One of Alderac Entertainment Groups biggest gaming products and where the Smash Up journey started way back in 2012. It has expanded so much over the years since then and celebrated a 10th anniversary with a special expansion set last year. We cannot forget where it began though and that it is a brilliant game. I still remember how I acquired my set. I stumbled across it on Amazon of all places (I didn’t know Zatu existed in 2012, sorry) and read the bio for the product and thought it looked quite good, that was it, nothing else, no further reading or checking other reviews, just a simple bio read. I highlighted it to my wife (although not yet married then) and I received it for Christmas that year. We loved it from the off, such a simple game with so many varied strategies and the ability to make unique combinations battle it our for victory. What does the core set offer us?

The Rules

(I’d say overview but these are basically all the rules).

A game for two to four players (and it works well with however many players you have within this) that sees a player combine two factions together, a faction having 20 cards within it, to make a deck of 40 cards and compete to be the first to fifteen victory points. Victory points in the main are achieved by breaking bases through your minions power and you will take the most victory points away from that broken base if your side offers the most power. Each base offers three scores to the winner with highest power taking the first score, 2nd place taking the second score, if you have a 3rd player they take the third score, and if there is a 4th player they take nothing if they have minions present. A new base comes out from the base deck and you go again. There is more than just one base to compete over in a game, the number of bases available is equal to 1 more than the total players participating. So, three bases available to go at in a two-player game, for example.

Turn play is simple. You can play one action and play one minion. That is all. After you have played your action card and minion card (which is optional) players check to see if bases are broken and score if appropriate. Then draw two new cards to their hand (with a maximum hand size of 10) then cards and play passes on.

That’s it, a beautifully simple game.

Every faction comes with 2 bases linked to them giving 16 bases with the core set. You’ll never need to use them all in a single game but the options and the unique abilities associated with each base as well as the different victory points on offer create for a different game experience each and every game played.

All the original factions are classic gaming themes, nothing too surprising, but all play in very different ways allowing for unique strategies to create victory. Combining 2 factions further creates a unique pairing to compete on the table top. Will the factions compliment each other and be a very powerful force or will they have their challenges and perhaps struggle in the game? Who are the original factions of the game and what do they each offer?

Zombies

The ultimate undead group. The Zombies are a slow burner at the start of the game but thrive on being able to come back to life from the discard pile. They are still noted as one of the most powerful factions in the entirety of the series, not just this set. Just like Zombies, when they keep coming back to life they become relentless and very tough to stop because more and more just keep appearing. They will overwhelm and overrun opposition.

Tricksters

A highly entertaining group good at destroying opposing minions as well as being very tough themselves. The Leprechaun is a nightmare as a minion for all opponents to it. The tricks they also bring in the form of actions played on bases prove very problematic for all opponents, and for a deck of 20 cards they have a huge amount of these within it. You need to keep your eyes on what they are up to.

Ninjas

The master assassins themselves. The Ninjas, unsurprisingly, have the ability to assassinate opposing minions. This can make life very difficult for opponents. They also work in the shadows and can move quickly when needed. They have some ability to move between bases and switch in and out. They are cunning and quite understated, you won’t see their plays coming.

Aliens

One of my favourite factions and another extremely strong force. The Aliens are all about mobility but in the form of beaming in and out of bases as opposed to moving between them. They can also beam opponents out of play which is quite frustrating when your minions are teleported out. They combine very well with just about any other faction in the game.

Dinosaurs

The power faction in this game. They are all about brute force with limited strategy. For me, probably the weakest side in the set because of this and they can struggle without the right sort of faction supporting them. When they click with a faction they are pretty unstoppable. For me though, a little disappointing.

Wizards

Whereas the dinosaurs are all about power the wizards are the total opposite and quite weak here. There strength lies in their ability to go through actions, which is ridiculous. I have shuffled my discard pile and reset as a new draw pile numerous times in a game with the wizards involved. If they get aligned with a group with powerful minions they are devastating.

Pirates

Another super fun group to use, the pirates are powerful and so mobile. They can move multiple minions between bases incredibly quickly overwhelming the base break point and winning it effortlessly. They have the ability to destroy minions on opposing sides and have an all-round good balance. They are a great faction. Who doesn’t enjoy a good pirate theme?

Robots

On first viewing they are weak with really low powers. Don’t let that deceive you, their abilities are ferocious and if you as an opponent to them do not manage them they can swiftly overrun bases with a swarm of robots. Generally, another faction that plays incredibly well with most. What you will find with this one is they also have a lot more minions than actions available to use. See how you get on with that one as you do need to think about how you use them a little more.

I love all the original factions. It is where the game started and it is important not to forget that. All the other expansions are not necessary as this is a great standalone game (but the expansions do add to the original set, mixing it up even more).

Some of the critics think the game is unbalanced and some factions stronger than others not making it very fair. My answer to this is that might be correct but it is on us as gamers to find the strategy with the cards we have to get the win. We always randomise the faction selection in our group and do not pick the 2 factions we want to use. This does away with knowing what works and gaining an advantage in this way. It also forces those unique combinations of play which I always find exciting. I also find with those critics, they moan about the balance after they just lost, when they win they are loving it so make what you will from that. How many games are truly perfectly balanced?

Final Thoughts

Smash Up is an incredible game with so much variety. I was so happy with picking it up by chance because it has become a firm favourite in our group. It regularly features on the table top because every game is different. With different bases picked coupled with different combinations of factions every time, the replay ability of the game is enormous. Only taking about one hours as well makes it fast. It is a huge winner for me and I hope you enjoy it also.

This blog was written by David Ireland.