Emergent theme and the sheer magnificence of the Unmatched system.
A simple ruleset allows for infinite variety in this duelling game system.
I’ve never been an enthusiast for abstract games- I always feel the need to garnish what is often essentially a dynamic puzzle with the illusion of story. Sometimes, this is paper-thin, as in Castles of Burgundy which, masterpiece though it is, gives only the vaguest feeling of building a kingdom. In other games, the theme actually gets in the way, either by flooding the player with needless flavour text, or rules exceptions that fit with the simulation being attempted, but serve only to slow play down and send players back to the rulebook.
Unmatched is a perfect example of how to build theme into a game without this baggage. It is essentially a duelling game- it can be played by 2-4 players, but really it is a head-to-head battle at its heart. The game is played on a board, with each player selecting a hero and any associated allies, drawing a hand of cards from a custom deck, moving them around and attacking each other until one runs out of health. The basic mechanics of this are extremely simple- two actions per turn, chosen from a few options: manoeuvre, which is how you move but also draw cards, scheme which allows you to play the yellow cards in the deck for various effects, and attack, which basically involves you and the defender playing a card face down, flipping them and then comparing scores.
Onto this very basic structure, Unmatched builds a dizzying variety of play. Each hero has their own deck, and each card in each deck is unique to that character- a ‘5’ attack played by Mr Hyde is very different from one played by Alice (of Wonderland fame). So each hero feels very different to play: as Luke Cage, you are a bruiser, trying to get up in your opponent’s face, while the Invisible man is an elusive shadow, hoping to exhaust his opponent before they can get to him. The boards are also subtly varied- some have doors to open and close, others location-specific bonuses, but the need for balance and fairness limits their variability. The main genius of the game is how, with a few additional effects, a special power for your hero and a title for a card, the game can evoke the rich worlds from which these heroes are plucked.
Take Moon Knight, for example. He is forced to cycle between personalities, as in the comics, and his abilities, and the usefulness of his powerful cards, varies. The card “I’m not real”, played as an attack, switches you to the next personality in the sequence, which is both an interesting strategy and a nice link to the character’s problems with understanding his reality.
Games of Unmatched are over in about 20 minutes, which is exactly right for this style of game, and even if you are getting a little beat up, there is always hope of pulling off something spectacular. The balance between characters is… mostly good. There are definitely some stronger heroes, but one of those is Sherlock Holmes, who is kind of my hero, so I’m not complaining too much.
The icing on the cake, for me, is the superb taste shown in the selection of heroes from popular culture and mythology. The latest battle of legends box, for example, Sun Wokung, Yennenga and Bloody Mary square off with Achilles. The fact that I know barely anything about three of these characters doesn’t matter- I want to know!
Yes, they have had a Marvel phase, but even then, their choices were not the obvious ones (no Iron Man, no Thor, but Ms Marvel and Ghost Rider). The people in charge of Unmatched, Restoration Games, have something very special on their hands, and I can’t wait to see what they do with it!
Happy New Year! I hope you are enjoying my irregular ramblings. If so, please do tell other people about the newsletter- word of mouth is the very best marketing!