It wasn’t long ago that Smash Up became available via Early Access to Steam. Since then I’ve had some time to play and see how it compares to the physical game. Smash Up is free to play, giving you 3 factions,  Dinosaurs, Ninjas and Geeks, to play the game with. All the features of the game are available in the free version. The only reason you’d need to pay at this point is if you want more factions. There’s a $9 Starter Pack available that gets you Zombies and Aliens now, and then Pirates, Robots, Tricksters, and Wizards when the game leaves Early Release.

So how does it play? Ultra smooth. The interface is a bit different than what I would have thought but works extremely well. Your cards are laid out on the bottom of the screen while scores are on the left and the rest of the screen is taken up by the bases. Each base is represented by a row with its card to the left, played cards on the line, and number totals to the right.

The way the screen is laid out makes it extremely easy to know what’s going on with the game at all times. It only takes a glance to see what you have, where your assets are places, and where you stand with all the other players. Overall the experience is extremely pleasant and makes the game that much more enjoyable to play. Having all the bookkeeping kept track of by the game is awesome.

Even though it’s in Early Access, Smash Up still boasts an incredible level of polish with a great tutorial and a slew of different features. Here’s the list detailed on the Nomad Games site:

• Play with 4 players or solo against the AI
• Online play against opponents from across the globe
• Add-on faction decks, including the base game set and more
• Random or manual faction selection
• Save game function for storing progress on the go
• Fully automated scoring
• Tutorial system plus ‘Step Through’ and ‘Review’ modes to help players learn
• Leader-boards and Achievements
• Three free to play factions

I was already a huge fan of Smash Up, but this steps the game up a notch. Being able to play solo, and have the bookkeeping taken care of, means that I’ll be playing this one much more often than I do now.

A copy of the Starter Pack DLC was provided free for this review by Nomad Games.

• Comments Off on Second Look—Smash Up Digital

You can now snag the Early Access of Smash Up on Steam for free. You’ll have access to the Dinosaurs, Ninjas, and Geeks in the standard version, while you can purchase the Zombies and Aliens separately for $2 each. There’s also a Start Pack for $9 that includes the Zombies and Aliens for now, but will add 4 more factions later once they’re released.

I’m at work right now, so I haven’t had a chance to give this a shot. I’ll make sure I post a bit more once I have a chance to really dig it.

• Comments Off on Smash Up Hits Steam Early Access

Alderac Entertainment Group has teamed up with Nomad Games to bring Smash Up to iOS, Android, and Steam this Autumn. The initial release will contain factions from the base set, and will handle up to 4 players via online play or pass-and-play. There will also be AI opponents to play against.

There’s no word on pricing yet, but who cares. I’m buying it as soon as it comes out.

• Comments Off on Smash Up Coming to Mobile/Steam

Two Munchkin related news articles in one day? You bet! Keep my kids away from this one. Two of their current favorites, Munchkin and Smash Up, mixed together in what I’m hoping will be something really awesome.

This is a base set that can be played on its own, or mixed with other Smash Up sets. Smash Up: Munchkin, however, isn’t just your normal game of Smash Up with a Munchkin theme slapped on. Two new card types have been added to the game: Treasure and Monsters. Monsters will hang around bases to mess you up, while Treasures give you new rewards when smashing a base.

Smash Up: Munchkin will be out in September for $34.99 from AEG.

• 1 Comment

That’s right! You can now cast your vote on the top 18 entries for the It’s Your Fault expansion for Smash Up. Tomorrow you’ll be able to vote on the top 8.

I’m a bit sad that my suggestion didn’t make the cut, but there’s some really great factions in there. Dragons! Mechs! Elementals!

You can totally let my excitement influence your vote.

• Comments Off on Smash Up: It’s Your Fault Top 16 Voting

I just happened to catch this on AEG’s Twitter account. They’re working on a new expansion for Smash Up called It’s Your Fault. Basically they’re taking suggestions as to what factions players would like to see in the game. You can fill out the form to submit your own idea, and hope they use it.

I submitted Politicians.

You’ve got until May 11th to submit your ideas, and then there will be a 32 combatant bloodbath with the top submissions to determine who’ll be in the game.

Smash Up: It’s Your Fault will be hitting shelves in Spring of 2016 with the user-decided factions.

• Comments Off on Smash Up: It’s Your Fault

That’s right! Today is International Tabletop Day!

