combinations) is truly where the fun lies. It's a far cry from the variety other games give you which tends to be different starting points or characters with different abilities. Here: Right off the bat, each game has a really unique feel to it. You have to suss out the best combination of your cards to counter the combinations you'll come up against. Many cards beautifully synergise between the factions - often leading those one-in-a-blue-moon killer combos where everything just happened to be in the right place. Even the bases in play can alter the outcome. It really challenges you to constantly adapt - as the next game will be considerably different. Not something many games can boast Considering its strategic depth, the rules are deceptively easy and quick to pick up. It generally takes a few moves to get the gist, and the rest is just the occasional clarification on what a certain card can/can't do (normally when someone's trying to be extra sneaky). Once rolling, games can last anywhere from 30 mins to an hour-half (or 4 hours if someone's playing wizards and is trying to work out how to play as many cards as possible) In a really nice twist, the game also balanced so that one player can't just steamroll to victory. Once a base falls, all of the minions (and actions) on it head to the players' discard piles. Whilst it seems odd at first: It means you can't just win on a single, lucky victory. You need to keep creating lots of little wins and stay on top of things, as the game can very easily be snatched from you. As such, it really lends itself to dazzling comebacks and nail-biting finales that come down to the last base, which tends to let everyone feel more involved and enjoy themselves a lot more Being the core game, this is obviously the best starting point to dip your feet into the world of Smash Up. And if you love it and want more, you're in luck: The box comes with enough room for 9 additional factions! Nice!

Smash Up is good fun, especially among gamers who can relax, revel in the sheer audacity of some stupid-good plays, and aren’t ashamed to let loose and let their geek flags fly.

What do you expect of a game? I guess the point is to be fun, right? Spaß machen. Well my German is not quite good enough to write reviews auf Deutsch just yet, but I wish I could; because “Spaß machen” expresses this game much better than the English equivalent. It's really a fun-production machine. It works really well from the game design perspective — it's agile, interactive, and there are no absolute flawless strategies that always win; the rules are complex enough to provide rich gameplay, but simple enough that you don't have to stop to check the rulebook in mid-game. Apart from that it's *also* crazily entertaining, when you're pitching zombies that keep coming back from the grave against abducting aliens against maddeningly replicating robots against The Bear Cavalry… well ok, disclaimer, The Bear Cavalry comes in an expansion (named, appropriately, “Awesome Level 9000”), but if you do have it and you're playing against it, well, “You're Pretty Much Borscht”. I've yet to play this with someone who doesn't love it.

Fun and changes every time you play it