I've recently become quite enamored with the board game series Unmatched, a 1v1 miniatures combat board game from Restoration Games and Mondo Games. The game first came to my attention because of a set entitled "Hell's Kitchen", containing Marvel's Daredevil, Bullseye and Electra, enabling the players to recreate one of the most iconic fights in the history of Marvel Comics. Now owning every expansion bar one, with plans to purchase more as they become available at work, it's pretty safe to say that I'm hooked, even if I don't get to play the games all that often. The game borrows heavily from previous board games like Tanhauser and Star Wars: Epic Duels, but mixes those mechanics together into something unique and very playable. Each character comes with a health dial and a deck of cards that enable them to fight and act during the game, some come with tokens for sidekicks or special abilities, but none are "balanced" in the way games tend to be; they are, in fact, unmatched.
Despite being interested most in the Hell's Kitchen set, the first Unmatched box I bought was "Cobble & Fog", because it what was available at work. This box contains The Invisible Man, Dracula, Doctor Jekyll and Sherlock Holmes, so hit my Literature Graduate heart full-on straight away. What immediately enamored me with Unmatched was the quality of the product, not only in terms of how it plays, but how it is packed. Each game comes with a vac-formed tray that fits all the components, divided by character, allowing enough space for each deck to be properly sleeved and still stored. The miniatures are nice enough and take paint well (I'm hoping to have some done up to show before too long) and the range of characters is amazing; in addition to those mentioned above, I also have Robin Hood, Bigfoot, Medusa, Beowulf, Little Red Riding Hood, Sinbad, King Arthur and Alice, with a final total that will be somewhere over 100 with just what's slated currently.
For me, Unmatched is a great little game to play between larger games that scratches the miniature combat itch without requiring an elaborate set-up, that is still nicely presented and visually pleasing. Plus, as each new character is different in their own way, replay value is excellent, I still own several characters that have never seen use, let alone played with myself. I certainly will be painting mine, of course, but I think the models look alright as they are, even if things like facial detail can be a little soft. Initially, I didn't play to collect the entire series, but when selecting between the Marvel sets, I realised that I was getting all but one, so I bit the bullet and got that two. With luck and generous friends I was able to get the Jurrasic Park, Bruce Lee and Deadpool sets, so now I'm just waiting on Lee Vs Ali to hit Australian distributors. Sure, I'm not as keen on The Witcher or Buffy, but having more characters is fun to add to the mix. The system is ripe for a certain kind of character and there's plenty of gas left in the tank, as far as I'm concerned.
No comments:
Post a Comment