If this style of pulp spy thriller action is your thing, NewSpeak was made for you. It’s a group game in the style of Codenames, Decrypto, and Spyfall. In a dystopian future, what we see and experience is controlled by The Moderators, à la The Matrix. A group of Dissidents (one team) is planning covert actions to hack the servers controlling the population’s view of the world, and need to communicate the target locations to their teammates. The Moderators (the other team) are listening in, however, so cunning clues and codewords are the order of the day.

The art of conversation

The Lead Dissident player is trying to feed the others their target location. They do this by having a good old-fashioned chin-wag, cross-referencing key words against a code card. The Dissident team are trying to get clues to the chosen location by listening to the Lead Dissident. They’re trying to pick up on certain words, then cross-reference those words on their card to figure out the true meaning.

It’s probably easiest to explain by way of an example – the one included in the rulebook. Let’s say my code card has these pairs of words on it, among others:

Big – Liquid
Fact – Glass
Happy – Loud
Life – Party

The conversation might sound like this:

“She seemed down today. Do you think she’s happy with her life?”

“The fact is, we can’t read too much into it without knowing the bigger picture”

If the team picked up on the correct words, they’d now have Loud, Party, Glass, and Party, which in turn should lead them to the Nightclub.

Cracking the code

The Moderators are trying to identify which set of codes the others are using. It’s very difficult in the first round, and as a Moderator you’ll find yourself trying to pick up on the words you think are the code words. It’s often after the first location is revealed that you can start to make connections, and try to piece things together.

I really like how the players start to get inventive once they get the hang of the game. The clues get more vague, and instead of using the words on the cards, synonyms start creeping in, in an attempt to obfuscate the real clues. Saying ‘food’ for example, might turn into “we’re going to have lunch”.

Those of you who have played Spyfall or Decrypto before will be able to see some strong similarities already between NewSpeak and those games, but this game adds another layer of nuance that I really enjoy. It’s a deeper, more-involved game than its counterparts. It’s actually one of the trickier deduction games to explain, and while it’s not actually difficult per sé, it’s a game that really benefits from an example round before you get into the game proper.

Final thoughts

NewSpeak is a great example of this style of game. As I mentioned above, fans of Decrypto, Spyfall and Codenames will probably really enjoy it. From personal experience, it can be quite difficult to get your players to engage in making up the nonsense sentences. I found some people can get quite self-conscious about it for some reason. Once the ice is broken though, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

I found the game to be at its best with four or five players, but your mileage may vary. When you play with your family, or close friends, it’s really tricky trying to hide your intentions from the Moderator. Some people just know you too well. I played this with a close group after a couple of drinks at a regular games night, and we had a hoot with it.

I wouldn’t recommend NewSpeak if you’re likely to be playing with three players, as the game shines best when you’ve got multiple Dissidents trying to guess at the same time, it makes the conversations and interactions much more interesting, and gives the Moderators more to think about. It’s a game best enjoyed with a group around a table – chatting, laughing, and trying to figure out just what the flipping heck is going on.

Review copy kindly provided by ITB Board Games. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

NewSpeak (2021)

Designers: Mark Stockton-Pitt, Fiona Jackson, Anthony Howgego
Publisher: ITB Board Games
Art: Zak Eidsvoog, David Thor Fjalarsson
Players: 3-6
Playing time: 30-60 mins

The post NewSpeak Review appeared first on Punchboard.

It’s a game in the style of those classics like Charades and Monikers, where players draw cards and try to do whatever’s said in them. Complete challenges, earn points, laugh, and get to know your guests a bit better. Let me tell you, when you play Final Challenge, you’re going to know everyone around the room a lot better than when you started.

Digging deeper

What most party games have in common is the shallow level of depth. That’s not to say they’re not fun, or clever, but for the majority of games there’s a familiar format: play a round, collect a point/card, rinse & repeat until there’s a winner. Final Challenge keeps this general formula, but adds another layer of game. The cards you collect for completing your challenges get played into a tableau in front of you, where they have two jobs.

Firstly, completed challenges grant you passive and active abilities. Passive abilities do things like halving the length of time your challenges last (many last until your next turn), whereas active abilities can be used once, and offer up things like swapping a card with one from the discard pile. “Why on Earth would I want to swap a card with one from the discard?”, you might ask yourself, and it’s a good question, one which leads on to where Final Challenge takes things one level deeper.

Completed challenge cards have a colour, and when you complete one of each colour in your tableau, the backs of them have a series of verbs, nouns and adjectives written on them. When read-out, they form a sentence which becomes your final challenge. For example, you might look down and find that your final challenge is “Hyperactive cavegirl flirts with a box while panting heavily”. Yes, that’s an actual example from a game I played. It’s a really clever way of adding a bit more Game to the game, and drives the competition. It’s great to have a clear game winning situation too, instead of just collecting a certain number of cards or something similar.

Know your audience!

Final Challenge is a game which should come with a big warning – Do not play with your family! Some of the things the game gets you doing are far better suited to a game night with a few drinks and your best friends. I don’t know your family, true, but I imagine most people aren’t too comfortable with giving their mum a massage until their next turn, or being ‘overly intimate’ with uncle Steve until your next turn.

