I suppose it had to happen. I've already reviewed
Lunch Money, Atlas' excellent, free-for-all card game based on beating the crap out of each other, and
The Three Stooges, Archangel's rather silly, but fun, card game based on beating the crap out of each other. So once Cheapass Games published Brawl, their realtime card game based on beating the crap out of each other, I knew I had to complete the set.
Brawl is one of the Cheapass Games which isn't quite so cheapass, what they now call their "colour games" on their web site. This means the components are made to meet a higher standard - firm, glossy cardstock, covered by eye-catching, dynamic artwork in an attractive box. For this privilege, however, you're only going to have to pay $6.95 (RRP) per deck, which is, I think, pretty reasonable.
The game is for two players (although well done multiplayer rules are included at the end of the marvellously clear rules), and each player needs a deck of their own. The game is made up of unique decks, sold separately. It is very much like Button Men, with each deck providing a different selection of cards, and thus requiring different strategies. Also like Button Men, each deck is associated with its own persona. Indeed, the two games are strikingly similar in many aspects of their design, as we shall see below (this is intentional, of course, and is why these particular two are show-cased on their own special website, www.beatpeopleup.com)
My review "copy" consisted of three decks (Alex, Mischo and Tess), drawn from the six available in the first expansion - or second edition, whatever - of the game. First there was Brawl (six different decks also), then came Brawl: Club Foglio. The name of course comes from the artist Phil Foglio, who provided all the art for this expansion, and it is quite fetching and includes the odd chuckleworthy pose. Nothing amazingly hilarious, but dependable stuff, as you would expect from the Maestro Foglio.
Each deck has 35 cards, of which 3 are Freezes, which basically end the game. It doesn't sound like much, but it is perfect for the task at hand. The game can be played in two ways: turn based, as per most card games, or in "real time" as Cheapass call it, where each player plays through their decks simultaneously. This is where the game really comes alive as the low card count ensures speed is just as important as strategy, with the average game lasting less than a minute. But don't worry, strategy still plays a part.
The game is fairly abstract, although (just as in Button Men) there are some analogues you can draw between plays and punches, and also between powers and personality, which is part of the fun. In Button Men, Avis has low dice which make him more likely to go first and hit with skill attacks, hence she is depicted as small and agile. Things are more abstract here, but characters with many Hits and few Blocks might be a big, tough guy, a character with lots of Reverses is perhaps an opportunist, able to make any situation go his way, and so on.
Each character also has a difficultly level (Easy, Moderate and Hard), but this should be taken with a whole ocean of salt. A clueless newbie can play and win with any deck; the difficulty is more just a reflection of the amount of special cards (and thus more subtle strategies) available in that deck. Just remember that Hard is a relative term, especially in a game designed for ages 10 and up.
OK, OK, now I'll explain what all those cards I mentioned actually mean. The basic game (as it appeared in the original Brawl game) involves five types of card (not including the Freezes). The most important card is the Base, which features a picture of your character, and each player starts with one in play. They also have some in their decks and can bring them out also as long as there are less than three on the table. The aim is to win the most amount of bases at the end of the game. A base is won by the player who plays the most Hit cards on their side of that particular base. Ties go to the owner of the base.
A run of Hits can be stopped by a Block, of course, but a Press (thanks to the Jyhad CCG for that terminology?) can cancel that Block and allow you to keep on pounding. And if you have a Base you just can't win, you can play a Clear on it to sweep all those cards out of the game - and then get some more Bases out, and begin again. Once any player hits his Freeze cards, all three of which are placed at the bottom of each deck before starting play, he can play them on a Base to stop cards being played on it, thus finishing the game once all Bases are Frozen.
The final twist on all this lies in colour matching. Hits and Blocks come in three colours - Green, Blue and Red. A Hit on a particular Base can only be subsequently hit by a Hit of the same colour, and likewise can only be blocked by a Block of the same colour. By juggling this colour mixture - and the number of Bases, Clears and Presses, decks can be extremely varied. For example, you can handicap a character not just by lowering their number of hits, but by also unbalancing their colour spread. A character with only three red hits knows they are unlikely to win any hit races if they hit with Red. These subtle handicaps can then be balanced with subtle strengths - a lot of blocks, or a spread of blocks, more presses, or more clears, or more bases, and so on. Hence, a wide range of decks are available.
Again, much like Button Men, Cheapass have extended the variability - and thus marketability - of Brawl by bringing in three new cards in Club Foglio (otherwise, rules and play are identical). Called Base Modifiers, they are played on top of each Base, rather than beside. The Hold card prevents a Base from being cleared, the Null card means that if the base remains at the end of the game, it is worth no points in scoring, and the Reverse card means the base falls to the person with the least hits on their sid. These last two cards, if they fall at the right time, can change the game dramatically, and those decks with many of them are quite unpredictable. So the expansion adds something new and interesting to the game, which is just as you'd want.
