WHAT IS IT?

Alien: The Board Game, in all but name (or licence).

IS IT GOOD?

It is the Perfect Organism of Board Games.

WHO SHOULD PLAY IT?

If you like Ridley Scott’s 1979 cinematic masterpiece, sci-fi, horror, cooperative board games, hidden movement board games, and/or cats, you should definitely check this one out.

IN SPACE

In the distant future, deep-space commercial vessel Not-Nostromo responds to a distress signal from an unexplored moon.
Down on the surface, things go disastrously awry when a bizarre crab-like creature lunges at crew member Not-John Hurt, attaching to his face.
Back on board, science officer Not-Ian Holm manages to pry this “face hugger” off, seemingly saving Not-John Hurt’s life.
Later, at dinner in the ship’s galley, Not-John Hurt begins to feel ill…

So begins Lifeform, a board game that recreates the film Alien so convincingly that it’s honestly a shame its developers couldn’t obtain the licence. Even then, it’s easily the best damn Alien board game this side of Legendary. And if you happen to own a few licensed Alien toys to populate the board with, all the better.

NO ONE

Appropriately for the source material, Lifeform is an asymmetrical co-op game.

On the co-op side, 1-3 players control the ill-fated crew. Characters include Ripley analogue Rashida Durrant; a space marine bearing a striking resemblance to Kurt Russell; and the ship’s cat, which my sister and I have taken to affectionately calling Not-Jonesy. Gameplay is card-based: players take turns drawing and playing from an Action Deck, each card offering a slightly different menu of options, such as walk, run, shoot flamethrower, and my personal favourite, “cower in fear.”

The crew has three goals each game:
1) Complete a randomly assigned secret objective, i.e. to complete a certain action in a certain room;
2) Collect enough “mission tokens” – blue tokens found in each room – to power the escape shuttle; and
3) Survive.

Stalking and occasionally eviscerating this motley crew is, of course, the titular Lifeform. A 2.5 metre tall alien beast of spindly limbs, jagged teeth, and acidic blood, it’s a relentless killing machine that lurks in the dark, hunts for the thrill of it, and fears nothing. (Except maybe a flamethrower, if you’re lucky.)

The solo alien player also relies on their own deck of unique action cards, which, unsurprisingly, encourage a more aggressive approach. The alien also has a great hidden movement mechanic: two to three “Lifeform” tokens that shift around the board, representing both the real alien and the misleading sensor echoes generated by the crew’s Motion Tracker.

CAN HEAR YOU

Lifeform is a beast of a game. It contains hundreds of parts – tokens, a half-dozen different decks of cards, various stat-tracking sheets – all splayed out over a massive game board. That board, featuring a lovingly illustrated schematic of a very familiar-looking spaceship, is the setting for one of sci-fi’s greatest and deadliest games of cat and mouse (and, er, actual cat).

Make it out before the ship explodes, and the crew wins – or at least, moves on to this game’s version of the final minutes of Alien (of which more below). Fail to complete the objectives in time, or fail to keep at least one crew member alive, and the alien wins.

I cannot overemphasize how thematically sound everything in this game is. The asymmetrical structure, the offensive advantages given to the alien (including various “terror” tokens that tilt the game even more in favour of the alien), really nail the feeling of a lone predator hunting a crew of terrified and ill-equipped space truckers. Heck, if most of the crew is still alive at the end, you’re probably playing the game wrong.

If I had to identify one thematic weakness, it’s the crew’s objective of collecting “mission tokens” strewn about the ship: I’ve seen Alien too many times to count, and I don’t remember Sigourney Weaver racing about, collecting random crates like a 90s video game character.

I also would have liked to see some kind of facehugger mechanic, by which dead characters could re-enter the game as additional aliens, but I guess that’s for the inevitable expansion or sequel. As it is, I do appreciate that, at least in 3-4 player games, defeated players can chose to keep playing as either the ship’s cat or the game’s onboard computer, codenamed SIS-TER (groan).

And then there’s the endgame.

SCREAM

(40-year-old movie spoilers ahoy!)

As readers will hopefully recall, Alien famously does not end with Ripley and Jonesy’s escape from the self-destructing Nostromo. Rather, just as they’re about to settle in for a well-earned cryosleep, an unwelcome and deadly passenger makes its presence known aboard their escape shuttle.

Lifeform recreates Alien‘s endgame in the form of a semi-optional second phase, contingent on whether the alien player correctly predicted, at the beginning of the game, how many turns it would take for the crew to reach the escape shuttle. If the alien player guesses correctly – mimicking the cinematic Xenomorph’s uncanny ability to always be in the right (most dangerous) place at the wrong (from the crew’s perspective) time – the game shifts to a short card battle, basically a juiced-up version of War.

During this brief final phase, the alien player unleashes all the offensive options (i.e. cards) at its disposal, while the surviving crew members defend with what limited resources (cards and tokens) they’ve accumulated over the course of the game. If even one crew member is alive after the alien has exhausted its attacks, the crew wins.

A PERFECT ORGANISM

The Xenomorph is an endoparasitic organism (or so Wikipedia tells me). In biological terms, that means that each time a facehugger implants an embryo in a new host, the process is akin to breeding by symbiosis: every new alien represents a hybrid of host DNA (poor John Hurt) and Xenomorph DNA. It’s an elegant if terrifying evolutionary adaptation: what better way to vanquish your prey, than by assimilating its best features?

