Overview:This is a fun race game with a Steampunk theme, which has to be said fits perfectly for this game. Think Wacky Races and you will get the idea of the essential core of the game
Utilising Card Drafting and dice players build fantastic inventions and race them across one of two different variable courses.
Components:I will start by pointing out that I have the Kickstarter version, though the main difference other than some additional box art is that the dice are translucent and it comes with metal cogs.
The artwork is absolutely spot on fitting the theme and looks fantastic overall, the cardboard components are of good quality as are the cards, though they are a tad on the thin side, which are also really well designed. The only negative really are the Standee's for the player pieces which understandably are a bit small but the main problem is the colours are very similar so easy for players to move the wrong piece. I generally now advise players to focus on the picture.
GameplayI wont go into a full rule description as the full rules are available on
BoardGameGeek. The game is really relatively easy to teach, though players usually need to follow the advise in the rulebook to play the first couple of race phases in turn order rather than simultaneous in order for everyone to help each other work through their machines. The game is played in various phases, most of which are played simultaneously except when boost cards are played then it is done in turn order.
Draft: Each player is given a card from each of the four different decks and from that hand they place a card into their machine, discard a card for Dice or Cogs or keep a boost card hidden for later use.
Vent: Each Dice used on a previous turn can be reduced by 2 pips by spending a cog or two dice reduced by 1 pip. If all the pips are removed then the dice is removed back to stock freeing up the machine part to be re-activated.
Race: All dice collected in the draft phase or help over on storage cards are now rolled and can then be placed on parts to activate them.
Damage: During the previous phases as shields and damage are generated they are added/removed from the tracker. Any damage recorded during the previous phases is now applied by removing the number of parts of you machine equal to the red number on the players dial. If shields had been generated and not used up these are kept for future turns.
End of Turn: Unused dice are returned to stock and lightbulbs reset and the order of play marker is flipped.
After the initial learning rounds the pace of these phases picks up as people get the idea of what is going on and the end game usually comes quicker than you expect. There is a lot going on here with plenty of scope to plan and use strategy in order to win. There is a degree of luck, there are dice after all, but the cogs provide a means to mitigate this and it helps provide a little bit of chaos which seems fitting to the theme as well as the race aspect. I enjoy playing this game immensely and each time is different thanks to the 16 different inventors with their unique machines as well as the vast array of machine parts. There has been some errata on a card and rules so worth keeping a weather eye on the boardgamegeek threads but otherwise this for me comes very close to the perfectly designed game and will see plenty of plays over the coming years. The simultaneous Race phase gives that feeling of being in a race and adds to the overall atmosphere of the game.
The other very satisfying thing is as you build your machine and power it with the dice it feels like you are running a machine. You can get that great feeling of achievement when you find your carefully constructed machine has a nice flow as you start to power the various components, especially when you get combo's of parts working to create extended abilities or motion in the race. I can feel my face beaming as I type this thinking back on the fun I have putting these machines together.
SummaryGreat game and worthy of a place in my collection, it does have some niggly bits but nothing that truly detracts from the gameplay. This is almost a perfect 10 game for me so well done
Roxley