So play consists of flipping through your deck, playing as many hits as you can or your side, and blocking or clearing your opponent where possible. Note that if you cannot, or do not want to play a card, you may discard. Thus if you are winning, you might simply throw your cards straight onto the discard pile to hit your Freezes as soon as possible. You may also pick up the top card on your discard and play it at any time, and discarded cards below it are thus accessible. And there are a lot of places to play them all.
There are also a great many tricks and twists in the strategies. Entering into a hit race with someone with eight hits in that colour isn't going to be won - unless they just used six of them on another base. Do you block their run, or hope your reverse is coming? Is it worth running a long hit race, when you're opponent can simply clear it? Should you wait for the clear yourself and hit elsewhere? It is even sometimes advantageous to hit on your opponent's side in a colour they're weak in, to stop them getting a long line. All of these decisions must happen in a split second, but you are helped significantly by the fact that every card features a number which indicates the number of that card type in the deck. This is a great way to learn your own deck, and to get a grip on your opponent's weaknesses. Of course, it takes some of the mystery away, but at the speed the game is played, strategy would be impossible without it. As it is, there will always be many possible plays at any time, leading to many different outcomes, and thus the game will be won only by those quick-witted, fast-fingered and eagle-eyed enough to spot the opportunities as they flash by.
It will also be won by the more experienced, of course. And also the lucky, because sometimes the cards just don't fall where you want, or fall too well for your opponent. Which gets to the real nub of the game play. The designers clearly want a game where familiarity with a deck allows you to tap into the more subtle strategies on a sort of subconscious level. Because they also want a game that flips through a random deck at a very brisk pace. Or rather, they want a game where sacrificing strategy for speed is also a strategy. Unfortunately, they are somewhat conflicting aims when you look at the game as a whole.
You can of course play it slowly, but the game really loses something without the speed. It's a game that suggests, even demands speed. But with speed, it's often hard to really make the strategy be more important than luck and card flipping, and the game can ultimately feel somewhat hollow; lacking the meaty thinkingness that makes a game nice and chewy all day long. It also, because of its simplicity, lacks the variety to make it still grabbing after more than a half a dozen hands…which makes gaining the needed experience a bit difficult.
Or at least, these were my impressions in the few games I've played so far. I can see there was more to it, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting there. The ways to improve this include playing with more players (battling on two fronts (left player and right player) makes things even more frantic and fun), and naturally, to keep buying and trying out new decks and new ideas. Like Button Men, it encourages collection, and I'm sure we'll see many new commercial tie-ins coming along very soon. Also like Button Men, the new rules keep shaking things up and keeping you guessing…although, like Button Men, I fear that in a few expansion sets they could easily be way out of hand and defeat the whole "simple cards, infinite possibilities" charm to it.
In other words, Button Men will not thrill players who crave a card game with the kind of depth and intrigue of something like Magic or Axis and Allies. A game where speed is a strategy just can't be that deep. However, it is not a beer and pretzels game where you can pick up the rules and basic strategy in a few seconds and enjoy the game play. It's a game about experience, wherein familiarity and practice count far more than raw skill, and timing, speed and making your own luck are far more important than planning and preparation. If you'll forgive the analogy, it's almost the kind of game that you could imagine being played, practised and talked about - over and over again - by mad old men sitting around in Mediterranean cafes, for years and years. Or, to give its modern, gamer geek equivalent, debated back and forth and thoroughly geeked-over on internet forums and newsgroups for months on end, and further, as each new expansion comes out, each new rule is added and each new superfast card-burner comes along. It's not exactly cribbage, but it does make you want to knuckle down and get your hand and eye in, so you can be an old timer too.
And best of all, even if you're not planning on geeking out on it like this, and despite all my concerns above, it's still a fine little game. As I said, it's not exactly the chewiest game out there, and it can tire easily. You might only play it for ten or fifteen minutes or so on a given night, but then again, that could be a dozen hands or so. You'd tire of any game if you played it that much in one night! But, and this is the key to any good game, Brawl is one you will want to come back to.
Its mechanics and the thought process they require are totally unique and most interesting, and the fast-paced game play is always diverting. It's quick to learn, quirky enough to catch your interest, a good game for two, as well as more, and yeah, it's quite fun to boot. It doesn't rock the kasbah every time like the legendary Lunch Money, and getting players keen on playing it enough to get "into the zone" may be tricky at first, but unless you're a mad goon for games that only have chess-like strategy, I say this is a worthwhile addition to any gaming cupboard. Mr Ernest has come through nicely once again.
But be careful - the more you play, the more you get a feel for it, so the more you'll want to play, and before you know it, you might just find yourself geeking out too. Hunting out players, going to tournaments, discussing strategies, and of course, shelling out for a few more decks…and maybe just a few more…ooh, and maybe just…and curses, the damn thing still isn't on sale in Australia! I really need to get my hands on a Crane, and a Rent…and a Pearl…oh, and maybe a Morgan too. SANDY! I need more review copies please!! I'll be gooooood!!!!
Style: 4 (Clear, sturdy cards and Foglio has the mojo as usual)
Substance: 4 (Unique, clever mechanics will keep you coming back)
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