KAPOW!

• Designers: Doug Hetrick, Larry Bogucki, Carl Van Ostrand, Rob Dougherty
• Publisher: Wise Wizard Gamers
• Players: 2 per Volume 
• Age: 12+
• Time: 20-30 minutes
• Played with review copies provided by publisher – both Vol 1 and Vol 2 provided

“In KAPOW!, players go head-to-head in a classic explosive clash of good vs. evil. You choose to be a villain or hero, which determines your starting trait dice and unique abilities. You can gain additional blank “action dice” that have removable faces that that you customize to your liking to best enhance your character. Behind a player screen, you roll dice, then allocate them to attack, defense, and power-up abilities. The combination of choosing how to grow your dice pool, how to customize your action die faces, and how to use each roll leads to a satisfying, strategic showdown.KAPOW! Volume 1 contains six supers: Tough Nut, Elusivity, and Time Out are the heroes, while Victor Kane, Coquette, and Spoiler Alert are the villains. This set can be combined with KAPOW! Volume 2 to mix and match the characters or have up to four players in one game.”

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Restoration Games was at the convention showing off its recently released game of car-filled dystopian future, Thunder Road: Vendetta. Feedback has been good and it was certainly in constant play in the booth. They were also showing the upcoming cooperative expansion/standalone to Unmatched, Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze.

Romi Rami

• Designer: Antoine Lefebvre
• Publisher: Randolph
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Says the publisher: “Romi Rami is a game that feels like it’s been around forever, with thousands of people quietly and gradually polishing it over time. Falling squarely in the family of ‘Rummy’ games, Romi Rami features a double market. The first one has number cards, and the second one has contracts to complete. The goal of the game: Make the most points by optimizing the combinations required by the contracts. Keep an eye on the trophies (they change from game to game) which will propel you to to the top spot on the podium!”

The back of the box proudly proclaims that Romi Rami is “The Modern Take on Rummy”, and after reading that, I had no choice but to get a copy to try!  I grew up playing card games like Rummy, and I love seeing modern takes on some traditional games.

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Although they didn’t have a booth in the exhibit hall, Hasbro was once again there with a nice presence in the gaming hall next door. They were showing off expansion to popular games like a new Betrayal expansion: The Yuletide Tale – Evil Reigns in the Wynter’s Pale, and new expansions for Heroquest: Rise of the Dread Moon Quest Pack and Hero Collection – Path of the Wandering Monk. There were also new games, Risk Strike – an attempt to jam Risk into an attack/defend game with cards instead of a map, and Galaxy Goldmine that involves tile flipping on a grid with some memory overtones. Finally, if toys are your thing there was a line of plastic D&D monsters that could be folded back up into a 20 sided die.