Here’s hoping all of you are getting a ton of gaming in today. We’ve already gotten a few games of Poop: The Game in, and have Smash Up, Qwirkle, Ticket To Ride, and more lined up to play!

What are you playing today? Are you attending an event, holding an event, or just playing at home?

Need some game suggestions? Lory’s recent post Five Great Family-Friendly Games to play on Easter Sunday is a good place to start, or just take a look through our Second Look archives!

If you need to buy a game last minute, local Target and Barnes & Nobles stores usually have some great games. If you’ve got a local brick-and-mortar game store then all the better!

• Comments Off on Happy International Tabletop Day!

Tuesday at the GAMA Trade show, Renegade Game Studios and Steve Jackson Games announced a patnership to produce Munchkin Trading Cards. To be clear, these cards, available in the fall, are not a game, just trading cards of the kind with images on one side and character facts on the other. However, in addition to the typical sticker and autograph cards, inserted in to random packs will be actual unique playtest cards from the Munchkin game development team, new one-off rule cards, and original hand drawn sketch cards (at least one per box of 24 packs). While the total number of cards in a pack has not yet been set, MSRP per pack should be $3.50.

Also announced at the show were Munchkin Gloom from Atlas Games, Munchkin Smash Up from AEG, and Munchkin Zombies Walking Dead and Munchkin The Nightmare Before Christmas from USAopoly. The last is an October release and the rest are set for Gen Con.

Coming direct from Steve Jackson are Munchkin Steampunk (a hobby channel exclusive through December), Star Munchkin 3 (with a single extra card, for a total of 113, only in the first print run), and Munchkin Stocking Stuffers (a bundle of five Christmas-themed packs plus some gift stickers).

And possibly in the works are Munchkin vending machines, either for game cards or for tchotchkes, like mini figures and dice. At the moment, no concrete steps have yet been taken for these. However, the retailers at the show voiced strong support.

• 1 Comment

AEG has a lot to be excited for, both for current and future releases. There was even 3-4 thinks I can’t report on yet that have me super excited. One tidbit of info before I go into what I saw is that Love Letter is getting slightly rebranded. A slightly more modern logo will appear on future versions, and different licensed copies will have their own title with “A Love Letter Game” appearing below. With that out of the way, let’s get to the games!

Adventure Time Love Letter / Once You Go Blackmail, A Love Letter Game – $12 – Ages 10+

Two new licensed versions of Love Letter are arriving soon. One based on Adventure Time, and on on the show Archer. Each has their own unique quirks, and Archer’s Once You Go Blackmail will be the first title to have it’s own name along with the “A Love Letter Game” subtext. Also at the booth were the new Batman and Hobbit version of Love Letter, both of which are currently available.

Rumpelstiltskin

It’s hard to think about Rumpelstiltskin anymore without hearing the name said in Emilie de Ravin’s Aussie accent, but this title has no ties with any current popular TV show. Rumpelstiltskin is a game of guessing the name of which magical gnome/troll/thing your opponent has. Light, quick, and sure to be a lot of fun.

Pretty Pretty Smash Up Expansion – $25 – Ages 12+

Pretty Pretty adds Fairie, Kitty Cats, Mythic Horses, and Princesses to the wildly popular game. It will be available March 15th, and contains:

• 80 Minion & Action Cards
• 8 Base cards
• 4 Dividers
• 12-page Rulebook
• 1 VP/Power Token Sheet

Dark Seas – Ages 14+

Coming out in conjunction with International Tabletop Day on April 11th, Dark Seas is a game of pirates! A tile-based game, players build up their network of islands to pillage and plunder the most booty and increasing their reputation. Pirates wouldn’t be pirates, though, without the ability to wreak havoc upon others. Players will be able to hinder their opponents’ pirates in many different ways to keep them from gaining enough reputation to win the game. The pieces in this one are really nice looking, and from what I’ve seen it looks like it’ll be a blast to play.

Other Items

There were 3 amazing looking games that weren’t available for press release yet, but I can guarantee that at least 2 of them are going to be huge. Just hearing about how they’re going to work, and seeing some of the initial artwork blew me away. There’s also going to be a DC Comics version of Lost Legacy coming out, with different superheroes having their own decks that can be mixed and matched to play. Artwork wasn’t final on these, so I couldn’t snag any pics.

• Comments Off on Toy Fair 2015-AEG