Marvel Crisis Protocol Miniatures Tabletop Game EXPIRED

3 Camels:
Current $68.00 Feb 22, 2021
Highest * $99.95 Dec 08, 2020
Lowest * $64.98 Dec 31, 2019
Average + $79.08

BoardGameGeek Stats:

RANK: OVERALL 2,784
Average Rating: 8.4 / 10
No. of Ratings: 365
Std. Deviation: 1.66
Weight: 2.86 / 5
Comments: 91
Fans: 105
Gameplay: 2 Players
Playing Time: 45 Min
Age: 14+ (Community says 10+)

Description: Miniatures skirmish game with iconic characters. Streamlined but deep and really fun.

Recent POSITIVE Review:
10/10 - "A fantastic miniatures game, with models that are both fun and easy to paint. The game is easy to pick up and tough to master, and the variable scenarios make for very good replay value.

There is some assembly required, but it is absolutely worth it."

Recent NEGATIVE Review:
1/10 - "You lose the average fan when you resort to this nonsense of having to build and paint superhero's. Why not iterate what made Heroscape the instant-classic it is/was by allowing us to rip off the shrink, set up, and rumble."

In-Depth Review (You've Been Warned!)
Let me start by saying that this is my first review, so if you read this...be gracious. This review will be updated in sections. The first part will be dedicated to the unboxing and assembling of the game, followed by results after the initial and subsequent plays.

I'm a bit of a marvel nerd...have been since middle school. I also enjoy wargames and I LOVE minis...like...a lot. So several months ago when I heard about a marvel wargame with minis I channeled my inner Wayne Campbell (Oh yes, it will be mine!) and waited impatiently.

UNBOXING - its a pretty good size box with plenty of room to hold everything. There are several sheets of quality cardboard tokens, a nice full color instruction booklet and a lot of baggies full of plastic superhero goodness. While the baggies aren't specifically labeled, it isn't an issue. It's pretty clear to see what sprues build what. I absolutely LOVE that the measurement sticks are plastic and not cardboard. Not only that, but they're detailed and even look "superhero-ey". The minis themselves look fantastic! 5 heroes (Cap, Spidey, Captain Marvel, Black Widow and Iron Man) 5 villains (Red Skull, Doc Ock, Crossbones, Baron Zemo, and Ultron) 2 cars, a building (Daily Bugle newsstand), street lights, dumpsters, detailed bases?!?!? I mean...look at all those pieces! Holy crap...that's a LOT of pieces...

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! - that phrase has new meaning for me now. I was not prepared AT ALL for the amount of building necessary to get this game to the table. I'm not new to mini wargames, I've built 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, AOS, Mantic, Warmachine... and some of those are much more frustrating to build than others. (for me and my fat fingers). This one joins mantic at the top of my "frustrating to build" list. I guess I was expecting more of a "push fit" which these are most definitely not. (i.e. Iron man had 16-ish pieces to assemble, some of which are pretty small. Why does one arm need to be in 3 different pieces?) The instructions are pretty clear except for Ultron, who is evil and begins imposing his evil will during assembly. I found myself quoting happy Gilmore when trying to fit some leg armor..."That's your home! Are you too good for your home?!?"
After entirely too long I just got it close and then used greenstuff. As a rule I would highly suggest a pre-glue fitting, but I didn't have to do any extra filing or cleanup or anything. *Except for Ultron...who is evil.

Once assembled, they look FANTASTIC! If I could buy them pre-assembled, I'd probably buy a few more copies for display. The poses are awesome, the bases look great, the extras (street lights, dumpsters, etc) have nice detail...I cannot wait to get this painted and on the table.

FINAL OPENING THOUGHTS
This game looks awesome. The components are quality and the terrain can be used for other mini games too. Pivoting movement tokens? Yes please! Be prepared to spend some time assembling. I initially thought I'd get everything put together and primed in an evening, but that did not happen. (Stupid Ultron) Because the pieces are so small I would suggest superglue and not plastic glue. I had to start over a few times and that's not really possible with plastic glue. There are a TON of pieces but the multi-step instructions help with the process. (except for Ultron...WHO IS EVIL!)

