| Reviewer | Reviewed On | Publisher | Designer | Published In | Rating |
| January 8, 2008 | Joe Magic Games | Mark Hanny | 2007 | 5.5 |
| Buy It Now | More Info |
I hesitate to use the moniker "Eurogame" as a general descriptive word, but in this case it's dead on. Super Powers is a game that is reminiscent of Settlers of Catan; and while the game works on a visual and interesting level, the theme of Super Heroes is only partially realized. Add that to the very lackluster art and components, and it's going to be hard to get folks interested in the game. I enjoyed my playing but felt a bit disappointed if only because the game was more businesslike than that of one in which we were slapping down villainous thugs.
The game consists of two boards: one that is a scoring track, and the other which is a six by six grid, showing a variety of different colored spaces. Each row and column shows a six-sided die result in two different colors, so that you can roll a yellow and red die and quickly find the corresponding spot in the grid. The "doubles" spots ("3" and "3", "4" and "4", etc.) are marked as the bases of villains. Other random spots show three colored dots. Players each choose one of these spaces and place a base block of their color in the square, as well as their pawn. The player then takes an energy token that matches the colors in the dots, plus another that matches the color of the space. Each player also gets one training token, and the rest of the training tokens and four-colored energy tokens (green, red, yellow, and blue) are placed near the boards. A deck of super power cards are shuffled, and five are laid face up, and a villain deck is shuffled (with a few starting villains placed near the top). One player is chosen to go first, and then play passes clockwise around the table.
On a player's turn, they roll the dice and place an energy token on the space signified by the dice. (Token is the same color as the space). If a player's pawn is in a space, they automatically receive the token; or if a player's base is in the spot, same thing. However, if a player rolls "doubles"; then instead of a token being placed, the top villain card is revealed and attacks the players.
After this, the player may take an energy token that matches the color of the space where their pawn is. If they wish, they can move their pawn to an adjacent space, but not one that contains the pawn of another player. When moving, they receive all energy tokens (if any) in that space. Finally, the player takes one of the following actions:
- Build a base in the space their pawn is, if no base is there. This costs two energy tokens that match the color of the space chosen. This gives the player one victory point.
- Train their hero, which means they take training tokens equal to the number of bases they own.
- Buy one of the face-up super powers. The cost, in energy tokens, is shown on the cards (for example, Mind Control costs five reds and one blue, and Imitation costs two reds, two greens, and two yellows). The player gets victory points equal to the number of tokens spent.
- Battle a villain, either one that is face up, or a new one from the top of the pile, if no face-up villains are around.
When fighting a villain, the villain card is examined. It shows one to four energy tokens of each of the four colors. Starting with the player whose turn it is, each person must fight the villain. They must either discard a number of energy tokens equal to one of the groups of tokens on the card. If this is done, an energy token of that color is placed at the top of the card; and no player may attack the villain with that color again. If the player doesn't have enough energy tokens for one of the remaining colors, they must place one of their training tokens on the bottom of the card. If they have no training tokens, they must place an energy token; and if they don't have that, they must place one of their bases on their card. After every player has gone, if the villain has been beaten in all four colors, it is defeated. Starting with the player who landed the finishing blow, and going clockwise, each player may take two items from the top and/or bottom of the card. Players who have more than twenty victory points may only take one item.
Whenever players beat an opponent with energy tokens, they gain points as indicated on the card ("1", "3", "5", or "10"). If the player has a base on a villain spot on the board, they gain three additional points and one extra point if their pawn is on a villain spot. If the villain is not completely beaten, it remains on the table until beaten on a future turn.
Superpowers give the players different abilities, most of which are activated by the player discarding training tokens. Some help the player when attacking villains, some give the player extra movement abilities, and other special abilities. The game continues until one player gets eighty or more points, at which point they win the game!
Some comments on the game...
1.) Components: The game comes in a small, thin box, which is full of small wooden pieces and cards. The good thing is that the components are all brightly colored and easy to read. After that, though – there are several problems. The training tokens, which are clear plastic tokens, are in a variety of colors; and it took me a while to figure out that they were all the same. The energy tokens, which could have been painted better, are round discs which tend to roll all over the place if bumped. The cards are of lower quality, and the artwork looks like comic book reject art from the seventies. I understand that the independent nature of the company means that quality will be lower, but the game doesn't seem to scream out the fact that it's all about superheroes.
2.) Rules: The rules are on four pages and explain the game well, although a few examples could have been included for clarity. There is some detail on many of the super powers, which helps since there may be some confusion on how many of them work. The game itself is pretty easy to explain; players have a few choices each turn, and teenagers will also quickly pick up the game.
3.) Superpowers: The most interesting part of the game is the most thematic as well. Players have a choice of what powers to go for, and they seem fairly well balanced. It's good for players to acquire them because they are worth points but more importantly will help a player throughout the rest of the game. It's pretty important to have a variety of powers; if I have Phasing, which allows me an automatic 4 yellow attack, it still doesn't help me when I need to fight red, blue, or green. In the games that I've played the player who has the widest range of super powers often wins.
4.) Board: The board is hard to explain – I'm not sure what it's supposed to represent, although there are adjectives on the columns and rows – a "2","5" is a radioactive procedure. But in reality it's simply a resource gathering chart. The player who runs around and builds the most bases has the highest chance of getting the energy tokens they want as well as a large pile of training tokens. Still, the board comes down to luck, and unlike Settlers, there's no advantage to any single space – the odds are equal for all of them. While this luck may seem too annoying for some, players do get one guaranteed resource per turn and can maneuver themselves to get more. While this part of the game may attract new players, I found it oddly abstract and slightly unfulfilling.
5.) Villains: This part of the game, however, can be quite strategic. Players can attack a villain in one of their four colored parts, and three things will help decide what a player does here. First of all, a player is stuck with the energy tokens/superpowers that they have. Beyond that, players will consider what gives them the most points. But even more subtle, players can look at the energy tokens other players have and deliberately take a lower score – but also taking a color another player can use, forcing them to take a hit by the villain. This is some interesting strategy and causes the game to have some good interaction, although it doesn't seem very superhero like to set your teammates up for failure.
6.) Fun Factor: While there is a good luck factor in the game, the choices of whether to buy superpowers or build bases is interesting, and the fighting of superheroes works in a good way. My only problem is that the theme seems laid on top of the game in a way that works, but only in a superficial way. I don't feel like I'm actually fighting villains; it feels like a nice set of mechanics that happens to be about superheroes.
While the lower components and thin theme won't keep me from playing the game - I found it fairly enjoyable; it will prevent a lot of others from being interested in the game. A game about superheroes should FEEL like a fantastic experience, and SuperPowers doesn't. I don't think it will hit the table much for that reason, although the ideas are intriguing; and I would like to see more from this designer. I may not care about beating Doctor Diablo with my Cold Generation power, but it's not another game about the Mediterranean!
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
Contents copyright© 2006-2012 Tom Vasel