first-look, review »
Posted May 5, 11:02 pm by Naiboss
I'm always on the lookout for fun new boardgames to play with friends and family but was a little surprised to find this Marvel branded offering tucked amongst the knock-off Connect 4 and Battleship games in one of my local toy shops (not normally known for such games). Not only that, but it was insanely cheap... just £6, when you'd normally expect to pay £40+ for a popular branded title. I assumed it had either been incorrectly priced, or there was something seriously wrong with it... regardless, I wasn't going to miss the chance to give it a go.
The games is fairly straightforward... each player picks a hero from a fairly varied selection of Marvel do-gooders, each with a unique power. Players are then randomly issues a loyalty card to determine who is working for S.H.I.E.L.D and who is secretly working for Hydra (Pro tip: don't giggle like an idiot when you check your card and find out you are Hydra... whoops). You then take turns to play cards to help, or hinder, S.H.I.E.L.D as they attempt to defeat various Marvel bad guys. S.H.I.E.L.D players look to play positively numbered cards to increase the overall attack, and Hydra players playing negatively numbered cards to counteract. All cards are played as one, after shuffling to prevent players from knowing who played what, and the total determines whether or not the villain takes damage. If the villain survives, it gets to damage New York City. The trick, for S.H.I.E.L.D agents, is keeping track of how many cards each player put down, so they can start to determine which players might be working for Hydra.
Played over several rounds with multiple villains, Hydras ultimate goal is the destruction of New York City. Keep the villains alive long enough and they will do the dirty work for you... the twist comes between rounds where voting takes place to knock out a player (or two in the later rounds). That player is then unable to directly contribute to the following battle. If the other players successfully knock out a Hydra player, they are likely to see fewer negative cards and therefore beat the villain they are fighting... get it wrong, however, and you give Hydra an advantage.
The game itself is, as you'd expect from a Marvel product, beautifully crafted with some great artwork. A relatively simple setup, with hero and villain cards, battle cards and a metal Avengers tower piece to track the cities health on the board. The board itself is relatively thin, but as predominantly a card/bluffing game, the board doesn't see a great deal of use.
Played with the right group, especially if you've got a few players with awful poker faces, Hail Hydra is a lot of fun. The play time is also relatively short, so it's not going to take up you're entire evening (leave room for more games!). Even on Amazon ( https://amzn.to/3KQ0ovr ) it turns out it's less than £10, so you really can't go wrong!
Hail Hydra!
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Posted May 5, 11:02 pm by Naiboss
I'm always on the lookout for fun new boardgames to play with friends and family but was a little surprised to find this Marvel branded offering tucked amongst the knock-off Connect 4 and Battleship games in one of my local toy shops (not normally known for such games). Not only that, but it was insanely cheap... just £6, when you'd normally expect to pay £40+ for a popular branded title. I assumed it had either been incorrectly priced, or there was something seriously wrong with it... regardless, I wasn't going to miss the chance to give it a go.The games is fairly straightforward... each player picks a hero from a fairly varied selection of Marvel do-gooders, each with a unique power. Players are then randomly issues a loyalty card to determine who is working for S.H.I.E.L.D and who is secretly working for Hydra (Pro tip: don't giggle like an idiot when you check your card and find out you are Hydra... whoops). You then take turns to play cards to help, or hinder, S.H.I.E.L.D as they attempt to defeat various Marvel bad guys. S.H.I.E.L.D players look to play positively numbered cards to increase the overall attack, and Hydra players playing negatively numbered cards to counteract. All cards are played as one, after shuffling to prevent players from knowing who played what, and the total determines whether or not the villain takes damage. If the villain survives, it gets to damage New York City. The trick, for S.H.I.E.L.D agents, is keeping track of how many cards each player put down, so they can start to determine which players might be working for Hydra.
Played over several rounds with multiple villains, Hydras ultimate goal is the destruction of New York City. Keep the villains alive long enough and they will do the dirty work for you... the twist comes between rounds where voting takes place to knock out a player (or two in the later rounds). That player is then unable to directly contribute to the following battle. If the other players successfully knock out a Hydra player, they are likely to see fewer negative cards and therefore beat the villain they are fighting... get it wrong, however, and you give Hydra an advantage.
The game itself is, as you'd expect from a Marvel product, beautifully crafted with some great artwork. A relatively simple setup, with hero and villain cards, battle cards and a metal Avengers tower piece to track the cities health on the board. The board itself is relatively thin, but as predominantly a card/bluffing game, the board doesn't see a great deal of use.
Played with the right group, especially if you've got a few players with awful poker faces, Hail Hydra is a lot of fun. The play time is also relatively short, so it's not going to take up you're entire evening (leave room for more games!). Even on Amazon ( https://amzn.to/3KQ0ovr ) it turns out it's less than £10, so you really can't go wrong!
Hail Hydra!
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