by Aaron G
Hello there, today on Board Games, Bricks and Hobbies we are taking a look at five IP related games that I think are worth checking out.Youtube Video
Video timestamps
0:00 What are IP Games?
1:23 Game of Thrones: Hand of The King
2:06 Home Alone Game
2:57 UNO Ultimate Marvel/DC
3:49 Fast & Furious: Highway Heist
6:46 Bioshock Infinite: Siege of Columbia
So, what's an IP? Well it's an intellectual property, think a massive franchise like Marvel or even a more obscure series like Animorphs that got two seasons (yes I know it's a book series and the book series is amazing definitely check it out, the TV show... not so much). Board games have come a long way from the initial wave of licensed games like the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Game, which I played as a child, and it's absolutely as terrible as it sounds. One company in particular that's pretty good at this is Prospero Hall, they design a lot of interesting games. As for myself, I'm not a huge fan of any particular fan base I'm not a Star Wars nor a Star Trek person, but I can enjoy a game on its own and so these are five games that I do own and enjoy that just happen to be based off of intellectual properties. We're going to take this list from the smallest to largest.
A Game of Thrones: Hand of the King
First up we have a small card game called Game of Thrones: Hand of the Kin. This is an interesting little set collection game where you are trying to collect different members of each house to have the most at the end of the game. There's a lot of backstabbing and trickery, as one might expect from the show (which I haven't seen) but I still enjoy this game. It's got cartoon artwork that's original, so more kid-friendly than the show, but it does have some cartoon blood such. I would definitely recommend checking this one out if you like tense, short, card games.
Home Alone Game
Next up we have Home Alone, it's simply called Home Alone game, but this is the most recent version there are other Home Alone board games that fall more into that cheap cash grab area, but this one is a good, two-player asymmetrical game. One player plays as the bandits and the second player plays as the as Kevin. Kevin is obviously trying to stop the bandits from terrorizing his house and the bandits are trying to go in and steal loot. It says you can play it with four players, but it's definitely meant to be a two-player game. It's enjoyable fun, has great knit-sweater art, and a little bit of tactics but doesn't overstay its welcome. I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Uno Ultimate
Third on the list we have another game that I've talked about about a couple times this is Uno Ultimate. They made two different versions there's a Marvel version which had a couple sets and also a DC version. It's a shame that they didn't branch out and make other themes. I think the Uno Ultimate format is pretty solid as it's different enough from the original UNO but also still simple. I was definitely expecting a cash grab on this one but they changed enough, again you can see my full review on the channel, I'm not going to repeat so much of that here but I would definitely recommend checking out Uno Ultimate even if you don't particularly care for superheroes.
Fast & Furious: Highway Heist
Next up we have Fast and Furious: Highway Heist. This one really caught me off guard, I picked it up on a whim it was on clearance and, full confession, I do enjoy some of the Fast and Furious movies. Are they totally ridiculous? Yes? Are there no physics? Yes? But again, opinions about the IP itself aside, Highway Heist is a fun Co-op game. I never got around to doing a full review like I wanted, but it surprised me to the point where I think it actually might be too good. I'm not really sure who the target demographic for this game was because I don't think the average Fast and Furious viewer is going to latch on to all the rules in the book, there's several pages of rules and it's great that they clarify nearly every edge case possible but it is kind of overwhelming. So kind of an odd situation where the game feels too complex, I can imagine someone who likes Fast and Furious picking this up, taking one look at the rules, saying "eh" and then donating it to a thrift store.
It has all original art, so no screen grabs, none of that cheap looking stuff that you'd expect from a movie based game, it's original art and it looks good. It's functional and a fun Co-op game with multiple different scenarios and difficulty levels. There's a tank scenario, a semi-truck heist scenario, and a blow up the helicopter scenario. It's all ridiculous, and just like the movie, physics don't exist (maybe they'll add that in an expansion?). You're driving your cars down the road taking action points, again it's cooperative fun. It's still kind of confusing that they took the effort to design a really good game for a franchise that's not known for being particularly witty and intelligent. But again, I think it's a great game regardless of the IP, as someone who also enjoys diecast cars like Hot Wheels, I had a blast with it even if some of the scenarios are pretty difficult, so I would recommend giving it a try.
BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia
Last, but not least, we have the largest, arguably most complex game on this list, BioShock Infinite: Siege of Columbia. Wow, what is with IP games and long titles? I guess they have to differentiate it from the video game so they add a subtitle after the subtitle? Anyway, Siege of Columbia is a two-player combat game so think Risk 2008, but with more strategy. Not only is it more complex than Risk, it also has a lot less luck. You're still rolling dice for combat however, you have cards and the key for this game is in the cards. The cards are multi-use, you can either use them for money, attacks or to gain influence in votes. I really like the multi-use cards in this game and how the core of the game that revolves around balancing which abilities you want to upgrade based on the three values. While there's a lot of strategy behind the cards, the game itself is also good you're fighting each other over territories, again kind of Risk, but it feels significantly different from your typical Risk game so if you don't like Risk don't let that steer you away.
I find the production to be really well done, again it's original art it's not just screen grabs from the video game. There's a NPC in the form of Booker and Elizabeth who are actually the main characters in the video game that you play, but in this game you're playing as the Vox versus the Founders. Elizabeth and Booker like to run amuck and ruin everything for both players which can cause game to be a bit swingy. However, I enjoy the unpredictable nature and it's nicer, I think, to to get frustrated at a game for getting lucky than an opponent. The game can be a bit of a prick. Still, I really enjoy BioShock Infinite: Siege of Columbia, I definitely recommend checking it out if you want a solid two-player combat game. It's another one that can technically be played with four but I would not recommend it, this is a two-player game at heart.
So those are five IP games that I think are great and worth owning if you like the sound of them even, if you don't particularly care for the IP itself. Like I said, I'm mostly lukewarm on these properties. I only just played BioShock Infinite it was it was okay. With Fast and Furious, I think 5 through 8 is the sweet spot they're, not too ridiculous but they're also not just cars and girls. Marvel and DC are fine. But I don't think you can enjoy these games regardless. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and I hope to see you in another Board Games, Bricks and Hobbies!