Lifeform, to stretch a metaphor, takes a similar approach. In combining the basic DNA of a co-operative board game with the (acid) blood-curdling terror of one of cinema’s horror masterpieces, Lifeform‘s creators have produced a near-perfect hybrid of original board game and copyright-skirting homage. Lifeform isn’t superior to the original Alien (let alone the one truly great Alien sequel, Alien: Isolation), but it’s excellent, thrilling, and just plain fun.

Watch out for those vents!

***

Final score: 9/10 facehuggers.

Visit the official page for Lifeform here.

The post Lifeform (Board Game) Review: Deadly Hybrid appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

2-5 players.

WHAT IS IT?

A miniatures-based adventure game (and Kickstarter success) starring the world’s most famous reptilian quartet.

IS IT GOOD?

Cowabunga, dudes.

WHO SHOULD PLAY IT?

Surprisingly, not just those who appreciate a good Cowabunga. My fellow playtesters were non-Turtle nerds and they still enjoyed themselves.

LEONARDO LEADS

The first thing you see upon opening the box for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadow of the Past is a comic book. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael staring out at you, menacingly.

This is a good sign.

Not just because a Ninja Turtles comic is always a delight to read – even if this one takes place in IDW’s confusingly rebooted Turtlesverse – but because it shows respect for the licence. The people who made this game love their Turtles, and they want to share that love.

TMNT:SotP is a scenario-driven miniatures game. As in the better-known Star Wars: Imperial Assault, you’re getting a massive box of detailed plastic figurines, double-sided game boards depicting city streets, rooftops, and (of course) sewers, and a story-driven campaign in which the outcome of each session directs where the story – and players – go next.

At first blush, this is complicated. 15 action dice. Another 8 battle dice. Multiple decks of Villain cards, which change from mission to mission. Dozens of cardboard indicators showing fire escapes, parked cars, locked doors, and so on. Three different rule/guidebooks, two of which double as choose-your-own-adventure comics.

It takes a while to set up.

DONATELLO DOES MACHINES

But once it gets up and running, things go rather smoothly.

Every game is a confrontation between four turtles and the forces of evil. Evil is always the responsibility of one player, who controls hordes of Foot ninjas, thugs, and even (gasp!) The Shredder. That single player goes up against anything from 1-4 players controlling the turtles, the ideal being a 1 vs. 4 experience.

The mechanics are fairly straightforward: game boards are divided into grids, with figures able to move a few squares at a time, initiating melee attacks when adjacent to a foe, ranged attacks at a distance. Action dice (for the Turtles) and Action cards (for the Villain) dictate the actions available each round. One round equals eight turns: turtle/villain/turtle/villain until every turtle has moved once, and the villain four times.

One thing SotP has in spades is theme. In gamer-speak, I’m talking about the various amusing ways that its mechanics reflect the source material. For example: Turtles deal extra damage and move faster when crossing a space with a handrail – because they’re grinding on skateboards, obviously. Special moves lean into individual personalities: Raph’s “Burning Rage” lets him unload a flurry of attacks at one go; Leonardo, ever the heroic leader, can “Hold Off!” an enemy figure in a battle that doesn’t end until one of them dies. You get the idea.

Undoubtedly the neatest trick is the ability to share actions with teammates. Every round, you’re able to share one action die with each player sitting next to you, and they with you. It’s a neat way to signify the idea of turtles-as-team.

RAPHAEL IS COOL BUT RUDE

The one exception is Raphael, of course: while other players can borrow from him, he’s such a loner that he refuses to ask for help. (Though he does get extra dice instead.)

There are plenty of cute little details like that. Nods to the franchise that will be familiar to anyone who grew up on the comics, original cartoon, 90s movies, or even (god help them) the Michael Bay travesties. This game just oozes Turtles, right down to the fact that your life metre takes the form of an ever-decreasing pizza. Once you’re down to one slice, you’re in big trouble.

That said, it’s definitely not for everyone. Miniatures games can get pretty fiddly, slowing down while players triple-check how to calculate damage, move through special terrain, and so on. Strategy is a whole other question, one I’m still not entirely clear on. At least one of our matches devolved into a lopsided massacre because the Turtles didn’t meticulously plan their line of attack. To make matters more complicated, the objectives tend to shift drastically from mission to mission, meaning that you may learn a mechanic only to abandon it the very next mission. Still, as a narrative choice, it’s pretty cool to have a new mechanic every game.

MICHELANGELO IS A PARTY DUDE

If you didn’t gasp earlier at the invocation of Shredder(!), this game might not be for you. Let’s face it: this is fundamentally a very silly licence, relying on the goodwill of gamers – primarily adults, if the $860,000 Kickstarter is anything to go by – and a willingness to embrace the theme.

It helps to remember that the Turtles were created as an affectionate parody of grim-dark comic books like Daredevil. (Foot/Hand; get it?) If you grew up on the Turtles and feel ridiculous playing a board game starring them now, just know that you’re supposed to feel that way. Even the self-seriousness of the scenarios, which play out in comic panels alongside the instructions for each mission, are knowingly self-serious.

At least, I hope so. Either way, it’s fun. And there really is a story here, a branching one at that, meaning that once you’ve started, you’ll want to finish at least one campaign.

Radical, dudes.

***

Final score: 4/4 ninja turtles or 9/10 pizza rats.

Visit the official website for TMNT: Shadows of the Past here.

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