While the roster is a bit limited now there are tons of new characters set to come out in 2020. I just purchased Hulk and MODOK and I'm SUPER pumped for Groot!!!!

As of this morning I have played 4 times. I played with my boys (10, 8 and 6) on 3 different occasions and with my wife once.

RULEBOOK -
The rulebook is full color (which was helpfull for painting) and the rules themselves are great..once you find them. I feel like several things were left out of the original printing and it didn't flow for me. An index would have been MOST welcome and as it is, I found myself flipping through the rulebook every few minutes looking for clarification on different things. As this game gathers steam I'm sure some folks will put some helpful things in the bgg forums. The rulebook gives you a setup for the first game and it was SUPER helpful for us. It took a lot of the guessing out of that first game.
One of the rules I'm still struggling to find is how many team tactics cards each team gets?


PLAYTIME - The first game took a solid 90 minutes and we played all 6 rounds. We didn't use tactics cards or any missions, we just punched each other. The missions speed game play up CONSIDERABLY. Part of what takes so long is remembering what all each hero/villain can do. If each player is controlling 3-5 characters it can be a lot. When you take into account that some characters have reaction super powers that can activate during opponents turns it adds even more.

The second game took between 30 and 40 minutes. The missions really do help speed things along. They also allows for a much greater strategic experience and they help your more squishy heroes play a bigger role.

OVERALL GAME PLAY -

I am REALLY enjoying this game. I have found it to be pretty balanced and a lot of fun. Balanced and yet true to each character. I would NEVER send Baron Zemo to fight the Incredible Hulk in a melee slug fest. Don't do it here either. Hulk is a BEAST offensively and can really do some damage, but he's pretty easy to hit. MODOK has some pretty sick weapons, but moves really slow. Each character has its pros and cons and I think it really allows for some fun collaboration.

My wife's frustration was not knowing the opponents abilities. "I don't know what your guys can do, which changes my strategy". I feel like that's how a good skirmish game SHOULD be. You're not always going to know what your opponents can do. That's how you learn. Spidey can pickup a car and websling it at me? Note to self...don't get close to Spidey and a car again. I LOVE that piece.
Once all parties are aware of their characters abilities I think that will make gameplay even more fluid. It's a bit wonky at first, but I found that to be more user error than any fault of the game itself.

The dice mechanic adds enough randomness to make for some fun swings. Ultron drops a car on Cap and Ironman doing 2 damange to each and dazing Ironman. Hulk, in retaliation picks up Ultron and slams him into a lightpole killing Ultron outright. The game uses 8 sided dice which I enjoy more than 6 sided. The exploding dice (which I first saw in Deadzone) just adds to the fun. (Whenever you roll a critical hit, you get to roll another dice.) From a distance the critical hit symbol and the regular hit symbol look very similar, but up close it is much clearer. I may go in and put a wash on the faces for easier readability. I'm sure the purists will have a panic attack at the thought of painting dice and therefore upsetting the balance (of the world and of the dice) but I'll suffer their wrath if need be.

PLAYMAT - I think this is a game that could really benefit from a playmat. It isn't necessary and you can play on any 3ft by 3ft surface, but I think it would make setup and just regular gameplay a lot more fun and immersive. Supposedly the manufacturer is making one? I know there are several available from third parties as well, but look to shell out somewhere between $35 and $50 for one.

OVERALL - I'm digging it. It takes the parts that I really like about Warhammer Underworlds - the minis, the dice, the quick-ish gameplay and takes away the parts I don't like (deck building and pay to play pieces) The assembly is a beating(see review part 1) but it is a blast to play. I can't WAIT for Venom and I feel like if they don't release Deadpool they've lost their minds and should be flogged. The rules could use some sprucing up and a FAQ sheet would be wonderful, but if you like Marvel and want a fun and easy to play (after a few rounds) skirmish game, this one is a winner.