It’s safe to say this isn’t a game for everyone. But then, not every game is. Cards Against Humanity is ridiculously successful, despite the fact that a lot of people find it intolerably offensive. While Final Challenge never gets as outright bad as Cards Against Humanity – there’s nothing like racism, sexism, or anything depraved – it’s the sort of game you’d play with the same kind of crowd.

It’s also worth saying that the base set of cards are definitely the more SFW, and with a little vetting you can probably come up with something you can play with your family. There are two expansion decks: Twisted and R-Rated. Twisted cards are pretty good fun, and offer lots of chances to get creative and imaginative. R-Rated speak for themselves, and will see you swearing and getting wildly inappropriate with other players. It’s a pretty cool thing to be able to tailor the game for the people you’re playing with, I’d like to see it with other party games in the future, instead of milking the brand and making ‘Family’ or ‘After Dark’ versions of games.

Final thoughts

Final Challenge is a lot of fun, if you enjoy that sort of game. There are a lot of people who can feel really self-conscious and don’t like to come out of their comfort zone, especially with all that’s happened in the world in the last two years. If you don’t like that sort of experience, I’d say go with something lighter like Telestrations, Codenames, or Wavelength. However, if you have a group that know each other really well, and like a bit of banter and a couple of drinks to unwind, I think you’ll love this.

I really like that Kerber Games have gone that extra step and turned it into a game of collecting coloured challenges, building a tableau, and working towards a definite winner. The game doesn’t just peter out at the end of the deck. You’re able to attack other players too. So if you were to draw a purple challenge, and you can see someone close to winning who already has a purple card, you can force them to take yours on. On the flip side, if there’s a card you’re really not comfortable with, you can ask for volunteers to take it on instead.

Final Challenge is a Marmite game. Groups of young adults with a couple of Babychams in them will have a wild time. 40-something groups of friends who’ve known one another their whole lives will be hooting with laughter. It’s just not a game you’d take to your game club though, or around for after Christmas dinner with the kids and Granny. Kerber Games have made a game which takes the beaten-to-death party game formula and brought it up a notch. If it sounds like your sort of thing, you and your gang are going to love it.

Preview copy kindly provided by Kerber Games. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Final Challenge (2021)

Designer: Dusan Jovcic
Publisher: Kerber Games
Art: David Bilobrk
Players: 3-6
Playing time: 30-45 mins

The post Final Challenge Preview appeared first on Punchboard.

The premise is simple. Much like real life, you want to get out of work as soon as possible. Each card in your hand represents some work, and the sooner you can play them all and complete your work, the sooner you can finish. When one player plays their last card, anyone else still holding cards scores points for them, and the winner is the player at the end of the 5th round (as in five work-days) with the lowest score.

Licence to kill?

Aggretsuko: Work/Rage Balance is a simple game. It’s really quick to learn and easy to teach. Poker hands are what win the game. The first player sets the scoring combination for the round – e.g. a pair – and each subsequent player has to play their own combination with the same number of cards, but of a higher value. Obviously, if you can play cards, you’re emptying your hand, and that’s a good thing.

As a Euro game fan, I’m used to games with a very loose theme, but the theme in Aggretsuko is almost non-existent. Sure, the characters from the anime are all there, and you have a Rage token which you can flip to take a card back into their hand, but that’s about it. This game could just as easily been made up of coloured suits and numbers – which is exactly what it is really. The Aggretsuko franchise is really popular right now though, and will make the game appeal to a wider audience, so why not?

All work and no play?

Gossamer-thin theme aside, Aggretsuko: Work/Rage Balance is a solid card game. It feels like a classic card game you just haven’t played yet. Once everyone has the basics down, tactics quickly emerge. Pairs and three-of-a-kinds are okay, but it’s the five-card scores you’re going for. Much like Poker you get the simultaneous excitement and nervousness of playing what you’re certain is a winning full-house, only for someone to slam down a straight.

Games go by quickly, and the game doesn’t outstay its welcome. Getting through all five rounds only takes around half an hour, which is just right. Anything longer and I could see interest starting to wain, especially among younger players. There’s a great feeling of excitement when everyone is down to two or three cards, and you’re just waiting to see who’s going to cash-out first and get their last cards played.

Final thoughts

Aggretsuko: Work/Rage Balance is a decent game, but fans of the anime may feel a little disappointed that there’s very little to tie the game back to the series. The characters are all there, sure, and there’s a rage token – but that’s it. On the flipside though, it could be just the sort of game your card-game-agnostic teenager takes a second look at, thanks to the eponymous red panda.

This game would quite happily sit in your card game collection. It has a similar feeling to play as something like 6 Nimmt!, Haggis and Tichu. There’s nothing too outstanding here, or innovative, but for your £17-20 (if pre-order prices are anything to go by), you’ll be getting a solid game. Fans of the series will no doubt lap it up, in the same way that I’d probably buy anything from the Monkey Island franchise, and they’ll be getting a good game.

Four or five players is the sweet spot, so if you’re looking for something a little different to start or end your game nights, check it out.

Review copy kindly provided by Renegade Game Studios. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Aggretsuko: Work/Rage Balance (2021)

Designers: Ben Eisner, Steve Ellis
Publisher: Renegade Game Studios, Oni Games
Art: Brenda Hickey
Players: 3-6
Playing time: 30 mins

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